Faith is not necessarily irrational, but nor is it rational. Would one say that the Medieval Jew faced with a choice of accepting Christianity or being burnt at the stake would by reason choose to die? Yet so many did make that choice, I think, because the entire meaning of their existence was wrapped up in the idea that they were partners in a brit, a covenant with Hashem. And for what glorious purpose? Only the work of perfecting the world. And for this they chose Kiddush Hashem, sanctifying Hashem’s name through preserving the meaning of their lives. What to us might seem the act of a religious fanatic was instead a person choosing to live and die in a way that reflected a deep deep faith, not necessarily in the afterlife, but in the integrity of this life.
On a personal level, I think that faith even on a daily basis is neither wholly rational nor not. Rather, it seems to be, if anything, an intuition. Sometimes the world we experience does not seem to justify faith - I am thinking of our hostages being held for two years in the terror tunnels of Gaza. Yet, incredibly, some of the hostages found faith there, an intuition that their captivity was a challenge to find transcendent meaning even there. Even in less extreme circumstances, in our days of immersion in this physical materialistic world, of needs and lacks and distractions, those of faith reach beyond the rational and irrational to sense beyond senses, to intuit the holy that invests our time and space.
A beautiful essay David, and so fitting for these ten days of repentance.
In Hebrew, the words for faith and Art are related. Faith is Emuna- Amen means believe, have faith- and Art- also craft- is Omanut. Artist is Oman. It is written exactly the same: אמן,with the same root letters.
I believe - there we go, again, this is a belief, in this case, in my own intuition- that faith can be understood as an art of the creative “ spiritual” mind, also curative,one that also strengthens our sense of reality and presence in this world, including a need for transcendence, and allows connection with a simultaneously wondrous and terrible world. A God yet to be fully revealed, perhaps even returned to our consciousness, and a humanity still in formation, many thousands of years away from redemption from its dark, savage nature, an understanding of process, history, science and our own obtuse arrogance and narcissism believing - in an erratic kind of faith- that we already have all the answers.
Israel, given a gift of
mind -transformation by the Powers that gift everything to all, an Israel deeply in love and bound ( as per the root religio) to its God, never accepted that they were enslaved, abused , attacked , mistreated, by every passing empire or tribe, which would have meant God had unloved them. No, it was their fault, they learned to blame and shame themselves. But God never abandoned them. God had a special purpose for Israel and it was under the severe forge of the Divine that Israel was, as they understood it, sanctified. Israel was special, unique, fated to dwell alone, strong enough in its understanding of the vastness and incomprehensible infinity of God, of the moral path, ( partial)divinity of every human, not being God itself but the image, an acceptance of accountability, and the non-transactional duty to others, one’s neighbours, one’s kinsmen, the strangers in the land, and also their enemies, whom Israel was commanded to help in times of hardship, though was not obligated to love.
Today more than at any other recent time, Israel needs this kind of faith. “ Timkun Olam” , repairing the world, a kabbalistic idea, was not a core faith of Israel, but “ a light unto the nations” was. Israel intuitively perceived how far ahead their thinking was, and accepted their painful ordeal of never ceasing to fight dearly for survival.
I didn't really begin to understand or internalize faith until I found myself in the deep hole of drug addiction... and realized that my own intellectual resources were insufficient to get me out. I could either trust in a power that I didn't really have a lot of direct evidence for, or I could continue to languish unto death. When I admitted the possibility of God I (quickly) became happier and calmer and steadier. Is that evidence? Probably not, but it's good enough for me!
If you're in a dark place or a situation that feels impossible, give prayer a try. I'm not claiming that anyone is listening or that a miracle will be forthcoming, but your outlook will improve. Your fear will lessen. You will be imbued with a sense of aid and comfort - even if you don't believe in God. That has been my experience, and the experience of hundreds of people similar to me. I know it's a strange claim but I make it all the same.
I appreciated your explication of the issue of salvation through works or faith. Too many people assume that only faith matters because they cannot "work" their way to salvation. But when you read Ephesians in context, you see that it means you cannot just follow the Jewish laws and be saved. You still have to do the works Christ gave everyone: love thy neighbor, care for others. You cannot be faithful to God if you dont faithfully do the simple tasks he gave us.
