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The Eye of a Needle
Aish HaTorah's Kiruv PrimerCompiled by Yitzchak Coopersmith
The Eye of a Needle
Culled from Aish HaTorah's groundbreaking research, this invaluable book takes the mystery out of outreach by sorting through major issues, questions, and doubts faced by non-observant Jews, and presenting a clear understanding in a user-friendly format. An ideal tool for outreach professionals and Jewish educators.
Book Excerpt from The Eye of a Needle
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The Eye of a Needle:
Essential for all Jewish educators & Jewish outreach professionals, this kiruv primer presents Judaism's major issues clearly and thoroughly.
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INTRODUCTION TO TEACHING EVIDENCE
Imagine you take your car to a mechanic for a tune-up. The mechanic tells you that he can "feel the needs" of your car by placing his hands on its hood while the engine is running. Based upon this method of diagnosis, he concludes that you need a new carburetor, and recommends one that will cost you $300 (not including labor).
Obviously, you would dismiss his recommendation out of hand, because it is not based on solid facts.
Now if we would refuse to rely on someone else's "intuition" when the risk is only $300, it stands to reason that people will demand more than feelings or premonitions when considering some of life's most important questions: "Is there a G-d?" and "What does He want from me?" In order to influence someone to change his beliefs, it will be necessary, therefore, to provide clear, convincing evidence as to why the Torah is true.
To fully appreciate this, it is important to understand the mindset of the secular Jew. To him, religion is the antithesis of science and reason; science is based upon fact, while religion is based upon blind faith.
This perception evolved as a result of Christianity's historical hostility to science. One of the most famous displays of this closemindedness occurred when Galileo discovered that the earth revolved around the sun, and not the other way around. Galileo's finding was censored by the Vatican because it conflicted with Christian doctrine.1
Unfortunately, Judaism has historically been lumped together with Christianity, in the popular mind, as being anti-science and antireason. Therefore, it is counterproductive to suppress a student's desire for evidence, since this serves to reinforce the mistaken notion.
Furthermore, it is not effective to rely on "the faithfulness and credibility of our mesorah" as a method of fostering commitment.2 Most secular Jews cannot appreciate its value. It seems like just another form of "blind faith," or "tradition," a la Fiddler on the Roof.
People are sometimes reluctant to teach evidence for G-d's existence because they feel that this reduces the reality of G-d's existence to a logical theorem and trivializes Judaism.
This is indeed true for an observant Jew, who not only believes in Hashem, but has experienced His presence, whether through davening, Shabbos or learning Torah. For this Jew, limiting an awareness of Hashem to "scientific reasoning" deprives him of a much greater, more meaningful religious experience.
However, a Jew who does not believe in G-d must first be convinced of His existence before he can begin to work on developing a relationship with Him. In his case, intellectual evidence is a necessary foundation for an appreciation of Judaism and a relationship with G-d.
Everyone understands that it would be absurd to limit one's appreciation of his mother to an analysis of genetic similarities. Someone who has been raised and cared for in his mother's home should have progressed much further. But an adopted child, who is trying to determine the identity of his natural mother, cannot be expected to create a relationship without real evidence that this particular woman is in fact his mother.
Finally, while there may be a slight risk in teaching evidence to religious people, because an occasional person may get confused, there is no such risk in offering "evidence" to non-believers. Since they do not believe in G-d to begin with, logical evidence can only enhance their commitment.
A final note: In determining the authorship of the Torah, there are only two possible options: Either G-d wrote it or man did.
Our aim in presenting evidence is not to convince the students beyond any doubt of the Torah's divine origin. Our goal is to demonstrate that it is overwhelmingly more logical that G-d wrote the Torah than that man did.
Second, it is easier for a person to evaluate the merits of a position when that position is contrasted with alternative scenarios. Analyzing all the possibilities for authorship of the Torah, therefore, makes it easier for a person to decide which possibility makes the most sense. When teaching this material, constantly remind your student of this. Ask him: Based on the available evidence, which position makes more sense? Could a human being have written this or would it have had to be G-d?
1. Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Vol. 3, MacMillan, NY, 1972, p. 263.
2. See Igros Moshe, Yoreh Deah, Siman 71, which discusses the importance of clearly understanding the foundations of our faith and of teaching that information to students, rather than relying solely on the concept of mesorah.
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