Souls in the trees
Hello Rabbi,
I saw a long article in Haaretz newspaper about common beliefs in the East about souls or the reincarnation of souls in trees.
Many people have met the spirits in a dream, or have known people firsthand who experienced temporary possession by a spirit that came from the tree.
I wanted to ask what you think about the matter as a rational person, not a rationalist.
Do you accept this evidence? If not, why do you trust mystical evidence such as the giving of the Torah?
What’s the point of putting a shemita on an omelet? I tend to doubt such testimonies, certainly from individual people (even if many). Regarding the Mount Sinai event, it was a mass event that passed through a broad tradition.
And of course there are good reasons for God's existence in the background, so his revelation sounds plausible.
Obviously, Western logic says to doubt such testimonies, but as soon as a person is a dualist, then he knows that matter and soul exist.
There is no clear connection between matter and soul (which is amazing to do), and therefore, it is possible to think that the soul will appear in all kinds of entities that are not necessarily human, for example animals that clearly seem to have something beyond matter, and possibly even in trees or inanimate objects.
If a person came to me and said that he experienced a revelation from a tree in a dream. Or someone on his deathbed or a child experienced possession by that soul.
Why not accept this? You have to remember that a tree cannot speak, so it is clear that the revelation of a tree will be through another source.
Obviously, if a single person told me this, it would sound a bit strange, but if people from an entire district say this, then it is already much more than a single person….. If you look at the article, you will see that many students and lecturers also believe this.
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The path I have shown you here is very similar to your path of faith to the Mount Sinai stage. So what is different about it?
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