Q&A: Attitude Toward Other Beliefs
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Attitude Toward Other Beliefs
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Toward the end of the first book in the trilogy (The First Existent), you presented two possible ways of looking at other beliefs:
- A multiplicity of revelations
- A fair attitude (on God’s part toward those who hold them against their will)
Regarding this I have several questions:
- Is there an early source (Tannaim, medieval authorities, etc.) for this view, or is this your own original proposal?
- If we accept the second possibility, there are two problems (as I understand it):
A. All religions become equally plausible — if a person who holds another belief carries out the logical process you presented in your book and succeeds in proving the plausibility of his belief, then how can we decide between the different beliefs (without resorting to option A)?
B. If we do succeed in proving that the Jewish tradition is the most reliable, we are left with a general faith question: why did God create a world in which only a tiny fraction of those living in it (the Jews) have the possibility of living according to His will (because they are not compelled to believe something else), while everyone else is compelled to live in a way that does not conform to His will (while believing that it is His will)?
Answer
- I’m not familiar with one. Some version of it appears in Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook’s book To the Perplexed of the Generation.
- Who says it can be decided? Each person is supposed to decide according to the best of his understanding, and will be treated accordingly (even if he was mistaken).
Discussion on Answer
First, people have free choice, and the possibility of choosing was given to everyone. By the same token, you could ask why the Holy One, blessed be He, created the evil inclination and gave us free choice.
But beyond that, who says that someone who chooses another religion is mistaken? He worships God according to his own approach.
Regarding answer 2: “We are left with a general faith question: why did God create a world in which only a tiny fraction of those living in it (the Jews) have the possibility of living according to His will (because they are not compelled to believe something else), while everyone else is compelled to live in a way that does not conform to His will (while believing that it is His will)?”