Machon Ohr Aaron and Betsy Spijer
A private response to the many who asked for illumination concerning my personal religious struggles Coming from a totally secular background, like I did, has many challenges and drawbacks, and yet, also some great advantages. When I became interested in Judaism, at 14-15 years old, it was not an easy time—neither for my parents, my […]
A God Who is good, yet the existence of evil, is an age-old dilemma. Authentic faith leads to questions and even indignation at perceived injustices. It is the true believer who reacts to realities that seem unjust and that result in suffering – remaining complacent is unacceptable! Simultaneously, one must remember the very little he can fathom about our world.
When I met my Dutch atheistic friend, who I discussed previously (The Blessing of the Religious Atheist in Haarlem), in the city of Haarlem several times after I had met him in the synagogue, he became very outspoken. It was clear that his observations were expressed with great sincerity and with an ongoing respect for […]
At the age of 15 when I first experienced observant Judaism, I encountered the anomaly of the observant non-believer. After approaching this person to discuss his views, his perspective enlightened me and accompanies me to this day.
Non-belief does not dictate complete severance from everything that is Jewish and religious – in fact the non-believer has much to gain from Judaism, even as a non-believer!
Approaching the question of the “existence” of God is almost impossible. Western thought and science has successfully analyzed and understood a myriad of aspects of our universe. However, applying these disciplines and proof by empirical evidence when attempting to “prove” anything about the divine proves futile. Were God to be a “thing,” this would not be the case; God is not a “thing.”
