Theory

by Brad Scott

Have you ever heard someone say that something works, in theory? Have you heard of the "theory of evolution"?, or the phrase "theoretically speaking"? The English word theory comes from the Latin and Greek theoria. If you were to translate back to Latin, you would find a definition of "doctrine and practice". In Greek, it means "a set of propositions and principles that are still conjectural". From this word we get the word theatre, which is a place where a writer's words are performed. This word used to be associated with words and action, but eventually evolved into words only, hence the phrase "well, it works in theory!".

The reason why this word used to mean "words and action" is because it stems from the Hebrew word thorah or torah (תוֹרה)! Torah, of course, means "teaching and instruction", which means nothing if not put into action. It is scripturally incorrect to suggest that YHVH's Torah works ... "in theory".

Shalom Alecheim! ◊