Faith definition

If I understand the rabbi's words correctly, does this mean that I know with my mind that the ’ exists?

yes

Who is the “team” Did Rabbi Michael Avraham answer the questions?

Where is there a “team”? If there is, it's probably me. But I don't see such a nickname here

I am writing a long response here because I heard the rabbi say very difficult things that faith is not certainty and that we need to stop explaining it this way because it breaks people who later discover that they have doubts, and in my humble opinion these people did not know what faith is and therefore are broken, but that does not mean that faith is doubtful. First, I will address the rabbi's answers 1. If faith is a synonym for knowledge and has no meaning of its own, why do we use so many unnecessary words in the Torah and the prophets? And in general, are there unnecessary words in the Torah that are only synonyms? After all, the word knowledge is written in the Torah in different forms, and the word faith in other times. Does the Torah intend the same word and only for the sake of literary beauty does it change its meaning?! A simple understanding is that every word has a deep root and meaning in the Torah and not just a synonym (as many first and last did, to extend and explain the meaning of the words) and certainly a word so significant that it revolves around all of man's affairs in the world and how many books have been written and things have been said on the subject is it just a synonym for knowledge?! 2. The root of the word Emunah is from the word Amen (watches after a blessing) - there is no letter “T” in the word Emunah and therefore it is not from the word Emet, and Amen means to confirm the thing, the question is to confirm what? - We can also say that it is from the root of the word Uman (who creates art) and we need to understand the connection between Emunah and art 3. Many verses are not understood at all in light of this interpretation “The righteous by his faith will live” - Is the meaning in his intellectual knowledge? “And his hands will be Emunah” Did his hands know intellectually that there is a God? First, who is like our teacher, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hacohen Kook, who encompassed the entire revealed and hidden Torah in his knowledge and phenomenal holiness, and who expanded so much on the subject of faith and how many ways and aspects of explanations in order to come closer to understanding what faith is in general and how to recognize it in our souls, and the things are long (Lights of Faith, Virtues of Faith, Articles of Faith, Eight Books, The Beginning of the Morality of Your Father, and more) but certainly according to his words, faith is not in the mind but a self-power in the soul of man that certainly gives a person certainty, just as I am certain that I am alive and I do not need proof of this and not because of my intellectual knowledge on the subject but because of this “power” called faith in the soul of man which is greater than the intellectual power that needs proof. And a little bit about his words: “Faith is neither reason nor emotion, but the more fundamental self-revelation of the essence of the soul, which must be guided in its nature. And when there are no corrupters on its natural path, it does not need any other content to sustain it, but it finds everything on its own. When its light weakens, then reason and emotion come to pave the way for it. And even then it must know its value, that of its servants – reason and emotion – they are its very essence. And when it is firmly established in its place, then reason and emotion will succeed in clearing the way and in inventing the intellectual and moral means that remove the obstacles from its path… ” In answer to 2 above, faith from the root of the artist means that the artist is the Almighty, and we are his art, and just as an artist imprints his soul in the creation and we can recognize something that is transmitted to us from the artist's soul through his creation, so we are the creation of the Almighty and in us is imprinted, as it were, a part of him, blessed be he, and this is the very essence of our life “Man Danfah from Diya Nafah” and this part is the affirmations that we have built in him in the artist, in the creator, and it is the connection between us - the very life that we have built in him, which is the connection between the creation and the creator. In addition, it is also from the root of the artist - which means to affirm that by the very fact that we live and our lives are from him, then we affirm the artist of the creation because there is life here that emanates from the source of life and affirms it and testifies to it, and therefore the very essence of life is faith, long before our intellect and knowledge, because the intellect is only one of the powers of the soul, which is the same life connected to its creator. From what can be brought in the words of the first and last to strengthen these explanations, for example (I sometimes added a question that shows why this does not fit with the interpretation of knowledge in the mind) Ras”3 Amunot and Deot – why does he call his book by two synonymous words? Is