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FINDING GOD

INTRODUCTION In his epic work, “The Kuzari,” Rabbi Yehuda Halevi addressed a spiritual challenge facing the Jewish community in the 12th century. With the growing appeal of philosophy among Jews, R. Halevi stepped up to defend the Torah’s perspective. To make his case he wrote about an historical event, centuries before, when the king of the Khazar nation sought to decide which religion his kingdom should follow. The king held a debate where representatives of Judaism, Christianity and Islam presented their case, from which he chose Judaism. Using a bit of literary license, R. Halevi’s account of the debate included a philosopher as well. While the king quickly eliminated Christianity and Islam, the stage was set for a fictitious, yet meaningful, debate between a rabbi and a philosopher. The resulting discussion scored a timeless win for the Torah’s perspective. With a similar intent in 2002, I wrote, “Choose Life: A Counter-Missionary Study Guide” for those Jews who may encounter missionaries, and are confused by their message and how to respond. Among the topics covered, I showed how missionaries will often manipulate Jewish Scriptures, by taking passages out of context to make their point. Without its original context, a passage by itself can convey a very different meaning. With “Finding God,” I address a much more prevalent problem eroding the identity of millions of Jews today: and that is atheism. Regardless of the extent of one’s Jewish pride, when a Jew loses a sense of God consciousness, and a connection with the Torah, it will ultimately lead to assimilation within a few generations, unless reversed. Unfortunately, there are several contributing factors leading to this erosion. Besides lacking an education in Jewish scriptures, or on the Jewish understanding of God, many Jews have negative impressions of religious individuals and institutions. Though often justified, many of these impressions are unfair generalizations. All of this is aggravated by a secular general culture that denigrates religion in general, and the Torah in particular. What has occurred for many is that science is now considered the ultimate Truth, and a replacement for God and religion. With all of the innovation that technology brings to our daily lives, the belief in an All-Powerful God, might seem archaic. Skeptics raise legitimate questions. Where is God? If He is so good and powerful, how could He allow so much evil to occur? Why didn’t God create a world where people got along better? The failure to get satisfactory answers to these and other questions has shaken the connection many Jews have had with Judaism, allowing science and nihilism to take its place.

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The purpose of this book is to build a case for God’s existence using scientific logic, since that is the “currency” of the times. I will explain how some of the scientific explanations used to deny God’s existence are flawed, because, like with the missionaries, they may not include the whole picture. Though people throw around words like “truth, reality, normal, right and wrong, etc.”, assuming that they are being clear and objective, these concepts can be terribly subjective. Even the most intelligent among us can allow their emotions and biases to skew their judgment. The challenge at hand involves overcoming the misconceptions that get in the way of seeing God more clearly, and in a light that is more harmonious with science. Chapter 1 - SCIENCE - ITS TRUTHS & LIMITATIONS There is no question that we live in marvelous, innovative times. Science and technology are shedding new light and making advances in the fields of medicine, computing, communications, and transportation, just to name a few. Our understanding of the Universe is deepening, and continues to advance exponentially. What was once shrouded in mystery and folklore, is now being revealed with tremendous clarity and insight. Yet, with the continuous development in scientific thought, today’s innovations will eventually become obsolete. There was a time when the prevailing scientific opinion held that the Earth was the center of the Universe. When Copernicus and Galileo revealed that the Sun was the center of our Solar System, it was met with a lot of resistance. Even though it was primarily from the Catholic Church, they still challenged the scientific community of their day. Upheaval of scientific truths over time continues to happen, where even the discoveries of Newton and Einstein are subject to revision. THE BIG BANG There is no topic where science tries to assert its superiority over religion more, yet reveals its greatest flaws, than with the origin of the Universe. The Torah’s perspective that God created the Universe has been considered as primitive in the scientific community since the time of the ancient Greeks. Aristotle’s Steady State theory, which held that the Universe always existed, was an authoritative position for over 2,000 years. With the 20th century, the Big Bang quickly went from being a renegade theory to becoming the new standard of scientific thought. This, of course, relegated the Steady State theory to the trash heap of out-grown scientific opinions, along with an Earth-centered Universe. All of a sudden, the perspective that the Universe actually had a beginning is now the new scientific truth. Of course, the Torah claimed that for over 3,300 years. Another way that the Big Bang reveals the bias among scientists who want to deny that God created the Universe, is how they compromise their integrity concerning the scientific method. Even if you rationalize that mere chance, and not Intelligent Design, is behind the genius that permeates every

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atom in the Universe, you cannot sidestep the basic science of “cause & effect”. Every effect has a cause. Looking backwards through billions of years, and seeing the Big Bang as the ultimate cause begs the question, what caused it? As an honest scientist, one cannot say it just happened. Furthermore, according to Physicist Gerald Schroeder, for the Big Bang to have occurred, the laws of nature had to precede it. Not only can we ask what preceded the Big Bang, but what will happen after this Universe ends? What is our expanding Universe currently expanding into? There seems to be a “context” missing. There must be “something else” beyond this Universe and the Big Bang.

ADON OLAM - Master of The Universe

This liturgical song is recited each morning and sung at the conclusion of our Shabbat prayer service. Though a simple song, learned by children at an early age, it has more cosmological insight than many physicists will ever achieve.

The Lord of the Universe who reigned before anything was created. When all was made by his will He was acknowledged as King And when all shall end He still all alone shall reign. He was, He is, and He shall be in glory.

A ROCK’S EYE VIEW To derive that there is a God through science, you must draw upon multiple disciplines of science, and not just one, such as astrophysics. Failure to do so is like trying to draw a rainbow by only using a blue crayon. Comprehensive medical exams often include a combination of assessments including, interviewing the patient, a physical exam, vital signs, blood and urine tests, various forms of imaging, biopsies, etc. to get the complete picture. There are multiple realities within our world, and a clear understanding must include them all. Using a metaphor, let’s look at the Universe through the “eyes” of a rock, a tree, a tiger, and a human. Imagine a rock, sitting atop Mt. Everest, unaware of all that lies beneath it on the rest of Earth. Let’s attribute “consciousness” to that rock on its own level. Suppose it can look out into the depths of the Universe. What it will see is that the Universe is just like itself, lifeless and inorganic. If you were to try to explain “biology” to this rock, it would consider it too far-fetched to be real. It would view “life” to be just as incomprehensible as an atheist views God. But, biology, whether limited to planet Earth, or found elsewhere in space, is real and must be incorporated to get a clear understanding of the nature of the Universe. Similarly, many astrophysicists who try to describe a Godless Universe, will paint their picture with only astrophysics in mind, while ignoring all other disciplines. I will explain further.

