Why We Believe What We Believe: A Journey into Faith and Doubt

An initial explosion that created the universe.Sure...

We evolved over billions of years from primitive creatures, apes, humans, and then came the leather handbag.Sure...

Take a billion people – the most intelligent beings, and ask them to build from scratch, without raw materials, a bacterium – not a human, a bacterium! Will it succeed? Ah, I forgot there were raw materials, even "once upon a time"... Interesting how they got there... no, because I really don't know who delivered them, without existing themselves...

Countless bacteria, countless animals, countless stars, countless grains of sand (!) that weren't born from a previous grain of sand, countless natural laws, all composing the universe, indeed came from natural selection! Sure...

Where do they live???

And with what confidence do they tell these "insults to logic" tales...

What's going on in their minds? Only what was planted there, which they use to convince themselves that everything is permitted, all urges, inclinations chaining them to drift with limited braking capacity, and eventually some find themselves with a sense of emptiness, nothing, and again chasing after fleeting pleasure, to calm the previous pleasant feeling that passed, because what can you do, that's the end of every bubble...? Even those who don't feel emptiness don't experience the feeling of liberation from their urges, the ability to be who they want. They don't know what they're missing. "Captive children".

And don't think I look down on these people. Absolutely not! I am among those who believe and recognize with sensory evidence what our sages said, "Wisdom among the nations, believe." There are countless brilliant and talented individuals out there. People who greatly advanced human life. People who reached incredible insights about Hashem's world. But in this specific area, they are captive to the addiction of fleeting pleasure, much like an addict to substances or anything else, who doesn't see the value in life without use. Anyone who has met people in an addiction place knows that sometimes the addict is sure they aren't addicted. That's truly their place. It makes sense this would happen. Sad.

Sometimes these are the thoughts that cross my mind. Yesterday, I was at a Torah dedication. And when you think about why people invest so much for a Torah scroll, you're suddenly exposed again to this simple, absolute truth. Because you suddenly remember again what life we have with the Torah, what satisfaction, what feeling, and you realize that only the creator – Hashem, can provide such a perfect manual for human life!

And then you think and pity those Jews, brothers, who haven't had the chance to feel that.

And then you think and pity all those Jews, brothers, who even if they "grew up with it," the way of the Torah, because they weren't guided to understand the life of the Torah, it felt uncomfortable to them, and then when they saw the material pleasures scattered in every part of our lives, they leaned towards them, "abandoning the source of living waters, to dig broken cisterns." Sad, but it makes sense this would happen.

So, what do I have to do? Because I have the opportunity to share my insights on the Hidabroot site, I sit and write from within, what you are now reading.

We need to do more to teach our brothers, who are just like us, children of Hashem, the path to a more fulfilling life, if only out of a sincere desire to share with them the experience of true life, even just out of the desire to do good for them, so that they live more meaningful, more satisfying lives. It's theirs just like it's ours!

Wise people already said, "Just as I received without cost, so you too receive without cost." Just as Moshe Rabbeinu learned Torah for free, so too should it be taught for free. Why? Because it belongs to everyone! The ownership of the Torah is shared ownership by every Jew across the globe. Share it with them.

And in these days, when we are reminded more of our commitment to the Torah, it is our place, personally, to also advance ourselves, to think about all the good that the Torah provides us, and for us, yes, just for us, to advance and climb higher.

Hagai Tzadok practices psychotherapy and marriage counseling. For contact with the "My Soul in My Inquiry" department: 073-33-33-331, or anat@htv.co.il