it not enough to say beliefs or opinions? And what does he mean by the following: And when I stood on these foundations and the evil of their consequences, my heart was moved to the various human species, and my soul was troubled by our nation, the Children of Israel, from what I have seen in my time that many of the believers do not have pure faith and their opinions are incorrect, a clear distinction appears: there is faith that is without correct knowledge and it is called an unpure faith. And nothing is clearer than his following words: “And the Creator protected us from all these troubles, all of them quickly, and sent us His messengers and told us in the Haggadah and showed us with our own eyes signs of His presence and miracles in which no doubt intervened… And we have pledged to believe in His Torah from what our eyes have seen and our ears have heard, and if the time to study it is prolonged until its study is complete, it will not perceive it… because all humans are equal in sensory knowledge, may the wise leader be praised. And for this you see in the Torah a grouping in many places of women and sons and fathers in the remembrance of the signs and wonders” (Beliefs and Opinions towards the end of the introduction). Note: A belief that is not built on study and is certain following our seeing and hearing R’ Yosef Albo, Book of the Principles “Belief in a thing is the thing that is depicted in the soul, a strong painting ” Note: Why doesn't he say knowledge why a strong painting of the soul what is he trying to say? Book of the Barren – First Article Chapter 18 For this you will find that the Lord said to Moses at the time of death, "Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear the words of your people, and also believe in you forever (Exodus 19). That is, I want to verify for them the reality of prophecy itself, I will die myself, and also to verify for them that you are sent from Me to give Torah through you, and this is in themselves that they will attain to the height of prophecy, and in this the reality of prophecy itself will be confirmed for them, and furthermore that they will hear Me speaking to you when I want to give Torah through you, and this is I will die myself for prophecy and the mission of the messenger, and for this it is impossible for there to remain after that honorable position any doubt or any fear of forgery, since in that position, the second thing that is necessary to verify the reality of Torah from heaven, the first the reality of prophecy, since all of them were prophets at that time and heard the voice of the Lord, God tells them the Ten Commandments and the second one who heard the voice says to Moses, Go and tell them, Return to your tents, and you stand here by me, and I will tell you all the commandments, statutes, and judgments which you shall teach them and do in the land, etc. (Deuteronomy 5:17) And in this I will prove to them that I will die myself, because Moses was a messenger to give a permanent Torah to the generations through him: Note: Belief according to his words comes from prophetic power, which confirms the word, and not from intellectual proofs. Which are doubtful proofs. Rather, it is certain proof, like the proof of prophecy. Rambam, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, Moses our master, Israel did not believe in him because of the signs which he performed, because he who believes according to the signs has a flaw in his heart, that the sign may be made manifest and like a sorcerer. And in what did they believe in Him at the presence of Mount Sinai, which our eyes saw and not a stranger, and our ears heard and not after the fire and the voices and the torches, and He approached the mist and the voice spoke to Him and we heard Moses, Moses, go tell them thus and thus... Before this thing they did not believe in loyalty that lasts forever, but loyalty that is followed by reflection and thought... and Rial... which many times repeats this in Kuzari and builds for us a foundation that faith is evidence (eye sight) and not intellectual proof. The Book of Kuzari... First Article, Letter A... L... I believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, and sustained them in the wilderness, and gave them the land of Canaan as their inheritance after He had led them across the sea and the Jordan with many wonders, and who sent Moses to them in His Torah, and after him thousands of prophets, all of whom called to His Torah, with its goal of a good reward for every one who observes it and a punishment for every one who transgresses it. We believe in all that is written in this Torah, and the words are long: (12) The Khozari said: It was not for nothing that I decided at first not to ask the Jews about my knowledge, because the chain of Kabbalah with them was severed long ago and their knowledge has diminished because their poverty did not leave them with a good standard, and why did you not have the right to say that you are a Jew because you believe in the Creator of the world and its order and its leader, who created you and who sustains you, your bread and your law, and similar divine titles in which every religious person will believe, and because of