Rabbi Yitzchok Kirzner z”tl on Why Harold Kushner Is Wrong.
We are required, writes Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato in The Way of God, to both “believe and know” that there is a God. This statement is hard to understand. If I know that there is a God, then belief is extraneous. The explanation is that knowing does not refer to empirical knowledge. Rather “knowing” refers to a process of relating our faith in God to everything we do. Knowing that there is a God means that our faith in Him must become inseparable from who we are and how we view the world.
Attaining this level is the work of a lifetime. Most of us are far from reaching it. We walk through life as if in a fog. Our faith remains theoretical at best. When we think about God, we forget the world. And when we think about the world, we forget God. No integration of God into our world takes place.
Occasionally, however, events intrude with such force that we are compelled to deal with our faith in the context of what is taking place in our lives. Suffering is one such event. It challenges us to confront the ultimate questions of who we are and what is the significance of our lives. Suffering is a painful invitation to deepen our faith and make it a real part of our lives.
Rabbi Noach Weinberg, founder of Aish HaTorah, will be speaking at the Tiferes Bnei Torah (aka The Shmuz.Com) Melave Malka, this Motza’ei Shabbos, November 11 at 7:30 at Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim in Kew Gardens Hills.
Don’t forget to learn some Mishnah Berurah today in honor of the 100th anniversary of it’s completion.
Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan on The Rules of Halacha. Highly recommended.