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Now imagine a tree. During its lifetime, it will grow, sprout and shed its leaves, conduct photosynthesis, reproduce, and one day cease to exist. Its blossoms and fruit, and the oxygen it emits enable other life forms to thrive. This is a reality quite different than the rock’s. Yet, as marvelous as a tree is, to explain to it the life of a tiger which involves mobility, and using its cunning and senses of sight, smell and hearing, will be just as incomprehensible to the tree, as the tree’s reality is to the rock. Even more so, try explaining human psychology to a tree. Lastly, consider the reality of Man which has an awareness, social norms, and rules that animal mindsets cannot comprehend. Trying to explain the evils of murder to a tiger is ludicrous, since killing vulnerable animals is a necessity for its life. The realm of Man, on the other hand, dictates the abolition of murder in cold blood. The human condition is affected not only by our physical environment, but by politics and society as well. Man’s welfare is impacted by intangibles, such as integrity and meaning, and people have given their lives to defend our Constitution. Having more ethereal or “spiritual” requirements impacts Man’s existence, to where failure to live by them can be as detrimental as being careless with gravity. In summary, a fuller understanding of the Universe necessitates an inclusion of all disciplines of science, since seeing it from only one perspective will not give the full picture. Chapter 2 - MY STORY There is something there. When I was 16 years old, if you had told me that I would eventually be either an Orthodox Jew or the first man on Mars, I would’ve thought that I’m going to Mars. There was no reality that was further from my own than being an Orthodox Jew. At that time in my life, Orthodoxy seemed archaic and dead, and the Torah was just a bunch of fairytales. Don’t get me wrong, my family was very proud to be Jewish, and we have a history of being active in the Jewish community. However, the religious aspect, or believing in God were not part of my upbringing. Add to that the fact that I went to Westminster, which is a very prestigious Christian private high school, you get a sense of the lack of Jewish education I had. Even though I went to five years of Hebrew school leading up to my Bar Mitzvah, and three years of Sunday school afterwards, I don’t remember a single conversation about God or the Torah. When I was at Westminster, my Jewish identity had a real shaking up. Though many of my Christian friends and teachers were wonderful people, I nevertheless experienced anti-Semitism for the first time in my life. More than that, I got a sense of how the Jews and Judaism were vilified in many ways in the New Testament. On a few occasions, I was told that Isaiah and Jeremiah clearly proved that Jesus was the Messiah. Even though I didn’t believe that, they were quoting chapter and verse from books that I had never seen in my life. This created a real tension inside of me since I did not believe what they were saying, yet I didn’t really have Judaism to fall back on. It wasn’t until I went to college that I began to have any religious stirrings. About halfway through my Junior year, something moved inside of me to make a decision about God. There either is a God or

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there’s not one. If there is sort of one, then there is a God. I decided that there wasn’t one, and that science is slowly explaining everything that people used to ascribe to God. Now that I had declared myself an atheist, I began to create a model of the Universe to explain things from a scientific perspective. I’m a good conceptual person, and I had a little bit of background in physics, enough to be dangerous! What I ended up doing over a span of about nine months was creating a proof of the very last thing that I wanted to prove, and that was that there is a God. Once I came to my new understanding, I remember calling my brother Owen to tell him that I now believed in God. His reaction was “Now what? Last time it was Disco. Is this your newest fad?” By believing in God, a lot of loose insights in my head all came together. Being Jewish, I realized that there was a long history and relationship between God and the Jews that I knew almost nothing about. So, during my Senior year, I took a Judaism 101 course at Georgetown University, taught by a rabbi. This was the beginning of a long journey that continues today. To follow is the train of thought I went through to discover God using science and logic. The starting point was to throw out any preconceptions I had about God and religion, and to rely totally on what science teaches. I started with a clean slate, where there is no God, no afterlife, and no meaning to life. In my scientific model, there were several steps in how my reasoning developed that I will share in a condensed form. Step 1) The first law of thermodynamics states that “energy is neither created nor destroyed.” If you reword this, it says that there is an eternal (neither created nor destroyed) energy in the Universe. Due to the law of conservation of energy, energy changes from one form to another without any being lost. Even scientists that insist that the Universe just happened, that it evolved randomly, and that there is no ultimate meaning to life, cannot say that nothing lasts forever. Step 2) E = MC2 posits that matter is just a form of energy. If you think about it, everything about you is derived from this eternal energy source: your body, life, thoughts, senses, feelings, actions, wealth, health, power, etc. Something to also consider is, if we have part of this eternal energy within us, then the law of conservation of energy says that when we die, that eternal part will still exist and return to its source. Is that the physics of the soul? Step 3) The energy is One. It is unique; there is nothing else like it. It encompasses everything, unifies everything, and since it’s the source of everything, there is nothing outside of it. Step 4) The energy is characterized by laws. The energy is not random, and is not whatever you want it to be. Its laws reflect its nature. If we study its laws, we will become much clearer about the nature of the energy. By understanding its laws, we can cure diseases and send a rocket to the Moon. In fact, there is no better way to bring good things into the world than by studying the energy's laws and acting according to them. Step 5) The energy is everywhere. Wherever there is matter or energy, the energy is there. Consider the room you are in now. It is filled with TV & radio programs, cell phone calls,

