Foundation III - an interim summary.

The last two posts dealt with the issue that I understand as the basic foundation of Judaism. Let me now try to put it all into a clearer perspective.

Judaism is built on one, and only one basic conviction – Metzius Hashem – the existence of a transcendent, unique and ultimately unknowable God. That is the most important thing that we are required to know, learn, appreciate and assimilate through our own minds and prove it to ourselves to the best of our ability. It is the sine qua non of all monotheistic religions.
We have discussed the proof that I believe is the one that stands up to the test of time and is the most rational, the one I call by contingency. I will not repeat it as I have posted the very concise Isaac Franck statement several times. As we are proving the existence of a transcendental God, we cannot expect a 100% empirical proof but rather like all sciences, we first propose a theory that makes most sense and then proceed to look for empirical proof. We as a people are still in the process of enlisting humankind to partake in the endeavor.

ט וְהָיָה יְהוָה לְמֶלֶךְ, עַל-כָּל-הָאָרֶץ; בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, יִהְיֶה יְהוָה אֶחָד--וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד.
9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall the LORD be One, and His name one.
(Zechariah 14)

Once we have established the existence of God, an intelligent person has a need to try to know the Entity that is the basis of our existence. If we want to find an answer to the existential questions of purpose, the why and how of our being, we want to go to the source.

א שִׁמְעוּ אֵלַי רֹדְפֵי צֶדֶק, מְבַקְשֵׁי יְהוָה; הַבִּיטוּ אֶל-צוּר חֻצַּבְתֶּם, וְאֶל-מַקֶּבֶת בּוֹר נֻקַּרְתֶּם.
1 Hearken to Me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD; look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged
(Yeshayahu 51:1)

Thus the search of God by man which is the basis of all religion.

Rambam makes quite clear that the existence of God has a special place in thought. The only concept he refers to as the Foundation of all Foundations is the existence of God.

א יסוד היסודות ועמוד החכמות, לידע שיש שם מצוי ראשון

In his listing of the Ikarim in the introduction to Perek Chelek Rambam presents the first five, which deal with God’s existence, uniqueness, transcendence, that He is the First Cause and that He is the only God to worship as facts. That is not a belief but reality that is a known fact.

This knowledge has been with humankind on and off for the longest time and finally established itself for the long term with Avraham, long before Sinai and the Torah. A macro glance at Sefer Breishis makes it clear that it is the message it is trying to send. It starts with Creation which is the idea of First Cause, follows in a summary of man’s periodical awareness of God and how, most of the time, man forgot about Him. Finally with the arrival of Avraham monotheism started to take root among a group of people and stayed.

It became clear that a theological/philosophical concept that requires intellectual commitment cannot survive when it is only in the mind. That is the meaning of the story of Egypt where, when confronted with hardship monotheism could not survive and was almost lost. It became clear that a system of behavior had to be established that would force people to think about God and constantly remind them to search for Him.

Moshe established that system through revelation. Revelation is not a miraculous thing, according to Rambam who disagrees with Kuzari and others, but a trait that all humans can acquire after proper preparation. It is a blend of rational speculation and study of the Universe, intuition and imagination. This can be learned. Great scientific discoveries, leaps in understanding of the universe and its components, were the result of exceptional men making use of this ability, whether consciously or not.

When imagination is part of the mix, subjectivity has a role and is not adequate for creating a fair and rational system of laws and beliefs. We also need a system that is immutable so that it remains constant for a very long time – eternity. Moshe developed that ability and we believe that he is the only person that ever did or will ever in the future have such an ability.

When it comes to prophecy Rambam uses the term “Le'yedah” both in the Yad and in the introduction to Chelek as translated by Rav Kafieh. That is something that has to be learned.

א מיסודי הדת, לידע שהאל מנבא את בני האדם;

When he deals with the prophecy of Moshe he uses “Na’amin”, believe. That is already a matter of acceptance. At Sinai, the greatest accomplishment was that the people were convinced that Moshe is the only prophet that legislates without subjectivity. Only someone who was present and experienced it could know exactly how he or she was convinced. In any case they committed not only for themselves but also for their descendants.

Clearly there are different levels of belief. The existence of God is based on proof. Prophecy is something to be learned and experienced. Everyone can but not every one will. Moshe’s unique prophecy, which is the basis of Torah min Hashamayim, is something we accept.

I have presented an outline of a system which can be visualized as a pyramid with the ultimate goal at the top point and all the tools needed to get to it below, flaring out into a broad base. The goal is to know God as much as one can; the system is the Torah and its commandments. When one looks at the Sefer Hamitzvos and how it is structured, the first commandment is to know God followed by a series of intellectual requirements and only then by active Mitzvos. (My friend Rabbi Buchman is writing a book on the subject. It has been his idea for the longest time.)

Is the Torah way the only one that works? The answer is that individuals can arrive at the same place on their own. Some have without the Torah. The Torah way is the only one that is a system that focuses a large population on this goal of understanding God.

My next posts will deal with the ultimate purpose of knowing God and some of the tools the Torah has given us – Ta’amei Hamitzvos and Veholachto Bidrochov. They will address some of the workings of the system and how they are accomplishing what they were set out to do.

NB: I want to make it clear I am trying to learn and clarify things for myself. I don't have all the answers nor the only ones. I have learned a lot from the comments here and during my visits at other sites. To me these issues are at the center of my thoughts and keep me up at night. I believe that they are the core of Judaism and an obligation for all who can, to pursue them and try to get a grip on them.