New answers tagged hashkafah-philosophy
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G-d did not create evil. He also does not emit evil, nor does He prevent it from happening (allowing it to exist) because G-d is not involved in human affairs. Rambam felt that evil is the result three things: when people harm themselves, when people harm others, and natural law, although good for the earth as when a hurricane cleans the atmosphere, it can ...
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Good question.
Your idea is excellent. Only people who think about what they read will catch this contradiction. It's true that it seems as though the Jews held a crusade. However, I offer another approach.
The conquest of Canaan
Any person with some kind of sensibility would agree that the Spanish conquest of the Americans was a genocide. Where the ...
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Rambam in Guide for the Perplexed 1:36 writes as follows:
How great, then, must be the offence of him who has a wrong opinion of God Himself, and believes Him to be different from what He truly is, i.e., assumes that He does not exist, that He consists of two elements, that He is corporeal, that He is subject to external influence, or ascribes to Him any ...
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Rabbi Tovia Singer seems to say that idolatry is worst than atheism. Saying that should not be mistaken as saying atheism is the preferred path.
I am an Orthodox Jew. Nevertheless, atheism can purify much in religion according to Rabbi Kook.[1] Kook wrote that G-d needs atheists:
”Because atheism cleanses the dross of ‘petty religion,’ the narrowness ...
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Throughout ages, our Sages engaged in Halachic, scientific and philosophical arguments between themselves and with other nations' philosophers
This statement isn't historically correct. Our sages for most of history didn't voluntarily
engage in Halachic, scientific and philosophical arguments between themselves and with other nations' philosophers.
We hold ...
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Possible sources for the theory of the decline of the generations
It is possible that the source for the idea of the decline of the generations, as made plain in the question, could be attributed to the Chazon Ish, which insists on the need to follow the majority, however, the Sanhedrin is longer functioning and the Sefer HaChinnuch does not extend to ...
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One name that comes to mind is Zecharia Wallerstein. There are a tremendous amount of his speeches here on Torah Anytime.
I have heard back from both kiruv organisers and the teenagers who needed that extra type of push that he has a successful approach that is appreciated.
But as Yaakov said in the comments, not everything is about proofs and convincing. ...
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One of the Rambam's 13 principles of Jewish faith dictates that the Torah was given by G-d to Moses and is divine.
Now, use your logic - if G-d wrote the Torah would He put false information in it, could He make mistakes?
G-d doesn't make mistakes. Since G-d makes no mistakes, there are no mistakes in the Torah and everything written in the Torah is 100% ...
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Yes, Ralbag does say that God does not know (certain aspects of) the future. See Book III of Milchamot Hashem for his full treatment of God's knowledge. The basic idea is that God's knowledge of man's future actions is limited by man's free will. God knows what man will likely do, based on his makeup and the celestial influences, but man has the ability to ...
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I never heard anyone say that "G-d miraculously wiped all evidence"
The common explanation that I've heard is that the events being discussed were supernatural events. Therefore you will not find evidence for them by looking for them with natural current scientific means.
Obviously, there was some sort of mechanism used for the world to transition ...
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For the short answer, see 1 Kings 22:20-23 and Yechezkel 14:9 regarding the use of what, at very least, we would usually identify as deception by God.
Your question, as formulated, relies heavily on the idea that the Biblical stories transpired literally as described while the physical/material evidences (as represented by contemporary academic beliefs) are,...
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The general theme of AZ 54b-55a is “If Hashem hates idolatry, why doesn’t He just get rid of it?” One particular statement that’s relevant to the question at hand (my translation):
א"ל רבא בר רב יצחק לרב יהודה האיכא בית עבודת כוכבים באתרין דכי מצטריך עלמא למטרא מתחזי להו בחלמא ואמר להו שחטו לי גברא ואייתי מטרא שחטו לה גברא ואתי מטרא א"ל השתא אי הוי שכיבנא ...
