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August 30, 2013
What is this thing we call faith?
For a society to work, everyone, from religious to atheist, must live together peacefully.
DVORA WAYSMAN
As we approach the High Holy Days, we have time for introspection. One of the things to which I give much thought is the matter of faith.
Faith. Either you have it or you don’t. Right? Well, not exactly. There are those who acquire it, and those who lose it. There are times when your belief is unshakeable, and traumatic times when you might undergo a crisis of belief.
If you visit any baalei teshuvah (returning to Judaism) yeshivah, you will find young men and women who, a short while prior, were far removed from their present spiritual position. Some were atheists or agnostics; some had joined cults or even converted to another religion. Some were trying to find themselves through journeys to Indian ashrams; some sought release and answers through drugs. Still seeking, but with renewed faith, they are returning to their Jewish roots.
What exactly is this nebulous thing we call faith? When in trouble, a Jew repeats: “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you.” If he is comforted, then he has faith. The Hebrew word is emunah, and it denotes absolute belief in divine providence. The person of faith is always an optimist, as opposed to the one recorded in the Talmud (Sotah 48b): “Whoever has bread in his basket and says, ‘What am I going to eat tomorrow?’ belongs to those of little faith.”
Moses Maimonides formulated 13 principles of faith and they are twice rendered in the daily prayer book (Ani Ma’amin and Yigdal). However, Moses Mendelssohn wrote: “Among all the precepts of the Torah, there is not one which says you shall believe this or you shall not believe it. Rather, it is written: you shall do, you shall not do....” Wherever the question is of eternal, self-evident truths, there is nothing said of believing, but of understanding and knowing. Ancient Judaism had no articles of faith and, for this reason, Mendelssohn believed that the opening formula of the 13 principles of Maimonides should be rendered: “I am firmly convinced” instead of “I believe with perfect faith.”
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1864-1935) declared faith to be a song of life. Faith and love are life’s essence, and the person who sings his/her soul’s song finds spiritual satisfaction. While it is possible to take from the good things we may find in the nations that surround us, he counseled, we must remain faithful to the God of Israel and His Torah.
Martin Buber described religious faith as a dialogue between humans and G-d, in which mankind must listen by establishing an “I and Thou” relationship. This precept also influenced contemporary non-Jewish theology. Thinking of G-d must be combined with taking action in human society. When no dialogue between man and G-d exists, or between man and man, society breaks down and human personality disappears.
Secular society also has a claim on religion. The Jew has always been expected to live in society and contribute to its well being while keeping a religious dimension. No one can deny that a secular person can do G-d’s will unwittingly, even without believing in Him, as his ethical standards may be of the highest. The prophet Micah (6:8) posed the question, What is it that G-d wants of man? and replied: “Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with G-d.” The secularist can also practise justice and mercy and can walk humbly, even without the sacred dimension added by the believer.
Religious tolerance was advanced by thinkers like Baruch Spinoza and it is the only position viable in a pluralistic society. But it works both ways. Those who try to practise religious coercion on unwilling segments are just as guilty as secularists who deliberately transgress basic Jewish precepts in order to trample on the sensitivities of the religious population. We will remain a flawed society, regardless of the strength or weakness of our faith, until we take heed of the story of the company of men on board a ship. One of them takes a drill and begins to bore a hole under his seat. The other passengers ask, “What are you doing?” He replies, “What has that to do with you? Am I not making the hole under my seat.” They retort, “But the water will enter and drown us all!”
Dvora Waysman lives in Jerusalem. She is the author of 13 books, including The Pomegranate Pendant, Woman of Jerusalem and Esther: A Jerusalem Love Story. She can be reached at [email protected]. Her website and blog is dvorwaysman.com.
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