which he strives for truth and justice in his desire to resemble the Creator in His wisdom and justice: (13) The companion said: What you say is correct regarding the religion that is founded on Logic and a mechanism for leading a religious state, which indeed stems from study, but many doubts fall into it, and if you ask philosophers about it, you will not find them agreeing on a single fact or on a single opinion, because such a religion is built on claims that only some of which philosophers can prove with examples, and for others they are only allowed to bring sufficient evidence, and it is not permissible to bring even sufficient evidence for them, even if they prove them with examples:” Religion should not be built on intellectual evidence, according to the opinion of the Kuzari, but rather on a faith-based vision (*eye-sight) that does not require intellectual proof after it. (14) The Kuzari said: I see that your words, Jew, are more acceptable than the opening words, and I now want to continue and listen to your words: (15) The friend said: However, the opening of my words is the example. Greater than this is the vision (*eye-sight) that does not require either vision or example. Conclusion: A person has the ability of faith-based vision that is above proofs and intellectual evidence according to the words of the Rabbi, and also in the continuation of the book of the Kuzari, 4th article, letter A, 1st article No, this study that we found in the Book of Creation was the study of our forefather Abraham when the unity of God and His sovereignty had already become clear to him, but he had not yet been granted revelation. However, after he had been granted revelation, he abandoned all difficulties and did not ask God's people, but rather to be at his will, after God had learned what the will is, what He will achieve and in what place. And the wise men had already demanded the article of the Scripture and taken it out, "Get out of your snobbery," that is, he abandoned the wisdom of the stars and all the wisdom of nature that suffices, and every book of Plato about a prophet in the generation of Marinus who said, according to a vision that came to him from God, to a philosopher who tried very hard to be granted revelation of God by studying philosophy. "You will not reach me in this way, but through those who are placed as intermediaries between me and the creatures of His will, to say, the prophets and the laws of truth." The Book of the Khozari, Fifth Article, Letter A, 28. Our belief in the truth of these opinions is not proven by studying, because if that were the case, we would need an endless chain of scholars. Therefore, in the speaking soul there is a divine creation that adheres to this creation. If it did not include a general intellectual form, it could not have been created in the speaking soul. However, everything that has a mental form included in its essence is an immaterial entity. Therefore, this creation is a mental entity that is not in the body but exists in its intellectual essence. And here is what the soul creates for itself in the forms is perfection for the soul, but it reaches this perfection only when it adheres to that intellectual essence. Another explanation of what that faith-based evidence is: that connection in the soul to the divine creation and to the general intellect, which, in contrast to all intellectual knowledge, is certain!!! The certainty of the prophecy revealed to the prophet. Maharal, The Path of Faith, Chapter 2 Habakkuk said, "Come, Habakkuk, and set them on one, as it is said, 'The righteous will live by his faith.'" This is because the believer's concern is that he submits himself to God, the Blessed One, and trusts in Him, and does not depart from God, the Blessed One, in any way. This is the concern of faith, in which he clings to God, the Blessed One, completely, and therefore he has adherence to God, the Blessed One, through faith. When a person believes in God, the Blessed One, with all his heart, he clings to God, the Blessed One, and does not depart from Him. This is also complete perfection, because all the commandments that a person must have are adherence to God, the Blessed One, and therefore he said that he set them on one. Faith is a bond, and adherence to God, the Blessed One, is not intellectual knowledge, according to the words of the Maharal. “And his hands were faith” Ramban”s on Exodus chapter 17 verse 12 (12) and the meaning And his hands were faith that stood and were established in their loftiness, as the language of the poets, a word every day (Nehemiah 11:23), and so we make a covenant (Isa. 11:11), a thing that stands in a covenant, and so is the peg driven into a faithful place (Isaiah 22:23) Strengthen me on Exodus chapter 17 verse 12. Every thing that stands in its strength and standing and does not weaken and does not diminish from the quantity was called faith, as in Exodus chapter 17 verse 12, and I drove it into a faithful place, whose translation on the existing site is not related to Abarbanel's doubts about the Torah – Exodus Chapter 17 Verse 8-16 There are commentators who say, “And his hands were faith,” which is the meaning of the words of Moses, which the