In a classic rabbinic tale about human ingenuity and Divine mystery (Menachot 29b in the Babylonian Talmud), God transports Moses forward in time to the study house of the renowned second-century sage, Rabbi Akiva.

Moses sits at the back of the classroom and listens carefully to the day’s lesson.

Surprisingly, Moses, the great prophet of Israel, is utterly confused and dismayed. He can’t understand the discussion, even though Rabbi Akiva and his students are discussing Torah — the Torah that Moses himself brought before the Israelites!

The prophet’s angst is palpable.

Moses is comforted when he hears the rabbi say, “It is a law [given] to Moses at Sinai.”

As this story suggests, Rabbinic Judaism so revolutionized Jewish life and thought that the rabbis themselves mused about whether Moses could actually understand a tradition ascribed to him in their houses of study.

For the complete article, please click here. This article was co-authored with Rabbi Or N. Rose. This article is part of the O.N. Scripture — The Torah series.