21. The "Why" Chromosome

Kids are weird. All the stuff that we clever, worldly grown-ups so sensibly take for granted, children question. Which parent has not fielded such curve- ball queries as:

“Why is the sky blue?”
"Why does daddy have a moustache and you don’t?”
“Why do people die?”

You stop and think. You wonder at her wondering, take pride in her cleverness, and dig deep into the recesses of your mind to dredge up some long- forgotten explanation. Thinking how best to say it, you repackage the idea, trim off some details, choose easy words, and tell it like it is expecting (naively) that your kid will be satisfied and the matter happily laid to rest.

“The sky is blue because the air scatters around the other colors but lets the blue through.”

“Daddy has a moustache because men have a chemical in their blood called testosterone that makes facial hair grow.”
“People die because their bodies wear out.”

So the kid soaks it up, ponders a bit, rolls his toy car, pats her doll, runs a bit around the room and off you go back to your things, thinking the case is closed until one or two hours or days later when you face the next round of reality checking.

“But why doesn’t the air scatter the blue light?”
“Why don’t you have testosterone?”
“Why do bodies wear out?”

Usually not, but sometimes the questioning turns into a game called Let’s-Keep-Mommy-Talking-as-Long-as- Possible-by-Asking-an-Endless-Series-of-Why’s. But even then, a sincere childish curiosity underlies the game, a need to know the explanation of things.

Of course the game is not restricted to children. The fact that most of us outgrow our inherent curiosity about the world is not so much because we know the answers but more because as life grinds on, we become dulled to the wondrous workings of the world around us. By the time we hit our age, the only “why” most of us ask is “why me?” Most of us except scientists of course.

Maybe scientists are more sensitive. Maybe they just never grew up. Or maybe its an overactive Why Chromosome on their DNA. Whatever it is, the question remains: Why the Why?

Answering this turns out to be more important than it looks at first, because the uniquely human habit of seeking explanations drives two of the most powerful social forces at work today: science and religion. And since the two seem all too often at loggerheads, it may be worth the effort to investigate how one little question can generate two such radically different answers.

As with many other questions, we can use the Abraham Principle to resolve this too. The Abraham Principle states that when two or more entities have a correlated structure or behavior, this itself is evidence for the existence of some third being or causal force, external to and more powerful than them, which determines their form or mode of behavior.

For the scientist, the question ‘why’ is a journey from effect to cause and getting there is half the fun. The other half is knowing that regardless of what we discover, the original questions somehow remain while new questions abound. For the sincerely religious also, the question ‘why’ is an exploration, but one that ends not with some infinite regress, nor endless stream of questions, but rather with an ultimate answer: That there is a First Cause that seeded the world, planted the ‘why chromosome’ in our psyches, and gave us the logical prowess to infer back to the source, the ultimate Because before which there is no why. And why would He do a thing like that? Well, why not?

20. Truth be Told: Stories

The colleagues of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, once had a discussion about how each of them would run the world if he were G-d, each offering their opinions on how things could be improved upon. When they were done, the Alter Rebbe said his piece. “If I were G-d, I’d do things just the same as He does them.”

This same Alter Rebbe wrote the primary resource for Chassidic philosophy, the Tanya, and in it enshrines service in truth as the Jewish way. The present Rebbe writes that if he would have left that out of the Tanya, he would have had another 50,000 followers. But truth is not for sale.

I’ve checked my toolkit for a nice big yardstick and I haven’t yet found one big enough to measure G-d’s beauty, nor his truth for that matter. But is it He that must pass my tests?

My mother, may she live and be well, rarely speaks of her war experiences, so when, as a child, she chose to share with me a lesson from the Lodz ghetto, it made a lasting impression. What got her going was me telling her exactly what I would do if there were a fire at that moment. She said, “Don’t be silly. You don’t know what you would do in a big test like that.”

“When I was in ghetto,” she continued, “Two men were arrested by the Nazis for the ‘crime’ of possessing a radio. Before they were hauled off for interrogation as to who else could be implicated, the younger of the two, a strong, handsome young man said, ‘Let them do what they will, they’ll never get any information out of me!’ The elder detainee said nothing. He was old and wizened, and looked like you could blow him over.

“That very afternoon, the burly youth returned, having told everything he knew about everyone with a radio, just under the threat of torture. The elderly Jew returned only three days later, his fingernails pulled off and his eyes gauged out.

“So,” concluded my mom, “Don’t say you know what you will do under a test, because you just don’t know.”

Who is more beautiful? The strong, handsome youth who spoke? Or the, blinded and maimed old man who didn’t?

Life is not simple.

But let’s put it into terms that a child could understand. The teacher turns his back on the class and a bunch of kids act up, making lots of trouble. Most of the class starts giggling. Things get out of control. After his call for order falls on deaf ears, the teacher calls out, “That’s it, class detention. No recess today.”

