Q&A: Questions on Faith and Jewish Law
Originally published:
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Questions on Faith and Jewish Law
Question
Rabbi, I have 3 questions that are unrelated to one another:
- The Rabbi said in a lecture that the concept of “God” means one whose instructions must be obeyed. So I wanted to ask: if so, why is the Creator of the world God? Why does the fact that He created the world mean that one must do as He says?
- Is there any problem with praying only the Amidah with a minyan, and saying the rest of the prayer service individually?
- Is it permitted (from a halakhic standpoint) to read digital books (a scanned copy) that were scanned without the permission of the publisher and the author? And if not, is it permitted to read the Rabbi's books in that way?
Thank you very much
Answer
- God, in its literal meaning, is one whose commands must be obeyed. The question then arises: who is God, meaning which entity is one whose commands must be obeyed? One claim is that the one who created the world and us is such an entity, and therefore it is fitting to call Him God. See my article on philosophical gratitude on this matter.
2. I don't know. I don't understand "problems."
3. There is a problem, and no.