Mr. Brandon Floch is a Junior at Dartmouth College majoring in Government and Philosophy. He is from Westport, CT and comes from a family of two sets of twins. Ever since entering Dartmouth, he has become more and more curious about his Judaism and Jewish Philosophy. He took Sinai Scholars this past fall and he went on Birthright this past winter. At Dartmouth he sings with the College Glee Club, he tutors, and he is President of his Fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
Brandon’s Paper "Torah Min Ha-Shamayim: A Young Jew's Exploration of Divine Revelation": Why am I concerned with the question of whether or not Hebrew Scripture was divinely revealed? The main question of this paper is not whether or not I believe in God or some divine creator but it is about divine revelation— how ought one to practice Judaism if one does not believe in a literal revelation of the Torah by God to Moses. If I don’t believe in the Torah as the Word of God, does it make sense for me to follow any of the commandments? In this paper I seek to figure out how I personally understand Divine Revelation, and how that understanding affects how I should practice my Judaism.
This presentation was delivered at the Sinai Scholars Academic Symposium 2010.
The Sinai Scholars Symposium is a yearly conference for university students, hosted by the Sinai Scholars Society. Students from around the world gather with an esteemed panel of Ivy League professors, world-class Torah scholars and experts in their field to study, discuss and present their thoughts on various subjects that deal with Judaism and the modern world. Each student prepares an academic paper which they present to their colleagues and a panel of judges.
Paper: Torah Min Ha-Shamayim