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microwaves, ultraviolet and infrared waves, etc. You can't see any of them, but they are there. Now, look into the nighttime sky. It looks dark, right? That is an illusion. The Earth and Moon are visible in space, because they reflect the light of the Sun. What about the area between the Earth and Moon? Doesn't the same amount of Sun's light pass through there? Even though there is nothing to reflect the light, it is there. If we had light meters instead of eyes, we would see the solar system as always lit up. Night is an illusion. Extend this to the entire Universe, which is filled with stars, and our "light meter" eyes would perceive the Universe as always lit up. Therefore, the energy is really everywhere, even though we can't see it. Step 6) All knowledge is contained in the energy. Two + Two = Four. It always equaled four before there was Man, and equals four on Pluto right now. So, where does Two + Two = Four "exist" if it’s independent of Man, eternal and everywhere? The answer must be that it is inherent in the energy. Einstein didn't create E=MC2, he discovered it. It was a pre-existing law of the energy. Consider a computer. Everyone marvels at its genius, yet if you unplug it, it is no different than a rock. Plug it in, turn it on, and it can do wondrous things. The question is, is the computer the wonder, or is it the electricity that flows through it? I contend that the electronics revolution can be seen as human ingenuity unleashing the endless creative genius within electricity. In summary, we see from a scientific perspective that there is one, eternal energy that is the source of everything; it is everywhere; it is the source of all knowledge, and is characterized by a set of laws. This is "reality" according to science. The most absurd thing a person could say is that the energy does not exist. It is existence; it is the most real thing; it encompasses everything. Let's pause that thought and consider the following parable. THE LOST WATCH Imagine, going for a walk on your street, and you accidentally lose your gold watch with Roman numerals, that had an inscription on the back that says "To (Your Name), Love Dad." You post a sign that says "Lost Jewelry - Reward to Finder - Call XXX-XXXX." A man calls and says, without prompting, that he found on your street "a gold watch with Roman numerals, and with an inscription on the back that says "To (Your Name), Love Dad." Without knowing the man, and without seeing what he was holding - from 0 to 100% sure, how certain would you be that he found your watch? This question reflects how we live with less than total certainty in many areas, but accept things as true, even though we weren't present. What level of certainty do you have that George Washington was the first president of the United States? Why? Over 3,300 years ago, the Jewish people claimed that they encountered something that is eternal, the source of everything, omnipresent, characterized by laws, and is the source of all

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knowledge. Knowing what we now know about the scientific view of the Universe, what level of credibility would you give their testimony? On what basis could you challenge it? What if the Jews were to also say that this “Entity” that they encountered communicated with them, and claimed that it took them out of Egypt. Do these claims undermine the previous claims that science tells us are true? Also, if the energy is the source of everything in my life, and I am conscious and can communicate - could I assume that the energy is capable of those as well? INTELLIGENT DESIGN In line with the concept that the “Energy” contains all knowledge or has an intelligence of its own, is the idea of intelligent design. No scientist would disagree that the world is filled with matter and organisms that function in intelligent ways. The human body, for example, is brilliant in how it digests food, heals wounds, and reproduces, etc. The debate is whether this intelligence within our cells had a Designer or is merely the result of random evolution. If you hold that things like science and mathematics are the ultimate Truth, then you would expect that statistical analysis would substantiate randomness as the source of our complex world. However, the probability of achieving the high degree of complexity that exists in the Universe from a totally random accident is essentially zero. CREATIONISM VS. EVOLUTION As an outsider, I find it very frustrating to observe the debate that has been going on since Darwin’s research in the 19th century. Advocates for each side usually take extreme positions, and ascribe zero validity to the other side. Evolutionists will say that there is no God, and that everything happened randomly and developed through an evolutionary process. For the Creationists, evolution has no validity, and the entire creation took six 24-hour days. There is actually a middle position that lends credibility to both sides. I’ll call it Neo-Creationism. That position states that God is the Creator, but that He worked through an evolutionary process over billions of years. This is really not threatening to either side. There are numerous Biblical scholars that contend that the “days” mentioned in Genesis didn’t mean 24-hours. To give the evolutionists some validity, evidence does exist about the evolutionary process. How did the giraffe’s neck get to be so long? How did mammals, like the dolphin and whale, adapt to the sea with their lungs? In our own time, we see athletic records broken on a regular basis, as people are able to run, jump and swim at more advanced levels than even a generation ago. I’d like to propose an explanation that further validates the Neo-Creationist approach.

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THE BIRD & THE SPIDER One day as I was driving my daughter to school, we noticed a bird pulling on a little piece of string in the grass, and then carrying it up to rest on a telephone wire. I asked my daughter, “do you know what she’s going to do with that string? She’s going to take it to build her nest.” That seemingly minor observation led to a tremendous insight for me. That bird was never taught how to make a nest. Yet, the nest it will build will not be just a pile of leaves. It will have integrity, and if it were to fall out of the tree, it would bounce. Not only that, but the style of the nest would be particular to that species. An owl’s nest looks different than a robin’s nest, which is different from an eagle’s nest. None of these designs were modeled for baby birds. The bird knew it instinctively. Like having preloaded software, the bird was born with a capacity for intelligent design. The same goes for a spider. It never had web building modeled for it, yet it can build one of incredible perfection, often in very crafty locations. This is all inborn, and not learned. With this in mind, I’d like to propose a theory that not only does all life have within it inborn creative capacities, but so do the inorganic molecules that form the building blocks of life. Though evolutionists see the evolution of life as random, they miss seeing the creative capacity within all things, reflecting the Creator. From the outside it may appear random, yet within the atomic structure, the creative/evolutionary potential seems to be there. ASTROPHYSICS: WHAT THE MOON TEACHES US If you ever have the opportunity to visit Yellowstone National Park, chances are you will get to witness the famous geyser, “Old Faithful.” Old Faithful get its name from its reputation of erupting once every hour. The thing is, if you actually go there, you’ll see that it may be after 52 minutes, or an hour and seven minutes, etc. It’s not exactly so precise, but considering the capriciousness of nature, it’s close enough. Also, think about the weather reports. There are so many variables involved in the Earth’s weather that, despite the billions of dollars spent on weather forecasting, we settle on being given percentages of accuracy, and still have our doubts. Considering all the randomness in nature and in human affairs, it seems absolutely illogical to say that there’s a God Who is running the show. In the Torah, when the Children of Israel were preparing to leave Egypt, the first commandment given to them by God was to establish the month of Nissan as the first month in a lunar calendar.

