The Foundation of Faith
Faith in God is a foundational assumption in Jewish tradition, and therefore the Prophets and Sages did not try to prove it, but only to explain its meaning and concepts. This is because as faith is explained and revealed in all areas of life, the consciousness of faith becomes stronger in intellect, emotion, and life as a whole.
One can say that humans naturally believe, but if they explain faith incorrectly, such as describing God in physical and limited terms, questions will arise, such as: How is it possible that God who is perfect has deficiencies, and how is it possible that God who is good, does evil? As such questions strengthen in one’s consciousness, more doubts about faith will arise that may even cause them to deny what they defined as faith. And when these intensify further, they may sometimes even cause them to lose faith in the existence of correct faith.
This is like a person who has been deceived numerous times by many people and may lose faith in all people and think they are all deceivers; but after time passes, people naturally return to believing, except for those who were so disappointed in faith that they decided to stubbornly deny it, even when their nature is drawn to it.
The Crisis of Faith in Recent Generations
In recent generations, through the development of natural sciences, human and social sciences, human consciousness has developed and expanded greatly. Many areas that were mysteriously unexplained, became understood and explicable. The expansion of science improved human living conditions beyond recognition, cures were found for diseases that were previously incurable, and life expectancy increased significantly.
Through technological development, the production of food, furniture, clothing, and housing improved beyond recognition, and today, an average person can live in conditions that in the past only the greatest kings could afford. Through social sciences, more efficient methods for organizing society and economy were developed, and additional methods were developed for treating mental illnesses.
In this context, some of the explanations about faith that were accepted in the past are no longer sufficient today. For example, some explanations relied on diminishing human capability, based on the fact that humans cannot understand their world, and only God can save them through miracles. Therefore, when science continues to develop and succeeds in finding solutions to many hardships, these explanations appear refuted. Thus, beliefs that were previously universal became undermined, and became objects of criticism and mockery.
The Revival of Faith
As faith becomes freed from the limited explanations that sufficed for previous generations, faith will return to pulse in people’s consciousness, and correct explanations will be found that will illuminate the path of humanity toward a meaningful, good life.
Moreover, as Jewish faith becomes more clearly explained, it will increasingly illuminate the world with a great vision, and drive Israel to call in God’s name, and work toward Tikkun Olam (world repair) through the guidance of Torah, its commandments, and values. For this purpose, one must engage in Torah study with awareness of the general vision of Tikkun Olam within the Torah, and contemplate the inner, faithful ideas in all its details.
Through this, all the achievements of natural and spiritual sciences will not only not interfere with the revelation of faith, or become an obstacle to it, but will enhance and elevate the revelation of faith. Both in that humans created in God’s image discovered them and understood them as divine wisdom, called ‘the work of creation,’ and in that faith gives them ethical, moral, and divine meaning.
Rational ‘Proofs’
There were great Jewish scholars in the Gaonic and Rishonim periods, from about thirteen hundred years ago until about five hundred years ago, who strengthened faith through rational proofs. Their arguments can be divided into three main points. We’ll mention them briefly:
- Causality, the Cosmological Argument: If we accept the principle of creation, regardless of which theory, including the ‘Big Bang’ theory and evolution, we must assume there is a reason why the creation process began, and a reason for that reason, until we must reach the conclusion that there is an ain-sofit (infinite) first cause. Even if we accept the view that the world is eternal and was not created, there must be a reason for its existence, since it cannot rely on itself, as it is itself limited, and therefore, we must conclude that it relies on an ain-sofit cause, which is God.
- The Principle of Purpose, the Teleological Argument: Since we see such a complex and ordered world, we must assume there is someone who arranged it for a certain purpose. That is, the previous argument referred to existence itself needing a cause, while this argument refers to the nature of existence being ordered with wisdom for some purpose.
- Human Consciousness, the Ontological Argument: This argument proves God’s existence from the fact that God is present in human consciousness, for no person can think about something that does not exist and cannot exist, but only about something that exists in reality. And if the concept of God exists in human consciousness, then God exists in reality.
The Emergence of Philosophical Proofs
Until the Gaonic period, Jewish scholars did not engage in philosophical proofs for faith (except for Philo). Even during the Gaonic and Rishonim periods, most Jewish scholars did not engage in philosophical proofs for faith, and it is worth understanding why, at the end of the Gaonic period and during the Rishonim period, many Jewish scholars such as Saadia Gaon, Rabbeinu Bachya, and Maimonides engaged in philosophical proofs for faith.
