Eliana Applebaum & Esther Simchi Jewish Philosophy Name: Unit 1 Test: Faith and Reason Part A: Please

fill in the following chart of the 6 Rabbis. For extra credit include an interesting fact about the rabbi or his work. Rabbi Name: Rav Ahron Lichtenstein Where: When: May 24th, 1933 Books/writings: Significance (E.C.): Modern orthodox leader who has been a spiritual and intellectual leader for many Jews. Talmudic and spiritual leader by many Modern Orthodox Jews. Date: asdasdsa

Pruzanhy (acc: Russia, Poland, Belarus)

Torah Umadda The Lonely Man of Faith Halakhic Man Halakhic Mind

Rabbi jonathan Sacks

March 8th, 1948

Chief Rabbi for the British Orthodox Jews.

Rebbe Nachman of

Ukraine

Likutey Moharan

Breslov

Sefer HaMidot Tikkun HaKlali Sippurei Ma'asiyot

Rav Saadya Gaon

Egypt (acc: Babylon)

Attempted to merge Jewish beliefs with Greek philosophy. Wrote mostly in Arabic.

Spain

Year 1075

A great Hebrew poet, who wrote about religious and secular topics.

Part B: Multiple Choice Questions. Please answer ALL of the following questions.
1. Why did R Saadya Gaon believe it was so important for Jews to learn Jewish

philosophy? a. So they know how to refute anyone who challenges them b. To learn for themselves what they know to be true. c. To strengthen their emotional and intellectual understanding of it. d. All of the above 2. Which Rabbi anticipated an objection to his reasoning for researching our religion? (Hint: the attack was that if G-d, who is all powerful and wise, knew that Jews could rationally get to their belief system of understanding Hashem, the Torah, and Mitzvot, why did He go through the whole revelation experience of Matan Torah?) a. Rebbe Nachman b. Rav Saadya Gaon c. Rabbi Yehuda Halevi d. None of the above 3. In Rav Saadya Gaons book, Matan Torah served as: a. Proof of Hashem is the G-d of the Jewish people. b. Proof the Torah came from Hashem c. It did not serve to prove anything because Rav Saadya was not physically there. d. Both A and B 4. Who does Rebbe Nachman compare Jewish philosophers to? a. The avot b. Pharaoh

c. Amalek d. Canaanim 5. When does the Al Khazari king hypothetically say that he believes that the Indian king is good? a. When the Rabbi tells him that the king is good b. When the Rabbi gives him examples of good things that the king has done c. When the Al Khazari king receives gifts from the king d. Never 6. In the Rabbis Mashal to the Al Khazari king, is the following matched up correctly? King of India: Hashem, The king Al Khazari: the Jewish people, The Messenger: Moshe (who brought us the Torah), the messengers presents: The Torah and Mitzvot. a. Yes b. No 7. True or False, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi believes that personal experience passed down through uninterrupted tradition and reliable sources serves as proof of something? a. True b. False 8. Who, according to Rebbe Nachman, can learn Jewish philosophy? a. Everybody b. Nobody c. Reshaim d. Tzadikim 9. True or False: R Saadya Gaon and Rebbe Nachman agree on Jewish Philosophy. a. True b. False Part C: Short Answer Questions. Please answer ALL of the following questions. 1. Rav Aharon Lichtenstein mentions lessons he learned from his mentors. Who are these mentors and what lesson did they teach him? How did they teach him this lesson? a. He does not explicitly mention who the mentors are but they are most likely his parents and teachers (Rabbis). These mentors taught him that there is value to asking questions, possibly more than the answer. Rav Lichtenstein envisioned that his far sharper and wiser teachers would have raised the questions he had and therefore the Rabbis before him raised questions without answers and still remained steadfast in their commitment to Judaism. This led Rav Lichtenstein to think that if the wise rabbis before him could live with the questions, so could he. 2. List the name of 2 Rabbis that Rav Lichtenstein respects and what century they lived in.
a. Rav Yitzchak Hunter and Rav Yosef Soloveichik (the Rav) both lived in the 20th

century. 3. Explain what is meant by The source of faith is faith itself. Include who said this.

a. Rav Lichtenstein said this and he meant that the source of faith in Judaism/Hashem is the preceding Rabbis who asked unanswered questions and still remained true to Judaism. He had faith in unanswered questions because of the actions of his Rabbis. 4. Rav Soloveichik quotes a major philosopher. Who is it? When did he live? What two things does the quote compare? How are they similar? a. Rav Soloveichik quotes Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish Christian who lived from 1813-1855. This philosopher compares the relationship between a bride and a groom to the relationship between a prayerful soul (religious worshipper) and G-d. Just as a bride would not question the existence of her groom, so too a worshipper should not question the existence of his/her G-d. 5. Who is Anselm of Canterbury? What did he do to upset the philosopher that the Rav quotes?
a. He was a religious individual who invented an ontological proof. His actions

