Different Ways To Believe In Orthodox Judaism

There are many different ways for a Jew to believe in Judaism. However, remaining in the Orthodox version leaves us with two overall paths. I will refer to these two paths as the Rambam/Ralbag (World must be congruent with science always) and the Maharal path (World's science could change whenever since G-D is all powerful He can change anything). Both of these paths have their benefits and deficiencies. The Rambam/Ralbag path makes Judaism very comprehensible and allows the world to be attainable for a thinking person. However, it requires a less literal interpretation of the Bible. The Maharal's path is less comprehensible and removes all certainty from the nature of life. However, it allows for a literal meaning of the Bible.

These two paths are both widely used nowadays. However, scientists will laugh at the Maharal's approach. How can it be that we humans can not understand nature and predict its course? Well, the Maharal's path leads us to the following answer. You scientists are very haughty assuming that you know how the world works. You think that Gravity has always existed in its current state and that the properties of all chemicals have always been the same. How can you possibly know this? Do you have a time machine that tells you that for the past 4 billion years, according to you, the nature of the world was constant? Isn't that an assumption? The certainty that you give off is flawed because it is based on assumptions. I however believe that G-D controls nature in every way. He can change its course in an instant. In fact, there are points in the Bible that even say this. For example, after the flood in Noach's time the Bible says (Genesis 8:22), "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." This implies that G-D made nature cease, or at the very least change, during the time of the flood. There are more examples, but this is not an exhaustive list. Thus we see that the Maharal's path can explain why science today does not effect the modern Jew's faith that follows this path. Science does not truly contradict the Maharal's path since G-D controls all of nature, so any "proof" against the Bible that scientists can bring is inconsequential since it is all based on false assumptions.

In the Rambam/Ralbag path we assume that science is right with its assumptions. We buy into the idea that nature has always been constant. This allows for us to become convinced by the scientists and make us choose one of two options. The first option is to completely discard the Bible and our belief in G-D. This is why the Rambam/Ralbag path is so dangerous for orthodox Jews, because it leaves itself open for people to see a conflict and lose hope. The second option is what the Rambam and Ralbag actually do, reconcile the text with science. This is usually not very hard to do. However, it does require that there be a non-literal understanding of the text. This is exactly what the Rambam, in The Guide for the Perplexed, does and it is also what the Ralbag, in his commentary on the Bible, does. An example of some non-literal interpretation of the Bible comes from the idea of the Gemorah that the Torah (Bible) uses the language of man. For instance, the Ralbag explains that the Rain that the Bible refers to during the flood of Noach was not literally rain. The Ralbag explains that there was just so much water that it seemed like it was the opening of the gates of heaven. This is similar to when a man says it was raining cats and dogs. Man doesn't literally mean it was raining cats and dogs, rather it was just a heavy downpour. With these ideas in mind, it is clear to see that this approach of the Rambam/Ralbag can reconcile science with the Bible and Judaism.

****Update
Check out my post where the Maharal openly talks about these ideas here. I will be writing more posts on this subject after this post on the Maharal.

Ramban-All Knowledge is Derived from The Torah-Toras Hashem Temima perek 1 siman 5

In this post of the Ramban here he asks, " What is the greatness of the Torah." In this siman he begins to answer this question. He says,

"The beginning of everything is that a person should know that everything that the created (aka people) know and understand, all of it comes from the Bible directly or indirectly. If it were not for the Bible there would be no difference between a man and the donkey he rides on. This can be seen from the nations that are distant from the Bible and its prophecies. For example, the Barbarians that dwell in Dacia (The Romans conquered the Dacians and then the Romans were destroyed by the Barbarians), the Tartars, and the nations like India- that these people do not recognize their creator and they think the world always existed. Also, there are people that exist that are not deep thinkers and do not consider whether the world always existed or is a new creation. They do not contemplate whether the spheres move themselves or if something else moves them like King David mentioned in the Psalm that we quoted previously (Tehilim 19) and like the other deep thinkers (philosophers) from the nations close to us. All of these ideas have not been seen or thought about by nations that have not heard of the Bible. This is because a man that is not taught is like an animal, like it says in Job (11:12), "Let one who is like a wild donkey be reborn as a man. (meaning: When man is born he is like a wild donkey)"

The Ramban uses facts from the situation of his time to prove why the Torah is so valuable. He shows that the only people that really think about things and care to acquire knowledge are people that have been effected by the Bible. The barbarians and other people that acted without knowledge at the time of the Ramban were groups of people that had never been effected by the Torah or even had a relation to it indirectly. This is very telling of how the Torah teaches and compels people to think. Also, the Torah invokes deep thinking and this is another focus of the Ramban. That the source of all knowledge and the drive to acquire knowledge comes from the Torah.

