Because every Jew is capable of having a personal relationship with our Creator, and all else that God is. The power of the leadership is to settle disputes, and to make sure that we have our teachers.
It is at this point that you are spouting your conjecture as fact, more or less dismissing any value that might have been gained from millennia of tradition, and everything else that Torah is to the Jews.
No one said you had to believe in our faith. But I'm not going to let you try to invalidate mine by dint of starting to explain it by saying "Here's what happened..."
And how would you know? Have you actually studied the laws? Or are you parroting back something you might have read about them?
God's laws are not just physical. Doing them is indeed physical, but the ramifications are all spiritual.
Those are details that are mentioned in the Oral Tradition, which you don't acknowledge, so you really wouldn't know about that.
You don't know about the laws and their details (which, I should add, are only highlighted but not detailed in the Pentateuch). Details concerning who, what, where, not as often why, when, how, how much, and in what circumstances, if there are extenuating circumstances, if things are simply not possible what are the next best options...
These things are NOT listed anywhere in the Pentateuch, and the only place they WOULD be is the Oral Law. That you haven't deigned to acknowledge.
That is your right, as it is my right not to validate your opinion.
What? :areyoucra
The flood happened when Noah was alive. There WERE no Jews yet. There was no Torah given yet. There was no commandment to observe the Sabbath yet. There were six laws, seven when Noah and his family left the Ark.
The Flood has nothing at ALL to do with observing the Sabbath.
And how would you know?
You are making things up, now. When God Himself listed punishments for failure to adhere to His laws, saying that "no punishment is needed," or saying that "you would not be able to violate it" means that you are calling God a liar.
Interesting.
It was the only national Temple, the nation being a theocratic Israel. The shuls that are in existence now do not serve the same function as the one in Jerusalem.
It is clear from the rest of this post that it doesn't really matter WHAT I say. Your mind is made up, and I would only confuse you with the facts about what and how my belief system works. You have already determined that you know what it is and how it works, despite the fact that you don't really know anything.
Since it is clear that you are going to ignore the crux of anything I say, as you have determined that you know everything already, I have decided that I am going to Ignore you.
You are now officially on my Ignore List. If I respond to you, it isn't for your benefit, as I don't think you really care, anyway. It would be because I feel that other people participating in the thread might benefit from a response.
Every "Jew" is capable of having a personal relationship with our Creator? How about everyone else?
I am dismissing any value that might have been gained from millenia of tradition and everything else that the Torah is to the Jews? Jews, jews, jews, jews, a bit full of oneself, aren't you? It's very self evident why you gave yourselves the title of Gods "chosen" people. Every group of humans has traditions, yours are not superior.
How would I know the physical laws are not unbreakable? Uh, physics maybe...
God's laws are not just physical? Oh, right, ancient man, who hadn't even invented the wheel yet, wrote down God's real rules.
The point about "no flood needed" is that if God wanted something it would be, there wouldn't be any asking and hoping it would happen, it would automatically be that way. The idea that floods, storms, plagues, or whatever come from an angry and jealous God is because ignorant humans didn't understand the real cause of these events.
How would I know? A little bird told me. How do you not know?
I'm making things up? Sheesh, that's the pot calling the kettle black. God is a jealous God. God wants you to pay a ransom upon the census. Moses brought forth water from the rock. God wants women to keep quiet and obey the man (actually, that one I kind of like). All human inventions.
God Himself listed punishments for failure to adhere to His laws? No, a Jew who wanted to bring his people in line came up with them.
I'm not calling God a liar. Your book does not represent God, it represents you.
Matter and energy were created by God, the universe was created by God, but the one thing that was not created by God is YOUR book yet you use that to study Him and ignore the universe. Then you shall be like a blind person even though you have eyes.
You would only confuse me with facts? Hehe... Your facts aren't facts at all, they're tradition, a tradition where the people chose the golden calf over God because the real God didn't fit their "tradition". Then when God sent His Son they killed Him because He didn't fit their requirements to be a Messiah.
The universe is not yours, it never was in the past, it never will be in the future.