Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian, Lev Eliyahu
The body needs air. What is the air of the soul? Faith.
The body needs air. What is the air of the soul? Faith.
Today we will be focusing on the middah of emunah, faith. It is one of the trickier middot to discuss both because faith is so personal and evolving, and because it can be less tangible than some of the other soul charactistics we had been studying. Emunah is central to Moses's message in the Torah portion V'etchanan.
Rabbi David Adelson, "Emunah-The Life of Faith" in The Mussar Torah Commentary, p.281
Parashat Va-et’chanan can read like a guidebook to constructing a life built on faith. In the parashah, the people are reminded again and again to trust what they see, hear, and feel as a path to knowing God.
Parashat Va-et’chanan can read like a guidebook to constructing a life built on faith. In the parashah, the people are reminded again and again to trust what they see, hear, and feel as a path to knowing God.
(ט) רַ֡ק הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֩ וּשְׁמֹ֨ר נַפְשְׁךָ֜ מְאֹ֗ד פֶּן־תִּשְׁכַּ֨ח אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֜ים אֲשֶׁר־רָא֣וּ עֵינֶ֗יךָ וּפֶן־יָס֙וּרוּ֙ מִלְּבָ֣בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֣י חַיֶּ֑יךָ וְהוֹדַעְתָּ֥ם לְבָנֶ֖יךָ וְלִבְנֵ֥י בָנֶֽיךָ׃ (י) י֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָמַ֜דְתָּ לִפְנֵ֨י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֘יךָ֮ בְּחֹרֵב֒ בֶּאֱמֹ֨ר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֵלַ֗י הַקְהֶל־לִי֙ אֶת־הָעָ֔ם וְאַשְׁמִעֵ֖ם אֶת־דְּבָרָ֑י אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִלְמְד֜וּן לְיִרְאָ֣ה אֹתִ֗י כׇּל־הַיָּמִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֵ֤ם חַיִּים֙ עַל־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וְאֶת־בְּנֵיהֶ֖ם יְלַמֵּדֽוּן׃ (יא) וַתִּקְרְב֥וּן וַתַּֽעַמְד֖וּן תַּ֣חַת הָהָ֑ר וְהָהָ֞ר בֹּעֵ֤ר בָּאֵשׁ֙ עַד־לֵ֣ב הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם חֹ֖שֶׁךְ עָנָ֥ן וַעֲרָפֶֽל׃ (יב) וַיְדַבֵּ֧ר יְהֹוָ֛ה אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם מִתּ֣וֹךְ הָאֵ֑שׁ ק֤וֹל דְּבָרִים֙ אַתֶּ֣ם שֹׁמְעִ֔ים וּתְמוּנָ֛ה אֵינְכֶ֥ם רֹאִ֖ים זוּלָתִ֥י קֽוֹל׃
(9)Take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously, so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes and so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. And make them known to your children and to your children’s children: (10) The day you stood before your God יהוה at Horeb, when יהוה said to me, “Gather the people to Me that I may let them hear My words, in order that they may learn to revere Me as long as they live on earth, and may so teach their children.” (11) You came forward and stood at the foot of the mountain. The mountain was ablaze with flames to the very skies, dark with densest clouds. (12) יהוה spoke to you out of the fire; you heard the sound of words but perceived no shape—nothing but a voice.
Rabbi David Adelson, "Emunah-The Life of Faith", p.281
As Ibn Ezra says, “Even if you forget everything else, do not forget the day when you stood at Mount Sinai.” No other experience offers as dramatic a reason for faith. We are urged to remember it daily. A few verses later, we are reminded of the form, or lack thereof, that God took at the moment of that amazing encounter: “The Eternal One spoke to you out of the fire; you heard the sound of words but perceived no shape—nothing but a voice” (Deuteronomy 4:12). Even at this moment of clearest divine communication, God cannot be fully seen or known, but rather is heard and sensed.
As Ibn Ezra says, “Even if you forget everything else, do not forget the day when you stood at Mount Sinai.” No other experience offers as dramatic a reason for faith. We are urged to remember it daily. A few verses later, we are reminded of the form, or lack thereof, that God took at the moment of that amazing encounter: “The Eternal One spoke to you out of the fire; you heard the sound of words but perceived no shape—nothing but a voice” (Deuteronomy 4:12). Even at this moment of clearest divine communication, God cannot be fully seen or known, but rather is heard and sensed.
