Monday, March 27, 2006

Science, Torah and Religion - Two Theologies- only one for our times.

My friend Rabbi Ben Zion Buchman in an article in Hakirah http://hakirah.org/Vol%202%20Buchman.pdf wrote that Ramban and the Rishonim that believed in a more spiritual explanation to our physical world, based their position on their understanding of science in their times. Ramban disagreed with Rambam’s assessment that magic was bunk as was astrology; because he asked how else explain why a magnet attracts metal. It must be a spiritual force! RBB makes a very cogent argument that had Ramban lived in our times he would surely agree with Rambam and disavow magic and spirituality. (I am paraphrasing and it is worth reading that article as it has tremendous impact on our current theology).

Ramban and the thinkers who followed his approach, for reasons that are not for this post, have over time become the mainstream Jewish theology and influenced thinkers through the ages such as Arizal, Remak, Maharal, Ba’al Shem Tov and the Chasidic movement as well as the Gra and his followers. This continues through our times with Rav Dessler and many of the Mashgichim and thinkers in the Yeshivish and Chassidish world including many “Modern Orthodox”. They have therefore continued with their “spiritual” understanding of things and consequently accept Ramban’s understanding that the world is to be viewed as a miracle in progress. Every natural event is miraculous, under God’s immediate control and input, hidden from view until a rare event happens. The impact on religious thought is enormous as it encourages its supporters to accept Pessukim and Chazal literally. There is no impetus to interpret as everything can be explained away with a miracle. It also has unfortunately brought about a Judaism that is racked with superstition and Emunos Tefeilos (red bendlech, miraculous mekubalim etc…).When confronted with overwhelming scientific and other empirical evidence that undermines their argument, proponents of this approach resort to all kinds of difficult explanations, such as ID, the Gosse theory et al. arguments that GH and others have railed against. Judaism has become the religion of the simple and uneducated or the schizophrenic.

Fortunately there is an alternative way of seeing Judaism which has been ignored by many. It was accepted by the best and brightest in all our past generations but ignored by the masses and their heroes. There was no compelling reason, at the time, for the enlightened thinkers to shake up the beliefs of the masses as their belief, erroneous as it was, did not lead to anything worse than some occasional quirky behavior. The people were not so well educated in worldly matters nor were they confronted by modernity. They lived a secluded life ( which BTW is trying to be maintained in contemporary society by Yeshivot and Chassidim alike) and were not bothered by the advances of science other than how it impacted their health.( For a thorough analysis of past and present orthodox society see Prof Haym Soloveitchik’s seminal Rupture and Reconstruction here: http://www.lookstein.org/links/orthodoxy.htm )We live in a different world today and the approach of Rambam must be promoted, taught and developed if we want to retain our religion in the face of reality.

Rambam’s approach is that religion does not create science. It is man’s obligation to understand the world he lives in and tame it. Religion takes science at face value and interprets what it sees from a religious perspective. Rambam did so with the philosophy and science of his time, we have to do the same in our time. Rambam did not write a book of apologetics, the Moreh. That argument is false and is shown to be by the great R. Meir Simcha of Ohr Sameach fame and R. Yosef Rozen the Rogatschover. Rambam after all, legislated the philosophies he lays out in the Moreh. One only has to go through the Yad in Hilchos Deos, Yesodei Hatorah, Avoda Zara, Teshuva, Melochim and interspersed among the other books such as the end of Hilchos Me’ilah. and many other places, and find these ideas expounded sometimes subtly at others less so. Science is part of the Torah inasmuch as it is the material that the Torah wants us to know and interpret in such a way that it becomes our conduit to God. Science is not the enemy – science is our only way to get close to God. We must change our way of thinking and see how this is the way to God and to maintain our position of “Am novon vechochom hagoy hagodol hazeh” – this great nation is composed of wise men.(devarim 4:6)

8 comments:

  1. The impact on religious thought is enormous as it encourages its supporters to accept Pessukim and Chazal literally.

    This is disingenuous. Rav Kook maximized G-d's hashgacha in the world in the most extreme way possible and at the same time was one of the first to advocate a non-literal reading of bereishit. Same goes for Rav Dessler. Rav Aryeh Kaplan as well felt that kabbalistic thought was the key for modern life. If anything, the traditional view of the Rambam is the greatest hindrance for the modern Jew.

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  2. >first to advocate a non-literal reading of bereishit.

