SONSINO'S BLOG
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Thursday, November 7, 2024
Sunday, November 3, 2024
ON THE SUFFERING OF THE RIGHTEOUS; JEWISH RESPONSES
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
After the Holocaust and recently after Hamas’ murder of
innocent Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, many have been asking, why do bad things
keep happening to good people? The
problem of evil (“theodicy”) derives from the assumption that God is all
powerful and all good. So , why does God allow it? Is it because God is not all
powerful or not so caring?
In the Hebrew Bible, this problem was tackled by the Book
of Job, but it did not provide a clear answer. The prophet Jeremiah acknowledged
the unfairness of the prosperity of the wicked (See 12: 1) but still talked about
“the guilt of Judah” (17:1).
In rabbinic times , many had to confront the issue, and
came out with various answers: For example,
1.
Tragedy is the
result of sin: “ If a man sees that painful suffering visits him, let him
examine his conduct” ( Ber. 5a)
2.
We do not know: “It
is not in our power to understand…the suffering of the righteous” (Rabbi Yannai
in PA. 4:15)
3.
Those who suffer in
this world will be rewarded in the world-to-come (Lev. R. 27:1).
In modern times, some Jewish thinkers offered new
interpretations of the problem: Examples:
1.
Mordecai Kaplan (d. 1983),
the naturalist who explained the world in terms of scientifically verifiable
ideas, argued that God is not the source of suffering but “evil is chaos still uninvaded
by the creative energy, sheer chance
unconquered by will and intelligence” ( Meaning
Of God, p. 72). Similarly, Roland Gittelsohn (d. 1995), spoke of “the
imperfections in the universe” (p. 162).
2.
Alvin Reines (d.
2004), who affirmed the right of each individual to freedom in belief and
action, maintained that God is not the cause of disasters but “evil is the necessary concomitant of
existence”, and that happens because of
“the limitation of matter” (Polydoxy, p. 168ff).
3.
Eugene Borowitz (d.
2016) , an influential Reform theologian, argued that evil exists because God
is limited: “Though God is good, there is real evil in the world, because , for
all the power God has, God is not strong enough to overcome it” (Liberal
Judaism, p. 200 ff).
4.
Harold Kushner (d. 2023),
believed that bad things happen to good people because “ human beings choose to be cruel to their fellow men” (When Bad things Happen
to Good People, p. 81)
For me, a religious naturalist, suffering exists for two
reasons 1. Human beings are not physically perfect. As we grow older , we start
to decay and illness happens. It is not
caused by God, but it is simply part of being human who have limited abilities.
2. Often tragedies occur because of the depravity of some people against
others. We need to learn how to take care of ourselves physically and
emotionally, and hope we are not in the wrong time and place.
The lesson is: take each day as it comes, and if everything
goes well with you, say a blessing for being alive.
SONSINO’S BLOG, rsonsino.blogspot.com
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
THE SYMBOLISM OF THE NUMBER SEVEN
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
In the Ancient Near Eastern literature, numbers have mostly
symbolic value. Take, for example , the number seven.
In Hebrew, seven is shivah (cf. Babylonian sebettu).
Its etymology is not clear. It is
also not known how this word is related to sheva, which means “oath.” Is
Beer-Sheva “The well of seven” or “The well of oath” (Gen. 21:31)? Based on its usage in the Hebrew Bible, the
number seven is said to stand for wholeness, fullness and completion. Examples:
In ancient Sumer, the ziggurat, namely, the stepped-tower
of the city of Uruk, had 7 stories. The gates of Uruk had 7 bolts. In the Epic
of Gilgamesh, the goddess Ishtar summoned the Heavenly Bull who threatened the
land with 7 years of famine. The number 7 played a similar role in Ugaritic
literature.
In the Hebrew Bible, numbers are symbolic too.. They are
not to be taken literally. For example, we are told that God created the world
in 6 days and rested on the 7 (Ex 20: 11). Noah brought in 7 pairs of clean
animals into the ark (Gen.7: 2). The ark
rested on the mountains of Ararat in the 7th month (Gen. 8:4). Abraham
gave Abimelech 7 ewe lambs (Gen. 21: 28). Jacob served Laban for 7 years to pay for Rachel (Gen.29:
20). He bowed down to his brother Esau 7 times (Gen.33:3). The siege of Jericho
by Joshua lasted 7 days (Jos 6: 15). Job
had 7 sons (Job 1:2). In the book of Esther, king Ahasuerus held a banquet that lasted 7 days (1:5). The
golden candlestick, the Menorah of the temple in Jerusalem had 7 branches (Ex.25: 31ff). Even multiples of 7 were symbolic, such as , 70
people went down to Egypt (Deut. 10: 22), Solomon had 700 royal wives (IK 11:3), or
Lamech, Noah’s father, lived 777 years (Gen. 5:31). Obviously ,that can’t be
true!!!
Early Christians were also influenced by this trend. For
instance, Jesus is said to have performed 7 miracles on the Holy Sabbath Day. The
New Testament has 7 general epistles. The Book of Revelation talks about 7
churches in Asia.