“This month shall be to you the head of the months; to you it shall be the first of the months of the year.”

Exodus 12:2 Among the reasons suggested for this relates to their new status of being free and in control of their schedule, as opposed to being slaves who have no control. Their new life of freedom would include holidays, and the lunar calendar would serve as a framework for that.

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I would like to suggest another reason why focusing on the Moon is so important to our national consciousness. Though the original system of declaring new months involved having witnesses reporting the new Moon to the Sanhedrin (High Court), it later became fixed in a calendar created by Hillel HaKatan almost 1,700 years ago. We still use that calendar today. The Moon’s orbit around the Earth is roughly 1.5 Million miles every month. This doesn't take place in a closed system. Not only is the Moon cratered by debris from the past, it still continues to be impacted as it moves through space, by more space debris, solar flares, and the like. Yet, we know to the second from the 1,700-year-old calendar when a new month begins. This is totally illogical, considering how many disturbances are going on. The Earth, with its volcanic activity, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc., spins wobbly on its axis, yet it takes an atomic clock to measure its 24 hours, because it’s so precise. Earth is also hit daily with space debris as it travels 580 million miles annually around the Sun. That’s over 1.5 million miles a day! I knew things felt a little shaky. Yet, our solar calendar of 365 1/4 days was established by Julius Caesar in 46 BCE, and we continue to use it today. (The only exception was a minor correction in the Gregorian Calendar, which was clearly an exception that proves the rule!) According to physics, there are 4 forces that control the Universe. Two (strong & weak forces) operate at the atomic level. The atomic bomb unleashes one of them. The other two: electromagnetism and gravity are what supposedly control the symphony of the heavens. Yet, since even a gentle breeze can lift a leaf against the pull of gravity, we see that the strength of gravity has its limits. In light of the capriciousness of nature, when one considers the precision of the Moon’s orbit, the rotation of the Earth, and its orbit around the Sun, it is absolutely illogical and makes no sense. It is much more logical and rational to have the Earth miss a couple of seconds or even minutes in its rotation while it’s undergoing plate-tectonics, a Mt. St. Helens, or the Tsunami of 2004. I’d be forgiving if it was imperfect, just like I forgive the weatherman. Or considering the Moon, which has traveled over 3 Billion miles since Hillel established his calendar, to be off an hour or even a week for that matter during the 1,700 years, seems so much more reasonable. Gravity alone isn’t enough to ensure this perfection. There must be “Another Force” keeping things on schedule. When the Children of Israel were told to focus on the Moon as part of their national consciousness, they were given an insight into the workings of the Universe. Despite the randomness with which the surrounding pagan cultures viewed the happenstance of life, the Jews were given insight into the absolute perfection of the Universe, and the Watchmaker Who is still keeping time. The ultimate Old Faithful is still in control, running the show like a Swiss watch.

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THE TRUTH ABOUT “TRUTH” Over the years, I’ve had numerous religious and political discussions with people of all types of backgrounds, and am still amazed at how differently we frame our views of the world. One would think that we would agree more often than we do. Yet, despite how articulate and impassioned the arguments people make, it is really rare for one side to ever convince the other of anything. Recognizing that, it is interesting to examine how people form their opinions, and why consensus is difficult to achieve. In describing the general discussions people may have, I like to use the analogy of two people having a conversation over an ideal vacation. To some, an ideal vacation means waking up at 5am, donning their heavy ski suits, and spending the next 12 hours burning thousands of calories on the slopes of Aspen until they collapse. To others, an ideal vacation means taking their towel and sunscreen down to the beach in Cancun. All the effort they intend to expend involves turning over each half hour. Now that’s a vacation! In any event, these two people will argue over which is the best vacation, one saying Aspen, and the other saying Cancun, and they will never agree. Their personal preferences influence the meaning they ascribe to “vacation.” One sees it as a time for active thrills, while another views it as the chance for “down time.” Due to their different meanings, they will really be having two unrelated discussions at the same time, though they think they are discussing the same topic. The same dynamic applies to discussing illusive ideas, such as the “Truth,” be it in religion or politics. Let’s look at some of the ways that people arrive at the Truth in their lives to understand what’s going on when they have a discussion. Truth is:

1) What You Are Used To. For some people, the way that they define Truth stems from their upbringing, and what they are used to. What were they raised with, and what do people around them believe? That is what is normal to them; and what is normal for them should be normal for everyone else.

2) An Emotional Experience. For others, it’s not what they are used to that defines their views, but rather a personal, emotional experience (good or bad) that shapes their world view. It could be something as inspiring as a religious rebirth, or as devastating as surviving the Holocaust or an abusive childhood. Since these feelings are so strong, they will heavily influence the views and opinions of that person.

3) The Rational Approach. There is also an approach that rejects what someone is used to, or what emotional experiences they may have had. Instead, they choose to apply their mind to create a rational approach, describing things in terms of how they feel things “should be.” The Enlightenment and Communism were born of this approach. Yet, even the most “rational” of people will still tend to be ego-centric in their thinking, allowing their emotions and biases to get in the way.

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4) What Did God Say? This last approach involves saying, “I don’t care what people think, whether it’s from their heart or their mind. I only care about what God says.” Certainly, if you had to pick an approach that has created the greatest amount of discord in human history, it’s probably been this one. People’s interpretations of what God said can be influenced by personal preferences as well.

