Elie Wiesel: Unconditional Love for God and His Creation

It is in my faith that love for Hashem should be unconditional.  Therefore, I look up to Elie Wiesel; the man in the picture.  His love for Hashem was also unconditional. 

I am not a Jew (or a Christian), but I loved Hashem first (see * for explanation below), when I was at my worst, and in return He gave me a wonderful life beyond my wildest dreams as a child**. 

At my lowest, in college, I was an atheist addicted to the opiates gliadorphin and casomorphin.  I probably also had severe sleep apnea, because after college I was given a sleep study, and I slept for 45min having 54 apneas in that 45min.  Just imagine getting 1hr of sleep a day on opium for years on end.  I had also been hospitalized for psychosis, and treated with psychotropic drugs.  I worked at a golf course, where one of my fellows dictated, "Craig is the tiredest human being on earth."  While I was suffering greatly, the idea of G-d was maddening.  Then, Hashem spoke to me, an unlocatable voice out of creation that said, "I am punishing you."  I had faith, and boldly (I had nothing to lose that I know of.) retorted back to Hashem, "Why are you punishing me?"  Hashem responded, "I get everyone sooner or later. (Deuteronomy 31:20 chabad.org - ...Then, they will turn to other deities and serve them, provoking Me and violating My covenant.)" So I believed, not because I assumed or demanded He would shower me with gifts, yet I testify divine reward and punishment are real things.  As an atheist, I received divine punishment.  As a believer in Hashem, I was eventually rewarded.  

It is now absolutely a joy to be alive, and I trust that no matter what, I love Hashem in the way that I love my wife, Meghan, and I believe with trust comes blessing. However, with Hashem, like my pet turtle; I don’t love her because she is smart, or because she does anything. She is a turtle, a reptile, and would eat me alive without knowledge of doing right or wrong if I let her. I love G-d in the way that I love creation, big animals, small animals, plants and beyond. There is nothing about creation that I think is appropriate to hate or judge Hashem for.

The answer to problems is love, not love that says if I do this then Gd will give me such and such, but to accept all of His creation, and to observe His commandments, regardless, as Elie Wiesel put on tefillin, as did many others, during the Holocaust. I think sometimes Hashem tests us to see if we actually do love Him unconditionally with a love dependent on nothing.  That may be the reason behind the Holocaust, I don’t know, but I do know the answer is always to love Hashem with a love similar to the love of David and Jonathan, a love dependent on absolutely nothing at all.
Torah that comes to mind (from chabad.org):

***Ethics of the Fathers 5:16. Any love that is dependent on something--when the thing ceases, the love also ceases. But a love that is not dependent on anything never ceases. What is [an example of] a love that is dependent on something? The love of Amnon for Tamar. And one that is not dependent on anything? The love of David and Jonathan.

****Ethics of the Fathers 1:3. Antignos of Socho received the tradition from Shimon the Righteous. He would say: Do not be as slaves, who serve their master for the sake of reward. Rather, be as slaves who serve their master not for the sake of reward. And the fear of Heaven should be upon you.

This is different from Jesus teaching in his "Sermon on the Mount."  It is different because I believe one should seek Hashem first, not the kingdom, and expect nothing in return.

Matthew 6:33 in the Authorized King James Version of the Bible: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

* "Malachi 1:3 And I hated Esau, and I made his mountains desolate and his heritage into [a habitat for] the jackals of the desert. " - chabad.org

** Rambam - Edut - Chapter 13:2
Converts are not considered as relatives. Even two twin brothers who convert may testify on each others behalf. For a convert is considered as a newborn child.

***This is a comparison of my version of ideal love for Hashem.  It is the way David loved Jonathan, and also the way Elie Wiesel loved Hashem.

****This is another comparison of my ideal version of love for G-d.  Serve the L-rd demanding absolutely nothing in return in the way that a good employee shouldn't serve their boss/manager for the sake of rewards, such as money.

Logic and Faith Meet

In geometry, consider the size of a point.  Mystically, the size of a point can’t be determined.  Tell me how big a point is, and I’ll reduce it by half.  Tell me again, and I will cut it in half again, and so on. Geometry does not tell us the size of a point, or even prove that a point exists.  Now consider two points, on the Cartesian plane, and draw a line between them.  Because you don’t know the exact size of the points, you can’t know the exact size of the connecting line, and so on. It can be said that it is important that the points are relatively the same size in order for calculations to become closer to an equality, but rarely are two points or two shapes, or even copies of points and shapes equal. The job of an engineer is to say, "Close enough." However, if one point is big, and one is small, in the real world, it can effect the size of a line.

