vol. xi no. 22 — july 27, 2012

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VOL. XI NO. 22 JULY 27, 2012

Tisha BAv

Devarim

God vs. theMultiverse

Parts VIVIII

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3 Letters RABBI MOSHE BEN-CHAIM

Omens, Why Wait to Give the Torah?,Justice, Witchcraft, Numerous as the

Stars

6 Coming to GripsRABBI DR. DARRELL GINSBERG

The prophets message apropos for the

mourning period surrounding Tisha

BAv

8 Torah & its Mitzvot RABBI BERBIE FOX

Rabbi Fox offers his insight into theweekly Parsha

12Chastisements of Love RABBI REUVEN MANN

Rabbi Manns unique perspective on

Moses final words to the nation

14 Multiverse VI-VIII RABBI E. FEDER, RABBI E. ZIMMER

A review of initial parts, and argumenagainst a chance event that all occurre

without a designer

18 Gods Plan for Man RABBI MOSHE BEN-CHAIM

A synopsis of Gods plan for mankind

achieve the greatest fulfillment

C O N T E N T S

OmensI have had a bit of a disagreement with a local rabbi

about various 'customs' surrounding the Havdalla wine

at the Sabbath conclusion, which seem to me to be

omens or amulets and therefore, according to you,

forbidden. For instance, wine overflowing and dipping

fingers in the wine afterwards and putting it on ones

eyes and in ones pockets to ensure success for the

upcoming week. I would like your comments please.

Arieh

Rabbi: Yes, these are Nichush (omen) violations. SMishne Torah, Avoda Zarah chapter 11. Any act that h

no demonstrated effects, and people claim it caus

certain results...is Nichush and a form of idolatry.

Arieh: I suppose the same applies to the the followitaken from a shiur sent out last week (davka on hilc

teshuva of the Rambam):

"As my own simple example, there were times in t

past when I would leave morning synagogue servic

www.Mesora.org/Jewishtimes J u l y 2 7 , 2 0 1 2

ekly Journal on Jewish Thought

LETTERS

(continued on page

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REVIEWS

RELIGIONofREASONRELIGIONofREASONRELIGIONofREASON

AstrologyReincarnationPraying to the DeadSuperstitionDemonsBashert

Evil EyeRebbe WorshipSegulasSatanAngelsWestern Wall Prayers

Red BendelsKabbalaMysticismMiraclesWhat is God?Jewish Souls

Talmudic StoriMetaphorsBelief vs. ProofDo Rabbis Err?Gentile EqualitMans Purpose

PARTIAL CHAPTER LIST

RABBI REUVEN MANN Rabbi, Y. Israel of PhoenixRabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim has written extensively on Jewishphilosophy for many years. His ideas are rooted in a rationalapproach. He follows the great philosophers like Rambam andSaadia Gaon. He is opposed to all forms of mysticism and seeksto debunk all practices and beliefs which are rooted in superstitionand contrary to reason. This work covers a wide variety of topics, of

interest to contemporary; insightful analyses of Biblical narratives as well as thesignificance of many mitzvot. Rabbi Ben-Chaim demonstrates that Judaism canbe harmonized with human reason. He is not afraid to ask the most penetratingand challenging questions as he is convinced that Torah is the Word of God andbased on the highest form of wisdom. Jews who have a profound desire to makesense out of their religion will benefit greatly from reading this book.

RABBI STEVEN WEIL Executive Vice President, The Orthodox UnionRabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim asks critical, crucial and defining ques-tions that any thinking Jew needs to ask. His method enables thereader to explore and engage our theology in a meaningful andserious way. Following the Rishonim, he forces us to define, weighand analyze each phrase of chazal, showing there is no contradic-

tion between an investigation of Science and an investigation ofJudaism. Rabbi Ben-Chaim has written a work that addresses the thinking personof all faiths. This work speaks to the scholar and lay person alike and will helpyou gain insight into how the great Rishonim define how we view the world.Rabbi Ben-Chaims website, Mesora.org is a very serious tool and resource forthinking human beings who want to engage and explore the Almighty, theAlmightys universe and do so within the realm of wisdom, rationality andintellectual honesty.

by JewishTimes publisherRabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim

Is Torah mysticalor rational, just likeGods natural laws?Its time a book unveiled the truth.Is Torah a set of incomprehensible mystical beliefs, as kabbalistssuggestor perfectly reasonable and brilliantly insightful?Finally learn directly from Torah texts and our greatest Rabbis,precisely why mysticism is false, not Torah, and not Gods will.Religion of Reason unveils widespread Jewish mystical beliefsas false, and prohibited. Torah is presented in its rational andprovable naturejust like Gods natural laws. There are nopowers besides God, and He prohibits belief in mysticism.

Cryptic Talmudic stories are explained metaphorically offeringastonishing insights as intended, and beautiful insights into manyParshas are revealed. Finally, Jews can understand the falsehoodsthey have accepted, and abandon them in place of true Torah.

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6 | www.Mesora.org/Jewishtimes July 27, 2012

habbos Chazon, as it iscommonly known, is theShabbos preceding Tisha

BAv, taking its name from thewell-known haftorah from the firstchapter of Yishayahu. This chapter,whose custom is to be read to the tuneof Eicha, is dominated by the tocha-cha, or rebuke, of the Jewish people.

There is a general poetic grace to thewords of the prophet; while for thoseof a literary background it speaksvolumes, to the seeker of the ideas ofGod, it merely serves as the gatewayinto understanding the nature of theprophecy. When faced with theserebukes, we must look beyond thepoetic value, and attempt to gleanwhat God is telling us, as well as tolearn how we can correct our defects,leading us back to God.

In this first full verse of prophecy, we

are faced with a poetic statement thatis quite cryptic (Yeshayahu 1:3):

An ox knows his owner and adonkey his master's crib; Israel doesnot know, my people does notconsider.

What now? We turn to Rashi forhelp. However, as we will soon see, weare only digging a deeper hole:

his owner: (Heb. kono) [is] likemisakno, the one who affixes him tothe plowshare for plowing by day,and since he has accustomed him tothis, he knows him. The dull donkey,however, does not recognize hismaster until he feeds him. Israel wasnot intelligent like the ox, to know,when I called him and said, Israel

will be your name (Gen. 35:10), andI informed them of several of Mystatutes, yet they deserted Me, as isrelated in Ezekiel (20:39): Let eachone go and worship his idols. Evenafter I took them out of Egypt and fedthem the manna and called them,My people, the children of Israel,they did not consider even as adonkey.

Another explanation is: An oxknows its owner: An ox recognizes hisowner so that his fear is upon him. He

did not deviate from what I decreedupon him, by saying, I will not plowtoday. Neither did a donkey say to hisowner, I will not bear burdens today.Now, these [creatures,] who werecreated to serve you, and are notdestined to receive reward if theymerit, or to be punished if they sin, didnot change their manner, which I

decreed upon them. Israel, however,who, if they merit receive reward,and if they sin are punished.

does not know: i.e., did not want toknow; they knew but trod with theirheels, and my people did not takeheart to consider.

Even understanding the words ofRashi on a literal basis is quite

difficult, and not solely due to thetranslation. In his first explanation,Rashi seems to be separating the oxfrom the donkey. Whereas an oxbecomes attached to his masterthrough acclimation to work, thedonkey develops this same type ofrelationship when fed (the zoologicalimplications are unimportant to thisauthor). The Jewish people, havingbeen identified as Yisrael, received ahandful of commandments(ostensibly referring to the time from

Yaakov through their sojourn inEgypt), and demonstrate theirsubstandard intelligence by turningto idolatry. God provides all sorts ofwonderful things in the desert, and yetthe Jewish people, again acting in amanner inferior to that of the animal,turn away from God.