Faith is not necessarily irrational, but nor is it rational. Would one say that the Medieval Jew faced with a choice of accepting Christianity or being burnt at the stake would by reason choose to die? Yet so many did make that choice, I think, because the entire meaning of their existence was wrapped up in the idea that they were partners in a brit, a covenant with Hashem. And for what glorious purpose? Only the work of perfecting the world. And for this they chose Kiddush Hashem, sanctifying Hashem’s name through preserving the meaning of their lives. What to us might seem the act of a religious fanatic was instead a person choosing to live and die in a way that reflected a deep deep faith, not necessarily in the afterlife, but in the integrity of this life.
On a personal level, I think that faith even on a daily basis is neither wholly rational nor not. Rather, it seems to be, if anything, an intuition. Sometimes the world we experience does not seem to justify faith - I am thinking of our hostages being held for two years in the terror tunnels of Gaza. Yet, incredibly, some of the hostages found faith there, an intuition that their captivity was a challenge to find transcendent meaning even there. Even in less extreme circumstances, in our days of immersion in this physical materialistic world, of needs and lacks and distractions, those of faith reach beyond the rational and irrational to sense beyond senses, to intuit the holy that invests our time and space.
A beautiful essay David, and so fitting for these ten days of repentance.
Fascinating article.
In Hebrew, the words for faith and Art are related. Faith is Emuna- Amen means believe, have faith- and Art- also craft- is Omanut. Artist is Oman. It is written exactly the same: אמן,with the same root letters.
I believe - there we go, again, this is a belief, in this case, in my own intuition- that faith can be understood as an art of the creative “ spiritual” mind, also curative,one that also strengthens our sense of reality and presence in this world, including a need for transcendence, and allows connection with a simultaneously wondrous and terrible world. A God yet to be fully revealed, perhaps even returned to our consciousness, and a humanity still in formation, many thousands of years away from redemption from its dark, savage nature, an understanding of process, history, science and our own obtuse arrogance and narcissism believing - in an erratic kind of faith- that we already have all the answers.
Israel, given a gift of
mind -transformation by the Powers that gift everything to all, an Israel deeply in love and bound ( as per the root religio) to its God, never accepted that they were enslaved, abused , attacked , mistreated, by every passing empire or tribe, which would have meant God had unloved them. No, it was their fault, they learned to blame and shame themselves. But God never abandoned them. God had a special purpose for Israel and it was under the severe forge of the Divine that Israel was, as they understood it, sanctified. Israel was special, unique, fated to dwell alone, strong enough in its understanding of the vastness and incomprehensible infinity of God, of the moral path, ( partial)divinity of every human, not being God itself but the image, an acceptance of accountability, and the non-transactional duty to others, one’s neighbours, one’s kinsmen, the strangers in the land, and also their enemies, whom Israel was commanded to help in times of hardship, though was not obligated to love.
Today more than at any other recent time, Israel needs this kind of faith. “ Timkun Olam” , repairing the world, a kabbalistic idea, was not a core faith of Israel, but “ a light unto the nations” was. Israel intuitively perceived how far ahead their thinking was, and accepted their painful ordeal of never ceasing to fight dearly for survival.
I didn't really begin to understand or internalize faith until I found myself in the deep hole of drug addiction... and realized that my own intellectual resources were insufficient to get me out. I could either trust in a power that I didn't really have a lot of direct evidence for, or I could continue to languish unto death. When I admitted the possibility of God I (quickly) became happier and calmer and steadier. Is that evidence? Probably not, but it's good enough for me!
If you're in a dark place or a situation that feels impossible, give prayer a try. I'm not claiming that anyone is listening or that a miracle will be forthcoming, but your outlook will improve. Your fear will lessen. You will be imbued with a sense of aid and comfort - even if you don't believe in God. That has been my experience, and the experience of hundreds of people similar to me. I know it's a strange claim but I make it all the same.
https://jmpolemic.substack.com/p/two-weeks-in
I appreciated your explication of the issue of salvation through works or faith. Too many people assume that only faith matters because they cannot "work" their way to salvation. But when you read Ephesians in context, you see that it means you cannot just follow the Jewish laws and be saved. You still have to do the works Christ gave everyone: love thy neighbor, care for others. You cannot be faithful to God if you dont faithfully do the simple tasks he gave us.