Judaism has answers for this; the logistic size of points, and line on the Cartesian plane.  We assume a "yud" is a point. In the same way, we assume the existence of a point is possible , so too we are able to have faith in G-d without logistical proof.

This is a letter yud:

We just believe that a point can exist because of a mystical meaning of the Hebrew letter “yud.”  How big is a yud?  It is the size that it is.

Likewise, we can fill the Cartesian plane with lines and shapes because of the mystical meaning of the Hebrew letter “tes.” Tes is like a pregnant woman. In creation, tes was pregnant and gave birth to the universe, in the same way that a mother gives birth.

This is the letter tes:

Ubiquitous Cosmological Evidence of G-d Still Not Enough for Some Atheists

Acceptance of Gd, as He is on His terms, and not on your opinion of how G-d should be, is one of most important acts anyone can do. That is what religionists refer to as faith.

Richard Dawkins, probably the foremost atheist in this time concludes that in atheism he has found remarkable Darwinian “grandeur,”

Charles Darwin was not known as a poet, but he produced a lyrical crescendo in the last paragraph of On the Origin of Species.

"Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death,[i] the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved." - Charles Darwin

but then Dawkins deems those same acts of nature to be too horrible for him to consider a deity's involvement.

“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”

― Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

That is a verifiable contradiction.

Can anyone see the error of Dawkins' logic?  Logic such that if Hashem creates it, then according to Dawkins, no matter what, it is as if it were created by a hateful, devilish, hideous being, like the picture.



Yet, if there is no Gd, and something becomes created, then according to Dawkins this is surely worthy of remarkable praise, such as in the case of this woman. this:

Faith Is Magical Thinking

At times I have been accused of magical thinking, but this is what I know; Hashem tells us this:

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that YHWH thy God, He is God; the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations;

And this,

Deuteronomy 7:15 And YHWH will take away from thee all sickness; and He will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee, but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.”

Now, I can’t say that I have never been sick, or that I have always been faithful.  I struggled with mental illness, and opiates, which to me these are the “Evil diseases” I knew at my worst.  Even to this day, I have a few allergies.

However, Hashem’s word promises me that he will keep me free from sickness, in return for obedience, and that is precisely what I experience.

I do my best to follow His commands, and this is what I get:  I have never been vaccinated against the flu, yet it has been several years since I have had any viral infection.  In addition, it has been at least 20yrs since I have had a bacterial infection, going back to one time in high school when I had small one under my toenail, probably from the boys locker-room.  This seems like magical thinking indeed, but I don't care because it works, sort of; one must do in addition to acquiring belief!  At one time I had a job that dealt with sewage, and I still didn’t get sick, not even once!

Therefore I suggest that one can live free from disease through religion, but it’s not as if one can state that he or she has faith and continue to doubt Torah.  One must have faith first, and possibly prove later.

As a former atheist, I am not going to be able to tell you that everything in this existence is reasonable, or provable.  We may never be able to study about Hashem in a quantifiable way, or to understand before doing.  If that sort of thinking is an obstacle for you, then I truely feel sorry for you.

Note: Quotes from 1917 JPS Corrected version.

Idol or G-d: Is truth discernible?

One man's God is the next man's idol! How profound. Just say that and put the next evangelist that tries to save you in a pickle. It reminds me of a comical skit from The State. Old fashioned man proclaims [license taken], “I believe in the one true G-d,” dramatic pause “And his name is Zoro and he is living in that lake,” which is followed by the old fashioned man humorously whistling at the end of the short clip.

watch the skit here:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpiw-ng5wkQ

I have never heard apologetics from any religion that address this maddening issue, which is that once we establish that there is a G-d, we fall flat on our faces in details, not minor details, but MAJOR DETAILS!, such as what the name of G-d is, but the where, the when, the why, and the how, so I will tell it: The details are up to Gd Himself, not me. However, I have a function too. As a faithful follower of Hashem, my role is to be as His instrument in order that His will may be done. He doesn’t need me to be His instrument, but through His unfathomable ways he has chosen to work through humankind.

