SONSINO'S BLOG: THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

SONSINO'S BLOG: THE PROBLEM OF EVIL: Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D. The problem of evil is a recognition that it is impossible to explain how an all-powerful, all-knowing and all-go...

THE PROBLEM OF EVIL

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

The problem of evil is a recognition that it is impossible to explain how an all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good God allows suffering to exist. This is the greatest challenge to the belief in a theistically conceived God who appears, in the Bible or rabbinic literature, just as it is present in Christianity and Islam, as a caring, loving, responding God. The prophet Jeremiah gave voice to this question when he stated, “ Why does the way of the wicked prosper?” (Jer. 12:1). Similarly ,the Psalmist had to admit this unfortunate state when he stated, “I saw the wicked at ease.” (73:3).

The Greek philosopher Epicurus (3^rd cent. BCE) had already recognized this dilemma  stating that if  evil exists in the world – and it does in the form of suffering of the innocent- it must be because God is either not all-good, or not all-powerful to eliminate it.  But that goes against the view of God in many of the western  religions. In our time, after the Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews and after the attack on Israel in Oct. 2023 when more than a thousand Israelis were butchered by Hamas criminals out of Gaza it is difficult to talk about a God who is viewed as caring and loving. A modern writer puts the problem thusly: “If God is God, He is not good. If God is good, He is not God” (MacLeish, J.B. p.11)

What do the defenders of theism say about this dilemma? Some argue that free will makes it necessary for  evil to exist. Others take refuge in a definition that evil is simply the negation of good. Some even  claim that in the world to come there will be no evil, much to the despair of the sufferers in this world for actions they did not commit. And there are others who give up and say that God is suffering along his creatures. But this is hardly a consolation to the people who are in pain for nothing. One ancient Rabbi (Yannai, 3^rd cent. CE) gave up and stated, “It is not in our power to explain the wellbeing of the wicked or the suffering of the righteous” (PA: 4: 1).

I prefer to deal with this problem by asserting, like the 17^th century Jewish philosopher Spinoza who taught  that evil cannot be ascribed to God.  God stands for the only substance that exists, and that is nature which is neutral.  If something goes wrong with us ,it is because we are in the wrong place and in the wrong time, and also because we don’t always know how nature really operates. We are still discovering its foibles. There must be a physical reason for evil . It is not caused by God who acts not with free will but with necessity.  God does not cause you to be sick. It is simply because we are  imperfect human beings who are limited by the conditions of our being.

I can live with that. Can you?

TEXTUAL PROBLEMS OF LEVITICUS 1:1

The Book of Leviticus, the third book of the Pentateuch, deals primarily with priests and animal sacrifices. The book contains some of the most obscure and irrelevant (for our times) texts in the Hebrew Bible, while featuring many of the loftiest ethical teachings like Lev.19. 

The first chapter begins with a verb, Vayikra “He called.” The verse literally reads, “He called Moses, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting …when any of you present  an offering (of cattle ” (Lev.1:1). The syntax is unusual. From the rest of the verse we learn that the one who called was God. Furthermore, the letter ALEF at the end of the first word, vayikra , is often written in a smaller size than the other letters. The reason is not known. According to Samuel D  Luzzatto (19^th cent.) , when the last letter  of a word (for ex. Alef in vayikra ) is the same letter found at the beginning of the next word (el , Alef and Lamed “to”), one character often serves for both. This interpretation ,however, does not solve the problem, because the letter Alef still appears in both words, even though the first is smaller. On the other hand, Rabbenu Asher ben Yehiel (14^th cent. Toledo), in his commentary, offers a midrashic solution saying that the small size of the letter reflects the humility of Moses. If he was one, so should we be. ( On the other hand, the large ALEF at the beginning of the word ADAM in I Chr.1:1, is seen as Adam’s arrogance). 

During the medieval times, commentators were puzzled by the unusual form of this opening. In fact, Rashbam (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, 12th cent. CE, France) suggested that this verse really follows Ex.40:35, found in the last chapter of the Book of Exodus, where Moses, we are told, could not enter the Tent of Meeting because of the divine cloud that had settled upon it. 

Furthermore, we do not know the original purpose of animal sacrifices in the ancient Near East. Often, the animal was slaughtered and burned on an altar,  and the meat was given to the priests to eat it. Some say, this was a means of feeding the gods who smelled the vapors emanating from the burned animal ; others stress the value of propitiation or reverence. The consumption of the flesh of the animal somehow created a communion between the divinity and human beings. When the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, a rabbinic Mitzvah (“commandment”) system, along with prayers, replaced the old sacrificial cult. 

We also do not know exactly what this “Tent of Meeting” (ohel moed) looked like. There are various biblical traditions about it. In the book of Exodus, chapter 33, it is described as a tent placed outside of the Israelite encampment. In other priestly texts it receives a much wider description as an enclosed courtyard that contained an altar of burn offering. 

