There are three conditions, though,
for asking a question. The first is that we genuinely seek to learn -
not to doubt, ridicule, dismiss, reject. The second is that we accept
limits to our understanding. Not everything is intelligible at any given
moment. This should induce in us a certain humility. Not every answer
survives the test of time. Not everything that we do not understand is
intelligible. Faith is not opposed to questions, but is opposed to the
shallow certainty that we think at the moment is all there is. Third
is that when it comes to the faith, we learn by living and understand by
doing. We learn to understand music by listening to music. We learn to
appreciate literature by reading literature. There is no way of
understanding Shabbat without keeping Shabbat, no way of appreciating
how Jewish laws of family purity enhance a marriage without observing
them. Judaism, like music, is something that can only be understood from
the inside, by immersing yourself in it..... every question asked in
reverence is the start of a journey towards God.
- Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Haggadah
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.