THE CHOSEN PEOPLE It is well known that Judaism, Christianity and Islam each view themselves as God’s favorite. In fact, it is normal that all cultures or political movements consider their views to be the correct ones. Can you imagine a movement ever promoting itself as being #2? To the ancient Greeks, being a “Greek” was the highest status. The same applied to Roman citizens in the Roman Empire. The Nazis, with their Aryan Race beliefs, viewed themselves as the Master Race; and the Communists viewed the Communist Revolution as the culmination of civilization. Since our goal is to prove there is a God, you have to ask yourself “which God?” since He is usually modified by each group to make sure they are #1. With so many variations of what people believe about God, it’s impossible to reconcile all of them to arrive at a description that works for everyone. It’s no wonder atheists rejected their understanding of God, since much of what’s said about God is false. I’m attempting to allow science to describe the way He is for the sake of clarity. MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL As a start, it is important to insist on distinctions concerning religion. It is unfair to lump them all together and make sweeping statements like “all religion is bad.” Undeniably, some religions have been guilty of bloodshed and persecution, giving all religions a bad name. Yet, religion has also been a source of much good in terms of charity, building community, and counseling. Not all religions proselytize, so not all can be accused of forcing their beliefs on others. Of course, let’s not forget that the greatest mass murderers (Mao / Stalin / Hitler) were all atheists. Even statements like “we all believe in the same God,” need an honest reassessment, since many descriptions of God are mutually exclusive, and not everyone can be right. If you say that everyone can have their own God, then you’re not really describing the One God that physics seems to describe. For the most part, all religions ascribe to a common thread of decent behavior. You cannot point to all the adherents of any one religion and say that they are all wicked and cursed, while all those of another are all righteous and blessed. Every religion produces decent people and villains; and every religion produces people who claim they have a close, personal relationship with God.

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No matter what religion or philosophy you are practicing, including atheism, you will have the vast majority of the world’s 7.5 billion people disagreeing with you. For instance, there are roughly 2 billion Christians with numerous denominations, representing 26% of the world. That means that 74% disagree with them. To try to validate a religion based on the numbers is misguided and is no indication of the Truth. This forces us to seek out a more objective standard to determine where the Truth really lies. THE JEWISH PERSPECTIVE From a numbers perspective, Judaism has no right to be considered a major religion. We represent less than 0.2% of the world’s population, and shrinking. Yet, our influence is probably greater than ever. We draw the validation of our faith from something other than numbers.

Not because you are more numerous than any people did the Lord delight in you and choose you, for you are the least of all the peoples. But because of the Lord's love for you, and because He keeps the oath He swore to your forefathers....

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 MANAGEMENT SCIENCE: GOD’S OFFICERS To understand the role that the Jewish people have played in history, I now turn to management science. Historically speaking, the best way to run the military is to have officers, with not everyone having the same rank. You need leaders with expertise, insight, and a game plan. The same holds true for corporations. You need to have corporate structure with officers and employees. Even with government, to have a pure democracy would be unruly if you had to rely on everyone voting on every decision. Though it’s not perfect, a more effective way of running things is to have a republic, where our chosen leaders are delegated with making the big decisions. This pattern appears to be woven into human society. When it comes to transforming civilization, God also chose to rely upon the use of leaders to establish His Kingdom on Earth. The officers He chose to teach the world about One God, social justice, and loving your neighbor are the Jewish people.

And now, if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be to Me a treasure out of all peoples, for Mine is the entire Earth. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'

Exodus 19: 5-6 For you are a holy people to the Lord, your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a treasured people for Him, out of all the nations that are upon the Earth.

Deuteronomy 14:2

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CONSIDER THE SOURCE One of the most powerful distinctions that can be applied to any religion or political movement is to consider their source. As different as all of these movements are, they all have a similar source, except for one. Basically, each one started with one person saying something like, "God appeared to me and this is what He said", or "I had this revelation and this is what it was." However, the Jewish people had a very different experience. God's revelation to them came at Mt. Sinai in front of the entire nation. Such a claim is hard to fabricate. How can you convince an entire people of such a claim if they were not there? The revelation at Sinai is the foundation of the Torah’s authority, since it came directly from God. Later throughout the Bible, the faithfulness and rebelliousness of the Jews was told over repeatedly. Yet, even at their most rebellious point, no one denied the events of Sinai. Chapter 3 - THE TORAH AS SCIENCE The Talmud states that there are 70 faces to the Torah, reflecting the depth and breadth of its teachings. Though it has been the brunt of criticism from many in the scientific community, the Torah can be considered as a scientific book in its own right. That may seem to be a surprising claim among skeptics who often characterize the Torah as a bunch of fairytales. I admit that stories such as the account of Creation and the Garden of Eden are subject to varying interpretations. But, rather than arguing over interpretations and beliefs, I’m choosing to focus on aspects that are verifiable, and not just opinion. Without question, the Torah is the most influential book of all time. Its insights apply to all areas of life, including personal development, spirituality, family and relationships, civil and criminal law, business, and even warfare, etc. It contains a blend of the life-sciences of history, anthropology, sociology, and psychology. If Darwinism’s premise of “survival of the fittest,” is a pillar of scientific ideology, then the history of the Jews demonstrates how the Torah is the greatest survival manual ever written.

It is a tree of life for those who take hold of it, and those who support it are happy. Proverbs 3:18

Lofty fields of study exist for the civilizations of ancient Egypt, Babylon, Greece, and Rome. However, these are all dead civilizations, never to return. Not so, the Jews. After spending most of our existence in an often-bitter exile, we have returned to our ancestral homeland, and resurrected our ancient language.

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PROPHECY & HISTORY - OBJECTIVE VALIDATION In science or mathematics, a hypothesis is an idea that you test through study and experimentation. Good science involves formulating hypotheses and testing them. The best way to support any argument is with objective proof that can be verified. Typically, religion is seen as relying entirely on faith. To say that if you believe in X you will gain Eternal Life, may or may not be true. It just can't be verified objectively. In Judaism, our “hypotheses” are the prophecies of our prophets. History is our laboratory, where these prophecies have been tested and proven to be true, again and again. In the Torah, we are told how to recognize a true prophet. Simply stated, if what a prophet says does not come true, don’t believe him. This is very straight-forward.