This is just one of many examples that show how great the Bible is and this example shows the Bible's importance. It sounds very compelling to say that every civilization that has been effected by the Bible is deep thinkers and values knowledge, whereas populations that have been unaffected by the Bible are simple and those people are not deep thinkers in any way.

Medieval Commentators on Equality In Judaism

I was looking for the Meiri's position that further discusses Judaism and Morality. So to follow up on my previous post, found here, I wanted to translate a Meiri in Bava Kama that discusses this equality. He says (Bava Kama: 37B),

"An ox that belongs to a Jew that gores an ox of a non-Jew is exempt from paying from the law of neighbor and if a non-Jew's ox gores the ox of a Jew, whether it is a delinquent ox or not, pays full damages. This law only refers to a non-Jew that is not careful for the property of others (damaging them without care), therefore, we fine him that he, the non-Jew, should not become used to this type of action of damaging other people's property without care. This which is stated in the Gemorah only applies to nations that do not have laws and are barbaric people. For these types of people the Gemorah says that the non-Jews accepted upon themselves the seven Noahide commandments and if they are not followed then their property becomes unprotected by the law. However, all non-Jews that keep the seven Noahide commandments are considered like full fledged Jews."

First just to state the seven Noahide laws are:

1)Prohibition of Idolatry
2)Prohibition of Murder
3)Prohibition of Theft
4)Prohibition of Sexual Promiscuity
5)Prohibition of Blasphemy: You shall not blaspheme God's name.
6)Dietary Law: Do not eat flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive. (Genesis 9:4)
7)Requirement to have just Laws: You shall set up an effective judiciary to enforce the preceding six laws fairly.

With these ideas in mind it is clear to see what the Meiri is saying. If a state does not have just laws, like protecting people's property then their property, in turn, is not protected. These seven Noahide laws are very moral laws, I don't know why anyone would say they are not a just basis for a law. Thus, if a person is unjust and cheats and steals, the Gemorah tells us that you do not have to respect his protection under the law. Obviously, you can not make these decisions yourself, but there must be a court that decides this, a beis din.

With this idea from the Meiri in mind, it is clear to see that even a Jew that acts unjustly would fall under this category of the "non-Jew" that does not have protection under the law. Therefore, I see equality in the laws of the Torah. The non-Jew is protected just as much as the Jew. If a state is unjust then their rules do not apply, because they are unjust. However, in a country like America since the laws are just a Jew must follow them. Anyone who says otherwise clearly misses the point of the laws of the torah.

UPDATE*****

The Rambam on the same Gemarah as the Meiri (Bava Kama 37B) states a very similar Halacha as that of the Meiri. He says,

"An ox of a Jew that gores the ox of a non-Jew, whether it is a delinquent animal or not, is exempt. This is because the non-Jewish courts do not require a man to pay for the damage his ox does, therefore we judge this case like they would judge it. An ox of a non-Jew that gores the ox of a Jew, whether it is delinquent or not, pays full damages. This is a punishment that is enforced on non-Jews since they are not careful in the laws and do not try to prevent damage. For if they were not punished in this manner they would not watch their animals and they would let them damage everyone and everything."

This Rambam clearly tells us the qualifications of what is going on in this case. At first glance, one would think that a non-Jew is discriminated against. However, this is not the case. The only reason the non-Jew is treated like this is because he is not careful to prevent his ox from damaging other people's property. However, if he would treat his ox like a Jew treats his ox, namely trying to prevent his ox from damaging other people's property, then this non-Jew would be treated like a Jew.

