Q&A: Is Every Jew Required to Be a Philosopher?
Is Every Jew Required to Be a Philosopher?
Question
When I have questions or doubts in matters of faith / belief, as I assume everyone does (and if I’m wrong about that, I’d be happy to be corrected), and I choose to believe despite the doubt, am I fooling myself, or is that actually the very essence of faith / belief? Usually, the reasons I choose to believe are also connected to the fact that this is how I was born, and so it seems reasonable to me to believe, though that seemingly isn’t really an argument. Sometimes the reason is a feeling of closeness to God, or after studying a topic carefully, a sense of “what righteous statutes and ordinances,” or sometimes the recognition arises in me that only a person with fear of Heaven can truly be moral even in private (“For I said: surely there is no fear of God in this place…”); especially when I feel this in myself or see the morality of great rabbis. There are also other things like this that cause me to choose faith / belief. Am I on the right path, or do I need to recalculate my route? Am I expected to do a doctorate in philosophy and then try to prove beyond all doubt the existence of God and the truth of the Jewish religion? Is a rabbi / yeshiva head supposed to reach a higher level than an ordinary Jew on this issue?
Answer
Every reasonable person has questions and doubts. When you decide, that doesn’t mean you fooled yourself. Faith / belief is not certain. But the decision should be because this is what seems true to you, not because it is convenient. Whether in your case it’s this or that, only you know.
There is absolutely no necessity to be a philosopher. Each person has his own way of making decisions. I assume that philosophical skill can help a person make a decision and remove self-suspicions, but even that is not necessarily true.
A rabbi or yeshiva head is like any other person in this respect. They are not supposed to be on a different level, and in practice they usually aren’t either.