And if you say in your heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken? When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing follows not, nor comes to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken, and the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Deuteronomy 18:21-22. Prophecy is something an atheist cannot grasp, even if it is proven to be accurate, since it is not rational. We have seen with progressively higher forms of awareness, how a rock cannot fathom biology, or a tree cannot understand psychology, or a tiger not understand jurisprudence. So too, prophecy offers a higher insight into our Universe to reveal the omniscience of the Creator. As with any good science, let’s examine how prophecy can be validated through history. The prophecies that we will examine are:

1) “… And the one who curses you I will curse.” Genesis 12:3

God, in His covenant with Abraham, promises that He will raise up a great nation from him. Anyone who sought to bring harm upon this nation will be cursed. Every year, on Passover we read in the Haggadah, “In every generation, there are those who have risen up against us to destroy us, but The Holy One, Blessed is He, saved us from their hands.” Here is a partial list of those nations which have sought to destroy us, and we have survived them all.

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2) “But you who cleave to the Lord your God are alive, all of you, this day.” Deuteronomy 4:4

This verse speaks to the connection between being faithful to God’s Torah, and Jewish survival. Though it has been a rocky road, the unbroken chain of Jewish continuity since the Exodus from Egypt has lasted over 3,300 years. The Jewish religion entails observing the Torah’ commandments, and throughout our history the religious character of Jews did a great deal to ensure our continuity. On the other hand, those who have rejected our religious tenets ultimately assimilated out. (See chart on next page.)

3) “… Then, the Lord, your God, will bring back your exiles, and He will have mercy upon you. He will once again gather you from all the nations, where (He) had dispersed you… and will bring you to the land which your forefathers possessed….”

Deuteronomy 30:2-5

The #1 most repeated theme throughout all of the Hebrew prophecy is about God remembering His covenant with the Jewish people, gathering us from the four corners of the Earth, and bringing us back to the land of Israel, as He swore to our forefathers. This is certainly verifiable in our resettling the Land of Israel. Examples of other prophecies about our redemption include:

For, behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, says the Lord; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.

Jeremiah 30:3 Therefore say, Thus said the Lord God; I will gather you from the people, and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

Ezekiel 11:17

t .,,~~"

FirstGeneration

SecondGeneration

ThirdGeneration

FourthGeneration

Intermarriage Rate( NJPS 2000 )

Average Number ofChildren Per Woman

( NAJDBbased onNJPS 2000 )

THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN JEWRY

WILL YOUR GRANDCHILD BE JEWISH?( REVISITED)

SECULARCENTRIST

ORTHODOX.

HASIDIC IYESHIVA

ORTHODOX.

. Although there is noclear definition of'Centrist Orthodox' or'Hasidic - Yeshiva

Orthodox', the maindistinguishing factorrelates to attitudes

regarding formal secularstudies, family size,and the type of day

school children attend

. * The data pertaining to

intermarriage ratesfor'Centrist Orthodox' and'HasidiclYeshiva Orthodox'

extrapolated from study byDr. Marvin Schick

( 2000 - see text of article)

** Based on study hy

Dr. Marvin Schick,

January 2000 'A Census ofJewish Day Schools in TheUnited States' (publishedby the A vi Chai

Foundation 2003-2005)

Based on current intermarriage rates and the average number of children perfamily, the chances of young, contemporary Jews having Jewish grandchildren and

great-grandchildren, with the exception of the Orthodox, are increasingly remote.

REFORM CONSERVATIVE

Graphic design by Rochel Guidry

This chart is part of an extensive research article conducted by Antony Gordon and Richard M, Horowitz (2003-2005), Thechart and the accompanying research will be released as part of a symposium on 'The Future of American Jewry' at HarvardUniversity in February, 2006, Reproduction for any use whatsoever is strictly prohibited unless explicit written permission isgiven by Antony Gordon and Richard M, Horowitz, Please contact Antony Gordon at (323) 314- 1898 or gordonl 8@aoLcom

Copyright@, 2005

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Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; 8. And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

Zechariah 8:7-8

4) “I will make you (Israel) a light to the nations, so that My salvation shall be untilthe end of the Earth."

Isaiah 49:6

In this sense, a “light” means a source of blessing and positive influence. Despite our small numbers, we have influenced the West’s most powerful movements, both religiously and politically. Our influence includes giving the world the Bible, with its powerful concepts such as One God, social justice, world peace, and loving your neighbor, etc. In the modern world, we have contributed greatly to science, medicine, psychology, and the arts, while proportionally earning far more Nobel Prizes than any other group. Throughout our 4,000 year history, our beliefs and practices have been challenged under the most trying of circumstances, yet we have endured.

One of the most meaningful ways to demonstrate that we have been “A light unto the nations,” is to hear what others say about us. It’s one thing to sing our own praises, it’s quite another to hear it from someone outside of us.

Below are two quotes from prominent Gentiles, who shared their view of the impact that the Jews have had upon civilization. Surely, their words can do more to validate our legacy of being a “Light unto the Nations” than anything we might say.

“I will insist the Hebrews have [contributed] more to civilize men than any other nation. If I was an atheist and believed in blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations ... They are the most glorious nation that ever inhabited this Earth. The Romans and their empire were but a bubble in comparison to the Jews. They have given religion to three-quarters of the globe and have influenced the affairs of mankind more and more happily than any other nation, ancient or modern.”

- John Adams, Second President of the United States (From a letter to F. A. Van der Kemp [Feb. 16, 1808] Pennsylvania Historical Society)

“Certainly, the world without the Jews would have been a radically different place. Humanity might have eventually stumbled upon all the Jewish insights. But we cannot be sure. All the great conceptual discoveries of the human intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they had been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift. To them we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of human person; of the individual conscience and so a personal redemption; of

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collective conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice, and many other items which constitute the basic moral furniture of the human mind. Without Jews it might have been a much emptier place.”

- Paul Johnson (Christian historian, author of A History of the Jews and A History of Christianity)

Chapter 4 - DIFFICULT ISSUES

In order to tackle some of the objections people have with believing in God, it is necessary to deal with the topic of Evil. The difficulty with Evil is in reconciling the belief that God is good, with issues ranging from why good people suffer to the Holocaust. Though any response I can offer to these issues will leave many questions unanswered, there are still valid points worth understanding.