Rambam-Makeup of All Bodies Under the Heavens-Yisodei Hatorah perek 4 halacha 2

The Rambam discusses the makeup of the different physical objects. The four elements combined can create many different natural features and bodies with diverse characteristics. He says,

דרך האש והרוח להיות מהלכם ממטה מטבור הארץ למעלה כלפי הרקיע. ודרך המים והארץ להיות מהלכם מתחת הרקיע למטה עד לאמצע שאמצע הרקיע הוא המטה שאין למטה ממנו. ואין הילוכם לא בדעתם ולא בחפצם אלא מנהג שנקבע בהן וטבע שנטבע בהן. טבע האש חם ויבש והוא קל מכולם. והרוח חם ולח. והמים קרים ולחים. והארץ יבשה וקרה. והיא כבידה מכולם והמים קלים ממנה לפיכך נמצאים למעלה על הארץ. והרוח קל מן המים לפיכך הוא מרחף על פני המים. והאש קל מן הרוח. ומפני שהם יסודות לכל גופים שתחת הרקיע ימצא כל גוף וגוף מאדם ובהמה וחיה ועוף ודג וצמח ומתכת ואבן גולמו מחובר מאש ורוח ומים ועפר. וארבעתן יתערבו ביחד וישתנו כל אחד מהם בעת העירוב עד שימצא המחובר מארבעתן אינו דומה לאחד מהן כשהוא לבדו. ואין במעורב מהן אפילו חלק אחד שהוא אש בפני עצמו או מים בפני עצמן או ארץ בפני עצמה או רוח בפני עצמה אלא הכל נשתנו ונעשו גוף אחד. וכל גוף וגוף המחובר מארבעתן ימצא בו קור וחום לח ויבש כאחד. אבל יש מהם גופים שיהיה בהם חזקה מיסוד האש כמו בעלי נפש חיה. לפיכך יראה בהם החום יתר. ויש מהן גופין שיהיה בהן חזקה מיסוד הארץ כמו האבנים. לפיכך יראה בהם היובש הרבה. ויש מהן גופין שיהיה בהן חזקה מיסוד המים. לפיכך יראה בהם הלח יתר. ועל הדרך הזה ימצא גוף חם יתר מגוף אחר חם. וגוף יבש יתר מגוף אחר יבש. וכן ימצאו גופים שיראה בהן הקור בלבד. וגופים יראה בהן הלח בלבד. וגופים יראה בהן הקור והיובש כאחד בשוה. או הקור והלח כאחד בשוה. או החום והיובש כאחד בשוה. או החום והלח כאחד בשוה. לפי רוב היסוד שהיה בעיקר התערובת יראה מעשה אותו היסוד וטבעו בגוף המעורב: 


"The nature of the fire and the wind is to travel from below the navel of the Earth to above, towards the heavens. The nature of the water and the land is to travel from underneath the heavens to below the middle, that the middle of the heavens is the lowest point so much so that there is nothing lower than it. These elements do not travel with knowledge or desire, rather they have a guidance that was set for them and a nature that was placed in them. The nature of fire is that it is hot and dry and it is the lightest of all elements. The wind is hot, but moist. Water is cold and wet. Finally, the land is dry, cold and is the heaviest of all the elements. The water is lighter than land and is therefore found above the land. The wind is lighter than the water and that is why it hovers above the water. Fire is lighter than even the wind. Since they are the foundations for all bodies that are under the heavens that they are found in every body from man, domesticated animals, wild beasts, birds, fish, plants, metals, stones of earth, they are all bound from fire, wind, water and dirt. These four are mixed together [for all these bodies]. All of these elements change when they are mixed to the point that the object that contains them mixed is much different than only one of them alone. Also, a mixture of all of them does not create an object that has a portion of it like fire by itself, water by itself, land by itself, or wind by itself, rather all the elements change and create a completely different body. Every body that is combined from all four elements will have within it cold, heat, moistness and dryness in one. However, some bodies, such as the bodies of wild animals, contain a greater proportion of fire is why they are warm. Some bodies, such as stones, will contain a greater proportion of earth, so they are very dry. On this path, we can see that there are bodies that are hotter than others and some bodies are drier than others. Similarly, one will find bodies which are exceedingly cold, bodies which are exceedingly wet, bodies which contain equal proportions of cold and dry, bodies that are equal parts cold and wet, some bodies that are equal parts hot and dry, or bodies that are equal parts hot and wet. The element in the majority will be the one that will give the resultant body its nature."

