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Asher Ben Haim
After hearing all this, the Khazar King responded, "Someone who hears you say that God spoke with your people, and that He wrote tablets for them, will conclude that you believe in a physical God. It would seem that you could not condemn such a person, because you cannot dispute the great physical revelations of God that you just mentioned. It would also, then, be correct for you to reject the philosophers' path of arriving at religion through proofs and intellectual analysis as your historical revelations supersede all else."
The Rabbi said: "Heaven forbid such an ascription to Him! Never does the Torah write something that the logic dictates as false. While religious faith is above the dictates of human logic, it does not run counter to it. Our faith distances itself greatly from attributing any sort of physicality to God. To wit: the first of the Ten Commandments is to believe in God. The second is the prohibition from worshiping other gods in addition to God and making idols and graven images which represent God. How could we not elevate God above the physical, if we even elevate certain creations of God above the physical? Consider a person's soul, which is really the essence of every person. When, for example, Moses would speak, instruct, and lead us, what came out of him did not emanate from his tongue, or his heart, or his brain. Rather, those were just tools that Moses' soul used to speak to us. Moses, then, is the speaking, discerning soul. It is not physical, nor is it confined to a certain place, nor is it perceived through any of the senses. It is abstract.
Foundations of Faith (51)
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
13 - 13. Faith Needs No Rational Proof
14 - 20. God's Incorporeality
15 - 19. Divine Providence and Prophetic Revelation
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In summary, God is definitively sublime, above all physicality, impenetrable, and infinite. And because He is infinite, He is omnipotent and can do things which are beyond our understanding. He can cause us to hear His speech and to see his writ, without our understanding how these things come about.
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Postscript: In the above article, some of what appears to be the dialog of Rabbi Judah Halevi's The Kuzari has in fact been added by Rabbi Melamed for purposes of clarity and explication.
Much of the translation of the Kuzari in the above article is taken from N. Daniel Korobkin's translation of The Kuzari (Jason Aaronson Inc.).
Rabbis in Midrash
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Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
Shlach Lecha "Why So Many Don't Make Aliya?" - Parshat Shlach
This short article deals with the weird phenomena that every single time Am Yisrael is meant to enter the Land of Israel, throughout the Tanach, 2nd Temple and until today, they "chicken out" and look for excuses. What's the problem with this mitzvah that proves so challenging. The article, based on sources, suggests that the difficulties of Eretz Yisrael is precisely her secret and beauty!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 4
The class deals with Islam and how the Muslim tries convincing the King of the Khazars, and why he was also rejected.
Beha'alotcha JEWISH STATE= GUIDE TO G-DLINESS & SELFLESSNESS
A Jewish State not only is a good idea, but educates us towards selflessness, altruism and G-dliness in our daily lives.
Ein Aya In Zion Even the Smoke of the Bark is Sweet
Just as Jewish nationalism is different from others, so too our capitol of Jerusalem is totally different than other national capitols. Rav Kook beautifully explains the passage in the Talmud that the trees of Yerushalayim were cinnamon trees.
