Get Think Jewish Delivered to your Home or Office
HOME | CONTACT US | DONATE LoginLOGIN Ask the RabbiASK THE RABBI
Chabad.org - Torah, Judaism and Jewish Info Weekly Torah (Parshah)
 
Chabad.org » Learning & Values » Weekly Torah (Parshah) » Shemot - Exodus » Mishpatim » Parshah Columnists » Weekly Sermonette » Is Religion Still Relevant?








PrintSend this page to a friendShare this
Comment8 Comments

Weekly Sermonette
Is Religion Still Relevant?


By Yossy Goldman

Cyberspace, outer space, inner space. Genome maps, globalization, going to Mars. Smart cards, smart bombs, stem cells and cell phones. There is no denying it: we live in a new age. Science fiction has become scientific fact. And the question is asked: In this new world order, with science and technology changing the way we live, is religion still relevant? Do we still need to subscribe to an ancient and seemingly long-obsolete code of laws when we are so much further advanced than our ancestors?

But let me ask you: Have the Ten Commandments passed their "sell by" date? Are faith and doubt, murder and adultery, thievery and jealousy out of fashion? Notwithstanding all our marvellous medical and scientific developments, has human nature itself really changed? Are not the very same moral issues that faced our ancestors still challenging our own generation?

Whether it's an ox cart or a Mercedes, road rage or courteous coexistence is still a choice we must make. Looking after aged parents is not a new problem. The very same issues dealt with in the Bible -- sibling rivalry, jealous spouses, and warring nations -- are still the stuff of newspaper headlines today. We still struggle with knowing the difference between right and wrong, moral or immoral, ethical or sneaky, and not even the most souped-up computer on earth is able to answer those questions for us.

Science and technology address the how and what of life, but they do not answer the question of why. Why are we here in the first place? Why should I be nice to my neighbor? Why should my life be nobler than my pet Doberman's? Science and technology have unravelled many mysteries that puzzled us for centuries. But they have not answered a single moral question. Only Torah addresses the moral minefield. And those issues are perhaps more pressing today than ever before in history.

Torah is truth and truth is eternal. Scenarios come and go. Lifestyles change with the geography. The storylines are different, but the gut level issues are all too familiar. If we ever needed a Torah -- we need it equally today and maybe more so. May we continue to find moral guidance and clarity in the eternal truths of our holy and eternal Torah. Amen.
PrintSend this page to a friendShare this
Comment8 Comments

By Yossy Goldman   More articles...  |   RSS Listing of Newest Articles by this Author
Rabbi Yossy Goldman was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a distinguished Chabad family. In 1976 he was sent by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory, as a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to serve the Jewish community of Johannesburg, South Africa. He is Senior Rabbi of the Sydenham Highlands North Shul since 1986, president of the South African Rabbinical Association, and a frequent contributor to Chabad.org.

The content on this page is copyrighted by the author, publisher and/or Chabad.org, and is produced by Chabad.org. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with the copyright policy.
 

Reader Comments
Latest Comments:
Posted: Feb 13, 2010
I think we have it a little backward
I liked your article very much. But here's a thought...I think that we are still trying to catch up on the wisdom of our law. Everything we discover only proves how far behind we are in so many ways. Thank you again.
Posted By Anonymous, North Bergen, NJ USA

Posted: Feb 13, 2010
religion
Maybe we don't know or accept God consciously, but maybe God's laws are written within us. Science brings this out.
I also agree with Tolstoy who said we should develop our practical and moral side. This as more and more people cry out for "justice."
Posted By virginia m. mitchell, Farmington Hills,, MI

Posted: Feb 11, 2010
Is Religion still Revelent?
Once, a question was asked; can there be morality without G-d? The answer is no. Can life have meaning and purpose without religion? The answer is no.

The more comlpex and sophisticated humankind becomes, we need to become "intergalatic toddlers" and ask the why's of our existence. This is where understanding and technology comes from.

G-d created us to master our environment so we could dare to socially interact with Him. It is this interaction with G-d and keeping the laws, evil and war would become a rare thing among men.