In the second explanation, Rashi is

S

Tisha BAv

(continued on next page)

RABBI DR. DARRELL GINSBERG

GripsComing

to

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tying the two animals together. Here,he seems to be expressing an idea ofknowledge or lack thereof, of the goodprovided by God. The Redak (based onthis authors opinion) seems to expandon Rashis explanation, giving us abetter idea of what Rashi is talkingabout. Animals adhere to thecommands of their master, knowing

the master is the provider of good. TheJewish people received much goodfrom God, such as the exodus fromEgypt and entrance into Israel, and yetbehaved in a manner indicating theydid not know God. Furthermore,they failed to recognize that unlike ananimal, they were subject to rewardand punishment. If they followed God,they would be rewarded, but if theyrejected God, they would be punished.

What is Rashi teaching us?In his first explanation, we see a

contrast between the behavior of theox and the donkey. The ox, throughworking for his master, becomesaccustomed to his role, directlyleading to knowledge of his master.The donkey, on the other hand,requires food to reach this knowledge.What is the difference here? Theanalogy might be speaking of the twobasic elements of man the mind andthe emotions. In this case, the oxreflects the mind. Within the ox lies a

certain potential - to work for hismaster - and once it is actualized, henow knows him. The same can be saidof the mind, the ability to comprehendknowledge and ultimately yediyasHashem. Within every person lies thetzelem Elokim, the part of mancreated to perceive knowledge of God.For the Jewish people, it lay in itspotential state until God identified thenation and gave some command-ments. At that point, the Jews werenow able to actualize this ability, to

engage in yediyas Hashem throughthe understanding and performanceof these various commandments.When a person involves himself in thecommandments, understanding theirbenefits and ideas, he becomes accus-tomed to knowing God. His mindbecomes naturally drawn to the ideas,much like the ox naturally knows its

owner. What the prophet it telling us isthat the Jewish people acted in amanner below the ox; they had thisknowledge, and yet they chose to turnaway from it. They used this actualizedpotential to pursue idolatry and otherfalsehoods. The donkey reflects theother side of man, requiring the worldof the instinctual to develop his

relationship with his owner. In thisinstance, the prophet is explaininghow God provided the Jewish peoplethe complete spectrum of emotionalsatisfaction. He took them out ofEgypt, destroying the slave psychepredominant in the nation. Heprovided them with the manna,ensuring their physical needs weretaken care of. He created for them acomplete sense of security, anenvironment where all theiremotional needs were addressed. This

type of state is ideal for a person to beable to worship God accordingly. Andyet, the prophet points out, this wasnot enough. The Jews still rebelled,still turned away from God. Thisseems to be the first explanation ofRashi.

Rashis second explanation offers adifferent understanding of the flawsexhibited by the Jewish people. As wementioned before, Rashi does notdistinguish between the two animals.

Instead, he focuses on the distinctionbetween the Jewish peoples failure toknow God as the Source of all good,as well as their inability to recognizethat they were subject to both rewardand punishment based on theirbehavior. This behavior by the Jewsindicated they were on a level lowerthan that of animals that naturallyrecognize the good provided by theirmasters. Rashi is keying in on animportant concept here. Godbestowed much good onto the nation

from the onset, yet the nation acted asif they did not know God was thesource. How could they not know?In fact, as Rashi points out, they knewbut dragged their heels. This meansthey knew, but there was some type ofresistance to accepting this as beingtrue. Why? Receiving the good fromGod no doubt brought much benefit to

the nation. However, it also cleademonstrated a sense of dependenMan detests this reality, the fact thhe is dependent. It is a shock to tego, a reality difficult to swallow. Wwant to believe we are independecreatures, free to rule as we pleaThe reality of our dependency on Gwas on full display in the exodus fro

Egypt through the entrance into tLand of Israel and beyond. The objetive was to tie the security of the Jewwith God. However, the Jews failedappreciate this goal, and insteviewed the reality of their dependenas a weakness, and therefore chose nto know God as the source of tgood. This always leads to the embraing of other ideologies. A simiconcept is found in Rashis notion the Jewish peoples failure to reconize their tie to the world of rewa

and punishment. All mankind subject to Gods justice, where his fais tied to his actions. The Jewipeople partake of this to a differedegree, our adherence to tcommandments the true arbiter of ofate. This notion is an affront as wellthe ego. We want to believe we amasters of our destiny, where wcontrol our fate. To admit we asubject to this world of schar voneshto recognize that we, in fact, asubservient to a system beyond ocontrol. Resistance to this reality leato the apparent failure to recognizthis fundamental truth. Sadly, tJewish people failed to recognize thto internalize this, and were subsquently driven into exile.We are at the highpoint of the tim

of tochacha, culminating in ttragedy of the destruction of tTemple. The message of the tochacis harsh, exposing our flaws to uforcing us to recognize how we ha

strayed from God and exited the worof reality. We must turn to the propecy of Yeshayahu, accept the truth our flaws, whether they stem from oinflated egos or our subservience the world of the instinctual. The worof the prophecy are our guides, and wshould keep this in mind as the dayTisha BAv dawns.

Tisha BAv

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ings are intended to prepare the people forentering and settling the Land of Israel. Thesuccess of their conquest of the land and theirachievement of lasting settlement will directlydepend upon their observance of the Torah.As the Torah explained earlier and as Moshewill reiterate in Sefer Devarim, providence willdetermine the fate of the nation. In turn,

providence will be guided by Bnai Yisraelsobedience or abandonment of the Torah.Observance of the mitzvot will secure thenations wellbeing in the land and neglect ofthe mitzvot will lead to suffering and exile. Inthis context Moshe reviews the command-ments. This review is intended to complimentthe rebukes and warnings. Moshe combinesan explanation of the urgency of obedience tothe Torah with a review of its commandments.

Nachmanides explains that the kohanim didnot require a review of their commandments.They were fully committed to their obser-vance. Although they too received his address,

Moshe did not feel he needed to focus of thekohanim. They could be expected to bescrupulous in the observance of thecommandments given specifically to themwithout a further review.

Nachmanides raises another issue. Whywere some mitzvot not previously revealed?Why did Moshe wait until the final momentsof his life to communicate to the nationmitzvot he had received thirty-eight years

These are the words that Moshe spoke

to all of Israel on the east bank of the

Jordan, in the wilderness, in the Aravah,

opposite Suf, between Paran and Tofel,

Lavan, Chatzerot and De Zahav. (Sefer

Devarim 1:1)

1. Sefer Devrim and its contentThis passage introduces Sefer Devarim. The

sefer is composed of three basic elements. Thefirst element consists of rebukes over the pastfailings of the nation coupled to warnings tonot return to these behaviors. The secondelement is composed of a review of many ofthe commandments described earlier in theTorah. In some instances the review of aparticular commandment includes additionaldetail not previously revealed. Sometimes thereview does not provide additional detail andmerely restates the mitzvah. The third

element consists of the communication ofmitzvot that were not previously revealed tothe nation.

Nachmanides notes that the second element composed of a review of previously commu-nicated commandments does not includethose commandments that are assigned exclu-sively to the kohanim. This omission can beunderstood in the context of the overall objec-tive of the sefer. Moshes rebukes and warn-



Devarim

The Torah & its

MitzvotRABBI BERNIE FOX

Weekly Parsha

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earlier at Sinai? Nachmanides replies that the commandments thatwere only now revealed had little or no application in the wilderness.Some would only apply in the Land of Israel. Now that the nation waspoised to enter the land, the appropriate time had arrived for thecommunication of these commandments. Other commandmentsfirst communicated at this point apply outside of the Land of Israelbut are observed very infrequently.

Why did Moshe delay revealing those commandments that occurinfrequently? Moshe could have communicated these command-ments earlier with an explanation of the circumstances in and condi-tions under which each is observed. Moshe was apparently awaitinga practical context in which to teach these commandments. Duringthe thirty-eight years in the wilderness the circumstances in whichthese commandments apply did not arise. Now, Moshe knew that hisend was rapidly approaching. The ideal setting for the teaching ofthese commandments would not arise. He could wait not longer.Now, he revealed these commandments.

2. Moshes review of previously communicated com-mandments

As Nachmanides observes, some commandments are repeated inSefer Devarim without any additional detail. Moshe reviews the

commandment as it has already been taught to the people. He mayselect words and employ phrasing in his review that was not used inthe first iteration. However, in substance, nothing new is added to thecommandment. Nachmanides explains that this review was requiredin order to impress upon the nation the importance of the observanceof the commandments. Through repletion Moshe communicatedurgency and import.

