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The Torah Belongs to Humanity

by Ram ben Ze’ev



The Torah Belongs to Humanity
The Torah Belongs to Humanity

When the Gemara in שבת (Shabbat) 89a recounts the dialogue between the ministering angels and the Holy One, blessed be He, about whether the Torah should be given to humankind, the angels object, saying, “What is man that You should remember him?” questioning why such a sacred gift should be entrusted to mortals. Moshe does not answer by claiming that the Torah belongs exclusively to the Jewish people, but rather by distinguishing between the nature of angels and that of human beings. He asks them: “Do you have a yetzer hara (evil inclination)? Do you dwell among nations? Do you experience jealousy, temptation, or conflict?”


By these questions, Moshe demonstrates that Torah is designed to guide those who struggle within the human condition. Therefore, he declares to them, “You are not human, and the Torah is not for you.”


The Gemara concludes that because the angels recognised this truth and called Moshe “man,” he merited divine favour, as it is said: “In reward for the fact that they called you man, you are not an angel, and the Torah is applicable to you.”


In this, the Torah’s purpose becomes clear — it is not a heavenly code for perfect beings, but a divine path for imperfect humans striving toward holiness. This moment reveals a truth far deeper than it first appears. The Torah is not the private inheritance of a single nation; it is the foundation of existence itself. It applies to every human being precisely because it was given for the sake of humanity.



In בראשית (Bereshit) 1:1 we read, “In the beginning, G-D created…” The Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 1:1) teaches that before creating the world, G-D looked into the Torah and created according to it. The Torah, then, is not a book of religion—it is the blueprint of creation, the spiritual DNA from which all things derive their purpose and harmony. Whether one accepts it or not, life unfolds within its framework, just as one lives under the law of gravity whether or not one believes in it.


This universality is expressed through the שבע מצות בני נח (sheva mitzvot benei Noach — Seven Noahide Laws), which form the covenant between G-D and all of humanity. These commandments are not optional moral guidelines; they are binding duties that preserve the moral structure of the world. Every person, Jew or not, participates in this Divine covenant simply by being human.


The Holy Zohar (Vayikra 10a) describes the Torah as “the soul of the world.” Just as the body cannot exist without the soul, creation cannot exist without Torah. Its energy animates every moment, every breath, every moral choice.



To claim that the Torah applies only to Jews is to misunderstand its essence. Israel was chosen not as the owner of truth but as its custodian—to live it, embody it, and illuminate it. As it is written in ישעיהו (Yeshayahu) 42:6, Israel is to be “a light unto the nations.” The Torah is that light.


The Torah, therefore, belongs to humanity. It binds every soul, reveals the path to righteousness for all who walk upon the earth, and defines reality itself. Whether one loves it, denies it, or ignores it, the Torah remains the eternal law by which creation stands.



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