“The Lord called to Moses” (Lev. 1:1): Using this text as a prompter, Rabbi Akiba (2^nd cent. CE) taught a lesson of morality. He said: Better that they should tell you to go up, than they should tell you to go down (Lev. Rabba 1:5-6).  That is wisdom applicable to all. 

HUMOR IN THE BIBLE

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

The Bible is a revered book, and many think that it is strictly serious. Yet, a critical analysis of the text shows that some “biblical writing may have been intended primarily to entertain the reader” (The Anchor Bible Dict.3/325). It is not easy to translate humor from one culture to another, and old texts like the Bible emerged in a social environment that is very different from ours. Still, we find many biblical passages that are humorous and off handed. Here below are some examples:

The patriarch Abraham is a trickster when in Egypt he passes his wife  as his sister (Gen. 12:13).

IN Gen. 18, the matriarch Sarah overhears  an angel (or God)  telling Abraham , 100 years old, that his elderly wife of 90 will bear a child, and Sarah “laughs” (v. 12) at this absurdity. 

We find sarcasm in Gen. 37 when it states that the brothers of Joseph pointed at him saying, “here comes the dreamer” (v. 19).

In Ex. 32, when Moses returns from the mountain and catches the Israelites worshiping  an idol, he demands an explanation from Aaron, his brother ,who said that people gave him gold, and he threw it into the fire, and “ out of it came this calf!” (v.24). 

In Numbers 22, Balaam, a gentile prophet and diviner,  has a donkey that speaks, saying to his master , “Look, I am the ass that you have been riding all along until this day!(v. 30).

In Judg. 3, Ehud, an assassin, visits the obese king Eglon of Moab. Ehud stabs the king’s enormous belly with his sword that disappears  inside him. Ehud escapes and  the servants saw that the doors of the upper chamber were locked and assumed that he is “relieving himself in the cool chamber.” (v.24).

There is ridicule in  I K 18, when it states that in facing the prophets of Baal, the Israelite prophet Elijah  openly mocked them  saying, “shout louder! After all, he is a god. He may be in conversation, he may be detained, or he may be on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and will wake up” (JPS, v. 27). 

WE find humor even in wisdom literature, such as, “ Like a gold ring in a snout of a pig is a beautiful woman bereft of sense” (JPS, v. 11:22).

The book of Esther is a funny political satire, a farce:  Ahasuerus is a clueless king; Haman , the villain, is a buffoon; Esther is a manipulative queen; Mordecai is a courageous fool.  

Biblical writers did have a sense of humor , and they entertained their readers just as they instructed them about God and religion. 

What is your favorite humorous episode in the Bible? 

 

 

CHANGES IN JEWISH IDENTITY IN AMERICA; A PERSONAL OBSERVATION

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

As I survey the changes that have taken place in Jewish identity  today, I note the following:

1.        80 % of world Jewry lives either in the USA (about 7.3 million, out of 349 +million in 2026) or in Israel (about 7.5 million, out of the total population of about 10 million).  NY State has the largest Jewish community in the USA (c.1.7 million).

2.        A recent poll taken about American Jews showed that only 40 % are affiliated with a synagogue. The rest identify themselves simply as “ethnic” Jews. The rate of affiliation is higher among Orthodox Jews. The Jewish Conservative movement in America is on the decline. On the other hand, some Reform congregations are thriving because of good programing for the young and old. There is a lack of rabbinic candidates in all the Jewish seminaries. 

3.        In many Reform congregations in the USA, there is now a tendency to observe more traditional rituals, and to revive long discarded beliefs, such as resurrection (see the popular use of “who revives the dead” in the liturgy ) or the ready acceptance of  miracles, even though both are often interpreted allegorically. 

4.        With regard to the belief in God, many Reform Jews continue to uphold the traditional theistic view of God ( as , father,  redeemer etc.) , whereas a strong but vocal minority (me included) strongly defends a non-theistic and naturalistic  theology where God is viewed as the energy of the universe that does not answer prayers and does not intervene in human affairs. See, our book, A God we Can Believe In (2022). 

5.        The recent rise of antisemitism around the world has shocked Jews who have witnessed attacks on synagogues and other Jewish institutions ,and now many shun the display of Jewish symbols on themselves fearing assault by crazy people. Many blame local Jews for Israel’ s role in Gaza, West bank , and Iran.

6.        Though most Jews enthusiastically support Israel as a legitimate homeland for Jews, other  Jews are uncomfortable with its right-wing government that appeases the “haredim” (the extreme Orthodox Jews in Israel) and keeps legalizing new settlements in the West Bank. 

7.        There is a strong commitment to social action and a greater acceptance of diversity among Reform Jews who welcome gays, lesbians and trans, more than any other ethnic group in America.

As times go by, I trust new identities will emerge and new alliances will appear within the Jewish community.  For, I maintain, “Am Yisrael Hay, “the people of Israel is alive and well, and will find its own way in the future. 

 

Your thoughts?

