Q: What caused most of the Jewish public in recent generations to not observe Torah and commandments as in the past, and what should we do to correct the situation?
A: Generally speaking, in recent generations, following the development of the natural sciences, human understanding, society, and human culture in all its varieties – human consciousness has developed and expanded greatly, while the study and clarification of faith (in Hebrew, ‘emunah‘) has not been sufficiently established to cope with this. The more we clarify faith and refine the guidance of the Torah, the more faith in God and His Torah will return to beat in the hearts of people.
I addressed this topic in the final chapter of my new book “Faith and Its Commandments” (within the “Peninei Halakha” series). Here, I will mention the part concerning the clash between faith and science, presenting the appropriate position, alongside various arguments.
Science Replaced Religion for Those of Lower Faith
One of the things that changed in the modern era is that many natural phenomena that were not understood by humans have been researched, and have become understandable, and explainable. In the process, the value of some explanations about faith that were accepted in previous generations have been nullified.
In the past, when the skies were closed and no rain fell – wheat did not grow, water reserves were depleted, and people died of thirst and hunger. When an epidemic spread – many people fell victim without having almost any way to defend themselves against the death that lurked for them. Even in daily life, humans were exposed to severe dangers, such as snake bites and the development of infectious diseases. In distress, people turned to God in prayer for help, and religious leaders encouraged people to pray and fulfill commandments, so that God would save them.
In contrast, in recent generations, methods have been developed for storing water and transporting it through pipes, so that even during severe drought, people do not have to die of hunger and thirst. Thanks to scientific research, vaccines and treatments have been found for diseases that were previously incurable, and dangerous epidemics hardly ever break out. Thus, life expectancy has increased greatly. With the help of social sciences, effective methods for organizing society and economy have been developed, and methods have been developed to provide relief for mental illnesses. With the development of technology, the production of food, furniture, clothing and houses has improved greatly, to the extent that today, an average person can live longer, and in more comfortable conditions, than the great kings of the past.
In such a situation, many people who were accustomed to praying and fulfilling commandments in order to be saved from hunger and plague, from poverty and subjugation, felt less need to pray and fulfill commandments. Their feeling was that science would continue to develop until it solved all human distress, and religion would have no place in the world.
The Response of Religious Leaders
In contrast, spiritual and religious leaders correctly argued that it is impossible for science to solve all human distress, since humans aspire to lives full of boundless moral and spiritual meaning, while science can only provide comfortable living conditions, and nothing more. Therefore, such presumption will lead to bitter disappointment and severe crises, and it is the evil inclination that tempts humans to become proud and think that by their own power and might, they can understand nature and improve their living conditions.
The Appropriate Response
However, no less than criticism of the exaggerated presumption, it would have been appropriate to rejoice in the development of science, and to bless and thank God for it, since God is the one who created humans in the divine image, and endowed them with intelligence through which they can advance in understanding their world and improving their lives. Our Sages even instituted a blessing upon seeing a wise person from among the nations of the world: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has given of His wisdom to flesh and blood.” (Peninei Halakha: Brachot 15:18).
Moreover, it would have been possible to see in all the solutions that science provided to human distress, an opportunity to rise to a higher level of faith. For in the previous situation where humans felt constant anxiety about natural disasters, most people connected to God out of fear of punishment, with a sense of coercion, that if they did not fulfill the commandments, they would be punished in this world, or the next. Only certain individuals merited connecting to God out of love.
And now, thanks to technological advancements, turning to God no longer needs to be just for salvation from harm, but primarily out of pure desire, and thus we can merit a higher illumination of faith, and adherence to God. As it is said:
“And it shall be on that day, says the Lord, you will call Me ‘my husband’ and will no longer call Me ‘my master.’ And I will remove the names of the Baalim from her mouth, and they shall no longer be mentioned by their name. And I will make a covenant for them on that day with the beasts of the field, with the birds of the sky and the creeping things of the ground; and I will break bow, sword, and war from the earth, and I will make them lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to Me forever; and I will betroth you to Me with righteousness, and with justice, and with loving-kindness, and with mercy. And I will betroth you to Me with faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord.” (Hosea 2:18-22).
The Result of the Confrontation
In practice, many religious figures continued to base their arguments on belittling man, and warned that the evil inclination is what tempts him to become proud and think that by his own power and might he can understand nature and improve his living conditions. Thus, instead of appreciating the fruits of scientific achievements and blessing God for them, they believed that one should distance oneself from science, and doubt its reliability. Meanwhile, many people who appreciated science felt that religion was not beneficial to their lives and to the world.
