Where reason ends, belief begins
What does it really mean to believe?
What do you believe in? Do you believe that having family and friends is important? You don’t have to believe that because you know that. Do you believe that helping people is beneficial to society? You don’ have to believe that because you know that. Do you believe that there are stars in the sky? You don’t have to believe that because you know that. So, what do you believe?
Where reason ends, belief begins. In other words, there are facts of life that have no reason or rationale. Things beyond the mind. Phenomena that defy both understanding and articulation. Like, can you know if the sun will rise tomorrow? There is statistical probability, no matter how small, that it won’t. Yet you believe it will. Do you know if getting into the car will take you to an intended destination? No, the car might break down, or Waze may let you down, or you might change your mind midway. But in the moment, you believe you will get there.
So, what does it really mean to believe?
Is it possible to operate purely on reason and rationality? Surprisingly the answer is no! There is a myriad of decisions you make daily, based purely on belief. You believe that washing your hands gets rid of every possible trace of harmful germs that can kill you. You believe that having that extra spoonful of sugar will not be the tipping point of diabetes. You believe that the important appointment you have scheduled for first thing in the morning, will take place.
Life is full of unknowns. But we keep working on the basis of assumptions – or more accurately, beliefs.
Yet the world is infinitely large, eternally complex and every aspect interrelates and affects every moment of time. The galaxy even more so. And the milky way even more so. Likewise, the universe. And here we are, individually, a tiny inconsequential pinpoint of life, making comments and predictions about the future, while an infinite array of factors constantly affects all of existence. How egotistic can we be!
One option is to throw our hands in the air and simply ‘go with the flow’, letting the numbers land where they do. The other approach is to navigate life with the aid of a Designer-map. We, Jews, have been navigating a map for thousands of years. The same map. That’s why we are still journeying purposefully, where fellow-travellers from the dawn of time have long disappeared. We believe in the map. It has never let us down. Even when the map takes us in directions that offend our sensibilities, we persevere, believe, and always get through. That map is the Torah.
This week’s Torah reading is Chukat. The word itself means ‘axiomatic laws’ – laws that defy mind and reason. These are laws that truly challenge us because they seek our belief. Kashrut is not predicated on reason. Neither is Mikvah. Nor is G-d! Yet these are essential navigational instructions. Since we have found over thousands of years of journeying that the map is accurate, why should we begin to doubt it now?
That is the power of belief. But it is a belief that itself is based on reason. Meaning, our history has demonstrably shown us that it is eminently reasonable to follow our map. Especially so if the map has the imprimatur of the most famous of all map-makers – G-d. That too requires belief!
Rabbi Dr Laibl Wolf is a Melbourne-based rabbi, author and speaker.
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