{"id":64437,"date":"2019-10-17T14:20:18","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T11:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=64437"},"modified":"2019-10-17T14:35:15","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T11:35:15","slug":"are-we-asking-the-right-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/are-we-asking-the-right-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Are We Asking The Right Questions?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The problem begins with the question.\u00a0There are questions that have answers and ones that don\u2019t.\u00a0Then there are those that are not even aimed in the right direction.<\/p>\n

Take the reading for the Shabbat of Sukkot, Exodus 33:12-34:26, and the queries Moses has for God in these verses, \u201cshow me your ways\u201d (33:13) and \u201cshow me your glory,\u201d (33:18).\u00a0 God tells Moses that neither is possible.\u00a0The logic and reason of the divine is wholly different from the human; the mere fact of Moses thinking that it might be possible for a human to approach comprehension, reveals the depth of the chasm between human and divine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another biblical character who seeks to understand the ways of God is Job. This may be one reason the rabbis of the Talmud in Bava Batra 15a posit that “Job lived in the time of Moses.\u201dThe connection between Job and Exodus 33 is the parallel answers given to both Moses and Job.\u00a0<\/p>\n

God tells Moses two things, \u201cI will be compassionate to whom I will be\u00a0compassionate and show mercy to whom I will show mercy\u201d (33:19), and \u201ca human cannot see My face and live\u201d (33:20).\u00a0 The similar response to Job is \u201cwhere were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?\u201d (Job 38:4), which opens a three-chapter litany of cosmic issues for which Job lacks discernment.\u00a0 Finally, Job admits, \u201cI have uttered that which I cannot understand\u201d (Job 42:3) and \u201cI repent on dust and ashes\u201d (Job 42:6).\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Job is given a second chance with a new family in the book\u2019s conclusion;\u00a0Moses is permitted to see God\u2019s back (Exodus 33: 23), and is then given a second set of tablets to try again to educate the recalcitrant people who have just constructed a forbidden golden calf (Exodus 32).\u00a0 Once each character is aware of the partiality of his understanding and the limited outlook this gives him, he is able to begin anew, with a fresh perspective.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That I believe is the connection to the Sukkot holiday.\u00a0Once we admit our limitations and shortcomings on Yom Kippur, we are able to enter the sukkah to rejoice anew and admit along with Ecclesiastes that \u201cJust as you do not know the way of the wind or the nature of a fetus in an expectant mother\u2019s stomach, so you cannot know the work of God who makes everything” (Ecclesiastes 11:5).\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, Ecclesiastes, which is read on the Sabbath of Sukkot, teaches that it is still possible to \u201ceat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a glad heart (9:7). Though we humans lack the ability to fully comprehend why things happen in this world,\u00a0we are still able to find ways to enjoy life to its fullest, one of the main lessons of Sukkot, when we are told to be \u201cach sameach,\u201d (Deut. 16:15) “completely joyous.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

May this season be joyous for all with questions that are well directed!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","image":{"ID":50016,"id":50016,"title":"dt8-question","filename":"dt8-question.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/dt8-question.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/moses-answer-to-our-favorite-existential-question\/dt8-question\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"dt8-question","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":50015,"date":"2019-02-23 19:41:01","modified":"2023-02-04 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