Want to know how I came to faith? When I was an atheist at Rutgers, G-d spoke to me and instantaneously I believed. G-d said, "I AM punishing you." There was nothing not to believe about that Voice, and it caused me great joy because I never knew Gd could be capable of retribution, and not only that but that He also cared enough about me enough to speak with me. In my opinion, Hashem chose to speak to me when I was at my lowest because I felt like I had nothing to lose. I would try anything. Had he spoken to me in less dire circumstances, I may have brushed it off without changing. That is how I feel about folks when I tell them about G-d and they roll their eyes or deny that He has spoken with me. Like me in the good times, I expect that they wouldn’t change a thing.

Pain or Suffering Problems?

While suffering exists in this age, we must believe Gd is omnipotent. Why then does Gd allow horrid things if He can stop any disease like magic?

To allow disease is not a sign of Gd’s impotence, even if it is a condition that is chronic and/or causing excruciating pain. Just as a rich man may lose everything in seconds, so to can any creature suffer disease. Similarly, as any man may gain a fortune in seconds, so to can we receive speedy recovery from any and every chronic disease.

Hashem desires for us to do His will; that we wrestle to understand His ways. He longs for us to choose Him through hearkening to His call. He desires for us to love Him, all of us, from the most pious king to the lowliest worm, but only of our own accord. While we don’t know why some may suffer; we know justice must prevail, either divine reward or divine punishment, according to our deeds. 

We can’t have faith and believe in the possibility of the incurable!

Maimonides taught that to deny Moshiach’s coming, and subsequently the arrival of a world without suffering, is equivalent to denial of Torah in its entirety. Thus, we are able to derive that in the age of Moshiach, pain and suffering will cease because of our own doing, as then we will be completely occupied with our relationship with G-d; that is when G-d gets His way, and if we love G-d then His way is our ideal.

Rather, than stumbling blocks, the existence of pain and suffering should be motivators for us to help Gd achieve His ultimate goal; peace on earth.

The Journey to Eden

Following our seemingly endless slavery in Egypt, on the way to a homeland I call Eden; we encountered a sea of hope, and faith.  The end was almost in sight, but we were unsure of ourselves.  We said, “What if Hashem abandons us?  What if this is all a fluke?”  We had seen miracles, but we had also experienced great horrors.  Indeed, we were scared.

We didn’t yet know if we could trust in Gd, and to this day some of us still question such things saying, “How can a loving and powerful Gd allow something such as the Holocaust?”

We need to dream or Gd can never part the sea for us.

We need Hashem, because nothing short of a miracle is what we should expect when we have the Author of the cosmos on our side.

Faith in Hashem's Providence

I am really liking Pandora. Today is my first day trying it because we now have internet. This stuff is so inspirational for me to practice while it is playing in the background. It has occurred to me that all this guitar practice may one day lead to a paying job. However, if I have one student who is successful, - even if it is learning only patterns that help with memory, not necessarily a gig - and has no money, I would take that over several students that were not serious, but padded my bank account. Gd is not money. Work with what you have, money or not, and I have a firm belief that anything is possible with faith.

Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 25 that salvation is by deeds, while Galatians 2 contradicts. How can these be reconciled?

Matthew reports (The Sheep and the Goats verses 31-46):

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever deeds you did for the one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
For I was hungry and you did good deeds by giving me something to eat, I was thirsty and you did good deeds by giving me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,…Take your inheritance, the kingdom
‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the fire,…’  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat…


In Galations 2:21, Paul writes: “for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.” And 2:16, “know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.”

DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) and Faith

In study of “Dialectical Behavioral Therapy,” I find that DBT is relevant to faithfulness.  DBT understands that our mind is a product of reason and emotions.  Where reason and emotions overlap, there is wisdom to be found.

Faith that comes from the gut, loving-kindness, causes our hearts to ache for those without faith, as victory comes to those with faith.

Faith may also be rational, connecting to the Mind.  Faith explains why some live blessed and why some don’t.  Undersized, malnourished children, with bellies full of worms, AIDS, and malaria; such persons are charged with having to respect their ancestors, even though their ancestors are to blame.  Torah explains this horror.

Yet, my reality is such that when I experience something good, I give thanks.  I thank Gd for not making me like the other man.  Time, reason, tells me my reality will unfold according to Hashem’s blessings, because as though I am puffed up, the righteous will live by my kind of faith (Habakkuk 2:4), both Jew and gentile.

We Are More than Rocks as Our Souls Give Us Animation

Though the universe is soulful; for example Aaron drew water from rock, what makes the human soul special is that it can operate at higher levels than rocks, and even still at higher levels than other species.  The soul is the part that animates.

For instance; there is the animal soul that makes it such that some of us experience hunger.  A rock will probably never feel hungry, and because of that, what we believe hunger is an inclination to evil.  That makes the souls of beasts higher than that of inanimate objects.

Another level of the soul that I believe even monkeys, and especially mother’s of other higher level species can do is empathy.  Although I can’t say every human is capable of empathy.  It is usually very apparent when a human lacks it.  Though it is difficult for family members, and close people to deal with a human lacks the level of the soul that is a conscience: I feel pity for someone who never experiences empathy.  That is the appropriate response for such a person.

Because of Hashem, I Have Endless Hope

I love that I have hope through faith. I have faith that we can do things even so great that we can change the weather for better through good deeds, including faith. My Gd is an awesome G-d of which there is no feat that He can’t accomplish, and I am grateful He allows me access to some of His power. Life has taught me that faith and keeping Hashem’s commands is the pathway to paradise on earth. It is beyond me why anyone would doubt this, given what I have seen happen in my life.

Hashem has performed many miracles in my life, such that I believe that there is nothing I can’t accomplish through Him. Hashem has always answered my greatest prayers and I have no reason to believe that He will stop answering them, provided that I delight in the Lord. Being married with children is an awesome feat that I have accomplished through Hashem. I have the best wife and child on earth. Additionally, through Hashem I have experienced great healing, and this healing is one of the reasons why it may seem that being married with my wife, and having a son may have seemed like a modest goal, but to me it is a real one; huge that is. Back when I was suffering for years on end I used to pray to no avail, as I did not pray to Gd, that he would even grant me a gift so small, as it may seem to others, the gift of being able to hear two people in conversation. Thus, it is such that when I had faith in Hashem, I experienced great healing. Now it is easy for me to hear such a conversation, as Hashem worked through a doctor who was able to heal me.

Even still with all that I have accomplished, I believe even greater things will come into my life. As far as it concerns me the goals that I have already mentioned where so great that they were as far as the east is from the west. Who knows, I have seen such amazing things happen in my life to me, that maybe I will conquer another goal, to live forever, as Hashem has taught me that no dream is too big to dream.

Craigism and Being a Craigist

One of the best gifts I hope my son will learn from me is to be a freethinker. I hope that he sees this in that I am a Craigist, and my religion is Craigism, and that legitimately I am not a Jew. That faith didn't confer what religion one belongs to puzzled Alex, because he has learned that religion depends on faith. That is why I had to explain to him that I am a Craigist. And, what is a Craigist, but someone who is their own disciple. The goal is for him to have a Higher Power, and gradually strip away the ideas that are incoherent or incorrect, according to Judaism, but still allow Alex the freedom to disagree with me, and for me not to judge him for it.

A Letter to Doctor Bart D. Ehrman

Dear Prof. Ehrman,

I completely understand why you feel that there can be good without faith. I agree. However, the cosmos is beyond reason.

Sure, I agree 100% with you that I find pretty much all the ethics I need in secular humanism. However, the universe is filled with magic. Faith is a reason we need not fear cosmic careening out of control. We need faith to say, "I know this universe is continually created from nothing, and I have no fear that in the next moment reality Gd just may give up on us, such that we leave existence without a fizzle."

Reason is trapped in the inexplicable how does the inventor figure out how to make a part of the universe malfunction. Atheists assume that it is impossible to make the world malfunction. Why? Because of reason. Where did that reason come from? Chaos? Is chaos great enough that it could create a world that won't fizzled out. And, if it is indeed Chaos that is behind this all, haven't we put Chaos behind the curtains of reality, as a God, heaven forefend.

"Why doesn't the universe cease to be?" says the Teacher.

Everyday is as amazing as The Big Bang if you ask me. Every moment matter is a limit, such that we need far more explanation than what came first in the universe. How many times have some of us assumed that without a Goad to animate us, the world would go on ticking. A void is created if we are without faith. Where would we be if we had no Gd to sustain us, or animate us to do His will, as a part of His choose your own adventure plan.



Sincerely,
Craig Hamilton

Faith, Fear and Trembling

Maybe I am not talking about Judaism, but I think I am in this article.  Fear and faith seem forever entwined in this world that Gd has made for us.  This is even healthy, and the way creation is meant to be.  That’s what the author of Philippians tells us, which does make me question the authenticity of this blog.

My idea of Hashem is that, He, The Blessed Be He, is as a nice man who out of curiosity likes to pick us humans up as if we are chickens in the coop.  Hashem enjoys our trembling as we pursue our salvation.

Haughty hearts Hashem despises.  People curse their situations when they should sacrifice all negativity that they may have toward Hashem and just trust that He has our best interests in mind provided that we observe and do the things required of us in Torah.  Judgment of Gd is a pathway to hell.

   

Why Many Scientists Are Atheists

According to my religion, doctors are supposed to act as if there is no Gd when it is time to heal.  This action, suspension of belief for the sake of administering healing, is fundamental to the way modern medicine is currently practiced.  When doctors find suspension of belief in the practice of medicine works, this is often when pride becomes puffed up, such that they take their job disbelief home with them, and IMO miss out on the joys of faith.

The Greatest Command: To Love Gd or To Love One's Neighbor, Which Is It?

On the greatest command; I believe that it is to love your neighbor because this command is at the heart of every great religion.  Thus, I do not believe that the greatest command is to love the L-rd your Gd with all of your heart, strength, and mind.  Jesus was wrong.    Surely, we would have found world peace by now if Jesus were correct on this matter, but as we tick past another thousand years with no world peace, it only highlights that Jesus was incorrect.

If you ask folks of every religion about Gd, there would most likely be differing opinions and arguments, especially even among members of the same faith.  These arguments go nowhere, and are often heartfelt, despite that they are on the same subject.  On the issue of Gd, when it comes to various religions, the people of earth spin their wheels and get nowhere.  Surely, this should not be the focal point of religion.  The focal point should be ethics, and even the ethics about how to treat folks of other religions that believe in a different Gd that you believe in.

As Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Lydia said, when he was asked which is greater, to love God or your neighbor; this Rabbi said to love your neighbor because then you are loving the ones whom God loves.  He was correct.  The focus of religion should be ethics, including the ethics of faith.  However, if we can not get along despite the fact that we believe in Gd, especially over issues such as the name of Gd, then all of our faith is practically for nothing.  

We are put here on earth for a specific reason.  That reason is our purpose.  That purpose according to my Bible is to act ethically to our neighbors for if we don't get along our faith is as nothing.

Waves (Binah), Particles (Chochmah), The Glue (Ayn Soph) and Revealing a Miracle: Moses and Parting of the Sea

Please note:  This has been edited by the author from the original post.

If one has no faith, it is not that he just does not have Gd, it is also that he fails at science. Particle physics and wave physics meet with the Ayn Soph. A trinity is needed; waves as binah, particles as chochmah, and the crown to comprehend each at the same time, the Ayn Soph. With this trinity neither particles nor waves are sufficient to explain reality. There must be spiritual binding glue. One must have partial knowledge of each of these three, waves, particles, and Or Ayn Soph or the result is quagmire.

Within reality there are waves, and smaller waves hidden within waves. Often these smaller waves are mistaken as noise, yet noise analysis may give reliable data. With reason, it is thinkable that a positive feedback loop of waves, a resonant signal of waves within waves could accomplish many unusual events. The minor waves within the major waves may add up to or even multiply to something extraordinary, such as parting a Sea.

A Question For the Rabbi; Can There Be Jewishness Without Moses and Aaron? Would There Have Been Jewishness If Not For Moses and Aaron?

The question: "I doubt that there is some sort of cosmic vibration that a Jewish mother's womb gives off that makes her offspring Jewish.
It seems that the vehicle for transmission of the Jewish message is patriarchal, the way Ethics of Our Fathers seems to indicate.  For example, 1:1 "Moses received the Torah from Sinai and gave it over to Joshua. Joshua gave it over to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets gave it over to the Men of the Great Assembly..."

I was told by the Rabbi that while educational tradition is passed down by the father.  The essence is passed on by the mother.

"The Torah explicitly forbids intermarriage. The source is in Deuteronomy 7:3-4,

You shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to his son, and you shall not take his daughter for your son, for he will cause your child to turn away from after Me and they will worship the gods of others." http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/108396/jewish/Intermarriage.htm

I personally admit to my audience.  I have committed idolatry.  I don't even necessarily think it was my fault, as I didn't know any better.  Possibly, it was because my father instructed me in faithless science.  Chemical imbalance caused me to be hyper-sexual for which my dad did turn my head to the wrong direction, suggesting masturbation is good.  The Bible says however, "And, they will worship the gods of others," and that much does not describe me.  I committed idolatry, but refrain from worship because I believe my idol to be horrible and that I would die if I believed in her.  So, I fled.  I moved much the same way where if someone has committed murder moves to a city of refuge, according to biblical command.  When I committed idolatry, Hashem intervened and to His surprise I suddenly believed in the Gd of the Israel.  My life has never been the same, as I have received both forgiveness and blessing from Hashem.  The only hint that mom is Jewish is that she told me never to lie.

Criticism of Intelligent Design: It is not obvious that Gd is involved in creating us from nothing.

Persons, places, and things could all be creating themselves from nothing.  For example, in the instance of persons, both Hassidic literature, and the biological concept of metabolism teach that we are as flames, as both humans and flames consume oxygen and burn fat.  If we don't eat we can lose weight, and even our bodies may shut down regardless, such that we may perceive ourselves as creating ourselves from nothing via eating and breathing, and that Gd has no say whatsoever in how we are created from nothing.

There is no evidence to support intelligent design.  There is evidence of order, even to the extent that we are all here.  However, that order may have arisen from the turnings of chaos.  That is chaos need not be static, but that from chaos, given enough time, the universe would evolve chaotically to be the way it is from chaos alone.  The Rebbe is said to have stated if we are here on earth, it is because we have a mission to fulfill, such that none should say, "I am without purpose," but this is just a sign of organization which may have arisen as a result of chaos.  That is though it sounds like a very tall tail given enough time, chaos may have given birth to an ordered universe.  The choice is ours.  Do we believe chaos created order, or do we believe Gd created order.  Many scientists believe that the idea of Gd is absurd, and choose to believe that all the order of the universe essentially arose from chaos because scientists usually believe the universe is so old this sort of order could have arisen from it.

I do believe Gd sustains the universe in the same way that Gd may choose to have mercy or Gd may choose to have judgment, such that though Gd is the Giver of the Law it is up to us to uphold it via choices involving justice and mercy, but again the existence of justice and mercy could have evolved from chaos, or they might be the result of Gd.  Much of Torah Law is possible to derive from this universe without the aid of a Deity.  For example, if everyone murdered each other, then there would be no people left, and even other species rarely kill another member of their same species due to an innate desire to protect genes of family members or even cousins, etc.

The hidden nature of Gd is such that we can’t derive his existence is because Gd chooses Himself to be concealed, such that an atheist may learn about the universe, but miss out on faith because of His concealment.  Elokim means that the world is constricted to the point that scientists fail to see the residue of Gd's speech of the 10 divine utterances of which is the kinds of ore that reality consists of. That is that everything in reality is a derivative of the 10 divine utterances.  If it were obvious to everyone that we should have faith in Hashem, then this would not be counted as a good deed, as it would completely obvious and not challenging in our lives.

One reason I believe faith is reasonable is that we find that there are gaps in our understanding that require wisdom, and thus we say that the Ayn Soph permeates nature preventing it from crumbling on its own rigidity in ideas such as the problem of purity and the periodic table, or that in order to get somewhere we need to first travel half of the distance, and that it takes an idea that is beyond complete comprehension, infinity, such that we must infinately travel half the distance in order to actually get where we are going.

At the core of everything, is divine filler, which I would define as or Ayn Soph, which is more difficult to describe than nailing Jello to the wall. Or Ayn Soph is the reason why we can have imperfect logic that really works in the real world.  Clearly, the universe has many properties.  In Judaism, I am able to have knowledge of them in the same way that in science, I am able to say, "Close enough."