The Rambam here talks about the physical attributes of bodies found on Earth. The ideas that he brings out is that everything on Earth has a specific nature that must be followed. Water can not be hot and Fire can not be cold. These are just examples of the exactness of nature and its permanence. G-D made the world in a way that everything has its specific nature that the four elements combine to create.

This brings us to the basis for the Rambam's theology. He believes that nature is the driving force on Earth and perpetuates its existence. Unlike sages that were mystics, the Rambam did not believe in magic. This led him to believe that there were no special occurrences on the Earth, save outright miracles that G-D says He performed. The four elements are the most basic of all natural things and therefore need to be understood before even an elementary knowledge of the world is to be attained. This is why the Rambam emphasizes the four elements to such an extent that they have their own perek.

The Morals of Judaism

In Judaism there are several laws that seem to discriminate against non-Jews. Unfortunately, these laws are sometimes abused by people to undermine Jew-Gentile relations. This is a corruption of the true ethics and morals of Judaism. Judaism is a religion of friendly relations and non-discrimination even though this may appear not to be the case in some instances. True, there are some occurrences in Jewish literature that appear to be discriminatory where it seems like the life of a Jew or the possessions of a Jew seem more important than those of a Gentile. However, I do not believe that the true meaning of these ideas are meant in this manner. In order to divulge the true meaning of the sages throughout the generations I think a view of man through the Bible is in order.

I think the reason for the apparent discrimination of the Gentile can be divulged through an excerpt from the book The Biblical View of Man. In it Rabbi Dr. Leo Adler discusses how the Bible views a man that does not believe in G-D. He says,

"On the other hand, Godlessness and lack of fear of G-D, in the biblical conception of man, indicate human depravity: ;The benighted man thinks There is no G-D; man's deeds are corrupt and loathsome, no one does good' (Psalm 14:1). Lack of fear of G-D is so clearly considered moral corruption that Abraham can justify passing off his wife as his sister with the claim that 'I thought surely there is no fear of G-D in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife' (Genesis 20:11)."

The Gentile that is discriminated against is referred to as a man that does not have a fear of G-D. This idea was referring to an era of human civilization where there was depravity and debauchery that was being done on a daily basis. The only force in the world, in this era, that could stem human depravity was a belief in G-D. Without this essential belief, man would act immorally. There were no exceptions as quoted from Abraham's experience, man without a fear of G-D was immoral and without limits. Otherwise, why would Abraham fear for his life, wouldn't moral people allow one to be married to a beautiful woman and not have to fear for his life? Thus, in the Bible, we see that a man without a fear of G-D is immoral and without constraint. This is the purpose of the Bible, to provide moral limits for man.

Therefore, we can see that in biblical times man without a belief in G-D is immoral and dangerous. Abraham had to fear for his life when he went to a city populated with immoral people. The Bible tells us that this situation justified his lie and turned an otherwise immoral act, lying, into a necessity for life. Thus, we see the basis for protecting people against immoral people even if it means acting in a, seemingly, immoral way.

This idea can be seen in the philosophy of Kant from this website where it discusses the repercussions of Kant's Categorical Imperative. It says,

"The second consequence follows from Kant's basic moral rule, the categorical imperative: 'Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it would become a universal law.' In other words, you can only give yourself permission to a behavior ('act according to that maxim') which you simultaneously give everyone else the same permission to do (you 'will that it would become a universal law'). This means that if I steal from you, I give permission to everyone to steal from me."

In a sense, this is the moral code that the Bible is following. When a person acts immorally, he or she allows all those to act immorally towards them. This can be seen in the case of Abraham. The Bible seems to tell us that there are two types of people in its time, those who believe in G-D, the moral people, and those who do not believe in G-D, the immoral people. This does not speak of our current generation, but rather of the society of ancient times.

This idea is not just Biblical in nature, but it evolves into a Rabbinic principle as well. This can be found in a Tosephta, a Tannaic work, in Shevuot 3:6. It says,

"Rabbi Reuben met a philosopher in Tiberias, who asked him: 'Who makes himself hateful in the world?' Rabbi Reuben replied: 'He who denies his Creator.' 'But how does that make him hateful to men?' wondered the philosopher. Rabbi Reuben replied: 'Honor thy father and mother; though shalt not murder; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness. No man can break these laws without first denying G-D, no man can commit one of these cardinal sins without first ignoring Him Who gave these commands!'"