“Whoa! Why? That’s not fair! I didn’t do it! It was him! Why should I get in trouble for something I didn’t do? Why should I behave good? I see it just gets me into trouble.”

“I’m sorry class, but I’ve told you many times. We are all in this together. We all have a responsibility, and if the class can’t move forward, you have to make up the time.”

Life is not fair, at least not to our standards of fair. But if we recognize where our knocks are coming from, we will take them with humility. If it’s from G-d, its good. Does that make it beautiful? In truth, yes. But in our eyes?

Why is it that we, as Jews, can be proud of our continued commitment despite the bitter exiles, the terrible pogroms, the unspeakable evils of the Inquisition, the Holocaust, and the mess we are in today, but as soon as it touches us personally, there are questions. The test is ours, not His.

One last story. I heard it at an event marking the first anniversary of passing of a wonderful young man who was killed by a train in a freak accident on his way to synagogue to help make up a quorum for communal prayer. He was my son’s Grade 5 teacher, every kid’s favorite teacher, the kindest person you’d ever care to meet. R’ Yosi Jacobson spoke at the memorial and shared this story with the huge crowd gathered there.

There was a Chassidic lumber merchant over a century ago, who was famous for two things. Loads of cash and unstinting support of Torah study in his town. He funded an entire study hall of bright and dedicated Torah scholars and whenever he could, he would join with them in exploring the truth and beauty of the Torah.

One year he had a great idea. Instead of buying one boatload of lumber, he’d buy three, so when he sold it, he’d make lots more money and be able to do so many more good deeds with the charity he could spend. He spent all his savings on this grand project, and once the three ships were laden and sailing off to their foreign markets, he happily settled back into his satisfying communal and spiritual life.

But not for long. One of the local Torah scholars got wind of the storm first. The boats had all capsized. All the lumber was lost. Their gracious benefactor was ruined, but he didn’t know it yet. Who would break the news to him? And how?

Finally one young man agreed to shoulder the painful task. He conferred with his colleagues, planned his pitch and went off to see the lumber merchant at his home. “I have a question on a difficult piece of Talmud. Can you help me?”

“Me? Help you? I doubt if I can solve something you don’t know, but since you’re here, let’s give it a try. You know I’d help you any way I can.”

“Well, it says over here that we are obliged to bless G-d for the bad, exactly as we bless him for good? How is that possible?”

“That’s your question?” asked the merchant. “I’m no expert in Talmud but I think I can help you on this one. You see everything comes from G-d, so when bad things happen, they aren’t really bad. They just seem bad to us because we have a very limited point of view. G-d has a big plan for everything, so knowing this we can feel secure and even happy that this apparent bad is deep down positive, and G-d is really doing us a favor by treating us in this way. Do you get it.”

“Well, yes and know. I understand and believe that it’s all for the best and all, but my difficulty is being just as happy about bad news as good. I mean, picture this. Say you married off a child and you were at the wedding. Would you dance from joy?”

“Of course I would! Who wouldn’t?”

“And if all your boats loaded with lumber were to capsize en route to market leaving you penniless, crushed in debt, and without means to climb out of it, would you dance from joy?”

“Uh... ..dance from joy? Well, uh.. ..I see what you’re getting at. But if you think about it, the One Above knows what’s best for us and he has our good at heart. In fact when things turn out bad in our eyes it’s actually a sign that the goodness within is much greater than a revealed good. It’s all explained in Chassidus.”

"Yes but would you dance?”

“If all my ships suddenly capsized leaving me flat broke and in debt up to my eyeballs? Well, yeah.. ..yeah. I wouldn’t normally think about it in those terms, but now that I am, yes I guess I would dance.”

“Just as much as at the wedding of your own child?”

“Yes! Yes! Just as much, and maybe even more!”

“Well, start dancing. There really was a storm at sea. A messenger came to the study hall and told us. I verified the story myself and it’s true. All your lumber has been lost.”

The merchant fainted on the spot. When he came to, he said, “You know. At this moment, I’m having trouble with that Talmudic passage myself!”

19. Beauty, Meet Truth

I am not a Kabbalist. Nor a philosopher.

If I were, I could speak about such sublime realities like beauty and truth in something approaching an authoritative fashion. But all I can muster is a few life lessons and some Torah gleanings.

For instance. Sometimes truth is ugly.

Take Abraham for example. Here is a man who is everybody’s hero. Who else could be adored by Christian, Muslim and Jew? Founder of ethical monotheism, host par excellence, educator, iconoclast, at once challenging men to rise above their mediocrity, yet challenging G-d to descend from His uncompromising excellence and value us for who we are.

