Posted February 18 2008
The 71 Sided Die
One idea that is thrown around in Jewish thought is that there are seventy different approaches to learning. “Shivim Panim Latorah” (Bemidbar Rabba 13:15). The phrase in its entirety is, “There are 70 faces to Torah; turn it over and turn it over for everything is found in it.”
This claim of 70 valid approaches to learning is used by some as a limiting number (despite this being in direct opposition to the rest of the quote). Some will pick the variety of approaches they like the best, edit out the parts of those approaches they don’t like and they will know for certain that any opinion which doesn’t fit into their “seventy” is invalid.
The Ramchal (Moses Chaim Luzzato) saw this differently and his understanding of the seventy valid interpretations is that everyone can have their own valid interpretation. He claims that there are 600,000 faces to the Torah, a number used to equate one number for each individual of the Jewish people.*
The word ‘die’ (pl. dice) is particularly relevant. It originates from the Latin word datum (pl. data), meaning fact or postulate. A standard playing die is a cube and therefore has 6 possible outcomes, or sides.
How many sides are there on a tennis ball? The average person will tell you that a tennis ball has no sides. The mathematician will claim a sphere has an infinite number of sides. Someone with a bit of wit will tell you that a tennis ball has two sides: an inside and an outside.
Our multi-faceted die is seen by some to account for the understandings that are in the “public domain.” The Ramchal, however, focuses on the inside of the die. Each person can interpret the Torah on their own. Each person can have an understanding which internally jives with them. Part of my understanding of the vision of Jewneric is the exposure of the 71st side of our die. Each writer here brings their experiences and their understanding and shares it with everyone.
Over the next few weeks leading up to Purim, I will be doing just that: showing people the inside of my seventy sided die. About six years ago I began a journey, attempting to learn a section of the Talmud without the use of commentaries. My tools were: the text of the Talmud, the text of the Bible, indexing tools for both, my knowledge of people and sciences and, as a last resort, a dictionary. I spent great care not only to write down my conclusions, but also my method.
Next week, I will share my understanding of the Talmud’s claim that Esther was green (Megila 13a). If my answer and reasoning is the same as any other, it would not only be a coincidence, it would also surprise me.
Next week: “Ester vs. Kermit: Is it Easy to be Green?”
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*This number is rabbinic. This is based on rounding off of the number of the Jews counted in the book of Numbers. Halachically, there is a special blessing to be said when 600,000 Jews are assembled. I have heard that Halachically the number 600,000 is also non-literal and that an approximation for any particularly large number of people would be valid for making the Bracha.
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[...] just because you don’t have a fancy name like “the Ditz.” -Daveed Yoel Tzvi The 71 Sided Die - Why should you want to have your own interpretation of Torah Esther vs. Kermit - Why does the [...]