However, it seems that according to Nachmanides, there is a practi-cal outcome from the repetition of a commandment. Understandingthis outcome requires a brief introduction. The Torah command-ments can be divided into two broad categories positive command-ments and negative commandments. In general, the positivecommandments instruct us to perform an activity, profess a convic-tion, or engage in a behavior. We are commended to eat matzah on

Pesach. We are required to accept that Hashem is a unity. We mustgive various forms of charity. These are all positive commandments.

Negative commandments are prohibitions. The negative commanments also relate to convictions, actions, and behaviors.

In general, the courts are not empowered to enforce throupunishments the observance of positive commandments. Howevthe active violation of a negative commandment, generally, punished by the courts. The most common consequence for suchviolation is lashes. A lengthy discussion is required to explain tmeans of administering lashes. This discussion is not necessary this introduction.

3. Repeated admonitions and their judicial impactMaimonides explains that a person receives only a single set

lashes for the violation of a single commandment. Regardless of tnumber of times the commandment is reviewed and the numberadmonitions in the Torah regarding the commandments observtion, the violation of a single commandment will evoke a single setlashes. Maimonides explains that repeated admonitions aintended to stress the importance of the commandments observanand encourage scrupulous attention to its requirements. Howevthese repeated admonitions do not have to produce a practijudicial outcome.

Nachmanides seems to dispute this conclusion. Apparently,

maintains that for those mitzvot punished by lashes, the numbersets of lashes administered by the court varies. For the violationsome of these commandments a single set of lashes is administereFor others, multiple sets are administered. The number of setsdetermined by the number of times the Torah admonishes us to nviolate the commandment. One set of lashes is administered for eaadmonition.

Maimonides position is more easily understood. Lashes aadministered for violation of the commandment. Regardless of tnumber of times the Torah admonishes us to observe a commanment, a single violation should result in administration of a single of lashes. Nachmandies position is more difficult to grasp. Why dothe number of sets of lashes correspond to the number of admontions in the Torah?

4. The Torah, its mitzvot and lashesIt seems that Maimonides and Nachmanid

disagree over the factor that engenders the lashpunishment. Maimonides maintains that lashes aadministered for violation of a commandmeTherefore, regardless of the number of admonitioin the Torah to refrain from a behavior, a singcommandments violation produces a single setlashes as its punishment. Nachmanides argues thlashes are not administered for violation of tcommandment but for violation of the word of tTorah. For each disobedience to the Torahs wolashes are administered. When the Torah repeats

instruction to refrain from an action, it has onetwo purposes. Either the intention is to reveal somnew aspect of the mitzvah or the Torah is deliverian additional admonition regarding a previoustated commandment. If the Torah is expressing additional admonition and we perform the prohited action, we have ignored each of these separaadmonitions. The sets of lashes will correspowith the number of admonitions the numberviolations of the words of the Torah.


Weekly Parsha

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RABBI MOSHE BEN-CHAIM

more promptly in order to make it to work

sooner. I began to notice that whenever I

would do that, I would somehow get on the

entirely wrong traffic-light cycle, and find

myself waiting 5+ minutes at red lights --

something which never seemed to occur to

me when I stayed in the synagogue longer. Igot the message. And there is nothing

unique about my case. Any one of us will

notice -- if we only pay attention -- that the

little things which go wrong in life are often

G-d's veiled way of nudging us in the proper

direction. We need only notice it and hear

G-d's message."

I wonder if he did a statistical analysis of

his supposed phenomena. Where does G-d

indicating something to him appear on the

graph? 50%, 80%?

Rabbi: This would not be Nichush.Certainly, saying God did something is

baseless, as we don't have that knowledge.

But it's not Nichush, since he doesn't

attribute a cause and effect to some

inanimate object, like your first case where

people put Havdala wine on themselves as a

segula. Here, he doesn't say his speed in

leaving shul caused the lights, but it was

God who caused this as a punishment.

Witchcraft: A FallacyHello rabbi. I appreciate your site, and

your perspective, but I'm curious: in your

article about how you guys think the Baal Ha

Ov or witch that Saul spoke to put on a ruse

to make him THINK he was hearing Saul, you

never mentioned how she also seemed to

automatically become aware, without prior

knowledge, of Saul's true identity. This

happened only AFTER she supposedly sawSaul's specter. It seems the book is implying

that she received knowledge from some

kind of spiritual-means through the craft she

was practicing, perhaps her familiar spirit

appeared with his spirit and told her?

I don't believe in ghosts and witchcraft,

but this part section seems to kill your

argument. What do you think happened?

Elliot

Rabbi: Why is it difficult to accept that the

most popular figure - the king - is not know

by face to the masses? Or, perhaps, his

promise that the witch would not be harmed

can only be ensured by the king himself.

In any case, there is nothing in thisaccount forcing our acceptance of powers

never evidenced. The path of the Torah and

reason is just the opposite: we only state

something is fact based on evidence or

reason. Both are lacking here. Additionally,

God's prohibition against witchcraft is

precisely because it is false. Ibn Ezra

(Leviticus, 19:31) says the following, "Those

with empty brains say 'Were it not that

fortune tellers and magicians were true, the

Torah would not prohibit them.' But I (Ibn

Ezra) say just the opposite of their words,

because the Torah doesn't prohibit thatwhich is true, but it prohibits that which is

false. And the proof is the prohibition on

idols and statues."

Easier to Bear"When we know this we shall find every-

thing that may befall us easy to bear; mishap

will create no doubts in our hearts concern-

ing God, whether He knows our affairs or

not, whether He provides for us or abandons

us. On the contrary, our fate will increase

our love of God." This is a quote from

Maimonides.

Since your last email about repentance,

wherein you quoted Maimonides analysis of

Job in the Guide for the PerplexedI have

been going over that section...I highlighted

the portion above, whose conclusion still

eludes me.

How does knowledge that God's

providence, intention, rule and management

is so different from any concept we can

conjure up in our minds of what those terms

mean in relation to God, make anything that

may befall us "easy to bear?" I can see how

knowing that God management and knowl-

edge (being so different in nature to our

own) would help relieve doubts of whether

God is aware of our affairs, and that He does

not abandon us, but not sure how that

knowledge makes mishaps easy to bear.

Did I make myself clear?

Dov

Rabbi: God knows our suffering and can

respond. We are not left without an avenue

for relief. God is there, He knows. He can

help. This is in contrast to one who does not

know about God, or HOW God operates, so

when he is in pain he despairs:

"mishap will create no doubts (whether He

knows...whether He provides)" meaning we

know He CAN do these, we have no doubts.

This conviction does not lead to despair, but

in trusting God, who can perform, since He

knows our plight.

Why Wait?You wrote, "There is no contradiction to

say that the world is both 5761 years old, and

16 billion years old. Time is different when

measured from different portions of the

universe, as proven by Einstein's law of

relativity".

Given that the Torah was accepted 1200-

1300 BCE, why did G-d wait so long to give

the Torah? Why has the vast majority of

human kind been forced to live without it orobserved other beliefs? It makes no sense

that such a small minority would be given

the truth? This makes me think that Orthodox

Judaism can't be the only way. Where do I

start to rectify this?

Yael

Rabbi: Please see my article in this issue,"God's Plan for You"." I answer your question.

LETTERS

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Where do other religions share Judaism' s

view not to teach those who aren't of our

religion.

Matthew

Rabbi: The concept of not teaching Torah togentiles targets the same idea as their

prohibition to observe sabbath. That is, thatthe Jew to the exclusion of all others, must

retain the identity as the authority on Torah.

Had the lines been blurred between Jew

and gentile via gentiles sharing a "Jewish"

identity through similar Sabbath practice or

positions as Torah educators, the world

might turn to them and not Jews to learn

God's will. The problem that ensues is this:

their lack of obligation in the 613 will not

compel their exhaustion of the laws, so as to

practice properly. Their teaching must, by

definition, be compromised, and Torah

thereby will eventually become distorted.

