Q&A: Leibowitz and Values
Leibowitz and Values
Question
Hello Rabbi
According to Leibowitz, religion is not a statement about reality but a value-choice. As I understand you, the act of observing Jewish law and serving God is a value-laden act, but faith itself is not a value-laden act; rather, it is an objective matter (God really exists and really revealed Himself to His people at Sinai).
I wanted to ask why you reject the view that religion is a supreme value that one chooses. Why do you think it is a concept connected to objective reality?
Thank you!
Answer
I don’t understand this strange question.
Without God existing and having commanded us to put on tefillin, I see no value at all in such an act. By the same logic, a person could decide that there is some supreme value in redeeming a firstborn donkey from a pig, or in standing on one leg every day at 11 in the morning.
By the way, in my opinion Leibowitz definitely believed in God, and I would also guess that he believed in the giving of the Torah at Sinai.