This Tosephta is explained by Rabbi Dr Leo Adler in the following manner. He says,

"He who sins against morality and ethics can do it only by denying G-D. Rabbi Reuben built his thesis upon a verse from Leviticus (5:21): 'When a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord by dealing deceitfully with his fellow, robbing him or oppressing him...' Here too, disloyalty to G-D is assumed to be the precondition for moral failure vis a vis man: whoever sins against men did so after first breaking faith with G-D. For the Bible, fear of G-D is the foundation of man's being, not a separate res religiosa (as it was considered by the philosopher who argued with Rabbi Reuben)."

It seems like from this Tosephta that the philosopher would be considered a moral person, although he was curious of the basis of the morality of the Bible. However, even at this point in history, in the rabbinic literature, man was still moral based on his belief in G-D. Without this belief man had no reason to act appropriately and compassionately. This led Jews to be persecuted as well as other minorities. However, at this point in history there was persecution from the pagan Romans and Zoroastrians against the monotheistic religions. This violated basic morals and thus allowed those being persecuted to act according to how Kant explained earlier in this post.

Throughout Jewish history we have seen that Jews have been oppressed and mistreated. During the years of Christian domination the Jews were constantly subjected to forced baptism, death or expulsion. These acts were clearly immoral. Under Islam, Jews were constantly demeaned and treated as second class citizens. Check out the sources listed in Wikipedia. Regarding the Islamic persecutions they mention a few,

"Islam and Judaism have a complex relationship. Traditionally Jews and Christians living in Muslim lands, known as dhimmis, were allowed to practice their religions and to administer their internal affairs, but subject to certain conditions.[205] They had to pay the jizya (a per capita tax imposed on free adult non-Muslim males) to the Islamic state.[205] Dhimmis had an inferior status under Islamic rule. They had several social and legal disabilities such as prohibitions against bearing arms or giving testimony in courts in cases involving Muslims.[206] Many of the disabilities were highly symbolic. The one described by Bernard Lewis as "most degrading"[207] was the requirement of distinctive clothing, not found in the Qur'an or hadith but invented in early medieval Baghdad; its enforcement was highly erratic.[207] On the other hand, Jews rarely faced martyrdom or exile, or forced compulsion to change their religion, and they were mostly free in their choice of residence and profession.[208] Notable exceptions include the massacre of Jews and/or forcible conversion of some Jews by the rulers of the Almohad dynasty in Al-Andalus in the 12th century,[209] as well as in Islamic Persia,[210] and the forced confinement of Morrocan Jews to walled quarters known as mellahs beginning from the 15th century and especially in the early 19th century.[211]"

This would reveal that even under Muslim rule the Jews were discriminated against and so were other non-Muslims. Also, in Christian lands the Jews and Muslims were discriminated against. Thus, repeating Kant's morals, the Jews would have every right not to respect Muslim or Christian rights even though they do believe in G-D.

Just to recap everything that we have stated until now. Originally, the Bible tells us that people that did not believe in G-D acted immorally because they had no reason to act morally. Therefore, when the Bible discusses people that do not believe in G-D and how a person can act towards them, it is referring to an immoral person that acts with depravity and debauchery. Also, even a believer in G-D can act immorally, that has been seen in the 2000 years of Jewish exile culminating with the holocaust executed by Hitler in Germany.

What we see from all of this is that the Jewish commentators that discuss mistreating Gentiles are referring to the Gentiles that mistreat Jews or anyone else. According to the philosophy of Immanuel Kant this is an entirely moral and appropriate reaction. However, nowadays I do not think that these laws would apply in the same way. As we have disclosed, the person of the Bible that does not believe in G-D is a person that is immoral. The Bible does not disclose its feelings about a person that denies G-D's existence but is still moral and demands equality for all people. In my opinion, it seems like from the sources that I have quoted, that a person that does not believe in G-D, but is moral, should be treated morally and does not fall under the umbrella of an immoral idolater.

Therefore, my conclusion is that if a group of people condones immoral behavior towards another group, it would appear to be that the Bible and Rabbinic literature would say like Kant, that one treats them as they treat others. However, if a person is moral, regardless of whether he or she believes in G-D, they are to be treated morally and correctly, with love and compassion. The Rabbinic commentaries do not discuss mistreating a Gentile in general, but rather a Gentile that mistreats and oppresses Jews or other people in general. These people do not have to be treated morally since they treat others immorally. However, a Gentile that is moral must be treated with proper morals and a failure to do so would be considered a transgression against the Biblical commandments and Rabbinic tradition.

