Following G-D and Rationality

After having a discussion with my friend Baruch I thought that it would be a good idea to discuss a person's ability to follow G-D based solely on rational thinking vs emotional involvement (Something I discussed here). Anyway, the most appropriate way to discuss this, I think, is bringing in my dear old friend Rabbi Dr Leo Adler. For those of you who don't remember Rabbi Dr. Adler, he wrote an exceptional essay called "The Biblical View of Man." The very first thing he discusses is this issue of rational thought vs emotional reality. Here are the relevant excerpts from the beginning of the essay:

The idea being being brought here is something, I think, is obvious. Human beings have rationality at their disposal. However, there is also something else they have, emotions and the ability to go against their rational thought. If a man believes in G-D how can he sin? This is a question that only a philosopher, who does not take into account human emotions and characteristics, can ask.

The Bible, on the other hand, takes into account the human condition and realizes that even though man may be aware of certain realities, he or she can disregard these realities in favor of their hearts' desires. For example, people go sky diving even though they know it is very dangerous and could lead to death. Why do they do it? Because it is fun and they do not focus on the possibility of death.

The same idea applies to G-D. A Jew, or non-Jew, may believe in G-D. Why then do they sin? Because they follow their hearts desire and do not think about G-D while they are sinning. This is what it is like to be human. The idea of a human being strictly following rationality is theoretical at best. People are not robots and they follow their emotions which may sometimes go against their rationality.

This brings me to my point which I made in Parsha Ki Tavo, Man can come to a belief in G-D through rationale. For instance, the Jewish people came to a belief in G-D because they saw the miracles and wonders that G-D performed, they even spoke with Him at Mt. Sinai. However, until they were able to emotionally involve themselves with the cause of the Torah, they were not connected to G-D. The Jewish people were not fully invested in the life of the Torah. They might have known that G-D was real, but they still desired to do things that were against the Torah. It was only once they were emotionally involved, connected to G-D and wanted their lives to be filled with G-D's holiness were they finally able to have this full connection.

People can be Jewish without G-D. People can claim to come to rational conclusions that G-D exists. However, this will not cause them to keep G-D's laws or even try to connect with Him. They might just say these things and even believe them, but that does not mean these ideas will be taken to heart. A person needs to find their own motivation for keeping the commandments. Some might say that rationally coming to a conclusion does give one motivation for keeping the Torah and trying to connect to G-D. This may be true, but in the end of the day the main reason a person uses rationality instead of mysticism or pure emotions is because rationality is what  fuels their desire, emotional desire. As I said before, human beings are not robots and they desire many things for different reasons. However, it is this desire that motivates him or her to act and really believe in something.This can either lead to a strong connection to G-D or none at all, even in the realm of people who DO believe in G-D.

Seeing VS Believing

The end of this week's Parsha, Ki Tavo, has an important idea. In fact, it is essential to understand this idea in order to truly connect to G-D, in my opinion. The Parsha says (Devarim 29:1-3):

א. וַיִּקְרָא מֹשֶׁה אֶל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם אַתֶּם רְאִיתֶם אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְ־הֹוָ־ה לְעֵינֵיכֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לְפַרְעֹה וּלְכָל עֲבָדָיו וּלְכָל אַרְצוֹ:
1. And Moses called all of Israel and said to them, "You have seen all that the Lord did before your very eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land;

ב. הַמַּסּוֹת הַגְּדֹלֹת אֲשֶׁר רָאוּ עֵינֶיךָ הָאֹתֹת וְהַמֹּפְתִים הַגְּדֹלִים הָהֵם
2. the great trials which your very eyes beheld and those great signs and wonders.

ג. וְלֹא נָתַן יְ־הֹוָ־ה לָכֶם לֵב לָדַעַת וְעֵינַיִם לִרְאוֹת וְאָזְנַיִם לִשְׁמֹעַ עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה
3. The Lord has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear until this very day.


This seems odd. Moshe is telling us that G-D did all these miraculous things, but it is only today, the day Moshe dies and the Jewish people go into Israel, that the Jewish people finally realize that G-D is G-D? Moshe is saying that the Jewish people did not know, see G-D or hear G-D until this day, does this make any sense whatsoever? Obviously, there is a deeper meaning to these words which must be examined. 


