Q&A: Questions in “Thought”/“Faith”
Questions in “Thought”/“Faith”
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi, I have a few questions on a topic you “love” — “thought” — but I’d ask you to answer seriously and at some length, as much as you can within the limitations…
A. Many Jews who observe Torah and commandments feel that they love God. Can it be explained rationally why one should love God? Another thing: can one explain at all what love is?
B. God created the world and commanded doing good and refraining from evil. Was it His arbitrary decision to determine what would be good and what would be evil, or are the concepts of good and evil really concepts that exist in themselves and were valid somewhere out there in eternity?
C. The Sages used the scientific worldview of their time to understand reality, and on that basis they said things that were written in the Talmud. In addition, they also offered reasonings that they did not receive from Sinai, but rather discussed and analyzed matters according to their own intellect. The medieval authorities expanded on understanding and explaining them, and later authorities after them, and so on and so on. And I ask myself: after all, regarding some scientific conception I can say that a certain amora said something based on an ancient view, and his words are mistaken. Why do we rack our brains so much trying to explain the reasonings of the tanna’im and amora’im, even though we could simply say: hey, this is bizarre reasoning and not correct — it’s a mistake. Why have we created such an extensive Talmudic-halakhic literature around this?
D. Bottom line: why did God create the world?
Thank you very much, and Sabbath peace,
P.S.
Your books are wonderful! And in general, you’ve helped me tremendously with my faith. I’ve absorbed from you so much that it’s impossible to describe or estimate. I don’t necessarily agree with you on every point, but I love hearing your opinion, and you’ve definitely straightened out a lot of things in my head. Keep up the great work and continue to benefit us with your wonderful wisdom and your honest, enlightening words 🙂
Answer
For some reason this question slipped past me. Sorry for the delay. You don’t ex]pect me to answer at length a collection of questions each of which requires an article, and over which pens have been broken and oceans of ink spilled. I’ll answer briefly.
A. Because there is a commandment to love Him. I don’t know how to explain what love is; it seems to me that everyone understands that quite well. About the definition of love toward Him, see Column 22 and the article here:
https://mikyab.net/%D7%9B%D7%AA%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%90%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%98%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%9C%D7%A8%D7%92%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%91%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%94
B. This is the Euthyphro dilemma, and many have discussed it at length. In my opinion, once the world was created, its nature dictates the good and evil that prevail within it. But a different world could have been created, and then good and evil would have been different.
C. Because they have authority in the halakhic realm. All the more so when legal scholars rack their brains analyzing a law book created by a collection of illiterates in the Knesset. The assumption regarding the Sages is that they had sound intuitions, and even if they did not fully grasp the matters and not everything was settled for them, still, with proper analysis this can be done. If you find an error in their words, that’s another matter. But as long as it can be reasonably reconciled, that is the proper thing to do.
D. Next time I meet Him I’ll try to check that for you.
Many thanks
Discussion on Answer
A. No. See my above article.
B. There is no necessity there that argues against what I said. He is praised for acting well in our world. As stated, in our world only this is good. Avi Sagi discussed this at length in his book on religion and morality, and also in his article published in the collection he edited with Statman. I assume an internet search will bring up more sources for you.
C. You won’t be able to do what they instruct if you don’t understand it. Without explaining their position, you won’t be able to observe it. The interpretation is what clarifies the Jewish law they established.
Would the honorable Rabbi please explain why the emphatic “no” in answer A would not lead to the same kind of reading as answer C — “You won’t be able to do what they instruct if you don’t understand it.” Is the distinction that here it’s Torah-level and there it’s rabbinic??!!
Would his honor please explain his question. And please don’t force me to go back and read the whole thread again. With gaps like these, that’s hard for me.
Hello and blessings,
First of all, thank you very much for the answers. You made me laugh out loud when I read answer D.
Regarding what you wrote:
A. The question is whether it is possible to explain why one should love God — or alternatively, feel a desire to cleave to Him, or any similar feeling.
B. In the Torah and in the words of the Sages, the Holy One, blessed be He, is praised for doing good and evil, God of justice, righteousness, and kindness, and so on and so on. If He is the one who decided what is good and what is evil arbitrarily, what exactly are we praising Him for — that He acts according to rules He invented? It seems more reasonable to say that there is absolute good and evil, and that He acts according to them, and therefore we also praise Him for that. By the way, who discusses this dilemma? I’d be happy for references….
C. The Sages do indeed have authority, but why accept their reasonings? After all, this is not essential authority. By the same token, I can accept that the Sages in fact understood nothing, and on the other hand still do what they say because they are a binding authority. But again, binding authority does not necessarily testify to the wisdom of that authority. So I ask again: why should I try to explain their reasonings if they seem to me incomprehensible and even mistaken (assuming I think so in certain passages)?
Thank you very much!