That's the reason we don't teach gentiles,

unless they wish to add to their 613, or

concerning their 7 Noachide laws. The

Talmud is actually more forbidding as it says

a gentile who learns Torah is worthy of death

(Sanhedrin 59a). We understand the sever-

ity: God desires all mankind to have the

Torah available in its original form, and

unless a person accepts 613, the lack of

commitment must distort Torah, causing the

next generation of Jews and gentiles to

receive a faulty transmission, and acorrupted version of Torah.

There is no parallel between Torah and

other religions. Torah is of Divine origin,

addressing every aspect of human nature to

ensure the happiest life. Only the Creator

has complete knowledge to create such a

system. In contrast, literally all other

religions are man made. Thereby, all other

religions are built around human consider-

ations for all their principles. Even the best

works of man cannot approach the perfec-

tion of our God-made Torah.

This explains why other religions jump at

the opportunity to convert alines to their

religion. Ego, fame, power, and the human

misconceptions that "might makes right,"

and "there's power in numbers" all human

insecurities fool the masses to believe that

with more followers, a religion is "more

correct." Their insecurities compel them to

make others convert, as if this corrects theirflawed teachings in any measure.

It is wrong to seek parallels between

Judaism and any other religion. Doing so

suggests we share common ground. And as

most other religions are based on the

deification of man, a heresy, this core funda-

mental difference makes the comparing of

Judaism to others, like comparing color to

weight. There is no relationship at all.

As Numerous as StarsWhere did God fulfill His promise "to make

the Jews as "numerous as the stars of heaven",

for God said, we are "smallest among all

nations (Deut. 7:7)."

Eugene

Rabbi: That quote is to remind the Jews not tofeel arrogant, as the following verse says, He

made us numerous "to keep His oath to our

forefathers (Deut. 7:8)," and not due to our own

greatness.

But despite this, that we are smallest,

nonetheless, Moses says, "God has made you

today as numerous as the stars of heaven

(Deut. 1:10)," and "And now Hashem your God

has placed you numerous as the stars of

heaven (Deut. 10:21)."

So, although we are smallest, God did fulfill

his word to make us many.

The question is, what was God's intent in

making us numerous? Why is this of such

importance, that He promised this to Abraham,

and without his asking? We can suggest that

as Abraham desired to teach the masses how

foolish their religions were, and to help them,

to guide them towards truth using reasoning

and proofsGod encouraged Abraham and

endorsed his mission by promising to assist in

spreading Abraham's message of monothe-

ism.

God desires the good for all mankind. This is

precisely why God created the humanspecies. It is therefore reasonable that God

desires to help religions who err, to see the

light, and abandon idolatry, deification of man

and other fundamental errors. Once Abraham

found God, God desired to assist Abraham, so

as to assist all mankind in our most vital

purpose on Earth; to recognize the One Creator

and appreciate His amazing wisdom, "For this

is all of man (Koheles, 2nd to last verse)."

LETTERS

Judaism:IncomparableSubmit questions to: [email protected]

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This weeks Torah reading initiates the final

Book of the Torah, Sefer Devarim. It is com-

prised of the talks Moshe addressed to the

Jews in his last days. He knew that death was

imminent yet chose to devote all his energy to

the needs of the people. They were poised to

begin the conquest and settlement of the land.

Success in this endeavor depended on adher-

ing to Torah and behaving as a kingdom of

priests and holy nation. He expounded the

Torah to elucidate its laws, ideals and philoso-

phy of life. However, he did not restrict himself

to abstract theological topics. To fulfill their

national mission the people would have to

recognize their flaws and repent. He, therefore,

reviewed some of the unsavory moments of

their recent history starting with the episode of

the spies. Moshe was a fearless leader who did

not refrain from speaking the harsh truth. He

understood that a capacity for introspection is

vital to the success of individuals and nations

and that there is no better time to express

criticism then when one is about to depart the

earthly scene. At such moments people are

more apt to comprehend that these are chas-

tisements of love.

Weekly Parsha

We can understand why Moshe called atte

tion to the sin of the spies as it caused t

death of that generation in the wilderne

However, some commentators question

failure to mention the Golden Calf at this po

This was arguably their most egregio

trespass yet it is not mentioned until chap

nine. Why would Moshe defer discussion of t

sin, given its gravity and consequences?

We must understand the motive beh

Moshes rebuke. His intent was not to insult t

people or cause them to feel guilty. His go

were entirely positive. The concept of rebuk

unpopular in contemporary culture. We ar

pleasure seeking society which rejects t

notion of an objective moral truth. We belie

that ethics are purely subjective and that ea

person can determine what is right and wro

When people seek to impose their values

others our instinctive reaction is, why do

you mind your own business? Judaism ma

tains that withholding valid criticism from o

who needs it displays indifference to t

welfare of ones fellow. The Torah proclai

Whom G-d loves does He rebuke. Mos

emulated this Divine attribute. He wanted

Jews to prosper and endure on the land.

sought to point out their flaws without ov

whelming them with excessive criticism.

cited the incident of the spies because it w

most relevant to the task at hand. The report

the spies engendered fear. It also caused th

to disparage the land and say, let us appoin

leader and return to Egypt. Had they prope

appreciated the opportunity to become G-

chosen nation in His specially designated la

they would have been able to overcome

fear. This event took place on the ninth of

which ever since has been the designated ti

for our national catastrophes.

This Sunday Jews worldwide will observe t

fast of Tisha Bav. On this day we mourn all

tragedies of Jewish history, beginning with t

destruction of the Temple and including t

Crusades, pogroms, Inquisitions and the Ho

caust. It is a time for us to reflect on our s

personal and collective. It is manifestly no

time to point fingers and assess blame. Let

rather be humble and genuinely seek

become better Jews and finer people. Let

strive to renew our love of Torah, the Jew

people and the Land of Israel. May our heart

Teshuva and prayers find favor with Hashe

and bring us closer to redemption.

Shabbat Shalom and a meaningful Tisha B

Chast isements of

LOVE

RABBI

REUVEN

MANN

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God vs. the Multiverse VI-VIII:

Part 6:Summary ofStage One

RABBI E. ZIMMER, RABBI E. FEDER

(continued next pa

Before moving on to the second stawhich is primarily about the muverse, we want to summarize the proup to this point. In the proof, we usinductive reasoning from the fituning to infer an Intelligent Designof the universe. What we mean 'proof' is that a reasonable perswould logically draw the same concsion after understanding t

arguments. We do not mean 'proofthe sense of a mathematical proof deductive reasoning.We have presented, explained, a

supported the fact of the fine tuningthe constants of nature and the initconditions of the big bang with marenowned scientists (like StephHawking, Martin Rees, RogPenrose, Leonard Susskind, etc. Wwill present even more multivescientists who agree with the factfine tuning, and use it as proof for tmultiverse.) In stage two, we w

explain why we believe that the scietists' position of a multiverse is noviable scientific theory.

Our main objective for stage one wto reject two theories as possible expnations for the fine tuning of tconstants and the initial conditiothe Master Mathematical Equatitheory and the Necessary Existenctheory. We have tried to establish ththe only two viable theories at tpoint are either an Intelligent Agentthe multiverse.

Based on the excellent feedback received from the readers, it seemthat the most abstract part of stage owas the relationship betweFeynman's mystery in post 2, and tteleological explanation for the fituning in post 3. This is the key poiand is what separates this proof of Intelligent Designer from most of tother ones that we've seen. (The wais commonly presented is by startiwith the fact of fine tuning, aarguing from the improbability getting fine tuning by chance alone.

The main idea is that the mystethat all good theoretical physiciworried about for 50 years had nothito do with fine tuning. It is a problethat is rooted in the aim of fundametal physics of uncovering the mbasic, simple reality in the univerAll good theoretical physicists realizthat an arbitrary number has no rolea fundamental (Necessary) ExistenAll good theoretical physicists realiz

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that it was highly implausible thatarbitrary, highly specific numberswould ever be derivable from a MasterMathematical equation.

