My friends, you have been warned. After all, we are all now party to a class action law suit against us. Dola Indidis, a lawyer and the former official spokesman of the Kenyan Judiciary system, has appealed to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to protest the injustice of the trial of Jesus almost 2,000 years ago. Although the official defendants are Pontius Pilate, some Jewish elders, Emperor Tiberius of Rome and Herod of Jerusalem, he holds responsible the Republic of Italy, the State of Israel and all Jews as their heirs.

“Evidence today is on record in the Bible, and you cannot discredit the Bible,” Indidis told the Kenyan Citizen News. “I filed the case because it’s my duty to uphold the dignity of Jesus and I have gone to the ICJ to seek justice for the man from Nazareth,” Indidis told the Nairobian. “His selective and malicious prosecution violated his human rights through judicial misconduct, abuse of office bias and prejudice.” According to a report in the Jerusalem Post, "He is challenging the mode of questioning used during Jesus’s trial, prosecution, hearing and sentencing; the form of punishment meted out to him while undergoing judicial proceedings and the substance of the information used to convict him." When Jesus died, Indidis insists, he was not given an opportunity to be heard. “I am suing as a friend,” he said.

The Kenyan courts threw out the case when it was originally filed there and the International Court of Justice claims that it has no jurisdiction as it settles disputes between states. ( see bit.ly/163TYjr ).

I find this case fascinating. Yes, I have to think he knows it’s kind of silly, and this charade seems more appropriate for a Church Sunday school Easter project than a real bona fide case, in a real court by a real lawyer. But think of this man’s faith. Maybe I’m naïve and perhaps it was just a publicity stunt. But he sees the Bible quite literally. His belief is complete.

Yes, we encounter the false prophet in this week’s parsha.

"כי יקום בקרבך נביא או חולם חלום ונתן אליך אות או מופת. ובא האות והמופת אשר דבר אליך לאמר, נלכה אחרי אלהים אחרים אשר לא ידעתם ונעבדם. לא תשמע אל דברי הנביא ההוא או אל חולם החלום ההוא כי מנסה ה' אלקיכם אתכם לדעת הישכם אהבים את ה' אלקיכם בכל לבבכם ובכל נפשכם" (דברים י"ג:ב-ד).

If there shall arise among you a prophet or dreamer of dreams, and he shall give you a sign or a wonder. If that sign or wonder about which he spoke to you came true, and then he suggested going and following foreign gods that you do not know, do not heed this prophet or dreamer of dreams, for Hashem your Lord is testing you to know if you love Hashem your Lord with all your hearts and all your souls (Devarim 13:2-4).

The Torah never uses the word ‘false prophet’ – נביא שקר – in this context. What kind of prophet does this refer to? Clearly we are not to follow him, but what does this say about prophecy?

The Midrash (Sifrei piska #84) records a debate between Rabbi Yossi HaGlili and Rabbi Akiva.

ובא האות והמופת', אמר רבי יוסי הגלילי ראה עד היכן הגיע הכתוב... עובדי עבודה זרה ינתן להם ממשלה אפילו על חמה ולבנה כוכבים ומזלות - אל תשמע להם. מפני מה? 'כי מנסה ה' א‑להיכם אתכם לדעת הֲיִשְכֶם אֹהבים'. אמר רבי עקיבה חס ושלום שמעמיד המקום חמה ולבנה כוכבים ומזלות לעובדי עבודה זרה, הא אינו מדבר אלא במי שהיו נביאי אמת מתחילה וחזרו להיות נביאי שקר כחנניה בן עזור.

Rabbi Yossi Haglili stated that see how far the text has gone, claiming that idolaters can be given control over the sun, the moon, the stars and the cosmos. Nonetheless, no matter what wonders they perform, we are not to listen to them. Why? Because Hashem tests us to see if we truly love Him and are loyal to Him. Rabbi Akiva states Heaven forbid that God would alter the sun, the moon, the stars and the cosmos for a pagan. The appellation prophet must be referring to a prophet gone astray similar to Chanania ben Azor. (See the story of the latter prophet gone astray in Yirmiyahu chapter 28).

Rabbi Yossi Haglili understands the passage literally. Yes, there are those who may be idolaters who can channel prophecy. Despite it all, despite the real ability to foresee the future or perform real supernatural wonders, we may never follow in the path of idolatry. They were given these abilities in order to test us; to create a scenario where we really believe that God may have ‘changed His mind’ and due to this wonder, now sanctions idolatry.

Rabbi Akiva rejects this premise. He has a tough time believing that Hashem would bestow such special abilities and powers to someone who represents His antithesis. Surely if someone can amass such supernatural powers on loan from God Himself, he must be acting in a way that is pleasing to God. The only way an idolater can have this ability is if he strayed from his initial piety.

Many have pointed out that we encounter Pharaoh’s magicians in Egypt, and the Torah’s strong disapproval of certain acts of black magic, implying that such a discipline existed. Rabbi Akiva’s answer seems to be that all these people strayed. Surprisingly, the Abarbanel, who generally stays very close to the literal meaning of passages, supports Rabbi Akiva’s conjecture. Sforno argues that only a true prophet performs real wonders; that of idolaters and false prophets are illusions and slights of hand. Similarly, Ibn Ezra claims that the false prophet ‘guessed right.’ Another later suggestion sees the false prophet as one who began prophetic training but never completed it – meaning this individual has learned parts of the discipline but has not mastered it. But this may not be readily apparent to those observing the amazing events being performed or predicted.