It seems there were two reasons for this: First, the engagement with philosophical proofs appeared following the rise of philosophical discussion among scholars of other nations, and since faith needs to appear in all forms of consciousness, there arose a need to express it in philosophical tools as well.
Second, following the low state of Jews in exile, doubts arose about Jewish faith, which seemed to have failed. In this context, severe attacks against it arose from people of different religions, and there was a need to defend it with philosophical tools as well.
However, it must be noted that according to many of our Sages, despite the great value of philosophy in clarifying concepts, philosophical proofs about faith are not binding. This is because faith precedes intellect, just as life precedes intellect. Therefore, intellect can explain the appearance of life and the appearance of faith, but cannot prove, or negate it.
Summary of the Relationship to Rational Proofs
Ultimately, it is appropriate for every Torah student to briefly know these proofs as well, but most Jewish scholars did not rely in their faith on philosophical proofs, but used rational discussion to cleanse faith from any trace of physicalization. However, their faith itself relied on the trait of faith that exists in humans, that just as they know they are alive, so they believe. And the content of faith itself relies on the precise and faithful tradition from generation to generation, whose foundation is in the divine revelation where God was revealed to the patriarchs, to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai, to Moshe Rabbeinu, and to all the prophets after him.
The Trait of Humility and Jewish Faith
The trait of anava (humility) is essential for absorbing faith, because we cannot think or speak about God’s essence, as God is beyond all comprehension. In contrast, we can think and speak about what is revealed to us. This principle is hinted at in the Torah, which does not begin with the letter alef, (ed., the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet), meaning, it does not begin with a description of the Creator Himself, but begins with the letter bet (the second letter), in other words, with creation, as it is said: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
Among all faiths and religions, only Israel refrains from speaking about God’s essence, and this does not weaken their faith, but rather, strengthens Jewish faith. Like a person who tries to look at the sun, who will end up damaging their vision and will not be able to see anything properly, so too, one who errs and tries to think and speak about God’s essence will not only fail to understand God, but will also fail to understand the purpose and goal of creation. But if one focuses on what is revealed to us, one can cleave to God with all their heart, soul and might.
Jewish Faith Manifests in All Areas of Life
Precisely because Jewish faith bounds itself with humility, and does not try to define the Creator Himself, it deals with the full divine revelation in the world and in humans, and thus, encompasses all of human life. This is its main uniqueness, because from the perspective of strong feelings of faith, members of different nations can also reach heights as high as Jews. Similarly, in philosophical clarification ability, which deals with the divine source and strives to cleanse it from all physicalization, scholars of other nations can reach achievements as high as Jews. However, only in Judaism does faith manifest in all areas of life, in the 613 commandments as guided by the Torah, and from here, comes its strength and blessing, which extends to the whole world (Rabbi Kook in the article “Da’at Elokim” pp. 135-136).
In Consciousness, Emotion, and All of Life
Since Jewish faith manifests in all areas of life, it is a commandment to establish it in three circles that encompass human life: in consciousness, in emotion, and in life as a whole.
In to’da’ah (consciousness), meaning in the study of emunah (faith) and its meaning, as written: “Know this day and take unto your heart that the Lord is God in heaven above and upon the earth below; there is none else” (Deuteronomy 4:39); and “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2). Also: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4); and “Know the God of your father and serve Him with a whole heart and with a willing soul…” (Chronicles I 28:9). As mentioned, in Judaism, the study of faith is the study of divine revelation in the world, and not an attempt to understand His essence, which is beyond our comprehension. The study of divine revelation is the study of the words of Torah and prophets who explain God’s guidance in the world, as well as contemplation of creation, which is also divine revelation.
In regesh (emotion), through the commandments of loving and fearing God, as written: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5), and also: “The Lord your God shall you fear, and Him shall you serve, and by His name shall you swear” (Deuteronomy 10:20).
In all of life, through studying Torah and fulfilling all its commandments, as written: “In all your ways know Him” (Proverbs 3:6). Our Sages said: “This is a small passage, on which all the fundamentals of Torah depend” (Berachot 63a), because it includes the fundamental position of Jewish faith – that faith needs to be expressed in all areas of life. And the more commandments a person fulfills, thereby revealing faith in more areas, the stronger they become in faith and it empowers them, for one commandment leads to another.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.