We find the same in the Quran: it claims there are 7
heavens. Humans are created from 7 ingredients. Pilgrims are expected to go
around the Ka’abah in Saudi Arabia 7
times.
So, when you read a number in Scriptures, don’t take it
literally. Look for its symbolic significance.
SONSINO’S BLOG, rsonsino.blogspot.com
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
SONSINO'S BLOG: HOW MANY BOOKS IN THE BIBLE? WHOSE BIBLE?
Monday, September 9, 2024
HOW MANY BOOKS IN THE BIBLE? WHOSE BIBLE?
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
When someone, looking
for an authoritarian source, tells you, “It is written in the Bible, “ you
should ask, whose Bible?
Bibles are different;
some have more texts than others.
The Samaritan Bible
(c.1st cent CE) has only the Pentateuch, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus
, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is also quite different from the Pentateuch in
the Hebrew Bible we have today.
Josephus, the Jewish
historian, (1st cent. CE), mentions only 22 books in the Bible (See. Against Apion I, 37-43), but does not
identify them. 2 Esdras 14:45, an apocryphal book written around 1 or 2 cent.
CE, mentions 24 books, but does not list them.
According to Jewish (rabbinic)
tradition the Hebrew Bible has 24 books, and is divided into three sections:
Pentateuch (5 books), Prophets (8 books), and Writings (11 books) (See
discussion in the Talmud, BB14 b/15a and Taanit 8a; also Midrash Rabba to
Numbers 7, in 14:18). Yet, the Jewish Publication Societies’ Hebrew and English
Bible, contains 39 books. (Here, some books are listed separately, and not
combined as in the traditional Hebrew Bibles). It is estimated that the
Pentateuch was canonized by 400 BCE, the Prophets by 200 BCE and the Writings
by 90 CE (See, The Anchor Bible Dict. I , p. 841). The ancient Rabbis ,
who , according to tradition, finally closed the canon of the Hebrew Bible at
the end of the 1sr cent CE in the city of Yavneh, had serious concerns about
the inclusion of a number of books, such as Esther and Ecclesiastes, but
finally accepted them as holy scriptures (See m Yad 3:5).
The Protestant Bible
has 66 books: 39 for the “Old Testament” (a Christian term) and 27 for the New
Testament. The Catholic Bible, on the other hand, has 73 books: 46 for the Old
Testament and 27 for the New Testament. There are a number of books called
Apocryphal Books, such as Tobit, Judith, I and II Maccabees, written between
400 BCE and 1 cent. CE, that are not part of the Hebrew Bible and the
Protestant Bible, but are included in the Catholic Bible.
It is in the Bible, you say! Whose Bible?
SONSINO’S BLOG, rsonsino.blogspot.com
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM NOAH AND THE ARK?
Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D
Noah and the Ark is one of the
most popular myths in the ancient Western world. The story of the Flood is told in the Hebrew Bible, in the Book of
Genesis (ch 6-9), but it is based on a
variety of similar stories found in the greater Ancient Near East (ANE). We now
have a Sumerian, two Akkadian, a Hittite, and even a Hurrian version of this
fascinating story.
The basic outline of the
legend is this: at the beginning of time, God told Noah about the upcoming destruction
of the world. Noah then built an ark and brought in his immediate family, a
number of animals and food. They survived the devastating flood. The ark landed
on a mountain, and God made a covenant with Noah, promising not to destroy the
universe in the future.
Even though some people take
this story literally, I believe this is not history but a myth. The miraculous
aspect of the episode, including the placing of all the animals in one boat,
and the destruction of all humanity except for one couple strain the credulity of any critical mind. Furthermore,
there are some differences between the biblical version and the myths found in
other cultures of the ANE. Here are some:
1.
In the Bible, only
one god decrees the Flood. In the others, we have a multiplicity of gods.
2.
In the Bible, the flood
comes because of the depravity of the human race. In the others, it is not so
clear. In the Atrahasis Epic, which is one of the two Akkadian texts, the
rationale is that people are so noisy that the god Enlil cannot sleep!!
3.
In the Bible, Noah
is chosen because he is deemed righteous. In the others, the hero’s character
is irrelevant.
4.
In the Bible, Noah
brings into the ark his immediate family. In the others, the hero brings in
even different kinds of crafts people.
5.
In the Bible, the ark
has three stories and numerous cells. In
the others, the ark is divided into six decks.
Obviously, there was a
wide-range belief circulating in the entire region of the ANE that in ancient
times there was a devastating flood that
caused great damage.
Is there a message
attached to the myth? It is not clear. The Rabbis, however, have many
suggestions. According to one of the commentators, Noah should be praised for
taking care of everyone in the ark. He did not sleep day or night “occupied as
he was with feeding the creatures that
were with him” ( The Book of Legends, p. 28). I would broaden the message, and
based on the biblical claim that in Noah’s days, “the earth was filled with
lawlessness” (hamas in Hebrew), I would say that the editors of the Bible wanted
to stress the need to avoid corruption in society and instead to pursue righteousness
and wholeness in life.
SONSINO’S BLOG,
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