Yes, Abraham was beautiful, but he didn’t stop there. His commitment went far beyond his natural goodness, far beyond his kind and wise nature. His commitment was ultimate, and that can look scary, very scary.

Abraham’s biggest test, the binding of Isaac, is not the kind of deed one calls wise, or kind, or sane for that matter. I recall studying the akeda, the story of the binding of Isaac, with a brilliant scholar who loved nothing more than Torah. But this story bugged him, no, actually haunted him. “He was wrong! He had no right to do it!” The story drove him nuts.

Abraham built his entire life on promoting G-d in the world. He weaned the Middle East off of idolatry, taught people, fed them, nurtured their faith in an all- knowing, just and benevolent Creator. He was a living model of the good G-d he preached. And then what?

Then came his big test: To offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. Which sounds a lot like this: Commit murder. Kill a human being. Kill your own son. Your only son. The one you love. The promised father-to- be of your millions of children. Go ahead. Make me a liar. Tie him up and slit his throat. Watch him bleed to death. Trash your life, trash My reputation, and don’t ask why. Just do it.

Ahh, you may recall, recoil. It wasn’t so bad. At the last moment, G-d said “Stop”. He just wanted the offer, not the deed. Yes, G-d was beautiful, but Abraham did not want to stop there. “Let me take just a drop of blood.” Abraham wanted to serve in truth, ultimate truth. And that ain’t pretty.

But then again, I’m not a philosopher, nor a Kabbalist.

If I were, I might see the beauty within the ugliness, the truth within the lie. But guess what. I can’t. All I know is “G-d said so.” And in truth, that’s enough, because ironically, living in truth with G-d IS beautiful, whether we understand it or not.

18. Astrology and Judaism

Dear readers, please share your knowledge on this issue! I'll print some of your responses next week. Is there a kosher astrology website out there in the e-universe? How about sending me your best link on the subject? All this will help Henny and the rest of us too.

Hello Dr. Gotfryd -

As a thinking person and Jew I enjoy reading your articles and I like the way you incorporate science and Torah.

I actually have a very strong interest in Astrology. I began reading books on it and really began studying it like one would study any science. I'm not into the finding out the future stuff at all, its more like understanding the different horoscopes and how they make up one's personality. I originally got interested in it to help understand myself better and eventually it helped me understand others as well.

I was wondering if Astrology is something you have studied and what advice you would give to someone who does have an interest in it. I understand very well that it must be taken with a grain of salt, and I don't put people in a box once I know their birthday, because there is so much more to it then just one's sun sign, not to mention one's upbringing, environment, life experiences that all contribute to the makeup of one's personality.

Anyhow, if you can get back to me with some advice on how an observant Jew can or cannot incorporate astrology into Judaism, I would appreciate it. Thank you and all the best.
- Henny

Dear Henny,
Scientists, in general, frown on astrology as ancient mythology or new age fluff with no relevance to any forces in nature that could affect people or anything else. For them, astronomy is a science; astrology is a joke. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the stars have the last laugh on that one.

Astrology, like everything else, has its source in the Torah, as the sages say, “G-d looked into the Torah and created the world.”[1] So to understand the power of the stars properly, we should explore them from the Torah’s perspective. The Hebrew word mazal refers to the unique spiritual forces that influence natural phenomena great and small.

Our Sages teach, "There is no blade of grass in the world below that does not have a spiritual life-force (mazal) above striking it and telling it to grow"[2]. Another definition of mazal is constellation, or more specifically, the spiritual influences associated with the signs of the Zodiac.[3]

The patriarch Abraham was expert in astrology and used it to determine that he was destined to remain childless. G-d, however, had other plans, and blessed him with offspring as numerous as the sand and.. ..stars!. He told him, “Get out of your astrology! There is no astrological power over Israel.”[4]

Thus instead of Abraham conforming to his mazal, G- d made his mazal conform to him. G-d channeled higher energies to him through visiting him on Passover, sending him to the Holy Land, and changing his name. To this day, Judaism recognizes that changes in time, space, and soul affect one’s mazal. Weddings are often set for Tuesday, a day of good mazal. Also, when people move into a new home, the traditional blessing is “when you change your residency, you change your mazal, for good and blessing” To improve their mazal, seriously ill people will add a name.

None of this is superstitious, idolatrous, or occult. All those things are both foolish and forbidden by Torah. What we are doing is acknowledging that spiritual forces are at the beck and call of the Creator just as physical forces are.

My personal view? Once you’ve got G-d, who needs astrology? - AG

[1] Zohar (1:161b)
[2] Genesis Rabba 10:7, Cf. Zohar I:251a, Zohar Chadash 4b
[3] Sefer Yetzirah 5:4
[4] Genesis Rabba 44:12