EMUNAH-----emunah peshuta 2

philo613 Posted - 15 June 2007 7:45

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Is it better to have Emunah Pshuta and simply not investigate these Hashkafic questions?

I mean, there are thousands of discussions about specifics both in Hashkafa and other questions. Besides, if one gets to far into these discussions, one risks arriving at a wrong conclusion, and Chas V’sholom, losing their share in Olam habah, depending on how wrong their views are.

In addition to “classical” Hashkafa, is it better read books such as “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” and Rabbi Mechanics work, or simple accept the Torah without proof?

I know that in other areas of Torah, such as Halacha, every individual is supposed to do their best to understand everything, but is that also so for Hashkafa also?

Can one simply say “I accept the Hashkafa of Judaism, without properly understating the complex discussions of all the previous generations?

MODERATOR Posted - 18 June 2007 8:15

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Well, Emunah Peshuto is ingrained by default in every Jew. This is the "magic" Segulah of "ki becha yaaminu leolam."

However, that's just the default - a human can ruin his natural belief by allowing undesirable influences to put doubts in his mind. This includes reading, hearing, or seeing all those things that the Torah prohibits us to read hear or see as per the prohibitions of Lo sasuru acharei levavchem, al tifnu el haelilim, and harchek mishachen rah. There are other ways to damage the delicate and sublime natural Emunah of a Jew as well. Society impacts on us in many ways, unfortunately.

Such a person needs answers, and for such a person, Emunah Peshutah is no longer an option. Would that is were, but alas it is not. For such a person, all the proofs are life savers.

For someone who is still on the level where his sublime and delicate default Emunah has not been damaged, there is a great disagreement in the seforim regarding what the best path for him is in regard to proofs to the Torah.

However, the above disagreement is referring to complex philosophical proofs. There are other, simple, 1+1=2 demonstrations of G-d's existence and other Torah principles that, in the words of the Ran, "anyone who is not an idiot" agrees are true.

Such demonstrations of logic are not philosophical proofs but rather simple elementary facts (an example is the First Cause Principle - see the "G-d" section for details). These are not the complex philosophical proofs that some seforim say to stay away from.