From a letter to Elie Wiesel:
Abraham, father of us all, questioned G‑d’s justice. So did Moses. So did Rabbi Akiva. So did many enlightened souls. You are not the first.
Of all those who questioned, there were two approaches: Those who meant it, and those who did not.
Those who wanted understanding gained understanding—a sense of nothingness encountering a reality far beyond our puny minds.
Those who questioned, but did not want to understand, gained nothing.
questioning the Divine funny......i wrote last year about this time about this article; yet, feel i understand it much better now. thank you!!! Reply
nothingness the very essence of G-d is the concealment, B"H Reply
So True! This is so true. Thanks for posting it! Reply
Questioning the Divine To me in reality are questioning the bar things that are happening around us, that in essence think that bit should be happening: a human being w/ terminal cáncer. We are bit questioning G-d divine omnipresence... Reply
The majority of us don't think strange of scientific theories, but they lead to very strange conclusions about time and space under some circumstances. So this "meaningless sense" just shows itself on the infinite because that´s the far we can wonder. And this wonder helps you to understand better the infinty. Then you´re meditating on G-d's greatness. This leads you to your own soul, then you´re in a spiritual state, and the world is almost other. This "new-world-of-meditation-on-the-infinity" it´s then a world full of Torah, it´s holy!
I hope my words are helpful.
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Daily Meditation: Paradox to ponder
"a sense of no-thing-ness encountering a reality far beyond our puny minds" ... sounds like what gregg brayden & others have called "The matrix' energy; named as such by max plank in 1944. some other scientists call it ZPE: Zero Pt. Energy.
those who asked but did not want to understand (re)gain the original illusion of (no)thing....
Brilliant, & true, i think. Now it's what is no-thing that the scientists can spend time defining!!
God IS.
:) what a lovely gift, you have, R. Freeman, for wrapping these lovely gifts in interpretative language: makes the space between the words ... breathe-able!!
Toda Rabba.
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questioning the Diviine
could you please explain what this means? (...a sense of nothingness...)
i don't like the thought of ending up with nothing if i don't question the Divine, but the Divine has been there with me through many losses - there's no reason for me to question. THANK YOU!
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It was precisely this "sense" that gave me the first idea, or feeling, of G-d. Since then, I was no longer an atheist. Reply
something to do to gain some understanding If we pay attention to the people who have become crazy or mentally ill from trying to understand His form of justice then we could transform ourselves? These people went out there on LSD or in a search for the building blocks of life or to become artists and went crazy with the meaninglessness. We treat people labeled mentally ill with injustice and judgmentalism. Partnering with a mentally ill person could enlighten a person to bring light and meaning together to a dark place. Love the mentally ill person. FInd the deeper meaning in the crazy talk and let them know they are not alone. We are not alone either in our suffering. Reply
A sense of nothingness...
What exactly this sense of nothingness mean?
Does this mean the same as a complete faith in G-d ant that He is directing everthing?
Is that it?
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Questioning the Divine When ever i find mysel in darkness and doubt. i follow the path of love and peace; The commandments are a good place to start. The results are most often an answer from the Eternal Reply
source This is from a letter to Elie Wiesel, amidst an ongoing correspondence. Reply
"beyond our punty minds." How can mind be puny? Reply
Questioning the Divine
D a n k e !
T h a n k y o u !
Michal
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It took some gut to write something like this to Elie Wiesel. I would love his response more than the letter sent to him, but overall rabbi, sorry and respectfully, this is pointless abstract philosophy for a G-d nothing-interested in us.
I think people who "gain nothing" and aren't satisfied are the people from which humankind benefits the most.
Man is created to proceed and grow so "gaining nothing" seems counter productive.
Elie Wiesel seems to have liked what the Rebbe said to him more than his own answers after all as seen in the video interview titled "My Spiritual Compass" that can be found over here on Chabad.Org