The discovery of the fact of finetuning in the constants provided anexcellent solution to this mystery. Thenumbers were not fundamental, norwere they arbitrary. They had a

purpose. The purpose of the numberswas in order to create an ordered andcomplex cosmos, in all its beauty andgrandeur. It is the natural solution toone of the greatest mysteries inphysics. Fine tuning did not create theproblem. Fine tuning is the solution.We inferred from the fact that the

constants of the universe weredesigned to produce an ordereduniverse, that the Cause of the finetuning of the constants was Intelligent.(Meaning, God knew what He wasdoing when He chose those numbers.

He didn't just get lucky.)The discovery of fine tuning dealt the

death blow to the other two theoriesmentioned above, as they could notexplain the causal relationshipbetween the numbers and theuniverse. The significant knowledgewe had about the constants could notbe incorporated into those theories. Inboth theories, the relationshipbetween the particular numbers andthe resultant ordered universe waspurely coincidental. This flew in theface of the fact of fine tuning.

Even though we had sufficientlymade the case for the fine tuning of theconstants and rejecting the twotheories from posts 2 and 3, we addedan additional proof from the finetuning of the initial conditions in post4. What was unique about this proof(as opposed to that of the constants)was that it was probabilistic. Thenature of the problem is so great withregards to the initial conditions, that itis not even clear how such an explana-tion would even be formulated, as the"law for initial conditions" seems tohave a qualitatively different characterthan our current understanding ofphysical law.We noted that if someone wanted to

deny an Intelligent Designer, theburden of proof is upon them todevelop a theory to explain how thecorrelation between the fine tuningand the resultant ordered universeoccurred through chance alone. In thenext post, we will begin the second

stage and present the main attemptamong scientists to provide such atheory. As we will see, the essence ofmultiverse theory is the combinationof random chance and a near infinitenumber of tries.

In summary, we have shown that anIntelligent Designer is the best logicalinference, and it is upon atheistic (or

agnostic) scientists to establish a validscientific theory which explains thefine tuning based on some unintelli-gent mechanism, thereby invalidatingour proof.

Part 7:The MultiverseAs we saw in the prior posts, scien-

tists (we will be using the generic terms'scientists' and 'physicists', but pleaseunderstand by the context that wemean 'multiverse scientists') wereloath to accept a teleological explana-tion for the fine tuning of theconstants, as that implied an Intelli-gent Agent which caused the universe.Intelligent beings do things for apurpose. Intelligent beings do 'x'because 'y' will result. That is what wemean by an Intelligent Cause.

There was one alternative solutionleft for scientists. They could try to

change the problem of the constantsfrom one which implied a teleologicalexplanation (how we used the stronganthropic principle), to one whichcould be solved involving a very differ-ent form of causal relationship (theweak anthropic principle of post 5).

They speculated as follows: If thereare a nearly infinite number ofuniverses (by 'near infinite' they gener-ally mean as big a finite number as isnecessary to explain the constantsthrough chance), then maybe eachuniverse has a different set of valuesfor its constants (we should probablycall them 'variables' in this theory).Almost all of these multiverses wouldbe chaotic nonsense (the term 'multi-verse' can sometimes refer to the entirecollection of universes, or sometimesjust one of the many differentuniverses), but a few of them would bychance alone have the perfect valuesfor the constants. Since the illusoryfine tuning of the constants is a neces-

sary condition for the existence of lifeand intelligent observers, it is nolonger surprising that we findourselves in this beautiful universe.There are no intelligent observers inthe other multiverses. This argumentis identical in form to the solution forthe origin of life on Earth after know-ing that there are many planets.

It is readily apparent that there is abig 'if' and a big 'maybe' going on here.Scientists frequently try to justify thesespeculations by appealing to a slipperyslope argument. (See the video below.)They argue that humans once thoughtthe universe was really small. Then weobserved it to be bigger. Then weobserved it to be even bigger... Eventhough we haven't observed it to be, it'smost definitely even bigger than wethink now. Maybe it's an infinitely bigmultiverse. Maybe, in all the othermultiverses the constants are different,

thereby leading to meaningless chaosin almost all other universes.

We can understand the sense of aweone has from realizing just how smallhumans are relative to the vastness ofthe cosmos. We can also appreciate theintuitive sense that the universe isbigger than the diameter of the observ-able universe. We simply don't knowjust how big. We can start speculating,but then we have left the province ofscience. All other times in history thatscience has expanded the size (or age)of the known universe, it was based

upon observation. Never has it beenextended purely based on the specula-tion that it should be bigger. Certainlynot infinitely bigger.

This is the first major differencebetween how the weak anthropicprinciple was used by biologists toexplain the origin of life, and howphysicists are attempting to use it here.Regarding biology, we know that thereare many, many planets that aretheoretically hospitable to life, becausewe observe them. First, biologistsobserved the planets, then they madeuse of the weak anthropic principle.Physicists are using the weakanthropic principle (and the fact of thefine tuning of the constants) as one oftheir proofs for the existence of otheruniverses!

There is a second major differencewhich is a far more critical mistake.This flawed logic contradicts thecosmological principle, which has beenone of the guiding principles in


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cosmology since the time of Newton.The cosmological principle essentiallysays that every observer in the universesees the same universal features.(Without this principle, universalfeatures don't even exist.) It says thatour point of observation from Earth isnot special. Just about every physicist

holds by this principle in every othercontext. But it gets tossed out thewindow because of the pressing needto explain the fine tuning of theconstants. (See the first comment andresponse for an elaboration on thispoint.)

There is no evidence whatsoever thatthe constants have different values inthese speculated alternate realities.None. The only theoretical reason tobelieve that they do vary, is the fact offine tuning itself, in conjunction withthe a priori rejection of an Intelligent

Designer.Even if we grant that there are an

infinite number of universes, we haveevery reason to believe that just like wesuppose that the qualitative laws ofnature (general relativity and quantummechanics) are the same in thoseparallel universes, so too the constantsof nature are the same and do not vary.To say the point more clearly, thisslippery slope reasoning fails becausethis logic itself would lead us to believethat this new region of space is alsoordered and structured with the same

laws and constants that we observe inour current universe. In no way couldslippery slope logic lead us to posit adifferent type of universe as a logicalinference from the universe we see.

The theory of the multiverse isriddled with holes from every angle ofanalysis. We will try in the followingposts to concentrate on its major flawsand we will point out some of theabsurd conclusions scientists haveembraced in their effort to deny theIntelligent Cause of the universe.

The first modern usage of the multi-verse was by the discoverer of thestatistical law of entropy, LudwigBoltzmann in 1895, to answer theentropy problem of post 4. The theoryis even more ancient than that. TheRoman philosopher Lucretius (55B.C.E.) is the first recorded multiversetheorist. (The argument of design goesback even further than that.) Twentyyears ago, multiverse theory wasconsidered a speculative,

non-scientific theory held by very fewpeople. It has now become main-stream physics, and many physicistsbelieve and have faith in it. New booksare coming out about it at an increas-ing rate. However, some physicists dorealize its flaws and speak against it.

The video below is an entertaining,lucid explanation by Brian Greene ofthe major pillars of support that provethe multiverse. It shows Steven Wein-berg saying that the multiverse "is apretty good bet." It also shows a fewphysicists who think it's not science.We will be assuming in the next fewposts that you will have either watchedthe video or read the recent article inNewsweek, May 21 which is a fairlyconcise summary of the video. (Thevideo is better, but longer.)

tinyurl.com/862xf3v

We encourage the more advancedreader to read a slightly more sophisti-cated article entitled Universe orMultiverse, written by Bernard Carrand George Ellis. In this article, thetwo authors debate the merits andflaws of the multiverse. It does a goodjob of explaining the theory of themultiverse, as well as exposing manyof its serious problems.

Part 8:Multiverseof the GapsIn the previous post we introduc

multiverse theory, which is the mtheory proposed by scientists explain away the fine tuning foundthe universe, in a way which denies teleological explanation from partWe showed that the comparisbetween explaining the origin of based upon chance as compared wexplaining the constants based upchance does not hold up. In the nfew posts we will lodge sevequestions on multiverse theories arefute their supposed proofs.