Rashi attempts to clarify what Moshe is saying by relating to us something he once heard. This seems odd because usually Rashi quotes where he heard things from, but here it is:


עד היום הזה: שמעתי שאותו היום שנתן משה ספר התורה לבני לוי, כמו שכתוב (לקמן לא, ט) ויתנה אל הכהנים בני לוי באו כל ישראל לפני משה ואמרו לו משה רבינו אף אנו עמדנו בסיני וקבלנו את התורה ונתנה לנו, ומה אתה משליט את בני שבטך עליה, ויאמרו לנו יום מחר לא לכם נתנה, לנו נתנה. ושמח משה על הדבר, ועל זאת אמר להם היום הזה נהיית לעם וגו' (לעיל כז, ט), היום הזה הבנתי שאתם דבקים וחפצים במקום:

Until this day: I heard that on the very day that Moses gave the Torah scroll to the sons of Levi-as the verse says, “And he gave it to the kohanim , the sons of Levi” (Deut. 31:19)-all Israel came before Moses and said to him: “Moses, our Teacher! We also stood at [Mount] Sinai and accepted the Torah, and it was [also] given to us! Why, then, are you giving the members of your tribe control over it, so that some day in the future they may claim, 'It was not given to you-it was given only to us!’” Moses rejoiced over this matter and it was on account of this, that he said to them, “This day, you have become a people [to the Lord your God]” (Deut. 27:9). [This meant:] “It is today that I understand that you cleave to the Omnipresent and desire Him.” 

The problem that I have with Rashi is that this is clearly NOT what the verse says. This understanding THROWS OUT any reading of this verse. G-D has given you eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to know can not mean that the Jewish people have revealed that they always loved G-D. That is not G-D giving something, that is just the Jewish people showing that they love G-D and cleave to Him. There must be a different meaning that can explain what in the world Moshe is, in fact, talking about. 

I want to suggest the following explanation of the verse. Moshe says that G-D has performed all of these miracles for the Jewish people and yet it is only today, the day before the Jewish people enter the land of Israel and Moshe dies, that G-D finally gives them the ability to know, see and hear Him. What is Moshe telling the Jewish people? 

The Ibn Ezra will help us understand this puzzling problem. He says (on the first verse of Devarim 29):

ויקרא משה אל כל ישראל -
לכרות הברית, על כן אחריה אתם נצבים היום.

And Moshe called to all of Israel: To make a covenant, therefore (the verse states afterwords) "You (PL.) are standing here today."

The Ibn Ezra allows us to understand what Moshe is telling the Jewish people. The Jewish people were taken out of Egypt with miracles, but they did not make this covenant. The Jewish people received the Torah after speaking with G-D, but they still did not make this covenant. The Jewish people were covered with the cloud of glory, got the water from a supernatural well, and received the Maan, but still they could not make this covenant. However, now they were able to receive this covenant. WHAT HAPPENED?

I think we can now bring Rashi's idea back and explain it so it does fit with the language of the verse. Rashi says that the Jewish people got upset when Moshe gave the Torah to the tribe of Levi and not to everyone. This sparked an EMOTIONAL passion in the Jewish people, that had not existed until this point. The Jewish people's passion and emotions for G-D were uncovered and came bursting forth. It was only when this emotion was uncovered and brought bubbling to the surface were they now able to receive from G-D "A heart to know, eyes to see and ears to hear" Him.

However, why must emotion be evoked before one can truly know, see and hear G-D? This is simple. If a person simply chose to follow G-D because of rationale, that service of G-D would be stone cold and there would not be a very great connection to G-D. However, Judaism is not about simply seeing and believing, it is about emotion, love and passion. This is why a person connects to G-D in the best possible way through love and awe of G-D. Emotion allows a person to "know, hear, and see " G-D in his or her life. This is the only way to really connect to G-D, simply coming to a rational state of G-D's existence leads one to have a "cold" connection to G-D. However, a person that evokes his or her emotions can bring G-D into their life and have a "warm" connection. This is why the Jewish people were only ready to make this covenant with G-D at this point, because they finally tapped into the most important part to achieving a connection to G-D, emotions. Thus, G-D NOW allowed them to really have "a heart to know, an eye to see and an ear to hear."

Ki Tavo- What Does Making a New Covenant Mean?

ט וַיְדַבֵּר מֹשֶׁה וְהַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם, אֶל כָּל-יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר: הַסְכֵּת וּשְׁמַע, יִשְׂרָאֵל, הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה נִהְיֵיתָ לְעָם, לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ. 27:9 And Moses and the priests the Levites spoke unto all Israel, saying: 'Keep silence, and hear, O Israel; this day thou art become a people unto the LORD thy God.

In this week's parsha we see Moshe telling the Jewish people that they should follow in the ways of G-D and to listen to His words. If they do then they will be blessed and if they do not then they will be cursed. Not exactly a big chiddush (new idea) here. However, what does interest me in this parsha is this verse that I quoted at the top. The interesting aspect of this verse is that when Moshe is telling the Jewish people to keep the Torah and if they do they will be blessed and if they don't they will be cursed, he is not the only one talking. It says that Moshe and the Kohanim, (who are) levites told this to all of Israel. Why in the world does Moshe need "backup" to tell the Jewish people these curses and blessings? Also, why does the Torah single them out as Levites? What is so special about the Levites, specifically in regards to telling other people to follow G-D?

