Question

Hello Rabbi Michi,
I am currently studying your book Truth and Not Stable, and the following questions came up for me:
A. If the Torah of Moses agrees with "critical thinking" (not skepticism and not fundamentalism), how can it command commandments that require self-sacrifice?
Seemingly, self-sacrifice does not come from cold intellect but from deep feeling, from intense and unrestrained love for something—so how can "critical thinking" lead to such a great sacrifice?
B. A psychological idea occurred to me about the deep need for certainty in the realm of religion, and a proposed solution to religious skepticism; I would be glad to hear the Rabbi's opinion about it:
I have been noticing this phenomenon for many years: when it comes to clarifying the foundations of religion (the existence of God, reward and punishment, Torah from Heaven, etc.), people are not satisfied with "cold intellect" but look for existential philosophy or "decisive proofs." But when it comes to questions that are no less important—moral questions—people blurt out answers hastily without serious thought. Could this inconsistency be explained by saying that those same people turn to philosophy in religious matters not in order to weigh whether their religion is really true in their eyes, but rather to prove to themselves that they are in the right place? Maybe these are really religious psychological longings that need to be dealt with in an existential-psychological way rather than a philosophical one, because philosophy is pointless for them.
Of course I am not rejecting the study of philosophy, only suggesting that the type of engagement should be matched to personal tendencies.
Thank you for your investment in publicizing the Rabbi's philosophy; I hope you succeed in that…