Reflecting on Judaism

In my first essay which reviews the above book, I mentioned that it was an extremely good read, dealing with a host of interesting subjects, of which I mentioned but a few, and added that one need not agree with everything the author wrote. This second essay comments on some other subject he refers to, all in a most interesting manner.
 
The problem of evil. You will recall that the book takes the form of a dialogue between Rabbi Cardozo and one of his students. The student states that the problem of Evil is perhaps the strongest objection to the belief in a God or at least against the existence of a merciful God. The Rabbi acknowledges the comment and offers three explanations to the problem. With great respect to the Rabbi, whom I admire greatly, I believe that he goes on to explain a different, but related, problem. The student referred to ‘Evil’ whilst the Rabbi tries to explain the reason for ‘Pain and Suffering’.
 
His first explanation is that it is a reflection of God’s displeasure i.e. that God chastises man for his sins.  The Student is not convinced by this argument because, although this may possibly apply to some sinners, it is not only sinners who suffers. The Rabbi accepts this reaction and points out that many rabbis criticise Job’s Comforters for just this reason and call such arguments ‘wronging with words’.
 
His second explanation is that pain is necessary because it is often a warning of a potential, more serious, health condition which may be in the course of developing. The Rabbi does however qualify this explanation by saying that such an approach could never explain all forms of suffering. This subject is further developed by the Rabbi pointing out that if there were not ‘Pain and Suffering’ in the world we would be living in a pain free paradise. There would be no consistent ‘Law of Nature’ e.g. there would be no accidents, no fraud, no murderer’s knife, etc. ‘ Life would be a dream in which man floats’.
 
The third explanation is a cabalistic one. The Hebrew letters of the word meaning ‘light’ are similar to the Hebrew letters of the word meaning ‘anguish’. We should therefore use our experience and channel our ‘anguish’ to achieve ‘good’ i.e. changing darkness to light.
 
The different but related problem. Had the student stated that ‘Pain and Suffering’ made it difficult to believe in a God or in a merciful God then these three explanations might satisfy some but, as mentioned above, the student was questioning the presence of ‘Evil’ in the world and therefore they are not appropriate.
 
The dictionary defines ‘Evil’ as meaning ‘intending to do harm’, ‘malicious intent’, morally bad’, adjectives which usually refer to human behaviour. Newspapers are full of reports of people experiencing ‘Pain and suffering’ and if these reports are analysed it is apparent that most of it inflicted by other people abusing their ‘Freewill’ ability. It is surprising that Rabbi Cardozo makes no mention of this primary cause of ‘Pain and suffering’. Other causes of ‘Pain and Suffering’ may be self inflicted such as the pain caused by lung cancer suffered by some who smoke heavily. There possibly may be ‘Pain and suffering’ caused by the first two explanations given above but it is something which it is difficult to assess objectively. ‘Freewill’ however is something that God gave to us explicitly, and commanded us not to abuse it. Time and time again the Torah advises us to choose the ‘Good’ from the ‘Good or Bad’ options available to us. In those instances where we choose the ‘Bad’ why is it that we always try to lay the blame on God for the ‘Pain and Suffering’ we ourselves have caused and why are the Rabbis so reluctant to remind us of this fact? Often they too attribute it directly to God.
 
Rabbi Cardozo deals with many other subjects in a most interesting and unexpected way and I would like, briefly, to mention a few.
 
Jewish religious education. The student asks whether it is a failure within our religion and our Jewish tradition that two ‘religious’ Jews committed murder; one the murder of Yitzchak Rabin and the other of a large number of innocent Arabs whilst praying. Rabbi Cardozo replied that it proves the failure of Jewish education but not of the religion. He linked the extreme nationalism of these two religious murderers with the extreme nationalism of some, but only some, of the early Zionists. The former believed that the Land of Israel was so holy that it took precedence over all other considerations whilst the latter believed that the creation of the State took priority over all else including Jewish tradition.  They both made an Idol of the Land and worshipped it.
 
The student then asks what can be done to repair the situation since many Israelis hold the Jewish tradition responsible for their acts. Rabbi Cardozo replies that it is indeed a most serious problem which demands the unequivocal attention of the religious leadership. That it will be necessary to do some soul searching on the part of the Orthodox establishment. Sincere self-criticism is necessary because many Orthodox Jews, like himself, feel that they failed their students in the kind of education which would have automatically precluded such acts. Perhaps they were too occupied teaching important rituals while focusing too little time on matters which relate to the holiness of life itself. 
 
Rabbi Cardozo goes on to suggest that there should be a change in the curriculum for Yeshivot with more emphasis on human ethics. There is nothing wrong or shameful about change. Throughout Jewish history the sages have looked for new methods to educate the Jewish people. How otherwise would we have made such a profound impact on Western civilisation? ‘ We should bring examples to show how the Torah would like us to behave towards our fellow man.
 
Religious coercion. The student, who is himself secular, asks what can be done for the secular Jews who shiver when they think of the impending religious legislation which will deny them their basic freedom. Rabbi Cardozo replies by questioning whether the religious parties should continue in their attempt to enforce halachic observance. Originally it may have been necessary but social conditions have changed so drastically since then that little is to be gained by the preservation of some. In many areas, where there is no enforcement, even secular Jews preserve observance, to a greater or lesser extent. The ‘secular’ Jew is often not as secular as he is often made out to be.
 
Originally cinemas were kept closed as a ploy to keep youngsters from prematurely leaving the Shabbat table but today there are other forms of entertainment which attract them so the original reasoning has lost all connection with reality. He suggests that religious legislation should be used mainly to ensure that religious persons are not discriminated against in matters such as employment.  What Religious Parties should also do is to offer alternative religious uplifting experiences which would restore the beauty of Shabbat in the eyes of these young people.
 
I trust that I have faithfully precised those sections of Rabbi Cardozo’s book to which I have referred and again recommend it as a stimulating and excellent read.
 April 2001