    I dont know of any Rishon that reads Bereishis literally nor any serious Acharon. Hakacha tells us it is allegorical, "velo bema'aseh Breishis bishnaiym". We are talking about many other things that are taken literally, such as miracles, which cannot be accepted if scientific method is correct, historical discrepancies, and a slew of other things (slifkin issues etc...)

    > If anything, the traditional view of the Rambam is the greatest hindrance for the modern Jew

    What do you mean by that? Are you putting the emphasis on "Traditional"? If so what are you referring to?

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  3. We are talking about many other things that are taken literally, such as miracles, which cannot be accepted if scientific method is correct, historical discrepancies, and a slew of other things (slifkin issues etc...)

    What is the contradiction between science and miracles? They are by definition out of the realm of science. Rav Kook advocated the stance that chazal relied on the science of their time (I believe that Rav Dessler did so as well) while not closing the door for genuine miracles to occur.

    I consider myself a student of this school and have no problem conceiving of the progress of scientific ideas in the world. Just like I conceive of the progress of spiritual ideas in the world (based on kabbalah). Some of the most original thought of the past 200 years has come from those gedolim who immersed themselves in Sod. I am thinking of the Izbitzer, Rav Zaddok, Rav Kook, HaRav HaNazir among others. You are creating an artificial link between esoteric thought and an inability of some segments of the Jewish world to function intellectually in the modern world.

    What do you mean by that? Are you putting the emphasis on "Traditional"? If so what are you referring to?

    I mean that hyper-rationalism as is often learned from the Rambam often cripples one's ability to advance new models of spiritual life. The only system that enables such creativity and adaptively is the mystical trends which is why rationalism truly climaxed in the era of the rishonim and got a short grasp for air in the 19th century.

    Don't get me wrong. I appreciate it as a stepping stone in Jewish History but I find it has very few tools for dealing with today's problems. If anything, it somewhat traps us within the limits of human reason and thus forces us to play by the rules of a game which we can never win.

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  4. > adaptively

    Should be adaptability

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  5. Chardal, Your arguments are not new and it might work for some especially your brand of rational mysticism.I personally cannot deal with it. I find it to be a fantasy . I tried working with it in my younger years and read Ramban,Rabbeinu Bachya (which I periodically do just to better understand the rationalist schools), Rav Tzodok, Maharal, sifrei chassidus like sfas Emes, Shem Mishmuel, Tanya and Torah Ohr and ended up with nothing. It is only when I turned to rambam and his school that Judaism took in me. I cannot live with anything but "Ein lo ledayan ela mah sheinav ro'ot". I have not read Rav Kook except perfunctoraly(sic)as I come from a chareidi background and by the time I got
    around to it I was already elsewhere. I am planning to go back to that because i suspect he is trying to bridge the two worlds.

    regarding miracles I do not believe that HKBH ever changes nature. Not that He cannot but He does not. The world and its progression is from His perspective always in His timeless present. He is perfect so adjustments, which miracles are reacting to unforeseen circumstances, would indicate imperfection.All "miracles" are in reality natural occurrences that are very rare, and are therefore seen as such. The time the "miracles" occur has been preset at Creation, and it is man's job to know about them and take advantage of them just like any other scientific discovery.Krias Yam Suf was a natural event that Moshe knew how to take advantage of.

    The minute you bring into play miracles, where nature is changed, you deny all science. Science is based on empirical observation and if a phenomena, rare as it is, occurs it must be taken into account and a theory adjusted to explain it. Mysticism kils that ability, and therefore discourages science. It denies the reality of our world. The idea makes me schizophrenic and leaves me cold to such a religion.

    Religion is how we view our world and bring HKBH into it. It is like science, an empirical endeavor.We take a fact and try to fit into the theory that HKBH created the world. We adjust the theory to fit the tact and npt the other way round.

    I just realized that I wrote a post so I will post and finish there. Thanks for the impetus.

    Chardal keep arguing as it clarifies my thinking. You have a chelek in my development.Yeyashar Kochacho.

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  6. I think everyone who has made comments about this is more learned than me, but a really great blend of the rational and the mystical is Ramchal's D'rech HaShem. You've probably already read it of course, but it has changed my thinking in subtle ways for years now.

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  7. I don't think you can know much about God through science. I think that using science, Man has the potential to eliminate human suffering, ushering in a state of existence that could be considered "in the Presence of God."

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  8. >I don't think you can know much about God through science.

    Correct. You cannot know the essence of God. You can know his deeds and emulate them. Then you will use science for good and not for destruction.

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