Faith is often approached as an intellectual persuit. A large swath of philosophical writings are devoted to proofs of God's existence, and arguments about whether or not one should "believe in God." Years ago, a student reached out to the Lubavitcher Rebee, proclaiming himself to be an atheist. Below was the rabbi's reply:
Lubavitcher Rebbe, as quoted in Rabbi Tzvi Freedman, Bringing Heaven Down to Earth
I do not accept your assertion that you do not believe. For if you truly had no concept of a Supernal Being Who created the world with purpose, then what is all this outrage of yours against the injustice of life? The substance of the universe is not moral, and neither are the plants and animals. Why should it surprise you that whoever is bigger and more powerful swallows his fellow alive? It is only due to an inner conviction in our hearts, shared by every human being, that there is a Judge, that there is right and there is wrong. And so, when we see wrong, we demand an explanation: Why is this not the way it is supposed to be? That itself is belief in God.
I do not accept your assertion that you do not believe. For if you truly had no concept of a Supernal Being Who created the world with purpose, then what is all this outrage of yours against the injustice of life? The substance of the universe is not moral, and neither are the plants and animals. Why should it surprise you that whoever is bigger and more powerful swallows his fellow alive? It is only due to an inner conviction in our hearts, shared by every human being, that there is a Judge, that there is right and there is wrong. And so, when we see wrong, we demand an explanation: Why is this not the way it is supposed to be? That itself is belief in God.
Why do you think the Lubavitcher Rebbe responded this way?
What was he trying to teach about faith?
What was he trying to teach about faith?
Alan Morinis, Everyday Holiness (p. 221-2).
Even the most firmly atheistic person feels a deep and intense longing for an intimate connection to powers greater than himself or herself. To say “I don’t believe in God” doesn’t put an end to that yearning, though it may call into question what the person means by “God.”
...Even people who do have a well-established inner sense of God need to be challenged in their faith, because a fully resolved faith is a dead faith, since the facts of life challenge faith at every turn. Our understanding, like all our inner qualities, is meant to grow.
...The Rambam conceives of faith not being about “belief” but about knowledge and understanding, and this seems right to me. Rabbi Perr once said to me, “Everybody has faith, but only some people know it.”
Even the most firmly atheistic person feels a deep and intense longing for an intimate connection to powers greater than himself or herself. To say “I don’t believe in God” doesn’t put an end to that yearning, though it may call into question what the person means by “God.”
...Even people who do have a well-established inner sense of God need to be challenged in their faith, because a fully resolved faith is a dead faith, since the facts of life challenge faith at every turn. Our understanding, like all our inner qualities, is meant to grow.
...The Rambam conceives of faith not being about “belief” but about knowledge and understanding, and this seems right to me. Rabbi Perr once said to me, “Everybody has faith, but only some people know it.”
(לה) אַתָּה֙ הׇרְאֵ֣תָ לָדַ֔עַת כִּ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה ה֣וּא הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ין ע֖וֹד מִלְּבַדּֽוֹ׃ (לו) מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם הִשְׁמִֽיעֲךָ֥ אֶת־קֹל֖וֹ לְיַסְּרֶ֑ךָּ וְעַל־הָאָ֗רֶץ הֶרְאֲךָ֙ אֶת־אִשּׁ֣וֹ הַגְּדוֹלָ֔ה וּדְבָרָ֥יו שָׁמַ֖עְתָּ מִתּ֥וֹךְ הָאֵֽשׁ׃ (לז) וְתַ֗חַת כִּ֤י אָהַב֙ אֶת־אֲבֹתֶ֔יךָ וַיִּבְחַ֥ר בְּזַרְע֖וֹ אַחֲרָ֑יו וַיּוֹצִֽאֲךָ֧ בְּפָנָ֛יו בְּכֹח֥וֹ הַגָּדֹ֖ל מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ (לח) לְהוֹרִ֗ישׁ גּוֹיִ֛ם גְּדֹלִ֧ים וַעֲצֻמִ֛ים מִמְּךָ֖ מִפָּנֶ֑יךָ לַהֲבִֽיאֲךָ֗ לָֽתֶת־לְךָ֧ אֶת־אַרְצָ֛ם נַחֲלָ֖ה כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ (לט) וְיָדַעְתָּ֣ הַיּ֗וֹם וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ֮ אֶל־לְבָבֶ֒ךָ֒ כִּ֤י יְהֹוָה֙ ה֣וּא הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם מִמַּ֔עַל וְעַל־הָאָ֖רֶץ מִתָּ֑חַת אֵ֖ין עֽוֹד׃
(35) It has been clearly demonstrated to you that יהוה alone is God; there is none else. (36) From the heavens [God] let you hear the divine voice to discipline you; on earth [God] let you see the great divine fire; and from amidst that fire you heard God’s words. (37) And having loved your ancestors, [God] chose their heirs after them; [God] personally —in great, divine might—led you out of Egypt, (38) to drive from your path nations greater and more populous than you, to take you into their land and assign it to you as a heritage, as is still the case. (39) Know therefore this day and keep in mind that יהוה alone is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other.
