Deep study of the Torah

Shalom, dear Rabbi. I am sorry to bother you, but there are not many people willing to talk to me and answer just a few questions. I really need to get answers from people who are true and pious Torah scholars. Please don't refuse me. Sorry, also, that the e-mail may be too long. 1. I am currently studying the basics. Namely, the 30-volume commented translation of Tanakh into Russian, authored by dear and deeply respected Rabbanit Frima Gurfinkel. I would like to know how I can develop? Should I fully and exclusively immerse myself in Tanakh or would it be necessary/useful to also turn to other Jewish literature in parallel: say, "Kuzari", "Guide of the Perplexed", "Basic Concepts of Kabbalah" by Polonsky or some Hasidic literature? Simply the 30-volume Tanakh, at least in my case, is not a one-year read. This is because I approach my studies extremely carefully: I first analyze the text of the Tanakh directly (each word: for example, why there are repetitions, why in specific contexts one specific word is always used, and in others - its synonyms), draw conclusions and write them down. Then I analyze the commentary from the book, compare it with my thoughts, make sure that I understand, and write down my conclusions. This is how I build the foundation from which I will proceed in further, repeated readings. 2. How necessary/useful is it for a deep understanding of the Torah and the works of the great rabbis of the Middle Ages, and of our time too, to know the history of philosophy (especially Platonism, Aristotelianism, Neoplatonism, Gnosticism)? After all, Maimonides had a very strong philosophical background, as did many other Great Scribes. Also, many rabbis or simply Jewish philosophers like Solomon Maimon were very interested in mathematics and used its concepts in their calculations. Is there any area of mathematics or philosophy that would be very useful to study in order to delve deeper into the Torah? Many rabbis from the former USSR (where I was born) have a mathematical education. 3. The problem is that I am not Jewish, so I have to look for answers myself, because not everyone wants to talk about deep Jewish things with a goy. In particular, I wrote to one American rabbi, opened my soul to him, and he sent me back: "Good questions.". I felt some connection. Moreover, so strongly that, in my youth, for some reason I did not connect the real Jews with the Jews of Tanakh. It seemed to me that the Jews of the past fulfilled the mission of an example-people. And now all nations, reading Tanakh, should mentally replace the word "Jew" or "Israeli" with the name of their people. Later, of course, I learned what was what and it was a crisis. But the thought stubbornly beat within me that if it was not for my people, then at least for me. There was something in me that made me stubbornly believe. I hesitated, years passed and then, when the war came to my country and together with a number of other factors hit my health hard (I was even really on the edge and was convinced that I was about to die), it was as if a dam burst inside me and I began to study Tanakh. I clearly realized, with all the depths of my soul I felt that it was God who pushed me.This is the reason why I have to pester respected and good people by email. I will study Torah no matter what difficulties it entails. I love God, I love Torah and I cannot imagine another life. I don’t need anything else. I will go to the end. I would be very grateful for answers. Sincerely, Olexander, Kyiv, Ukraine. God bless you.

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

It is wonderful to hear how much you love G-d, the Torah, and the Jewish people.

However, we do not believe that non-Jews should study Jewish texts. We believe the Torah is for Jews.

We believe that all that God wants from the Non-Jewish world is that they observe 7 precepts, or commandments. They are known as the “Noahide Laws.” They are called “Noahide Laws” because the requirement to observe these seven laws was given Noah, a righteous non-Jew (yes, the fellow from the story with the flood).

The 7 laws are:

1. Don’t murder.

2. Don’t steal.

3. Don’t worship false gods.

4. Don’t be sexually immoral.

5. Don’t eat a limb from an animal that is still alive.

6. Don’t curse God.

7. Establish a system of justice.

Any human being who observes these laws goes to heaven. There is no need to follow any other religion. You can pray to God in your own words and your own language.

Allow me to recommend the following sites to learn more about what G-d expects from Gentiles: https://sukkatshalom-bneinoach.com/ and https://www.netivonline.org/ which specializes in helping non-Jews with religious beliefs. There is a wealth of information there that you will find useful and inspiring.