310. Beyond Intellect

Religion itself is not an opiate.

It is abused that way though by many people.

Marx did have some dangerous ideas. Many people misquote him though. What you describe here sounds more like Neitzsche then Marx, and though they both lived in Germany around the same time period, Marx was different from him.

For one thing, Marx was a Jew. Judaism is not a religion in the way that are the other 'houses' of faith, for they are based mostly on belief; Judaism on a birthright.

A Jew can represent G-d, can give off 'sparks' of Torah-like illumination, evenwhile professing against faith; even when professing against his own faith.

The sad fact is that many people invoke belief, and especially belief in G-d, in a drug like fashion. They harm the minds that G-d gave them, their intellects, and give themselves over too much to their 'animal souls' and their yetzer haras.

Yes, Marx did have dangerous ideas.

Why didn't he just become a rabbi like his father?

I like to think that Emuna/faith stands as an independent feeling each time affecting one as a pulse as in the beat of ones heart or or the tone or pitch of a sound of an instrument that can only enhance one-As G-ds' love does enhance one...but what I did want to say about Emunah is that it has an improvising step being that improvising is based on feeling and faith.This does take you beyond inellect however I feel it takes you to a stronger firmer sense of G-d and you.

Thomas, the thing about Karl Marx is that he asserts that man is the creator of his own destiny. He espoused cutting off from roots and starting anew.

His dangerous ideas are tantalizing. He celebrates man's creative power -- MAN's. But this celebration of creativity is an act of destruction. Destroying roots. Destroying that which was founded before him. It is a vain perspective to think that you and you alone can create your destiny. You co-create it with your ancestors and those who will come after you. We are continuing thought of the Divine that jump from vessel to vessel.

Religion is not the opiate of the people. I totally disagree with Marx. Religion is a poor parody of a true connection with the Divine. But it is a waiting shed, a temporary shelter from confusion. When awakening happens, it sounds like religion but it is not. It is Emuna. True faith. An unwavering certainty that you have found the center of truth, even without proof. This is what I think.

the problem with pain.

Rabbi Freeman, the more one is conscious the more is one receptive to pain, and the more one is conscious the more are they intuned with their intellects.

Rabbi, Karl Marx wasn't completely wrong (despite his abominable political theories) when he said-'religion is the opiate of the people'.

People tend to desire a relationship with G-d that is one of a comforter. They want a G-d who will relieve them when they are in pain; which means a G-d that won't require any special consciousness on their part, or that will require them to think too hard.

What's wrong with that? Is not the name of the Rebbe himself (Menachem) a way of saying 'comforter'?

The problem is that from there many people will term the mind and the intellect as opposed to G-d, as 'anti' to G-d, when these things are not only also from G-d, but were given to us by Him to differentiate us from the other animals.

Indeed, Rabbi, all too many of us never get beyond our 'animal souls'!

Faith that ignores intellect is delusion.

I understand what you mean. You go so high up the rung until you reach a level of understanding that you can no longer adequately describe in words. As Joseph Campbell puts it " It has not been stained by the human tongue ". You transcend intellect not defy it.

I can honestly say that Emuna (faith) cannot be grasped at as a knowledge that can be learned by someone else- and nobody can show you the way to emuna it is a land sort of that is not conquered by all-As an artist I can say I know nothing about Emuna-Why lie to you?-My imagination is full of darkness that is controlled by G-d's presense and he makes sure that the imagination doesn't get toooo out there so that I am not ridden with guilt-which happens anyway-so how could I know about Emuna? However it does sound heavenly-and I know that when the colors are right and the lines are right and I am learning Hebrew correctly I feel I know Emuna.

That is really true. We usually forget the fact that intellect is also created by the Creator of the Universe and we need to look beyond intellect through faith.