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According to this answer here, it is "implied by all interpreters" that the foremothers did indeed convert1 prior to marrying the forefathers. As this is something that all the interpreters were able to learn out (presumably either via tradition or some other method), it seems like there is no need for the Torah to explicitly write it out.
Note that no ...
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While perhaps not prophecy per se, depending on how you interpret it this incident recorded in Berachot 18b might be an example:
It is related that a certain pious man gave a denar to a poor man on the eve of New Year in a year of drought, and his wife scolded him, and he went and passed the night in the cemetery, and he heard two spirits conversing with ...
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In the old days, prophets also played the part of the local wise man, giving advice when people asked. This can be seen when Saul was sent to speak to Samuel by his father to go find where the list donkeys were. So yes, the prophets did share 'mundane' information as well.
However, the prophecies that were recorded in Tanach were recorded since they contain ...
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I do not believe that G-d intervenes in world affairs, nor do I believe in miracles per se. I also think this is Maimonides' view. It follows that G-d did not speak to anyone. When the Bible says G-d did something, it is referring to the laws of nature. This is also the view of Maimonides.
Does the Torah offer practical advice?
People who need a loving G-...
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I don't think this assumption behind this question is correct.
The atheistic communist countries certainly were/are significantly worse off materially than the more religious capitalistic countries.
As far as Bnei Brak vs. Tel Aviv goes, the people living in Bnei Brak would tell you that they are voluntarily giving up Olam Hazeh for the sake of Olam ...
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The Torah specifically tells us not to "forget" God (i.e., become less observant) when we become wealthy and feel satisfied, implying that this is an expected phenomenon. [Deut.8] That's how we are wired. We just have to fight it. That danger is also recognized in later Sources. The Talmud [Berachot 32a] connects the sin of the Golden Calf with the fact ...
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It's not that the non-religious are rewarded with wealth. It's that the wealthy are at risk for forgetting God, and too often succumb.
Deuteronomy 8
כָּל-הַמִּצְוָה, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם--תִּשְׁמְרוּן לַעֲשׂוֹת: לְמַעַן תִּחְיוּן וּרְבִיתֶם, וּבָאתֶם וִירִשְׁתֶּם אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-נִשְׁבַּע יְהוָה, לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם. וְזָכַרְתָּ אֶת-כָּל-...
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As reported here R Shlomo Goren proposed to change the text of kiddush levana, the monthly blessing on the moon's renewal
the answer began to emerge within hours of the historic Apollo 11 moon
landing [...], the word came from Israel where Gen. [R] Shlomo
Goren, the Armed Forces’ Chief Chaplain, issued instructions about a
change in the prayer for ...
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Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky and the Moon landing
אמת ליעקב פרשת בראשית
ודברי רמב"ן אלה הם שעמדו לי בשעה שראינו איך שבני אדם יורדים מעל המטוס ע"י סולם על גלגל הלבנה, וחשבתי בלבי מה יענה כעת הרמב"ם ז"ל שכתב שהלבנה היא בעלת צורה רוחנית, והרהרתי בלבי שכעת נצחה הקבלה את הפיליסופיא, ונחמתי את עצמי בדברי רמב"ן אלו.
אבל כפי שאנחנו מתייחסים לדברי הראשונים ...
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The Lubavitcher Rebbe's reaction from Chabad.org:
Yes, the human being has performed something magnificent. There is much in which to take pride. But does that make us so large as to displace G‑d? Just the opposite! We only know the greatness of the Creator from the greatness of His creations. Now that we see He has created a being that is capable of ...
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Rav Menachem Kasher wrote the first sections of his האדם על הירח in response to this event. Throughout the work he discusses the moon landing from hashkafic and halachic perspectives.
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This question was answered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, you can watch the full content here with English subtitles, worthwhile to listen to the entire explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVFXZK6LDb8
Summary of the answer -
Torah instructs: "Provide yourself with a mentor." But how does one know who to choose as a spiritual guide?
The Talmud Tractate ...
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