UPDATE:
Here is a link to Kant's ideas of morals spelled out in the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Also, here is another link to a different page with more of Kant's ideas on more subjects like politics in the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

ANOTHER UPDATE:

Here are the Rishonim that holds like what I am saying.

Rambam- All Things Under the Heavens- Yisodei Hatorah perek 4 halacha 1

In this section of the Rambam, he discusses the makeup of all things on Earth. He says,


ארבעה גופים הללו שהם אש ורוח ומים וארץ הם יסודות כל הנבראים למטה מן הרקיע. וכל שיהיה מאדם ומבהמה ועוף ורמש ודג וצמח ומתכת ואבנים טובות ומרגליות ושאר אבני בנין והרים וגושי עפר הכל גולמן מחובר מארבעה יסודות הללו. נמצאו כל הגופים שלמטה מן הרקיע חוץ מארבעה יסודות האלו מחוברים מגולם וצורה. וגולם שלהם מחובר מארבעה יסודות האלו. אבל כל אחד מארבעה היסודות אינו מחובר אלא מגולם וצורה בלבד:


"These four elements- fire, wind, water and earth - are the foundations of all the creations under the heavens. All things like Man, animals, birds, bugs, fish, plants, metals, precious stones, pearls, building materials, mountains, clods of earth, everything physical, is bound from these four elements. It is found that all bodies under the heavens, except for these four elements, consist of a combined form and shape and their shape consists of the four elements, but each of the four elements consists of just a combined shape and form."

In The Guide for the Perplexed (Section 1 Chapter 58) the Rambam uses the idea of the four elements to describe an understanding of G-D. He says,

"I would observe that, -- as has already been shown -God's existence is absolute, that it includes no composition, as will be proved, and that we comprehend only the fact that He exists, not His essence. Consequently it is a false assumption to hold that He has any positive attribute: for He does not possess existence in addition to His essence: it therefore cannot
be said that the one may be described as an attribute [of the other]; much less has He [in addition to His existence] a compound essence, consisting of two constituent elements to which the attribute could refer: still less has He accidents, which could be described by an attribute. Hence it is clear that He has no positive attribute whatever. The negative attributes, however, are those which are necessary to direct the mind to the truths which we must believe concerning God; for, on the one hand, they do not imply any plurality, and, on the other, they convey to man the highest possible knowledge of God; e.g., it has been established by proof that some being must exist besides those things which can be perceived by the senses, or apprehended by the mind; when we say of this being, that it exists, we mean that its non-existence is impossible. We then perceive that such a being is not, for instance, like the four elements, which are inanimate, and we therefore say that it is living, expressing thereby that it is not dead."

The four elements can be contrasted to G-D in the sense that G-D can be understood when compared to the four elements. These four elements make up all physical beings and the only way that we, according to the Rambam, can understand G-D is through what He is not. With this in mind, an understanding of all physical material is essential if we are to truly understand G-D.

Ramban- What is The Greatness of The Torah- Toras Hashem Temima perek 1 siman 4

The Ramban asks a very intriguing question. He has spent the first 3 simanim of his book describing how great the Torah is and how every revers the Torah. However, where does this reverence come from? What is it about the Torah that makes it so great? He says,

"We need to ask and explain what is this value and honor [everyone is showing the Torah]? What is this wisdom and greatness of the Torah? [Everything that it contains] seems obvious, even a student can read and know what it says. Also, even the nations of the world that treat it as an ancient text can learn it. Furthermore, they themselves can come up with civility and statutes that compare to the rules of the Bible and its laws."

The Ramban is pointing out the seemingly obvious morals that the Bible points out. It seems like most of the ideas contained within it are simplistic and easy to understand. However, if this is true then what is the greatness of the Torah that the three previous simanim talk about here.

It seems hard to tell what the specific features of the Bible are unique to Judaism. The specifics are obvious, but the overall idea of the Bible seems common. In the upcoming simanim the Ramban will discuss the uniqueness of the Bible from all other moral codes and books of law.