I feel strange inside. Nothing seems to be working right. The normal process of thinking quietly and then reaching a conclusion does not function. And even when I come to some intellectual understanding, I cannot control my feelings.

Oh my G‑d, it hurts so much. Boruch, Boruch, — why did you go away? We miss you so. Let it all be a dream from which I’ll wake up soon. It cannot be true. Things like that should not happen. How can a loving G‑d allow this?

I believe in G‑d. It is not what people call blind faith. I believe in the Creator in different ways. I feel that He exists. And I understand that He exists. It is good — and sometimes necessary — to support our faith with rational arguments, especially at a time like this. For I know that parents in similar circumstances have lost their faith. So I find it good to consider again, one by one, the reasons for my belief in G‑d.

Emunah — faith — derives from a verb which also means “to exercise.” In the Book of Psalms we read “pasture faith;” we must tend to and nourish our faith. Belief has to be a dynamic activity.

Existing and non-existing

I have often dealt with this subject when talking to others. I have explained that we believe in a Higher Being based on various logical reasoning.

For example, nothing in the world comes into being by itself. That means, as well, that the world in its totality has not come into being by itself. There is a Generator.

The more the scientists of all kinds — biologists, biochemists, ecologists, nuclear physicists, mathematicians — penetrate the mysteries of the micro and macro-cosmos, the more they become convinced that this incredibly ingenious system is the work of a Super-organizer.

Again, the survival of the Jewish people is a mystery. According to the laws of sociology, the Jewish people should have ceased to exist long ago. Over and over again, throughout their history, they have been exposed to powers which should have destroyed them spiritually and physically. Nevertheless, in spite of all this, the Jewish people exist, thanks to a Preserver.

By such lines of thought we can reach the conclusion that there must be an Eternal Being, for otherwise, life is incomprehensible and meaningless. And starting from the findings of theoretical physics, we can understand that which was already formulated a long time ago in Judaism, and especially the teachings of the Chassidic masters — that the Generator-Super-organizer-Preserver is beyond time and space, and is all-embracing:

“Man and matter are not composed of tangible substance, but of entirely elusive processes, without a clear boundary between spirit and matter. Scientifically, it appears that spirit and body, time and space, universe and atom are all aspects of one Reality, which to an ever increasing degree, appear to be one great Thought.”

This is a scientific formulation of what we have expressed over the centuries in the words G‑d is one.

Actually, everybody is a believer. Even those who claim to have no faith are believers. For to “believe” means to accept and acknowledge something that cannot be known. There are things in the world which cannot be known, or can only partially be known. Yet we do accept their existence. For we understand that human reason is not the only criterion for deciding whether something exists or not. And we accept its existence, not because we can prove it absolutely, but because it is very plausible, and indeed evident, beyond denial. In this respect, reason may go far to make the existence of G‑d plausible and highly probable. It is extremely improbable that G‑d does not exist.

People who deny His existence say that they do not believe. But this formula is simply wrong. They do believe: they believe in the non-existence of G‑d. And just as I believe in His existence and try to make this plausible and highly probable — virtually evident — so too a person who believes in the Creator’s non-existence must equally find ways to support his view with ironclad arguments. He too must explain the origin and organization of the world. He too must find causes for the survival of the Jewish people. He cannot evade this task.

It is not enough for him to declare that science will eventually explain all this. And if he does declare this, he merely shows that, in this way, he too is a believer.