Before we take up specific critiq

against the main proofs for the muverse, we would like to set forth wwe believe to be the most genedevastating argument against muverse theory. What we mean by 'muverse theory' is any theory whattempts to explain order and appent design through randomness annear infinite number of tries. (See first comment for some discussion'infinite' and 'near infinite'). Atheory of many, ordered univerdesigned by an Intelligent Agent, no relevance to the proof and we

not speaking about it when we 'multiverse theory'.

Every multiverse theory commitfallacy which is nearly identical wthe God of the gaps argument. A goillustration of this kind of reasonwould be if someone tried to explthe mystery of the seemingly arbitrconstants to Feynman in 1985 (befwe fully realized the fine tuning) usthe argument that "God made number 137.03597 and we no lonneed another explanation for it." simply posit that "God did it" is nosatisfactory explanation.

The theory that every time there gap in our knowledge we should poGod as a solution, commits the fallof an argument from ignoranEverything can be explained by saythat God did it. An answer that always be employed to explanything, in truth explains nothingall (this is a critical point that is wothinking about for a moment). Whe

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reasonable person is ignorant, headmits that he simply doesn't know. Itis a mystery. When we gain moreknowledge, maybe we'll be able tounderstand where these numberscome from, and why they are the waythey are.

By the late 1980's however, patiencepaid off and we did develope more

knowledge about these numbers. Westarted to realize that these numberswere not arbitrary. Rather, we under-stood that they needed to have theirparticular values in order for theuniverse to be ordered, complex,structured, etc. This teleological expla-nation (which implies an IntelligentCause) is an argument from knowl-edge, not from gaps. We have knowl-edge about the values of the constants(their fine tuning) which pointstowards an Intelligent Designer, andaway from an unintelligent, random

cause.God of the gaps is a fallacy that some-

one commits when they plug a hole intheir understanding of the alreadyexisting universe by saying "God didit". The only reason to be positing Godin such an instance is because theyhave no other answer. There is nodirect inference to God, only the lack ofknowledge. This is a fallacy becausescience is attempting to explain theexisting universe in its own terms. Aparticular gap in a scientific explana-tion is likely due to our current lack of

knowledge, and is no indication of thefailure of science. Positing DivineIntervention at each gap in our knowl-edge is bad methodology and hindersthe advancement of science.

However, here we are discussing thefundamental constants of nature andthe initial conditions which were set atthe big bang, the observed beginningof our universe. This begs a metaphysi-cal explanation about the cause of ourphysical universe, its constants andinitial conditions, as physics (even if itdidn't break down at the first momentafter the big bang) cannot go anyfurther. Since fine tuning is manifestin the big bang and the fundamentallaws, the metaphysical explanationwhich is indicated by knowledge (notby a gap), is an Intelligent Designer.

On the other hand, the multiversetheory falls prey to a very similarfallacy as the ordinary God of the gapsargument. It posits an infinite numberof universes with random numbers.

The combination of an infinite numberof tries together with chance is theessence of multiverse theory, and canbe used to explain any configuration ofparticles that you can imagine. It canbe used to explain the sea splitting andallowing a nation to cross through. Iteven explains Santa Claus. It can beused to explain this universe, or any

other logically possible universe. (Thisis because according to the laws ofquantum mechanics, just about every-thing is statistically possible. While itis highly improbable to get a quantumfluctuation of Santa and his littlehelpers, if there are an infinite numberof universes, it will happen an infinitenumber of times.)

In fact, if there really were a nearinfinite number of multiverses andeverything was random, we no longerneed the laws of physics or the laws ofbiology. Even if it really was totally

random whether any two particularmasses attracted or repelled (letsassume 50/50 each time), there wouldbe at least one of the infinite multi-verses where by chance alone, massesalways came together. It would look toobservers in that multiverse like thereis such a thing as gravity, but since onlyin a universe with gravity or somethingclose to it, is it even possible to haveobservers (as the phenomenon ofmasses attracting is a necessary condi-tion for the existence of life), physicistsshould simply reject the explanation of

gravity as superfluous.The same arguments can be made to

explain biology. Randomness andinfinite multiverses explains chickenstoo. There is no need for the theory ofevolution altogether. It would alsoexplain unicorns and flying pigs. Itwould explain total chaos too, which isthe key point. No matter what theuniverse looked like (incrediblyordered, totally disordered, oranywhere in between), a theory ofrandomness coupled with infinityprovides an explanation.

There is a subtle point here. Multi-verse theory does not predict unicorns.(In fact, it makes almost no predictionsat all. More on this in later posts.)Rather, the multiverse theory wouldexplain an observation of unicorns.We'll illustrate with the example of thelottery from the previous post.

If you and a trillion other people eachhad one lottery ticket, you would notpredict in advance of the lotto drawing

that you are likely to win. However,after the drawing and the observationthat you did win, you would be able toexplain it by saying that someone hadto win and apparently it was you. Itwould be unnecessary to look foranother explanation (i.e., cheating,Divine Providence, etc.), since some-one had to win.

Likewise, since according to multi-verse theory there are universes withunicorns (an infinite number of themin fact), while you would not be able topredict in advance that you wouldobserve a unicorn (since mostuniverses conducive to intelligentobservers do not contain unicorns),after you observed a unicorn youwould be able to explain the observa-tion by positing that apparently you'reone of the lucky observers in a multi-verse which does have unicorns.

On the other hand, an Intelligent

Cause is only validly inferred becausewe observe a meaningfully ordered,intelligible universe. Were theuniverse nonsensical chaos, it wouldbe God of the Gaps to posit an Intelli-gent Designer. (In fact, in that caseunintelligent randomness would be agood explanation.)

Multiverse theories could explainany possible observations withoutdemanding any knowledge of thephenomenon. To put it simply, thetheory of the multiverse, when taken toits logical conclusion, undermines all

scientific knowledge. It takes theobservation-based belief that theuniverse we live in is full of order andwisdom (thereby lending itself toexplanations like the laws of physicsand biology), and it replaces it with ameaningless, chaotic mess of totalrandomness with a coincidentalillusion of order in our universe.

The multiverse of the gaps is thesame fallacy as God of the gaps, exceptit substitutes chance and infinite triesin place of one all-powerful force.Even before we knew about the finetuning, it would be fallacious to try toexplain away the mystery of theconstants by positing a multiverse andrandom chance. How much moresuperficial is the argument of themultiverse after we have concreteknowledge that there is a real relation-ship between the fundamentalconstants of the laws of nature, and theuniverse that results from those lawsand constants.

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recently had a discussion with aintelligent woman. She shared hedesire to seek out God so as to live thbest she could.

Having experienced other religions anrecently learned elements of Judaism anTorah, she was very impressed by its wisdomAfter researching, a family member may havfound evidence of Jewish lineage. We spokfor a while, and to assist her journey,

decided to write this article which I hopoffers her a cohesive structure of Judaismsignificant historical events, Torah's definintruths and values, and God's plan fomankind.

This Sunday, July 29th 2012, is the Ninth othe month of Av, or "Tisha B'Av." This is a faday in commemoration of the many tragedieGod visited upon the Jewish nation throughout time, and for our own sinful state, as thcontinued absence of the third and finTemple conveys.

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It is a time of reflection and repentance.And repentance cannot be performed unlesswe each understand exactly what Godcommands mankind, thereby realizing wherewe each have failed, why we failed, and howto correct ourselves. When we learn God's

will for ourselves by studying His Torah fromour great Rabbis, we can attain the mostfulfilling lifestyle.

To appreciate God's will, it is vital to brieflyreview mankind's history and God's involve-ment in human affairs aimed at correctingour distortions. We have but one life; Godwishes that each person He created benefitsto the greatest degree.

