WISDOM AND VEXATION


Joshua Rosenstein


yinyang The study of the Bible as part of the Core Curriculum is, for many, the first glimpse of the basic foundations of Judeo-Christian heritage and culture. And for many, myself included, studying the Bible has brought about disturbing, and, at times, painful realizations about the roots of Jewish belief.

I see nothing wrong with examining the Bible as a "great book," not do I see any problem with dissecting it and studying the words from a secular viewpoint. Rather, I think that this approach is useful, much the same as it is when used in the study of Goethe, Homer, and Locke. However, many individuals wavering on the edge of belief and non-belief in Jewish fundamentals must be aware of the consequences that this approach may yield.

I attended a Conservative day school for eight years. During that time, I was thoroughly inundated with Torah, taught Jewish history, and introduced to the Talmud. Nonetheless, I never really practised my beliefs. Only after visiting the concentration camp sites is Europe a few years ago did I feel a need to attend synagogue and keep the laws of kashrut. Even then, I felt my reasons for starting to take on new observances were more cultural than they were spiritual.

Personally, I don't think I've ever believed that the Torah was written by God. Divinely inspired, perhaps. At the outset of my Columbia education, I recognized, the spiritual importance which the Bible held for my fellow Jews, and couldn't find any logical reason to question them in their steadfast faith. I still don't. I have never felt the need to justify my own beliefs, either. That is, until I studied the Hebrew Bible in Contemporary Civilization.

For the first time, I was forced to try to rationally explain my beliefs. And that is the most dangerous thing a Jew like me can attempt to do. Quite frankly, the Bible makes little sense to me when studied in this manner. It is too full of contradictions.

One of the things I learned from CC is to value my own judgment and interpretation of subject matter, as long as I can justify my arguments. From the very first session, my professor encouraged his students to voice their own opinions and their preconceived notions about the works we read. The discussions went much further than that, however, and I was often frustrated when my professor shot down every idea I had.

When we turned to the Hebrew Bible in class, I offered interpretations of the text, only to have those shot down as well. My professor refused to acknowledge any Jewish interpretations as completely valid. Rather, he wanted us to look at the words of the text, the historical context in which it was written, and its literary techniques, in order to form our own new interpretations of the Bible. He wanted us to do as Descartes did-- to doubt all we previously took to be true, and to begin again from a clean slate to form impressions and ideas.

Is God only good? This was a question discussed at length; our overwhelming response was "no." After all, how could a good God commit such sadistic acts as ordering Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? If one equates goodness with honesty, how could a good God tell Adam and Eve that they would surely die on the day that they ate from the tree, and then not kill them?

I am glad that I've taken CC. The course has taught me to question all my beliefs and to find a basis upon which to rest them; it's taught me to take no idea at face value, but rather to search for reasoning in support or denial of any idea. However, I cannot help but feel as though I've lost something. I still believe in God (a belief which, while it cannot be proved rationally, can also not be disproved rationally), but I now put less value on the traditional interpretations. In a context in which we can succesfully form our own interpretations, I see no reason to put my blind faith in any ancient Rabbinical view of the text. I don't see what makes these sages of the past more qualified to determine what God meant by the text than a contemporary Rabbi, or why their judgments should be placed on a pedestal.

Furthermore, I can't find the mystique that the Bible once held for me; perhaps this is the greatest tragedy. The Bible was once for me not only a marvelous story of our people's history-- it was also a record of the wondeful things God has done, and will do, for His chosen people. But the miracles, the strange and wonderful happenings all contradict the rational world as I know it. The promise that the righteous are saved and the wicked punished simply doesn't hold in today's world. For me to believe that Moses parted the sea is as inconceivale as believing that Jesus walked on water. These things cannot happen. I don't feel that it is characteristic of God to allow an alteration of nature. I know that God exists; I know that He is watching, and I believe that one day, the Messiah will come. But I canot believe that God alters the laws of nature, that God is omnipotent or omniscient: my personal observation of the world prevents me from believing this.

In analyzing the Bible in CC, I have begun again my quest for spiritual enlightenment. My mind is not closed to the traditional Rabbinic interpretations, just as it is not closed when the Catholic girl in my CC class proposes that the serpent in Eden is the devil himself. But I don't know which to value more highly as an intepretation, the traditional yet remote commentary of the Rabbis, or the comments of a fellow student. I suppose the final result may be that I value my own interpretation of the text above that of everyone else. Far be it for me to question anyone's religious beliefs. I actually envy those people who can say contentedly that the Bible is God's word-- I know that they know that to be the truth. But after studying the philosophical texts of the CC syllabus, I cannot be satisfied with such a belief.

I struggle to determine what the Bible means to me and the role God plays in my life. Will I be able ever to rationally explain all my beliefs? Probably not. Will I ever believe in the unique role of the Bible in my spiritual life? I hope so. And I understand well that "in much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow" (Ecclesiastes 1:18).


Joshua Rosenstein is a Columbia College sophomore.

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