In response to Deuteronomy 4:39, Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian explains that faith requires "mating your intellectual knowledge with your emotive feeling and unite them."
Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian, Lev Eliyahu (quoted in Alan Morinis Everyday Holiness, p. 226).
“Know this day, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else” (Deut. 4:39).
At first sight, if a man has attained conviction in his mind and brain—having perfect faith and true intellectual understanding—that the Lord is God, what more is required? Yet the verse contradicts this and says that is not so; if you lay your knowledge to your heart, all will be well, but if not, you hold a fragile piece of china in your hand. For unless the heart feels that the Lord, He is God, etc., his knowledge will not avail him at all to withstand his impulse—however deep such knowledge might be. I once heard Rabbi Itzele Blazer say: “Just as there is certainly a vast distance between one who does not know that the Lord is God and one who does know, so is there a very much greater distance between knowing without feeling that knowledge in one’s heart and knowing and feeling it there.
“Know this day, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else” (Deut. 4:39).
At first sight, if a man has attained conviction in his mind and brain—having perfect faith and true intellectual understanding—that the Lord is God, what more is required? Yet the verse contradicts this and says that is not so; if you lay your knowledge to your heart, all will be well, but if not, you hold a fragile piece of china in your hand. For unless the heart feels that the Lord, He is God, etc., his knowledge will not avail him at all to withstand his impulse—however deep such knowledge might be. I once heard Rabbi Itzele Blazer say: “Just as there is certainly a vast distance between one who does not know that the Lord is God and one who does know, so is there a very much greater distance between knowing without feeling that knowledge in one’s heart and knowing and feeling it there.
Alan Morinis, Everyday Holiness (p. 228).
The doorway to faith is not opened by rational thought. Only through elevated inner experience can one come to faith or strengthen the faith one has. Through reflection and learning, you may be convinced that there must be more to life than is apparent, but it is only through lived experience that this notion becomes implanted as faith.
The doorway to faith is not opened by rational thought. Only through elevated inner experience can one come to faith or strengthen the faith one has. Through reflection and learning, you may be convinced that there must be more to life than is apparent, but it is only through lived experience that this notion becomes implanted as faith.