bothered Kierkegaard because he prayed to Hashem that he could be able to develop a proof proving G-ds existence. There is a contradiction between praying to G-d and trying to prove His existence: If he believed in G-d why does he need a proof? If he did not believe in G-d than why is he praying to G-d? Part D: Analysis Questions. Please answer 3 out of 4 questions. 1. He commanded us to inquire patiently until the truth of Tradition was brought out by speculation, and not to depart from our religious position before its truth was verified, since we are obliged to believe in it on account of what we saw with our eyes and heard with our ears. Which one of the six rabbis we have learned would/did say this statement? Explain.
a. Rav Saadya Gaon in his book Emunot Vdeot said this. Rav Saadyas goal was to

bring assimilated Jews back to Torah, Mitzvot, and Halacha. In order to do this he demonstrates that the teachings of the Torah will uphold against logical inquiry. He offers irrefutable proof why we believe in G-d and how we know that the Torah came from Hashem, i.e. the Matan Torah experience. Though he goes and tries to find reasons to the Mitzvot, at the end of the day the Mitzvot are right and he believes in them even without physical proofs or reasons because of what we saw with our eyes and heard with our ears. (The Miracles, lightning, and voice of Hashem at Har Sinai.) 2. Do Rabbi Yehuda Halevi and Rav Nachman MiBreslov disagree or agree regarding finding reasons and proofs for Jewish beliefs? Explain.

a. These two Rabbis disagree. Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, in Sefer Hakuzari, writes a story

about a king, Al Khazari, who was searching for the true religion. After being dissatisfied with the answers of a philosopher, a Moslem religious leader, and a Christian priest, the king summons a Jewish Rabbi to discuss G-d and religion. The Rabbi begins explaining his faith to the king by mentioning acts that Hashem preformed starting from Matan Torah and the Exodus from Egypt. The king questions the Rabbi why he did not start from the creation of the world. The Rabbi answers that the creation of the world is not a good enough reason to believe in Hashem and follow His laws because Breiat HaOlem is based on speculation and not revelation (revealed to you by other people). Since no one saw the creation of the world, while more than 600,000 people saw the revelation at Har Sinai, the two experiences are opposites of each other (because one is speculation and one is revelation). The rabbi then gives a mashal about a king from India proving that one is more likely to believe in something if one was substantial proof of that fact. Therefore he started off with the proof of Judaism (our tradition passed down frm Matan Torah) and not the incomplete mashal (creation of the world). Unlike Rabbi Yehuda Halevi who thought proof and reasons were important for belief, Rav Nachman MiBreslov thinks that philosophers who use scientific studies and philosophical reasoning to explore and understand things are evil. He compares the evils of philosophizing and rationalizing to the nation of Amalek, the symbol for all of the horrible and anti-Jewish values. He quotes about Amalek, "and they did not fear G-d. This means that this nation acted without fear in G-d and did not have emotion in their lifestyles (it is all about reasoning and rationalizing). The reason that Rav Nachman opposed philosophizing and trying to find proof of things was because it distracts us from our ultimate goal and purpose of having faith in Hashem and doing the Mitzvot because G-d commanded us to. He does mention, however, that although ideally one should not philosophize, a great Tzadeek is permitted if it is necessary. 3. Rav Aharon Lichtenstein was bothered by moral, theological, textual, and historical questions. Within these categories of questions, list 5 to 6 questions that bother you as a Jewish woman.
a. Historical question=Hashem did enormous miracles for us, why do Jews doubt G-

ds existence? Why doesnt everyone believe in Hashem?Moral question= Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do good things happen to bad people? Moral question= How can our merciful G-d command us to destroy the entire nation of ? There is a concept of - How can the majority over rulethe word of Hashem?What are womens role in Judaism compared tmen? What happens after death?

4. Are Rabbi Jonathan Saks and Rav Aharon Lichtensteins views similar regarding

faith? If so, how are they similar? Please provide proof for your answer.
a. Yes. Both Rabbis recognize the value of questions, possibly more than the

answers. Rav Lichtenstein says, the source of faith is faith itself. This means that the source of faith in Judaism/Hashem is the preceding Rabbis who asked unanswered questions and still remained true to Judaism. Therefore, the questions are valuable. Similarly, Rav Saks thinks, faith is not a certainty. Faith is the courage to live with uncertainty. This means that faith in Judaism is not based on proof, reason, or certainty; rather, faith is the courage to live with uncertainty and unanswered questions. Since faith is dependent on uncertainty, the questions are just as, if not more, important than the answers to the questions. Extra Credit: 1. What is epistemology? a. The study of knowledge. 2. Who said, I think therefore I am. a. Descartes.
3. What contradiction exists in the title Lonely Man of Faith?

a. A faithful man should not be lonely because one who has faith in G-d has a relationship with G-d.