But all agree that performing tricks that convince us of divine assistance, or predicting the future with certainty, are not excuses from straying from our faith in God. Nothing but nothing can justify taking us off course.

There has been an important discussion abuzz on the internet within our community in the past few weeks about the source and truth of the Torah. An acclaimed graduate of a rabbinical school that identifies as Orthodox – who I’m sure is a very bright fellow – has been writing on blogs about Biblical issues and has been contradicting the normative Orthodox beliefs of Torah min Hashamayim (Torah written by God) and Torah miSinai (that the Torah being given to the Jewish people at a revelation at Sinai.) His writings challenged the existence of Biblical characters we all know and the Torah’s authorship by Hashem. This man, as he himself confessed in a blog post after the controversy erupted, claims that he struggles to reconcile the rabbi side of him with the Biblical scholar side of him. Unfortunately, those two personas are mutually exclusive.

About a decade ago, Rabbi David Wolpe, a prominent Conservative Rabbi in Beverly Hills whose controversial decisions have made their way into the New York Times of late, offered a sermon on Pesach that expressed skepticism about the veracity of the story of the exodus. This time, however, the rabbi identifies as Orthodox.

Modern scientific biblical study – embraced by many academics – preaches the gospel of the Documentary Hypothesis, namely that what we call the Torah of Moshe, was really written by four authors – J, E, P and D. The first two represent two names of HASHEM, the first being the 4 letter shem havaya and the second Elokim. The ‘P’ represents Priests and the D means Deuteronomy, the Book of the Torah in which we find ourselves. The hypothesis claims that the source for that written in the name of J and that written in the name of E are different. P is responsible for the book of Vayikra, of the laws of the Kohanim and D, which is claimed to be of a later origin than the other 3, namely associated with the king Yoshiyahu, who was reared in the home of Menashe, one of the worst kings, and who had no Jewish education of any kind. According to this, Devarim was written seven centuries after Moshe lived.

The Documentary Hypothesis, of course, challenges the very bedrock foundation of Torah Misinai – that Moshe delivered the Torah to us; that prior to his death, he took dictation from Hashem and wrote what we call the Torah. With a few minor insignificant discrepancies over mere letters, the traditional belief is that it is the same one that we have now. The unearthing of the Dead Sea Scrolls testifies to this very prominently. The belief in Torah min Hashamayim – that the Torah is God’s book and God’s word, features prominently in Maimonides principles of faith, and other codes. There is much to this topic. The Documentary Hypothesis draws on literary challenges, archaeological lack of evidence, and even parallels in the Christian gospels. We don’t have the time to cover it properly here and now, and I am not the scholar to make the case. I turn to others for this and I consider it worthwhile to explore and struggle. Rabbi Joseph Hirtz, a former Chief Rabbi of England spilled much ink in his biblical commentary to defend our concept of Torah, as did Rabbi Joseph Breuer. 

It would also be wrong to say that there are no inconsistencies, no basis to challenge anything, and no questions to ask. Much of the debate in the talmud revolves around addressing these challenges. But accepting the Documentary Hypothesis and rejecting a Divine author who revealed Himself to mankind at Sinai is outside the parameters of traditional Jewish thought. The only time during my tenure here as rabbi that I have put my foot down regarding a speaker was when I was asked if a Biblical scholar who publicly and vocally supports the Documentary Hypothesis could speak here. Because the scholar identifies as Orthodox, I felt that it would be wrong. Indeed, the rabbinical school that produced this rabbi in the current controversy – who has achieved higher degrees than any other graduate in the history of the school – issued a statement distancing itself from his writings and affirming its belief in Torah min Hashamayim. Both the Rabbinical Council of America – where the author is not a member – and the International Rabbinic Fellowship – where he is a prominent member – issued statements affirming their unswerving belief in Divine Revelation and the standard Orthodox belief in the Divinity of the Torah.

The debate between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yossi is so important and relates far more broadly than witchcraft and false prophets. Our faith will be tested in many different ways. It could be tragedy; it could be science; it could be a charismatic demagogue. It could be intellectually, like the Documentary Hypothesis, or emotionally like the cults and those who act cult-like. But we are told not to stray from our faith. How we want to understand those challenges is up for debate. Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yossi both have fine points in their arguments. But the fact that our faith is tested is not debated. We must emerge with faith, as did our patriarchs and matriarchs – and yes, l’havdil, as does Dola Indidis in Nairobi. That too is a consensus point.

Modern science has not posed the first challenges on faith. Let me bring the final word from someone wiser than anyone whom we have ever met. An aging and somewhat negative King Shlomo tried to find meaning in a life that brings with it difficulties and challenges. His conclusion:

"סוף דבר הכל נשמע את האלקים ירא ואת מצותיו שמור, כי זה כל האדם

(קהלת י"ב:י"ג)

In the end, all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man(Koheles 12:13).

This is our answer to the false prophet. Those prophecies can come in all kinds of veils and contexts, but our duty is to follow Hashem and His Divine Torah, the Torah from Heaven, the Torah given to us at Sinai. And we will be judged on our faith. Let’s not forget that as we usher in the pensive, penitent and powerful month of Elul.