Confrontation between Science and Religion
Within the framework of scientific discoveries, concepts that were accepted by religious people, as well as by the rest of humanity, were rejected. For example, it was commonly thought that the sun revolves around the Earth, and scientists discovered that the Earth revolves around the sun. It was commonly thought that there are no tiny invisible creatures in the world, and it was discovered, through microscope observation, that they exist. Various religious figures saw the scientists’ challenge to old concepts as an affront to the honor of religion, since it seemed impossible that scientists could know more than the distinguished religious scholars who lived in the past and agreed with the science accepted in their days. Not only that, but sometimes the Sages of Israel used analogies from the science that was accepted in their days to explain spiritual ideas, and when scientists refuted the old scientific positions, some saw this as an offense to their honor and to their Torah teachings, because they thought that the analogies were also Torah.
The Debate about the Age of the World
It was accepted among the Sages of Israel that the world was created less than six thousand years ago, while scientists in the fields of geology and physics claimed that the Earth has existed for billions of years. Additionally, various theories were developed about the gradual, evolutionary development of humans from lower animals like apes, while in the Torah there is no mention of this. Thus, a feeling was created as if science contradicts the Torah.
The Proper Response
There should not have been a confrontation, since the position of the Sages of Israel towards the various sciences is positive, therefore, they encouraged their students to study them (Shabbat 75a), and Rambam (Maimonides) considered the natural sciences as part of the great wisdom called “the work of creation” (Rambam in his commentary on the Mishnah, Hagigah 2:1); and the Vilna Gaon said that to the extent that a person lacks knowledge in other wisdoms, so too, he will lack a hundredfold in the wisdom of Torah, because Torah and wisdom are closely linked together (Peninei Halakha: Likutim A 1:15).
Also, there cannot be a contradiction between faith and science, since the Torah explains the idea of creation, and not the detailed process of creation. Therefore, the six days of creation can be interpreted as six eras that lasted billions of years. It is also possible to explain that the process of creation occurred gradually, as explained in the theory of evolution (Orot HaKodesh 2:537). And even the Sages of Israel said that “the work of creation” is a secret, and consequently, one should not adhere to its literal interpretation. It can also be explained that the Torah’s intention is to describe the order of the revelation of faith to humans, and therefore, it begins with the story of Adam, in whom God breathed a divine soul, and he was the first who could hear God’s voice, and choose whether to fulfill His command. And this does not negate the existence of ancient creatures from which Adam evolved.
In Practice, Confrontation Emerged
Many religious scholars, from Israel and from the nations of the world, saw in the challenge to the science that was accepted in the past, an affront to the great religious scholars. And when the position of scientists contradicted descriptions that are apparently written in the Torah about the creation of the world, it was perceived as complete heresy. Thus, among some rabbis, the position developed that science is dangerous to religion, and it should be fought against – or at least have its status weakened. To strengthen their position, various religious figures began to collect cases where scientists were wrong, cases where scientific developments caused harm, and cases where “all the doctors” said someone would die, and that individual went to a righteous person who prayed for him, and was healed.
Moreover, out of concern that scientific studies might lead to heresy, there were rabbis who fought against them. To strengthen their position, there arose some who claimed that there is no need to study sciences, since it is possible to learn all of them from the Torah.
However, with the help of science, ways continued to be breached to enhance the human ability to create machines, accelerate agriculture, develop industry, commerce, means of transportation and communication, and accumulate immeasurable wealth. And as religious representatives intensified their fight against science, criticism of religion increased.
The Key to Correction in the Purification of Faith
Maran Rabbi Kook explained (Orot, Zeronim, ‘Yisurim Mamrikim’) that all the confusions and complications in human life stem from a lack of understanding of the concept of divinity, which is an infinite sea. Naturally, a person longs for closeness to God, and consequently is interested in defining Him. However, God is above and beyond any perception and definition. We can only grasp what is revealed to us, and therefore, what can be said about God is that He is the single source of all ideas and values, powers and creations. And anyone who tries to define God Himself, or even the entire illumination that He bestows, sins with a trace of idolatry, limits the revelation of His light to certain domains, and disowns good ideas and values that also reveal His word.
In other words, when faith is defined in a narrow way, it does not contain all the ideas that are revealed in the world, and consequently, there is seemingly a collision between faith and that idea. Thus, when religious people believe that God is revealed only through the scientific explanation accepted until now, a collision is created between faith and the new scientific positions. However, in truth, God is above all the scientific positions throughout the generations, since in every scientific position a divine spark is revealed, as appropriate for that generation. And as the scientific position develops, so God’s word is revealed through it with additional illumination.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.
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