Q&A: Rabbi, I Have a Personal Problem
Rabbi, I Have a Personal Problem
Question
Rabbi, I truly believe in the value of serving God according to the yoke of Torah and commandments, but the problem is that people are always telling me it isn’t rational, that it’s just bullshit, and they ask me why I believe and say it isn’t rational. They laugh and claim that basically I’ve been brainwashed, and I have nothing to answer them. In the end, you tell yourself maybe they’re right, and eventually I fall.
From your vast experience in dialogue with nonbelievers, and believers as well, do you have any advice for me about what to do?
Answer
You need to distinguish between two types of questions: 1. Skepticism — maybe what you think is not true? 2. What you think is difficult and illogical.
With a question of type 1, there is no way to cope. Even when I answer you, you can cast doubt on my answer too (maybe what I think isn’t true?). So I, as someone who does not believe in skepticism, am not bothered by such questions. After all, by the same token, you can ask them about everything they think: maybe it’s all just a delusion. A question of type 2 assumes there is a difficulty and requires rational arguments. Here you need to think whether your position is more logical than their alternative or not. In my view, it is far more logical. They themselves are living in a fantasy and ignoring very rational considerations (like those laid out in my book The First Existent).
In short, their question is of type 1, and raising such doubts is not much of a feat. As I said, you can also direct similar doubts at them and at anyone else. In my opinion, they are the brainwashed ones, because they ignore rational arguments (I assume they haven’t even seriously considered them), and they disqualify others for their own flaw.
I can only conclude with the words of the Shulchan Arukh at its very beginning: “And one should not be ashamed before those who mock.”