Translation Into Life

When Abraham comes to the Land of the Philistines, he feels he must protect himself from the lawless and immoral inhabitants, taking several unusual measures in order to help insure his safety, including claiming that Sarah was his sister, so that he would not be murdered in order to steal his wife. When asked why he did this, he provides several explanations, including that he had arranged with Sarah at the beginning of his wanderings, to support his claim in this regard. "When G-d made me wander from my Father's house..." The traditional Aramaic translation of the Torah, written by Onkelos, a Roman nobleman who had given up everything in order to convert to Judaism, reads "When the Nations strayed after the works of their own hands (idols), G-d brought me to His fear..." The great eleventh century commentator, Rashi, writes "Onkelos translated the way he translated", but proceeds to explain the verse in a more literal way. This is generally understood to mean that he didn't think that Onkelos' translation was giving the actual, simple meaning. However, there is another understanding here that is mentioned in our literature. "Onkelos translated the way he translated" means that Onkelos had translated theory into action. "When nations strayed after the works of their own hands..." was the story of HIS nation, his family, indeed, himself at a younger age. But "G-d brought me to His fear..." is expressing his thankfulness. Now, although he had given up fame and fortune, family and friends, he was grateful that he had come to know the one true G-d.
Yes, we are meant to live according to the Torah. But we each must know how to translate it into our lives, within the guidelines of G-d's commandments. We each have a story, and that story must be itself a commentary on the Torah. We each must "translate it the way we translate it".