Israelites saw with their own eyes, that when the man of Israel lifted them up, they had great faith in Moses’ devotion to the name of the Blessed One and His holiness: The commentary of the Elsheikh, p. 81; Book of the Torah of Moses on Exodus Chapter 17 Verse 8-12 His hands were faith, because when the Israelites saw the matter of Moses’ hands, that when Moses lifted up his hand, the man of Israel would be strong, and when he would let it rest, etc. That is, because by holding their hearts to heaven, they would see the providence as spoken of above, by the hands of Moses. In this they acquired the nature of faith, that the Lord was among them. Isn’t it simpler to say, “They knew”? Book of Netivot Olam I Path of Faith Chapter 2 And I will betroth you to me in faith, because the bridegroom is the union with the Lord, and this is through faith, which is the adherence to Him, that He will be established. And so great is the faith that the Holy Spirit ministered to them, all from the side of the complete adherence that the one who has faith has, which reaches to infinity, as is known in the secret of faith: What is the great secret in intellectual knowledge of the Lord? What is the complete adherence that reaches to infinity? Is it only intellectual knowledge that there is a Lord? No? Book of Wisdom Sometimes – Part 1 – Requirement 3 for the second day of Sukkot, which was the reason that Israel believed in complete faith in His providence, the Blessed One, and they came out from under the burdens of the heavenly hosts. And this was necessary until the sun came, the head of the planets, because after its setting it is already clear that its power is not absolute. And this is what they said, while Israel was looking upward, meaning when they in their wisdom looked at the stars and their instructions and saw and knew clearly that evil was before them according to their judgment and now they did not consider it as anything, but they enslaved their hearts to their Father in heaven, acknowledged in their hearts and enslaved themselves to believe that the absolute power is theirs, the Almighty, who rides the heavens and is Lord over them, then they would increase their faith against their clear knowledge, the Book of Light and Sun, Parashat Beshalach, 4:1-2. But he said that Moses' power was to increase faith in the hearts of Israel when he strengthened his hand and they held on to faith and Israel strengthened. And when he laid his hand down and rested, he meant to say when he could not establish the root of faith in their hearts, then Amalek prevailed. And what they said in the Gemara when they were enslaving their hearts to their Father in Heaven, meaning in the secret of complete faith and Israel's strength, and when their thinking became confused, he wanted to say that the action of Amalek impressed on their hearts to come to the satisfaction of God, then and Amalek became stronger. And this is and Moses' hands were heavy, he wanted to say that Moses' strength was heavy for him to hold them in faith. And they took a stone, he wanted to say a drinking stone, which is the faith of Israel, meaning the kingdom of heaven, and they placed it under him and supported his hands, he wanted to say to strengthen him so that he would have the strength in his hands to instill complete faith in the hearts of the children of Israel. Would Moses have increased the knowledge in their minds that He is great and thereby overcome doubts? Would there have been philosophical discussions there throughout the night? And why did the doubts disappear, since knowledge is always doubtful. And many more sources

And we say amen.
You can publish a collection of sources for the benefit of the public. Here we usually discuss arguments. And I have not found an argument in all of this.
All the best.

1. You said in one of your conversations that if you prove you are wrong, you will change your mind. This is probably a nice statement without any cover-up. It is much easier to say I was wrong than to belittle.
2. My main argument that you missed is similar to the argument that you made with great humility about Einstein and Dickens, that someone who does not understand philosophy has nothing to do with their words in philosophy - which I agree with by the way.
So I would say that someone who does not know what the definition of faith is and in any case indicates that he does not understand the beginning of the study of faith has nothing to do with their words on the subject of faith.
3. I heard you at the publication of your book God Plays Dice and I was very impressed. There you responded to an atheist in such a respectful and beautiful way, as well as in your discussion with one of the secular philosopher poets. But apparently because you saw that I am not secular, the response became dismissive.
Unfortunately, from the dismissive response here and from things you said in other places that I have only just been exposed to about such and such rabbis in wild generalizations (which probably if they were Atheists or secularists would be treated differently) and so would the Prime Minister and more..
Your words have lost all value in my eyes, which I think the readers should also understand.