IN THE BEGINNINGGod created a perfect world, containing all

that man needs, and in their correct propor-

tions. Air is most vital, so it is everywhere.Water is next in vitality, and is almost asabundant as air; also designed in a mannerthat it can flow to remotely-inhabitedregions. And for those inland peoples, raindelivers their water. Vegetation is inexpen-sive and easily reproduced. This sustains ournutritive needs, as well as our clothing.Homes and heat are necessary, so wood isabundant, and inexpensive. All else man

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pursues are unnecessary distractions.God created Adam and Eve with perf

minds. He gave them one command: accept Him alone as the sole force in universe; the "Creator." This command wnecessary, as this Master/servant relatio

ship might not be derived from studyinature. Nature teaches there must beCreator, but not that man is to serve HiThis one command fills that gap.

But for all other discoveries, man couengage his mind to and uncover the sciencmath, and justice.

5772 years ago, Adam'a birth date (billioof years after creation evolved) no Torah wgiven. It was unnecessary, and still larginapplicable, as man-made religions had nbeen fabricated; the subject of many Torlaws.

The tools needed to unlock continu

insights are planted in the patterns of natuhuman thought. Truth, false, deductiinduction, equality, comparisons, a fortiarguments and others, are all natural, nlearned disciplines. (For example, no chneed be taught "comparison": he intuitivcompares; recognizing that black is not eqto white, or that this person is not mother.) Our senses combined with thdisciplines enable us to grow in knowled

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Tisha BAv

and in our appreciation for our Maker. Godcreated the world permeated with Hiswisdom, as He desired that mankind enjoy

life, and the pursuit of wisdom offers thegreatest life.God needs nothing, so His act of creating

one intelligent species man was purely sothis creation could ponder the universe andbecome amazed and awed by the Creator.Countless intellects were infatuated by theworkings of our universe, and this continuesto be true for all mankind, Jew or gentile...

HUMAN EQUALITYIt makes no difference whether we are born

to Jewish or gentile parents. What is relevant

are the choices we make. And if one choosesto follow God, regardless of how he or shecommenced life, then that person ischerished by God. The greatest people beganlife as children to gentiles, like our patriarchsand matriarchs, Ruth, Unkelos, and manyRabbis. And the worst villains had Jewishparents, like King Mennashe. You notice I donot refer to the child as "Jew" or "gentile" forthese are choices, not birthrights. We cannotask why God determines that one person isborn to a specific set of parents. Only God inHis wisdom knows why this is best. Abraham

was born to an idolatrous father, while KingDavid and Moses both had fathers who neversinned their entire lives. Perhaps specific

people and events influence us differently,depending on each of our unique psyches.One personality type will have better oppor-tunities if born to gentiles, and anotherperson will do better with parents who areperfected themselves. Abraham was not aJew, he was born to an idolater, and yet hereached the highest level a person can reach,as he was a prophet. What Jew today can saythat?

Be clear on this, God does not create Chris-tian, Catholic, Muslim, or Jewish infants.God creates "humans." Just as He createdAdam and Abraham before Torah was given,

and they were simply humans (not Jews,since Torah was not given yet), we too are allequal at birth. God made no changes to howhumans are created, after the Torah wasgiven. We all possess the identical potential tofollow God's will. We all have the same soul,despite foolish Jews claiming their souls are"better." How distasteful this must sound to agentile! What a low estimation of God willgentiles have, thinking a Jew is favored, andgiven a "better" soul at birth, when no merityet exists at birth! In fact, it was the "gentile"Abraham who earned his perfection, and only

thereafter, did God create a Jewish natfrom him. Judaism is actually founded perfect gentiles. It is only the ignorant aarrogant Jew who claims the nonsense thhe has a superior soul. We should be mindthat the role of the Jew is to "serve" all othesharing God's Torah with the world. In tmanner, the Jew is actually subservient to tgentile.

If a Jew follows God completely, he is lovby God. If a gentile follows God completeshe too is equally loved. Of course, a "coplete" following of God means His 613 lawThose Jews who look down upon gentileconverts, violate God's words. For God sanumerous times in Torah, "One Torah for tJew and convert," (Exod. 12:49, Num. 15:Num. 15:29) thereby proving complete equity among each and every soul. Not only thbut Talmud Sanhedrin (59a) states, gentile who engages in Torah is like the HiPriest" meaning this gentile is greaexalted. And this is only in reference togentile who observes the minimal sevNoachide laws. How much more praisewthy is a gentile who converts! Such a genappears to surpass even the Jew's greatindividual. And rightfully so, for hhumbling must it be for a gentile to accept or her very being is not on par with thighest level, of one obligated to observe613 laws. When a gentile converts, tperson willfully accepts a burden of lawwhile the Jew did not make this consciodecision. The Talmud also states (Brach34b), "Where a penitent person stanwholly righteous people cannot sta

[compare]." There is no difference betweeperson who repents, or a gentile wconverts. Both have abandoned a life withoTorah, and have accepted God's complwill.

MANKIND'S DESCENTINTO IDOLATRY

Over time, man abandoned the life intellectual pursuits, and instead, chasafter lusts, passions and imagination. Thveered far from the plan that they use thsenses and reason to determine what is r

and what is true.Part of this emotional lifestyle is tcaving-in to human insecurity. Mankirealized his mortality, he feared death. also feared the unknown: "What will tomorrow?" many people worried. The nefor the parent or guiding figurehead wretained, instead of God's plan, that mmature, and recognize that his infant view"powerful parents" be abandoned, and thbe viewed as simple humans as himself. Bthose who could not escape the infandependency on parents, coupled with

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baseless view that the cosmos were deities,started to invent gods. They felt thatfigurines shaped as the planets and stars"drew downwards their powers." The idols,they felt, became repositories of power,deserving of worship, and in reciprocation,worshippers would realize success in allthey desired. They accepted liars claiming toknow how to worship the stars and idols,and soon enough, generations lost allknowledge of the Creator, as numerousreligions flourished. Additional ceremonialrites and superstitions were invented thatoffered mankind a false security and prom-ises of success and health, until the worldwas predominantly comprised of stone godsand witches.

ABRAHAMOne unique man, Abraham, was raised in

this world culture of idolatry. He tooworshiped. But at a young age his mindstarted to probe, as Maimonides teaches inhis Mishneh Torah (Laws of Idolatry, chapI). He began to use his intelligence, whichbecame sharper over many years ofthought. With no teacher or books, heextricated himself from the false beliefs ofall others, and realized the Creator. Hestarted forming arguments and writingtexts, teaching the masses that idolatry wasfalse, and there is but one God. When thepeople would gather around him and askhim about his statements, he would explain[them] to each one of them according totheir understanding, until they turned to

the path of truth. He soon amassed tens ofthousands of followers.

God revealed Himself to Abraham, andpromised to establish his offspring as Hisnation; a people who would possess andtransmit the truth and monotheism to theworld. God gave to Abraham Isaac, and toIsaac, the Twelve Tribes. Due to famine, thetribes descended to Egypt where Josephwas ruler and provided sustenance. Josephoriginally came to Egypt due t the divinedreams God gave him of leadership. Hisbrothers deemed him dangerous, and sold

him. Joseph's buyers sold him to Egypt,where he was framed and imprisoned. Buthis mind pondered his dreams, and over themany years, he became a great psychologistand dream interpreter. This knowledgehelped him advance from prison to viceroy.we appreciate God's plan that the originaldreams cause both: Joseph's descent toEgypt, and his emancipation from prison soas to sustain his family and the countryyears later. God's hand was clearly at work.Bit God had greater plans

FROM EGYPT TO SINAIThe twelve sons of Jacob died. Th

offspring living in Egypt absorbed thidolatrous culture. They were punished wslavery for 210 years. To offer Egypt and Jews a chance to abandon their idolatroways and realize the true God, God sent Moand 10 Plagues: clearly miraculous demostrations with precise predictions of thonslaught. They were a message that one Gexists, and all Egyptian idols and deities powerless against Him. Pharaoh refused heed the Ten Plagues and the numerolessons contained therein; each one testimony to a single God who alone contrthe universe He created. Egypt was destroy(as were many Jews) and their army drownin the Reed Sea.

God delivered the sons of Jacob, the Israites, from Egypt, to Mount Sinai where thwould receive a divine religion as contained1) the Ten Commandments, 2) the WrittTorah scrolls, and 3) in the explanatory O

Law or Mishneh that God communicatedMoses.