BACKGROUND - HOW GOD RUNS THE WORLD

To address all this, some fundamental concepts of Jewish thought need to be understood. What does the Torah teach us about human nature? Like a good parent, what does God provide Man, and what does God expect from Man that he should do on his own? In the 18th century, Rabbi Chaim Luzzato wrote in Derech Hashem (The Way of God) an insightful explanation on the nature of God, Man and Creation.

Simply stated, his logic goes like this:

-God, out of His Goodness and Love, wanted to give, with His ultimate gifts being Life and a relationship with Him. -For it to be a gift, there needed to be a recipient, therefore God created Man. -For Man to gain the greatest pleasure from these gifts, he has to play a role in meriting God’s rewards. -Through studying and performing the Torah’s commandments, God gave Man the vehicle for achieving merit. -For Man’s merit to be the most meaningful, he must earn it through exercising his free will, rather than being forced. -There has to be real consequences for Man’s behavior, both positive and negative. -There are two worlds, the physical world, and the eternal spiritual world for receiving reward.

While the physical world ends at death, your spiritual existence runs concurrently with the physical world, and continues after death. Understanding that there are two worlds, each with their own kind of rewards, may help explain why “good” people can suffer in this world. Their reward may be waiting for them in the World to Come. “Evil” people may appear to prosper here, but at the expense of their eternity. God decides how and when to dispense rewards in these worlds, and we cannot always understand His ways.

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A boorish man does not know, neither does a fool understand this. When the wicked flourish like grass, and all workers of violence blossom, only to he destroyed to eternity.

Psalm 92:7-8

GOOD & EVIL

When God gave life to Man, He sought to test him for the sake of his growth. This comes through exercising our free will, and making the right choices. To ensure that we will always have free choice God keeps Himself hidden, yet is findable for those who try. If God was always openly “visible”, it would be so overwhelming that our free choice would be stunted, and that would be counter-productive.

To make sure we are always tested, God placed within us a Yetzer HaTov and a Yetzer HaRah, a good and evil inclination. Our challenge is to direct our good inclination to dominate over our evil one by refusing evil and choosing good. However, having an evil inclination is necessary. Without it, you would have no desire to procreate and build up this world. On the other hand, it can get you into trouble, and influence you to make poor choices. The importance of recognizing this dynamic within you is two-fold.

Some people view themselves as evil because of misdeeds and evil thoughts, leaving them feeling distraught or self-destructive. No one is without sin. People are inherently good, created in God’s image, with Godly attributes. Recognizing that you are really a Godly soul, in a body with an evil inclination, yet redeemable through repentance, is a better reframe.

Evil stems from people allowing their evil inclination to take charge. There is no external Devil that you can blame. You alone are responsible for your behavior. The belief in One, All-Powerful God means that there is only one spiritual force to contend with in the Universe. Recognizing that everything comes from Him gives us better insight into what we consider good and evil.

Who forms light and creates darkness, Who makes peace and creates evil; I am the Lord, Who makes all these.

Isaiah 45:7

It may be shocking to view God as “creating evil,” but this requires further inquiry. Sometimes what we think is “good” for us in the short term, turns out to be bad for us, while some “bad” experiences turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

In the Talmud (Brachos) we are told that the proper format for the blessings that we make is: “Blessed are You, Hashem, Elokaynu (our God), King of the Universe....”

By doing so, we use two names of God, Hashem (Which denotes a God of mercy) and Elokaynu (denotes a God of justice). What this implies is that we acknowledge both aspects of God as being sources of blessing. Whether we are going through seemingly easy times or hard times, we

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acknowledge that both are from God, and are ultimately good. According to the Torah, we cannot do whatever we want; our behavior carries consequences, including punishment for misdeeds. God alone knows if people are being their best, and what tests, rewards, or consequences they need.

In the book of Job, we have the story of a righteous man who undergoes a tremendous amount of misfortune. He is visited by four friends who try to console him, but also want to understand what has been going on. The first three insist that there must be a reason for his misfortune; God isn’t unjust, so Job must have done something wrong. The fourth friend, Elihu, offers a new perspective. He states that God speaks to Man, including through dreams, to get him to correct his ways.

If Man fails to heed correction, God chastises him physically or materially to get his attention. So, suffering may not be punishment or an abandonment by God. It can be seen instead as a wake-up call and first step to improving oneself. Having your world shaken up at times teaches you about the things that you should appreciate or work on.

THE HOLOCAUST

Understandably, the Holocaust is an issue that stirs very painful emotions in the Jewish community. For some, it leads to anger or despair, while for others it has been a cause for Jewish activism and renewal. Though the answer to “why” it happened is ultimately unknowable, it is still meaningful to see the Jewish context in which it happened.

“How could God have let the Holocaust happen?” is a very Jewish question. As painful as this is for us, it’s not something that everyone struggles with. Obviously, if you were a Nazi, you would not be asking this. The Nazis thought they were doing something beneficial to mankind by attempting to destroy the Jewish people. Unfortunately, there are still people today who feel that the Nazis were right. If you were a Communist, there is no God to question or blame, and being Jewish has no special significance.

Though many Christians helped save Jewish lives, many others were complicit in their murder. Theologically, it is not difficult for a Christian to explain why God would allow the Holocaust to happen, considering that the Jews have always rejected a belief in Jesus. The same theological sentiments would be felt by Moslems for our rejecting Mohammed and the Koran. To the Ancient Greeks, something like the Holocaust wouldn’t have presented a quandary. There were no expectations that the gods could be relied upon to prevent something like that, especially for the Jews. If anything, the gods would favor the Greeks. So to be disturbed by the fate of the Jews during the Holocaust reflects values that Judaism brought to the world. In fact, Hitler himself declared “conscience” as a Jewish invention, and spoke about it as a curse. *

It may seem difficult to reconcile the Holocaust with our religious belief that God loves us and saves us. However, if you reject Judaism’s historical belief in God, then the Holocaust stops being a theological difficulty. Man is to blame, not God.

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As I expound upon the following pieces of this Jewish puzzle, I will refrain from trying to put them together, instead leaving the ultimate answer of “why” to God.

