The book of Job is surely the most shocking book of the Bible.
Job is a righteous man — there is “no one like him on earth; pure, straight, God-fearing, and does no evil” (Job 1:8). He is wealthy, accomplished, respected, and the father of ten children.
God decides to test Job. And it’s not a stubbing-one’s-toe type of test. In one fell swoop, his children die and his wealth is completely obliterated.
Let us go back to the Jewish perspective on human history.
Amazingly, in the portion of Pinchas, Moses records an incident in which he is proven wrong by five young girls. It’s hard to imagine how Moses can possibly maintain his credibility as the leader of the nation and the lawgiver if a few youngsters know the law better than he does!
One thing is clear: In a world where power, control and personal honor reign supreme, Moses and other biblical figures stick out like a sore thumb.
Don’t let the pursuit of a better life be an excuse for not living that better life right now.
God has made us partners in His universe.
In the portion of Shoftim, specific instructions are given to the Jewish army as to how to fight a war. Among them is one that you won’t find in any other army manual, ancient or modern.
At Mount Sinai, the Jewish people accepted the Torah with the words, na’aseh v’nishma – we will do, then we will understand (Exodus 24:7). Their commitment to keeping God’s Torah was not in any way contingent upon their understanding why they should do so. They were ready to do whatever God would command, irrespective of whether or not it made sense to them.
At first glance, this seems to fly in the face of all we know about Judaism.
My Rosh Yeshiva, ztzl, used to reminisce about his days as a child on the Lower East Side. Often, he would come back from school and his father would ask him, ‘Noach – did you remember that Hashem loves you today?’ ‘Yes’, was the young boy’s usual answer. ‘Well done, his father would respond. You did a very big mitzvah. And an easy one at that!!’
GOD
Creator
There is a being who created this universe. He created matter, space and time.
Continue reading “God’s Magnum Opus – An Introduction to Judaism”
Of all the world’s philosophies, the one that is closest to Judaism, in my opinion, is hedonism. By hedonism, I mean its true Greek version, not its Western incarnation.
What:
A mezuzah contains the first two paragraphs of the Shema. The first paragraph deals in main with the fundamentals of Jewish conviction. We accept, ideally as a result of rigorous investigation, that there is a God who created the world and that our goal in life is to act in a way that exhibits Godly traits. The second paragraph deals with consequences. Life matters. Our decisions matter. This is not an empty world. We have the opportunity to build it or to destroy it. God has placed those choices squarely on our shoulders.
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