Sometimes like the toddler, we yell "me" entirely too much.
Posted By Karen, Bowie, Md

Posted: Feb 10, 2010
Science
I think that scientific discoveries are here in part to help people who don't believe in G-d or religion, to come closer, through the gateway of science, that supports religion through its discoveries. Some people don't require this, but perhaps it's a message to humankind, that if we still need help to get the point, here's science to support the evidence. It does clarify things at another level, sometimes even deeper, and has its important place in the big picture. I think there's a reason why science is so prolific. Today, physiological proof of the negative effects of jealousy, hatred, etc., can be measured scientifically, to the precision of resultant activity of an atom in the molecule, or the resultant effect on the brain or a person's DNA. So for those who may be skeptical about the relevance of the 10 commandments, or any other religious observances or commandments, science is very helpful. Maybe it's G-d's way of saying, "You can have as many chances as you need."
Posted By Rachelle Baruch, Mason, OH

Posted: Feb 10, 2010
Relevance
Today I seem to responding to titles....

I haven't even read the article yet. As soon as I saw the title, "Is Religion Still Relevant" my first response was:

Are We Still Breathing?

Now I'll read the article...............
Posted By Rachelle Baruch, Mason, OH

Posted: Feb 19, 2009
The Validity of Orthodox Guidance
It’s clear that modern science and philosophy fail to provide answers to many important questions. To lead a good life, we need those answers, and most religions offer their versions of answers
.
The interesting question today is, given the Enlightenment and the tremendous progress that has been made in the physical and biological sciences, history, anthropology, and linguistics, why guide our lives by medieval ways of thinking that hardly have changed in the last 1,000 years? For me, it’s not really a question, because I just can’t. I know pretty much for certain that the universe is about 2,000,000 times older than orthodox Jews say it is, that there never were talking donkeys, and that the idea that the Torah today is letter for letter identical with any document that existed 3,000 years ago is laughable. How can I take spiritual guidance from people that operate within such a system?
Posted By Howard Weisberg, Pacific Palisades, CA
via chabadpalisades.com

Posted: Feb 22, 2007
Moral scientific category
It is true that science has no moral category, scientists do not provide or build any, not one that lasts. Religions perform this duty, on the basis of results in the future rather then analysis of the past. Perhaps not unlike "the Jews observed the Torah, even before understanding it." But one can look at Darwinian natural evolution and factor technology into it. That yields a scientific moral category. Perhaps an understanding and scientific foundation for the Torah. However, to want to think this way, one needs a moral inclination.
Posted By Jos Boersema, Groningen, Netherlands

Posted: Feb 16, 2007
But
I agree wholeheartedly and would use a MLK quote to supportthis point. My question lies in laws regarding slaves and handmaids, stoning insolent children and homosexuality being an abomination. The quote I was thinking of was "When we look at modern man, we have to face the fact that modern man suffers from a kind of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to his scientific and technological abundance. We’ve learned to fly the air like birds, we’ve learned to swim the seas like fish; and yet we haven’t learned to walk the earth as brothers and sisters."
Posted By Evan Apotheker



 


This Week's Torah Portion: Mishpatim
Parshah Mishpatim
Exodus 21:1-24:18

Parshat Shekalim
Shemot 30:11-16
 Parshah in a Nutshell
 Haftorah in a Nutshell
 Weekly Aliya Summary
 Text of Parshah with Rashi
 Parshah In Depth
 Kehot Chumash
 The Chassidic Masters
 Parshah Columnists
 Family Parshah
 Audio Classes
 Parshah Print Version (PDF)

 RSS Feed RSS Directory

Parshah Home » 


Other Parshas

Browse All Parshas
Follow Us:   Find Us On Facebook Follow Us on Twitter RSS Feeds

Chabad.org is a division of the Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center · Under the auspices of the Lubavitch World Headquarters
In everlasting memory of our founder, Rabbi Yosef Y. Kazen, pioneer of Torah, Judaism and Jewish information on the web
© 2001-2012 Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center