Breuer’s Aspects Theory

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1. Moshe's Prayer – Before or After the Sin of the Golden Calf?

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   After the sin of the Golden Calf, Moshe prays and asks God to forgive Bnei Yisrael. According to Parashat Ki Tisa, Moshe prayed before he descended from the mountain. However, according to Parashat Eikev, Moshe prayed after he descended, saw the Golden Calf, broke the tablets and climbed the mountain a second time. When did Moshe pray? Why does the Torah describe this event in two different ways? Did God really contemplate destroying the nation altogether?

2. First Encounter with Shaul (III)

   Chapter 9 (Part III)

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   This lesson will discuss the discrepancies between chapters 8 and 9 regarding the monarchy, a central dilemma that affects the entire book. The 'Breuer’s Aspects Theory' is introduced to resolve discrepancies in general and to explain these discrepancies in the context of the monarchy.

3. Consolation for the Land

   Rabbi Yehuda Rock

   Lemekh hopes that Noah's birth will bring comfort to the world. Noah is a reminder of the good that exists in mankind; In the wake of Lemekh's prayer, God declares that He will indeed turn away His wrath from man and no longer judge him according to the strict demands of the Attribute of Justice.  Man is in need of the Attribute of Mercy, for he is mere flesh and blood – a mortal who departs from the world after a brief hundred and twenty years.

4. The Purchase of the "Burial Possession"

   Rabbi Yehuda Rock

   This lesson describes two aspects of the story of purchasing the Makhpela, based on Rabbi Mordekhai Breuer. The first aspect is the purchasing of a burial place for Sarah, and the second is the purchase of land in Israel, to pass along from generation to generation.

5. Vows

   Parashat Matot

   Rabbi Yehuda Rock

   Parashat Matot begins with the laws of vows - nedarim. When can a father or husband nullify a woman's vows? Can they invalidate any vow (vs. 4-13), or only vows that affect her ability to function (14-16)? This lesson will examine the episode relating to vows based on Breuer's Aspects Theory, and analyze the practical implications of each aspect.

6. Teshuva

   Rabbi Yehuda Rock

   These verses link Teshuva with the process of redemption; Rabbi Breuer suggests two aspects of Teshuva, which depend on the atonement of Am Yisrael, and a third complementary aspect which is independent of the actions of the nation.

7. The Unique Perspective of Parashat Behar

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   What links Shmitta with Mt. Sinai? This lesson will discuss the unique perspective of Parashat Behar on a number of mitzvot that are also discussed elsewhere in the Torah.

8. Duplication and Contradiction

   Part 4 - Breuer's Aspects Theory

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   A revolution in the attitude of Jews who believe in the unity of the Torah towards the research by biblical scholars was brought about by Rav Mordekhai Breuer who developed the "aspects approach.” The principal innovation of the approach was to acknowledge and utilize the claims of the documentary hypothesis which saw the Torah as made up of multiple and frequently contradictory texts, while maintaining that these differences and contradictions were nevertheless Divinely  authored and intended,  rather than a combination by a later editor of multiple human authors and traditions.

9. Duplication and Contradiction

   Part 5 - Breuer's Aspects Theory

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   Rav Breuer’s fundamental insight should be seen as highlighting the Torah's tendency to express the complexity of various concepts and narratives through repetition, ambiguity, and contradiction. 

   In light of this, there is no need to appeal to the "aspects approach" when discussing the contradictions between Devarim and other parts of the Torah, for it would be unwarranted to expect that a story told from an objective standpoint would be identical to a subjective account offered by someone who was part of that story.

10. Duplication and Contradiction

    Part 7 - The Roots of the Aspects Approach

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

    Although Rav Breuer was the first to apply his method in a consistent and specific manner, the roots of his approach are firmly rooted in generations of Jewish philosophy.

11. Authorship of the Books of the Prophets and Writings

    Part 3

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

    Internal contradictions within the appointment of Shaul as king and the crossing of the Jordan in the time of Yehoshua are examined.  Bible critics over the generations have raised suggestions as to how the various verses represent different sources, without any such division successfully solving the issue. Here, too, it seems that the aspects approach may be utilized to show how the text endeavors, by means of overlapping descriptions, to convey the different aspects of the story.

    These examples demonstrate that the "aspects approach" represents an effective and practical way of understanding textual difficulties in the Books of the Prophets, just as it is in explaining similar difficulties that arise in the Torah itself.

12. Peshat and Midrash Halakha

    Part 6 - Contradictions between Different Parshiot

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

    Chazal interpret even the verses in Shemot and in Devarim, which speak of the Hebrew slave serving "forever," as meaning "until the Jubilee." This is not meant as an interpretation of the word "forever" (olam), but rather as an interpretation of the parshiot in the Torah as a whole which deal with the topic, each of which expresses an independent value or ideal, and which together must be synthesized into a single coherent instruction on the practical halakhic level. This can be viewed as a model for many instances of contradiction between peshat and midrash halakha.

13. Breuer’s Aspects Theory part 1

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

14. Breuer’s Aspects Theory part 2

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak