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.

On The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Holocaust Understanding

Yanki Tauber writes of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s opinion on the Holocaust that “Only G-d Himself can answer for what He allowed to happen.”

Having spoken with Hashem, I imagine Hashem’s answer for the tremendous suffering of the Holocaust would most likely be something like, “I care very deeply.  That is why I made you suffer.  I was trying to reach you, but when I did you ran away.  I was scared that if I spoke to you, that you would leave Me and that you would run even further in the wrong direction.  I, Hashem, tried everything in my power, except suspend freewill, to get My precious Jews to hearken to my voice.”

What is my evidence that this would be Hashem's answer?

G-d answered me in my time of suffering by saying, “I never thought you would get this far (astray from an upright path. - Thus, I suggest that being "far" from the truth is why the Jews suffered during the Holocaust).”  Then, He told me, “I AM punishing you,” which was music to my ears because I thought that G-d not only did not exist, but that if He did exist that He must not care what is happening to me.  To find that G-d was punishing me to the extent of taking action in my well being meant that He cares indeed!  Thus, the next step was to find out what to do to get G-d to stop punishing me, through changing my heart and my actions primarily to that of love and good deeds.

G-d struggles with empathy for His created beings.  The infinite G=d and Founder of the Universe has no more of a clue what it is like to be human, than we have ability to see things from His perspective.

The article is entitled:  The Rebbe on the Holocaust:  What the Rebbe Said (and Didn't Say) 

About the Holocaust

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/64888/jewish/The-Rebbe-on-the-Holocaust.htm

Note:  This blog is an edit of a blog posted to the webpage Hamilton's Judaism.

Three Favorite Ways I Think of Gd in Earthly Terms.

Granted, He Is Greater and Even Beyond These Things, but This Is a Start.

1. Mentally invoking the vastness of outer space, such as through viewing images recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope

2. Thinking of the sun’s energy and/or the energy that may be unleashed via Higgs Boson bombs

3. Realizing that the universe is continually created from nothing such that we are completely dependent on Him for provision at every instant

Does Gd Love Women as Much as Men or Is He a Bigoted Bastard?

Firstly, I want for women to know Gd loves all of His people!

Hi!  I am a gentile.  Years ago I got really angry at a Rabbi for letting me know that I am Bnei Noach.  It probably was rude, but forgivable.  However, another Jew told me that he could guarantee the Jewish Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel would never ever act that way, and that helped me feel better.

I once thought similarly like so many women that Jews had placed me in what was essentially in a lower caste.  I thought Jews idealized ideas such as never letting gentile slaves free, feeding people like me things that they found already dead, etc.  However, I didn’t give up my pursuit of Hashem with the Torah as my guide.  From what I found, I can tell women that given enough patience and in depth study, Torah guarantees us the “Thank Gd I am not a woman prayer,” or in my case the “Thank Gd I am not like the other man,” prayer won’t be bothersome.

What I don’t know is how each woman can find peace.  I am not a woman, and even greater; women are not alike.  I don’t claim to know how all men may find peace in Torah either!  Gd created us as individuals, each with something different to offer.  I don’t know how each person may find his or her inner peace from Torah study, but I can say with confidence that Gd loves it when people try to get to know Him better, and that inner peace is findable through unlocking the secrets of Torah.

In study, I too have reached incorrect conclusions.  There is that prayer, “Thank you for not making me like the other man.”  Can anyone empathize with my situation easier now?  Once, I too was angry.  I had misconceptions about how Jews were supposed to act toward gentiles.  Through study I learned that I was wrong about Torah and that G-d never calls for bigotry.  Instead, Jews are called to follow Abraham’s examples of lovingkindness and hospitality, and Moses’ example of compassion for animals.

I, myself, have found happiness as a gentile.  IMHO, Noah is the epitome of the spine of Torah.  The entire world laughed at him, and he had the spine not to assimilate!  God cleansed the world for the sake of one righteous man, Noah.  I won’t look down on him!

The Genesis of New Matter and/or Space through Tzimtzum

Imagine a day where we could literally create more space, enlarging our planet so that food shortages and overpopulation are no longer a threat. How, I don't know; but it happened in the creation of the cosmos, and it continues to happen. The universe is expanding. What if we could control how it expands?

How did the matter of the cosmos first arise?  This disproves the Law of Conservation of Mass.  It must have arisen through the creation of new space, energy, and/or matter.   My thinking is that if it arose once, then it should be possible to accomplish the expansion of new space and/or matter again, especially through the actions of humans if we get smart about it.

According to Lurianic Kabbalah, the first hint on how we can accomplish the genesis of new space occurs is in the Book of Genesis. In the Creation Week, G-d tells us that He causes the genesis of creation with “tzimtzum.” Tzimtzum is the Hebrew word for expansion, contraction, and/or separation, which may be how we can expand the universe. What works for Hashem also works for us: But only if we use the holy language. Any scientist seeking understanding should look to the creation account in Genesis. I would say it should be thought of as an inspired "How to" manual.

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.