The Test of Faith: How Can a Glass of Water Lead to Heresy?

The great Rabbi Yechezkel Levenshtein of blessed memory used to say: From bread and water, a person can reach heresy in Hashem, because when someone is hungry and thirsty, they feel that their life depends on food and drink, and that only these will restore their soul.

This, in essence, is a negative understanding, for we find in Moshe Rabbeinu that he fasted for forty days and nights three times, and similarly with Elijah who walked in the strength of bread for forty days. Therefore, a person can indeed live without eating and drinking, so how does a person attribute their life to food and drink?

From a Glass of Water, One Can Come to Heresy in Divine Providence

Therefore, the path a believer should take is to believe that my soul can remain within me even without food and drink, by the decree of Hashem, except that He has decreed that the soul cannot sustain itself in a body without food and drink. It is simply a heavenly decree that food keeps the soul in the body! Otherwise, there is no understanding of it, as how can the existence of the spiritual soul be maintained in the physical body through eating and drinking?! As brought in the words of the holy Ari: Researchers have despaired of understanding how food sustains a person, for if it is to sustain the body, why does food not sustain a corpse? And if to sustain the soul, it is known that the soul in itself does not need the nourishment of eating and drinking, as it is spiritual, except that His wisdom has decreed that the combination of body and soul and their existence together would be through the means of eating and drinking, which is a decree without logic at all. [And see his holy words on the matter that eating, in essence, is a high matter in the rectification of food from the sparks within it.]

Returning to the words of the great Rabbi Yechezkel Levenshtein of blessed memory: From a glass of water, one can reach heresy in Hashem by thinking that this will save me, that this will bring me my vitality, but this is a mistake, because the glass of water is merely a tool in the decree of the Almighty—without logic—to sustain and maintain the human being, and this is for the test of where a person will anchor their life: in their sustenance or in their Creator.

One acquaintance of the "Chofetz Chaim" who had a daughter suffering from a chronic illness constantly troubled him to pray for her mercy.The "Chofetz Chaim" ascended to his attic to pray, and they heard him speaking such words: "Master of the Universe, how many times have you accepted my prayer? Please, accept mine once more today"...

The article is taken from the book "Living with Faith." To purchase the book by Rabbi Yaakov Israel Lugasi click here.