This Was from God

Publicly or secretly traditional Jews increasingly doubt the historical reliability of the Torah. Here Gellman provides an old-fashioned Jewish theology for accepting the contemporary critique of Torah and history. Gellman presents an outline of the scholarly conclusions and then examines faith responses and rejects apologetic attempts to evade the challenge. The book elucidates the notions of Divine Providence and Divine Accommodation that then provide a basis for the thesis that for centuries Divine Providence has been guiding toward a non-historical non-literal understanding of the Torah. This was from God. Gellman advocates Hasidic-type non-literal approaches as most fitting for our times. Then in light of the book's thesis Gellman offers his understanding of Torah from Heaven prayer and the continuing validity of the commandments for present-day traditional Judaism.