Aaron Minsky talks to Tovia Singer about his new book, "Beyond Faith", and why Judaism fares better than other religions in an academic discussion of belief.
When he was 13, author Aaron Minsky was more concerned with Jimi Hendrix than comparative religion. Raised as a Reform Jew who later became a professional cellist, Minsky might not be the type you would peg as an author of 554 pages on Jewish belief.
Considering traditional Judaism nothing more than a collection of good ideas, a secular Minsky flew to Israel in the mid-80s to learn more about his roots. Confronted with the Orthodox movement more than ever before, Minsky says he was forced to rethink his own long-held ideas.
"[The Orthodox] challenged me. I basically said to them, 'You believe on faith... and they said no, our beliefs are based on logic and reason... and I found that interesting," Minsky told Israel National Radio's Tovia Singer. "That's really what sparked my interest."
In his new book, "Beyond Faith," Minsky goes to great length arguing that the very logical and reasoned approach he favored as a young man to dismiss traditional Judaism can actually be used to defend it.
"Most people accept their belief on faith. Most times it's an emotional appeal to your heart... I've found that in Orthodox Judaism, there really is this approach of moving beyond faith to facts, to information, to reason and logic. So many people say that religion's just about faith, that you just have to believe in something. And I've found that Judaism is unique in the amount of evidence that's out there to give foundation to belief."
Faith can be described as belief in direct opposition to reason, the ability to look out at the world and see G-d where others might only see coincidence. Aaron Minsky, in his own quest for evidence, published a book he would like to argue holds this evidence up to scrutiny. By comparing Judaism to Christianity, to science and to many other institutions in direct or subtle opposition to it, Minsky tries to thread logical argument through his own tested belief system.
In 554 pages, he is really trying to convince the reader that, as a Jew, one doesn't need to accept anything on faith alone. In fact, if there's one lesson to be drawn from Aaron Minsky's own spiritual development, it's the necessity of working through one's own beliefs, to question, to think things through until belief is not just inherited wisdom but something which makes sense.
"A lot of times, you are taught to believe a certain thing, not to question it...If everyone believes they are right, how can you ever come to an agreement?" asks Minsky.
"Let's look at [our] beliefs and see if there's some reasonable logic to accept your belief versus another belief... It seemed to me that that was the path to peace."
To hear Aaron Minsky's full interview with Tovia Singer, visit http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1136