1. THE JEWISH WORLD WAS OUT OF KILTER. Though we were accustomed to the vast majorityof the Jews living in places like Poland, Russia or New York, etc. we were not where we belonged. There was no State of Israel; “Palestine” was under British control; Jerusalem, our ancient capital, with its holy sites was restricted to the Jews. Despite the dream of a Jewish homeland by Theodore Herzl, Jewish immigration was at a slow trickle. If at any time that the Jews would consider declaring a Jewish State in Israel, they would immediately be at war with the surrounding Arab nations. For Israel to ever hope to win against those odds, there had to be a critical mass of Jewish population to field an army. That critical mass didn’t exist in the early 20th century, so something “radical” was needed to quickly shift the necessary population, because it wasn’t happening on its own.

2. WORLD OPINION. The world’s historic animosity toward the Jews, runs long and deep.Therefore, something powerful was needed to shift world sympathy in our favor, enabling the UN vote in November 1947 to partition “Palestine”, paving the way for the State of Israel. Certainly, if that vote were held today, it would never pass.

3. DISPARAGING THE LAND. In the Torah’s account of the Jews’ wandering in the desert, therewere numerous accounts of events that angered God: the Golden Calf, their complaints about food and water, the rebellion of Korach, and the incident with Baal Peor, to name a few. Only one event angered God enough to insist that an entire generation be condemned to die in the wilderness, rather than enter the Land of Israel. That was when the spies gave a negative report about the Land, which the people embraced, preferring to remain in the wilderness. God needed the old generation that had the slavery mentality of Egypt to pass away, preparing a new generation to conquer the Land.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, new mindsets spread throughout the Jewish world, reflecting much of what was felt at the time of the spies. Among non-religious Jews, Berlin was seen as the “new Jerusalem”, as they embraced the Enlightenment that spread across Europe. Jews enjoyed new freedoms, while rejecting the old Torah ways of their ancestors. In reaction to this, Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk is quoted as saying, “if they consider Berlin to be the new Jerusalem, then a flame will come out of Berlin to consume them.”

Meanwhile, in the religious world, the growing Zionist movement was viewed as despicable, since its leadership was irreligious. Many religious Jews were advised by their rabbis to remain in Europe rather than moving to Israel, even when the flames of Nazism were spreading. Then”yishuv” in Israel was viewed as a “treif” spiritual hazard.

Since discord between religious and non-religious Jews in the Diaspora was at its height, a new mindset and urgency was needed to conquer and defend the Land, since it was lacking among both groups.

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4. NO SURPRISE. There are not enough words that can adequately describe the horror and evil ofthe Holocaust. There is, however, one description that does not apply, and that is that it was a total “surprise.” From a Torah perspective, events of horrendous Jewish destruction are openly described in the rebukes mentioned in the Torah. Here are some excerpts from the Torah’s reproof of the Jewish people if they fail to serve God.

Leviticus 26:

17 I will set My attention against you, and you will be smitten before your enemies. Your enemies will rule over you; you will flee, but no one will be pursuing you.

25 I will bring upon you an army that avenges the avenging of a covenant, and you will gather into your cities. I will incite the plague in your midst, and you will be delivered into the enemy's hands,

29You will eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters you will eat.

31I will lay your cities waste and make your holy places desolate….

Deuteronomy 28:

8The Lord will strike you with insanity, with blindness, and with bewilderment.

29 You will grope at midday, as the blind man gropes in the dark, and you will be unsuccessful in your ways. You will be only oppressed and robbed all the days, and no one will save [you].

32 Your sons and daughters will be given over to another people, and your eyes will see [this] and long for them all day long, but you will be powerless.

41 You will bear sons and daughters, but you will not have them, because they will go into captivity.

45 All these curses will befall you, pursuing you and overtaking you to destroy you because you did not obey the Lord, your God, to observe His commandments and statutes which He commanded you.

49 The Lord will bring upon you a nation from afar, from the end of the Earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you will not understand,

50 a brazen nation, which will not respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young.

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5. THE STATE OF ISRAEL

No words can describe the miracle of the State of Israel, and what it means to the Jewish people. Unlike the helplessness and persecution we felt at the hands of our enemies in Europe, we are now strong and back where we belong, with Jerusalem as our capital. In just 2 generations, the majority of Jews in the world went from living in Eastern Europe, speaking Yiddish, to now living in Israel, speaking Hebrew. As part of our resurgence. we have become a humanitarian and technological world leader. The redemption that our prophets spoke about is slowly unfolding there before our eyes. It is the future of the Jewish people, and would not have gotten the jump start it needed without the Holocaust. Was it worth it? We’ll never know the answer to that, but a brighter future has been given to us, and it’s up to us to nurture it.

THE LAST WORD

The ultimate take away from of all this is that believing in God is not inconsistent with science. In fact, science confirms God’s existence, and understanding Him as the Creator enhances our scientific understanding. Since we draw from all fields of science to form our total picture of God and the Universe, our exposure to science is broadened, and He unifies it all. Though there have always been divisions among Jews in how we observe Judaism, the most enduring legacy in our heritage is our commitment to the covenant with God. This has not been a blind faith in some distant God, but one that sees His kindness actively involved in countless ways in our everyday lives.

RELATING TO GOD

Much of what is written in our Scriptures reflects the personal experience of great peoplefrom our past. What they learned about believing in and relating to God can serve as a modelfor us in developing our own relationship with Him. Two closing points that I wish to shareinvolve seeing God as accessible, and trusting Him to help you. It’s up to you to explore onyour own.

GOD IS ACCESSIBLE

And from there (Exile) you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy 4:29

Hashem is close to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon him in truth. Psalm 145:18.

Taste (contemplate) and see that Hashem is good. Psalm 34:8

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TRUSTING GOD

Trust in Him at all times; people, pour out your hearts before Him. God is our shelter forever. Psalms 62:9

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely upon your understanding. Know Him in all your ways, and He will direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Do His will as if it was your will that He may do your will as if it was His will. Make your will of no effect before His will that He may make the will of others of no effect before your will.

Pirkei Avot 2:4.