Welcome - part III: Intellectual Humility

אני לא מבין כל מיני דברים
אבל זה לא מפריע לי
כי אני
הקטן שבקטנים

The story is told of a student of the Maggid of Mezritch who fell from the path of Torah.[i] The Alter Rebbe commented that “even as this student began his studies a worm – the ego – was eating at him.” And as I continue to encounter skeptics, and the skeptic within, I see that the worm has only grown. Arrogance, the dual perspective that we understand more than we do and that we must make sense of everything that we do not yet understand, is a sure way to increase emotional dissonance during our intellectual journey in this life.

There are obvious reasons why intellectual humility is called for. Besides the sheer amount of information available today, we seeprogress in our own lives - seeing what we once thought certain overturned and what we once thought ridiculous to become our anthem. "Even Ma'asu ha'Bonim Hayita l'Rosh Pinah." And we see tremendous progress through history. R. Soloveitchik, commenting on a passage in Newman whose most important argument for Christianity was that G-d seems to have rejected the Jewish people, observed, that with the stablishment of the state of Israel this arguement is not as strong. Remember! This argument was around for 1500 years or so and the Jews held on to the string of faith. And of course let us not forget the Rambam's comment on Aristotle's cosmology and the findings of 20th century physics!

Lastly, intellectual humility comes much easier to those with an inclincation for the mystical and mysterious. Quantum physics and paranormal psychology provide good modern day motivations for embracing the mysterious. The bottom line is that we live in a stranger world than most college professors would like to admit. And the more one lives the more they see this with their own eyes.

So, in short, I close with a quote from R. Hirsch (Nineteen Letters, Letter 15): "But do not expect me to be an infallible master. I shall honestly show you where I mystelf am still in doubt and groping in the dark, and shall encourage you to continue studying by yourself."

[i] Perhaps Solomon Maimon?

Welcome - Part II: Emunah

Being that much of the time we will be exploring the fundamental faith propositions of Judaism let me first introduce some thoughts on the process of coming to belief. This introduction should give a good idea of where we are heading and frame future discussions.

The choice to believe is a choice that is constantly made throughout our lives. We make belief-choices in the complicated issues of politics, ethics and religion. But we also commit to beliefs in regard to the most fundamental questions of our identity, history and security. However, our belief commitments are almost never informed by absolute proofs (because outside of 1 + 1 = 2 there are no absolute proofs!). In varying degrees, our beliefs are based on probability, which in turn is based on intuition (see the hakdama to the Milchamos vs. the Cartesian view on knowledge). We shall apply this methodology to religious belief as well. Let us look at the arguments in favor of religious belief and the counterarguments against religious belief, and then let us weigh them.

But before we do so, we must check the “I” making this intuitional judgment. Which arguments are weightier than others depends on who is making the value judgment. An intellectual will find value in an air-tight logical proof; an emotional person will find more value in a strong emotional argument. We furthermore must ask: am I open to religious belief or will I scoff at even the most outstanding arguments, am I open to the spiritual world or am I so caught up in physicality that the very notion of the transcendent is a laughable one? It has been said, for this reason, that only a religious person can truly understand and value religion; only someone who has acquired an internal self can understand and value internal knowledge.

However, even purity of heart is not sufficient for coming to the proper intuitional conclusion. Only through acquiring a deep and wide knowledge of the subject matter (religion, science, philosophy, theology, history, literary theory, the occult etc.) – an expertise – can we hope to develop the proper intuition in these fields. Only through understanding the nuances, the strengths and the weaknesses of the field, can we hope to grasp the specific arguments.

Yet, there is a deeper intuition that does not require expertise in every, or any, field of knowledge. This subtle intuition –what religious people call faith – is more basic than knowledge. It stems from “a subtle inclination from the sensitivity of the soul.” A sensitivity to transcendence and wonder; a sensitivity to holiness and purity. The greatest argument for religious belief is not phrased in the language of the intellect but in the language of the soul. When one senses the Transcendent One in the world and in the Torah, and one’s own transcendent soul, all questions fall away. Yisrael v'Oraysa v'Kudsha Bruch Hu Chad Hu.

Welcome - The Goal

The sea of Torah is an infinitely vast and deep body of knowledge and experience. In her waters we immerse and are washed with purity. We drink her waters and are given life. Today, however, the sea is stormy; ships sink, people drown, waves overpower. The winds of the day are blowing. Confusion abounds, complexity reigns. This world truly is a funny place – ironic, paradoxical, and incongruous. It is a world of contradictions; a world of dialectics. Heaven and earth clash in spirituality and hedonism, faith and science, meaning and disillusionment, individuality and conformity. Man and G-d are once again battling. Some sail to the peaceful waters of the East or to the bays of Western Liberalism, while most seek comfort in the mirage-filled deserts of hedonism. But some choose to stay in the stormy sea of Torah. And until that time when the whole world will be filled with the great hidden light and be inundated with the sweet waters of knowledge, we are drowning in confusion - the Torah has become a potion of death. Some choose to sleep in the holds of the ship but the sons of truth choose to confront the storm. Perhaps they can be saved in the belly of the fish, pleading to the Almighty to ease the winds and bring us to safety – to clarity, to enlightenment, to illumination, to unity. Perhaps through our struggle we will uncover higher lights, deeper waters and wider vistas.

Our way of navigating this storm will not merely be in the one dimension of logos. Our search does not end in the brain but extends to our existential core. Certainly, we must fearlessly encounter the collective winds of the day – the challenges of science and philosophy, the confrontations of history and psychology and, of course, the current Zeitgeist – but we must not forget that ultimately our G-d will be found through our own inner spirituality.

It was once said that our generation is in need of long introductions. The need for introductions, frameworks and organization serves practical, intellectual and religious functions. There is a ‘practical’ need of seeing the general before the particular, grasping the root before the branch. Certainly there are many beliefs and positions held by religion, and Judaism in particular, that will only be understood within the greater context of the religious worldview. In our age, the religious and the secular have grown so far apart; speaking different languages, functioning within wholly different frameworks, believing in radically diverse worldviews. The only way one can understand the specific idiosyncrasies of the religious is by entering into the general perspective of religion. Again, we will do that intellectually and emotionally.

In the world of the intellect we are presented with an overwhelming amount of information, debate and opinions – a wild forest of ideas. Introductions should create and apply methodologies for analyzing and dealing with this vast body. We are in great need of boxes within which to frame our discussions. Light will come to the intellect not through more details, or more bits of knowledge, but through clear methodologies, models and paths.

Lastly, the need for long introductions is a religious need in our search for truth. We are not so immature and naïve as to think that there are no conflicts. There will not be any knock-out arguments for either side. In the serious questions of life the color grey reigns. Full enlightenment is for future times, not for those of mere flesh and blood. Until then we must take the Yiddish idiom seriously: A person doesn’t die from a question. How do we accomplish this feat of acknowledging difficulties but not being fledged with doubts? Only by seeing the bigger picture, the grand view of religious philosophy and experience, will we be able to confidently face those questions that are born – and reborn – in every generation.