(ג) וְשָׁמַעְתָּ֤ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְשָׁמַרְתָּ֣ לַעֲשׂ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁר֙ יִיטַ֣ב לְךָ֔ וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּרְבּ֖וּן מְאֹ֑ד כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ דִּבֶּ֨ר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י אֲבֹתֶ֙יךָ֙ לָ֔ךְ אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃ {פ}
(ד) שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהֹוָ֥ה ׀ אֶחָֽד׃ (ה) וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔ אֵ֖ת יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ֥ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ וּבְכׇל־מְאֹדֶֽךָ׃ (ו) וְהָי֞וּ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֧י מְצַוְּךָ֛ הַיּ֖וֹם עַל־לְבָבֶֽךָ׃ (ז) וְשִׁנַּנְתָּ֣ם לְבָנֶ֔יךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ֖ בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשׇׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ׃ (ח) וּקְשַׁרְתָּ֥ם לְא֖וֹת עַל־יָדֶ֑ךָ וְהָי֥וּ לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֶֽיךָ׃ (ט) וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם עַל־מְזֻז֥וֹת בֵּיתֶ֖ךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃ {ס}
(ד) שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהֹוָ֥ה ׀ אֶחָֽד׃ (ה) וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔ אֵ֖ת יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ֥ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשְׁךָ֖ וּבְכׇל־מְאֹדֶֽךָ׃ (ו) וְהָי֞וּ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה אֲשֶׁ֨ר אָנֹכִ֧י מְצַוְּךָ֛ הַיּ֖וֹם עַל־לְבָבֶֽךָ׃ (ז) וְשִׁנַּנְתָּ֣ם לְבָנֶ֔יךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ֖ בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשׇׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ׃ (ח) וּקְשַׁרְתָּ֥ם לְא֖וֹת עַל־יָדֶ֑ךָ וְהָי֥וּ לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֶֽיךָ׃ (ט) וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם עַל־מְזֻז֥וֹת בֵּיתֶ֖ךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃ {ס}
(3) Obey, O Israel, willingly and faithfully, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly [in] a land flowing with milk and honey, as יהוה, the God of your ancestors, spoke to you. (4) Hear, O Israel! יהוה is our God, יהוה alone. (5) You shall love your God יהוה with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (6) Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. (7) Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. (8) Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; (9) inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Rabbi David Adelson, "Emunah-The Life of Faith", p. 283:
Further in our portion is the verse that is the pinnacle of faithful affirmation in our daily liturgy: “Hear, O Israel! The Eternal is our God, the Eternal alone” (Deuteronomy 6:4). However we translate and understand this verse, whether as “There is only one God,” or “God is unification,” or any variation thereupon, uttering this verse aloud as a daily practice is a sure declaration of faith. We may be feeling awareness of God’s presence at the moment we utter the Sh’ma (שְׁמַע), or we may not. Either way, we affirm the search for God’s centrality in our lives.
Further in our portion is the verse that is the pinnacle of faithful affirmation in our daily liturgy: “Hear, O Israel! The Eternal is our God, the Eternal alone” (Deuteronomy 6:4). However we translate and understand this verse, whether as “There is only one God,” or “God is unification,” or any variation thereupon, uttering this verse aloud as a daily practice is a sure declaration of faith. We may be feeling awareness of God’s presence at the moment we utter the Sh’ma (שְׁמַע), or we may not. Either way, we affirm the search for God’s centrality in our lives.
Alan Morinis, Everyday Holiness (p. 223).
"...the primary question is not whether or not you believe in God, but rather a more empirical issue of where to look to find God. If you know where to look for God, then you have the potential to perceive a reality, and that is a far better foundation for faith than either blind belief or adherence to received opinions."
"...the primary question is not whether or not you believe in God, but rather a more empirical issue of where to look to find God. If you know where to look for God, then you have the potential to perceive a reality, and that is a far better foundation for faith than either blind belief or adherence to received opinions."
Abraham Joshua Heschel
“If God were a theory, the study of theology would be the way to understand Him. But God is alive and in need of love and worship. This is why thinking of God is related to our worship. In an analogy of artistic understanding, we sing to Him before we are able to understand Him. We have to love in order to know. Unless we learn how to sing, unless we know how to love, we will never learn to understand Him".
“If God were a theory, the study of theology would be the way to understand Him. But God is alive and in need of love and worship. This is why thinking of God is related to our worship. In an analogy of artistic understanding, we sing to Him before we are able to understand Him. We have to love in order to know. Unless we learn how to sing, unless we know how to love, we will never learn to understand Him".
Rabbi David Adelson, "Emunah-The Life of Faith", p.283:
How can we recall moments of awareness on a daily basis? How can we build a practice of seeking awareness of God in our lives? Our prayer texts repeatedly remind us of the moments of Creation, revelation, and redemption. Those moments in our collective memory, as recounted in Torah, are moments of living in God’s presence, of feeling and sensing God in our individual and shared lives.
How can we recall moments of awareness on a daily basis? How can we build a practice of seeking awareness of God in our lives? Our prayer texts repeatedly remind us of the moments of Creation, revelation, and redemption. Those moments in our collective memory, as recounted in Torah, are moments of living in God’s presence, of feeling and sensing God in our individual and shared lives.