A critical idea to understand is that the Torah speaks in the language of man, for if it did not, how could we grasp anything at all of its infinite wisdom, much less of an infinite God who is beyond all perception and understanding. Therefore, the Torah speaks in a language that can be understood by finite humans. In this way we are able to understand the many references to God’s anger or compassion, jealousy or sense of justice, all of which are human emotions or traits. This anthropomorphic presentation of God’s attributes is also present in the Torah’s physical descriptions of God, such as the hand of God, the eyes of God, etc.
A beautiful example of the Torah speaking in the language of man is found in Rashi’s comment on why the Torah introduces the laws of Yom Kippur with the words, “And God spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they came before God and died” (Leviticus 16:1). The two sons of Aaron entered the Holy of Holies with incense without permission and they tragically suffered the consequences of their unsanctioned offering. Yet the Torah, after their deaths, actually prescribes the very same procedure to be enacted by the High Priest on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year! The difference of course is that in the case of the High Priest, the Torah is endorsing such an act, whereas the two sons of Aaron acted of their own accord. To explore and explain this subtle difference Rashi brings a very practical parable from Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria that tells the story of two men who go to a doctor. The first man is warned not to eat radishes or to lie down in a cold cellar, on account of his health. The second man is given the very same advice, yet an additional caveat is stated: lest you die like a previous patient died. The conclusion drawn by Rashi is that the second man will take the doctor’s warning far more seriously as a result of the dire injunction!
It is in this context that we can now try to understand the frequent examples of the harsh judgmental language of God and the sharp critiques of the prophets as found in the Tanach. From the time God placed the first humans in the Garden of Eden to the covenant He made with the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai there are clearly established cause and effect patterns and parameters. Similar to the consistency of the laws of nature these spiritual laws operate according to the principle of “measure for measure.” Therefore, when the text proclaims God’s anger and the threat or the actualization of punishments it is actually articulating the inherent consequences for previous and present human behavior, as is made crystal clear throughout the Torah. The above Rashi is an excellent example of a parable that drives this teaching home in a language we can relate to.