A RELIGION OFPROOF & REASON

Revelation was the seminal event in formthe nation of the Jews. For it was Revelatithat proves God's existence, and rejects other religions to this day as impostors. HMoses lied to any the people, telling them thheard a voice emanating from a fiery moutain, and besides each one he addressed, thwere 2 million other attendeesthey wo

laugh at him. They would not replace thtrue histories with Moses' fabrication withevidence. Nor would the world today beunanimous acceptance of the Torah (Bible)

No. Moses, or anyone, would fail to mamasses accept that they witnessed miraclThe only explanation for the world's acctance of the Torah, is that it is true. The Jedid in fact witness Revelation at Sinai. Thdid see a mountain on fire, and hear intelligespeech emanating from fire, which is impsible, unless the source of that speech is notthis world. Had Revelation never occurrthere would be at least one other version

Jewish history today. But there isn't. Itimpossible that only one account of Jewhistory exists, and that it is false. That cannoccur. Therefore, we know that what we hareceived unanimously transmitted from Jews, is accurate. God gave mankind only oreligion, Torah. It applies to all peoples. Jemust observe 613 commands, and gentmust observe 7 Noahide laws. If a genwishes, he or she may accept the other 6laws, and become a Jew; identical to a boJew. No other religion claims mass attdance at a miraculous event, since it ne

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happened to those religions. And this isreasonable. For God created only onemankind, so only one religion makes sense.Only one revelation of one perfect systemcould occur. There can be only one best wayfor mankind to live, since we all share theidentical design. And as God knows all, andthe future, His Torah never expires. He knewhow to create a system that applies to manthroughout time. Changes in culture over themillennia, do not change man's make-up.Torah is applicable forever.

Despite their attempts to validate theirhistorical or miraculous claims, all otherreligions are at best, a belief or a blind faith,not based on any evidence of truth. We are notconcerned that other religions largelyoutnumber Jews. We understand that appeal-ing notions like being forgiven for one's sinsattracts millions of followers to Christianity. Aman-god is very appealing, and so is a GoldenCalf. But the intellect reveals the gross errorsof their religion: one god cannot be three gods,just as the number 5 cannot be greater than 10;God does not become a man, and otheridolatrous nonsense.

After God gave the Jews the Torah, theTablets and the Mishneh, He included thecommand to follow the Rabbis' rulings on law(Deut. 17:11) formulated in what we call theTalmud and written over hundreds of years,about 2000 years ago. The Talmud presentstremendous insights into the precise andabstract structures of Jewish law that are likebeautiful mathematical equations, also includ-ing philosophy and allegories. From theTalmud, the Rabbis formalized Jewish law

that we follow today, the Shulchan Aruch, orHalacha.Originally determined by God's Torah

verses, and elaborated by the Mishneh (Orallaw) all aspects of life are governed byHalacha. This includes idolatry, Torah study,morality, charity, dietary laws, prayer, speech,holidays and Sabbath, monetary laws, worshipand marital laws.

Torah was given at this point, 2448 yearssince Adam, partly due to man's need to bewarned against man-made religion and thenumerous idolatrous practices that had risenover time. Many prohibitions like copying

Egypt's ways could not be commanded beforeEgypt was formed. And as we said, originallyman had all the tools to live intelligentlywithout a formal Torah system. Of course, wedo not know the final answer why Torah wasnot given in part earlier; this is God's knowl-edge.

It is important to know that Torah containslaws of varying degrees of importance. Realiz-ing certain ideas are more vital than others,imbues us with Torah's primary identity. Asthe Rabbis teach, "One who rejects idolatry isas if he kept the entire Torah. And one who

commits idolatry is as if he abandoned theentire Torah." Thus, the knowledge and lawsrelating to what God is and is not, worshippingGod and the error of idolatry are most crucial;they carry far more weight than laws govern-ing the placement a parapet on one's roof, orkosher laws.

The greatest law (mitzvah) is the study ofTorah itself. This surpasses giving charity,setting up courts, prayer and all other laws.The Talmud derives this from King Solomon'swords (Proverbs 8:11): "All desirous things donot compare to it [Torah study] ." (MoadeKattan 9b) That is, all desirous things (i.e., allother commands) do not equate to thecommand of Torah study. The intellect, ourdistinction over all created things, is to be ourprimary pursuit, and affords the greatestfulfillment. This explains why the greatestminds were absorbed in Torah and thesciences.

THE TRAGEDIESOF THE NINTH OF AV

Now we come to this holiday. What is thetheme of the tragedy of the Ninth of Av?Talmud Taanis 29a recounts the Spies' sin, theten corrupt leaders who had no faith in God'spromise of Israel's conquest, and wished tospy out the land first. God did not instruct theJews with any need for spying the land. Godtold them they would be successful: "Just go inand I will guarantee your victory!" The spiesand the Jews should have trusted fully in God'scapabilities and promises. Instead, the spiesscouted Israel for forty days and returned with

an evil report. They told the Jews the currentinhabitants were invincible. Despite God'spromise, they said the Jews would fail, hadthey tried to conquer the land. The Jewsbecame frightened. As a punishment, Godprohibited that generation from enteringIsrael to enjoy its great goodness. They weresentenced to travel the desert for forty yearsuntil they perished. Their children wouldinherit Israel. The day of the spies' sinfulreport and the Jews' fear, was the Ninth of themonth of Av.

Rabbi Yochanan said, "God said to the Jews

and the spies, 'You cried a cry without justifica-tion; [therefore] I will establish a cry for youfor generations'. " Rabbi Yochanan referred tothe destruction of both Temples that tookplace on the Ninth of Av; this would be the cryfor all generations. God did not say thesewords, they are Rabbi Yochanan's metaphor.Rabbi Yochanan meant that just as the spiesand that generation had a specific sin theyrejected God as omnipotent enough tovanquish the enemies so too, future genera-tions in both Temple eras continued in this sin,and were punished on the same date to

indicate the common flaw.The first Temple fell due to idolatry, and t

second due to baseless hatred. Idolatry iclear expression of man's failure to view Gas omnipotent. Disbelief in God drives manother means of securing his wishes; idolatAnd baseless hatred towards others ooccurs when we seek social approval, and fWe hate others as a means of saying, "I doreally need your approval." But if we don't, should not care enough to expend enehating someone. Hate only exists when care enough to hate, when we truly want thperson's recognition of our existenJeremiah chapter 17 teaches that seeking mcannot coexist with seeking God. If one seehuman approval, he thereby says this is tovalued, and rejects a life where God detmines his fate. Here too, man does not viGod as omnipotent. If he did, he would caless about what people say, he would not focon himself, but on God.

So God didn't predetermine that futugenerations would sin with idolatry ahatred, and that the Temples would removed as a response. God didn't say thphrase, it was Rabbi Yochanan. Man sinnedhis own will. Rabbi Yochanan scripted t"quote of God", to link a few sins, as he saw dates of the tragedies were linked.

These two tragedies occurred when mannot pursuing Torah knowledge. Had the Jeadhered to God's Torah truths, they would nview idolatry as offering any value, nor woman seek social approval over the pursuitGod's wisdom.

APPLICATIONTO OURSELVES

Today, mankind still falls prey to bocrimes that destroyed our Temples: idolaand social dependence. In Jewish and gencircles, the world still seeks baseless securityfalse religions, amulets, the dead, astrolosuperstitions, and idolatry. People still crahuman accolades, laboring to keep up with tJones', keeping in style, and talking behind tbacks of others to elevate themselvesin thimaginations. So the third and final Temmust wait. Man is still not ready to follow G

to make Him our focus. Only very few peotruly desire this.May it be, that soon, we all realize the er

in idolatrous practice and seeking socapproval. Only through dedicated stuwhere we seek the truth in all its forms do live happily and fulfilled, the way God plannwe each live. These include the search truths in areas scientific, mathematical, phsophical, moral, and of course through Torobservance.

I thank my friend in Texas for inspirimany of these comments.

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vol. xi no. 22 — july 27, 2012

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