The Seforno tells us why it is that the Kohanim have to be mentioned here when it comes to teaching the nation about the curses and the blessings. It is because the Kohanim are supposed to be the teachers of the nation. This is why it is so important for them to be there along with Moshe teaching the Jewish people the Mitzvos and what one should or should not do. This was their purpose within Klal Yisroel (when not in the Bais hamikdash). They were given the all important responsibility of educating the nation in the mitzvos (commandments) and the reward and punishment for keeping or transgressing those mitzvos.

The reason why Moshe and the Kohanim had to be specified as Levites is a wild idea from the Meshach Chachma. Are you ready? He says that we learn in the Midrash Tanchuma and the Yalkut in parshas Netzavim that there were 3 covenants made between the Jewish people and G-D. One was when they left Egypt, one was at Mount Sinai and the third was right here with Moshe before the Jewish people entered the land. The reason that there was a third covenant, the one with Moshe in this week's parsha, was because the second covenant, the one at Mount Sinai, was battul (voided) because of the sin with the Golden Calf. Therefore, the Meshech Chachma thinks that this is the reason that Moshe and the Kohanim are specified as Levites, because Levites did not participate in the sin of the Golden Calf. Since the Levites did not sin by the Golden Calf, they did not need to make a new covenant with G-D. This might also be why Kohanim (priests) are designated as the ones to teach all of the Jewish people the law, because they had a stronger covenant than the rest of the Jewish people, according to this Meshech Chachma. The Levites had the covenant of naaseh Venishma (we will do and then we will hear), but the covenant now was listen to what I say and then accept it.

The part that I find wild about in this Meshach Chachma is that he is willing to say there was a new covenant after Mount Sinai. I mean, I don't know what the repercussions should be, but to say that a sin, even if it was the Golden Calf, causes us to need a new covenant, well that is just scary. If the Jewish people are in Galus now and we have had two temples destroyed, doesn't that mean that we should have to have a new covenant now? What would be the difference between the sin of the Golden calf and all the Jews who have completely rejected G-D's existence?

I think the answer is as follows. Notice how the Meshech Chachma says there were three covenants. One was at the exodus from Egypt. In what way was this a covenant? Also, in Megilas Esther chazal tell us that there was a new covenant that was made between G-D and the Jewish people. What does this all point to when we talk about covenants? It seems like, to me, that these covenants are promises from G-D to the Jewish people that as long as the Jewish people follow the Torah and commandments then they will live in peace and prosperity. That is why after the Exodus the Jews were able to go receive the Torah. That was the first covenant between G-D and the Jews (the reason for this covenant was because of the previous covenant made with Avraham because of the 10 tests that he had passed). Then after the Jews received the Torah, the fulfillment of the first covenant, they were going straight to Israel, but they sinned with the Golden Calf and the Meraglim happened. Now, the Jewish people were stuck in the desert for forty years that acted as an atonement and right before we go into the land we get to make a new covenant which leads to Jewish prosperity in the Land of Israel. However, once there was rampant sinning the Jewish people were kicked out of the land. After several years of atonement the Jewish people made a new covenant with G-D and got to come back to Israel. Many years pass and then there was so much sinning going on again, the Jews were again kicked out of Israel. Still, we are in the stage of atonement. There have been many people who have speculated as to why we are still in exile and why the Moshiach (Messiah) has not come.

Personally,the way I see it, when the Jewish people either had learned their lesson or cried out to G-D that there would be no more Jews, only then was a new covenant made. By Egypt, the Torah says that G-D came to save them because He heard their cries for help. Also, chazal tell us that many Jews were assimilating into the Egyptian culture and had G-D not taken them out then, there would be no Jews left. Therefore, that was the proper time to make a new covenant with the Jews. By the sin of the golden calf, after forty years in the desert the Jews had done proper teshuva (repentance) and were now allowed to enter the land because they had overcome their previous sin. The same thing happened with the return of the exiles from after the destruction of the first temple, they had done proper repentance. However, our current situation was caused by Sinas Chinam, baseless hatred of one another. It seems like this sin has existed throughout the Jewish community ever since the destruction of the second temple. We, as a people, have not overcome this and we are not desperate enough yet to say that we can not survive in galus. Therefore, there is no reason why G-D should make a new covenant with us until either we are in dire need or we actually start to respect and love one another. Unfortunately, the later has not occurred, even though we have been in exile for thousands of years, and hopefully we will not need the Moshiach to come because of the former.