RABBINIC GEMS ON THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

The biblical book of Leviticus deals mostly with legal instructions about priestly matters and animal sacrifices. It probably reflects the practices of the second temple of Jerusalem built after the Israelites returned from exile in Babylon in the 6^th cent. BCE. It is not a book that reads easily or one that we can relate to with our contemporary mindset.  However, the ancient Rabbis, by means of interpretation, were able to derive from these laws many  moral teachings that we can all emulate today. Here below are two examples:

In Lev. 25:35, the law states that “ if your kinsman becomes poor and comes under your authority,,,,let him live by your side” (Lev. 25:35). As Rabbi J.H.Hertz points out in his modern commentary, “This is in strongest contrast to the treatment of the impoverished debtor in ancient Rome“ (p. 536). Ancient Rabbis went even further and taught us a lesson of empathy when they stated that “anyone who visits the ill, they subtract one -sixtieth of his illness.” Namely, in their opinion ,the mitzvah of visiting the sick (bikur holim in Hebrew) is very important , for it considerably helps the infirm because of the care shown by the visitor. Thus the Rabbis encouraged everyone  to spend quality time with the ill as a religious obligation.(Lev. Rabba 34:1). Modern psychology approves. 

Similarly, commenting on the same law, they remind us of the practice by Hillel, the elder, the great sage of the first century CE, who would tell his students that he was going to carry out a mitzvah (religious obligation)  by taking a bath. Puzzled, the students asked him, is this a real mitzvah? So, Hillel, responded: “ If the statues of the kings that are placed in theatres and circuses, are washed…, should not I not, who has been created in the image of God, as it is said in the Bible, “In the image of God, He made man” (Gen. 9:6) , take care of myself by washing my body? (Lev. Rabba 34: 3). Thus the Rabbis converted  the  simple act of cleanliness into a high religious obligation. We need to take care of ourselves , they said, because we have been created in the divine image. What a great teaching!!

 

JEWISH HOUSES OF WORSHIP-A BRIEF HISTORY

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

Throughout history Jews used various structures for worship purposes. 

1.        THE TABERNACLE

In pre-monarchical times, the biblical Israelites used a tabernacle called Mishkan in Hebrew. (P calls it miqdash, “sacred place”, see Ex. 25:8). This was a portable tent sanctuary also known as ohel moed, (“the tent of meeting”) or mishkan ha-edut (“the tent of testimony”). It was located in various places, such as Gilgal, Nob, Gibeon and Shilo. Though the details are not clear, the structure  was about 10 cubits high (about 15 feet), 20 cubits long and 8 cubits wide. It contained a few objects such as the “ark of the covenant” (namely, the box containing the ten commandments), an incense altar , a table, a seven branch candelabra and an eternal light. ( see Ex.26). In the past, some scholars doubted that such a tent ever existed but today most biblical critics, based on comparative religious texts, accept the validity of such a structure, even if the specifics  remain controversial. 

According to 1 K 8: 4, the tabernacle was brought to the temple  of Jerusalem at the time of its dedication. 

 

2.        THE TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM

According to the biblical text, a temple was built  by king Solomon in the 10^h century BCE. called bet hamikdash  (“house of sanctum”). It was 60 cubits long (about 90 feet), 20 cubits wide and 40 cubits high (I K 6:2). It contained three interior rooms: the porch, the Holy Place (main room) and the Holy of Holies, housing the Ark of the Covenant, a jar of Manna and Aaron’s staff.  The main room had the golden Menorah, the table of Showbread and the altar of incense. In addition to prayers and songs, various animals were sacrificed on its main altar in the courtyard by designated priests.  

For a while this temple existed alongside of other local sanctuaries. But king Josiah of Judah (648 BCE-609 BCE) centralized the cult in Jerusalem by destroying all the other houses of worship in the rest of the country. This Jerusalem temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon in 586 king of Babylon , in 586 BCE. After the exiles returned to Judea  from Babylonia , under the leadership of Zerubbabel in 516 BCE, the Israelites built a second temple In Jerusalem which was later enhanced by king Herod  around 18 BCE. It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. 

 

3.        THE SYNAGOGUE

This house of worship (from the koine Greek, meaning, “assembly” ) , found throughout Israel, eventually replaced the temple of Jerusalem. However, even during the existence of the second temple, there were Jewish houses of worship outside of Jerusalem  called synagogues. Many of these were excavated in places such as Gamla, Masada, Magdala, Herodium, Modiin, Qiryat sefer or Khan Diab. According to the New Testament, Jesus spoke in various synagogues (Mark 1: 30, John. 18:20) throughout the Galilee. The Jewish historian Josephus (died c. 100 CE) mentions them also (see, for example, the famous synagogue in Antioch, Wars, 7.3.3.), as places for reading and teaching the Torah  (Antiquities 16.43), as well as locations for communal meetings.

When the second temple was destroyed by the Roman general Titus in 70 CE, the synagogue became the main house of worship for all Jews. For a short period of time, there was an attempt to offer sacrifices on the temple mount in Jerusalem during the revolt against Rome by Bar Kohba but it came to an end when the revolt failed in 135 CE. The ancient Rabbis then set up a new system of worship in the synagogues primarily based on prayers and Torah study instead of sacrifices.