O, GOD, CAN YOU HEAR ME?

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

Prayers are our way of reaching out to the divine. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Call to Me, and I will answer you” (33:3). Yet, we seem to be having a number of problems with prayers. God is not answering. This is not new in Judaism. Even the old psalmist cried out: “Why, O Lord, do you reject me? Do you hide Your face from me? (88:15), and the prophet Habakkuk sobbed, “How long, O Lord, I cry out, and you do not listen “(1:2). This is the critical issue: If God can hear our plea and does not respond, God would be deemed cruel or uncaring. If God can hear but does not respond, that would imply that God is unable or lacking in power.

However, these two arguments go against the basic definition of a theistically viewed God as a loving, caring, responding yet most powerful divinity. But, you tell that to the innocent who suffer and pray continuously, with no answer from on high (or is it from below?).

There are various types of prayers but the basic ones are: thanksgiving, praise, and petition. The problem is not that much with prayers of thanksgiving or praise but with those that deal with petitions. It is easier to express praises or thanks for life gifts. It is more difficult to deal with prayers that go unanswered.

Maybe the problem lies in the fact that we expect from petitionary prayers more than they can yield. Maybe these prayers need to be refocused. The medieval Jewish/Aristotelian philosopher Maimonides wrote: “True worship is possible only when correct notions of God have previously been conceived” (Guide 3:51). To whom should petitionary prayers be directed? I like how Rabbi Roland Gittelsohn of Boston, and a religious naturalist of the past generation, defined prayer “as a magnified wish” (Wings, p. 292).  I, too, approach prayer as a means to appeal to my highest self. Nature will not change its course because of what I say, even with great concentration. As the Hebrew saying has it, “olam keminhago oleh (“The world follows its own course”). Which means that, if the world will not change for me, I need to change for the world, namely, I must extract the best of what nature can offer me.

That expectation, however, requires that we must reformulate our petitionary prayers so as to appeal to what is possible and what is best in us. So, don’t ask God to heal us; ask so that we may be able to use the most up-to-date scientific information for our benefit; Don’t pray to God to establish peace in the world, but pray so that we may be able to use all the political and social tools available to us in order to bring about better social conditions for all the inhabitants of the world. Start these prayers with “Let us/me…”The problem is not with God, but with our expectations from God. If God is the energy of the universe, as I maintain, we must live according to its dicta, and do the best we can.

This approach would require a revision of our entire liturgy. We need to create new prayers for all occasions, and it can be done. It will not disappoint anyone and will benefit everyone.

Anyone willing to tackle this enormous task?

May 14, 2020

P.S.For more details, see my book, Six Jewish Spritual Paths, 2002, under “Spirituality through Prayer.”

GOD, A PERENNIAL ENERGY

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

The Hebrew Bible  uses various terms to refer to God. One of the most popular is  Shadday, usually translated as “Almighty.” For example, “When Shadday (the Almighty) scattered the kings…(Ps.68:15; for  other examples see, Num. 24: 4, Ps.  91:1)” However, its etymology is doubtful. Many see a connection between Shadday and the Akkadian word for “mountain” which is shadu. This would suggest that Shadday, at some point, referred to the “God of the mountain.” Given the awesomeness of the peaks and hills that inspire the viewers, it is understandable why primitive people would use this term for the divinity, ascribing to it great powers. 

The second most popular biblical term for God is Elohim, the plural of Eloah, based on the noun El, meaning God.  In the overwhelming majority of cases, the word Elohim is accompanied by a verb in the singular. For example, b’reshit bara elohim, “When God began to create…”(Gen. 1: 1).” The verb bara (created) is in the singular. That means the editor of this passage conceived of Elohim as one God. (For other examples, see, Gen. 1: 3; 22: 1; 25: 11; 50:24, etc). However, there are a number of passages where Elohim is accompanied by a verb in the plural. For example, when Abraham says to king Avimelekh, “When God (Elohim) made me wander…(hit’u) (Gen. 20: 13) ,” here the verb “wander” is in the plural. (For other examples, see Ex. 22:8; Deut. 5:23; II Sam. 7: 23, etc.). This observation suggests that at one point the Israelites were polytheists and then moved to monolatry (the worship of one god without the denial of other gods), and finally to monotheism. 

 For me, a religious naturalist, the best term is Ehyeh (e.g., 3: 14), namely, “being,” and, in particular, a continuous being. It is based on the Hebrew term for God, YHVH (later likely vocalized as Yahveh), though we do not know how it was originally pronounced. It comes from the root HYH, to be. 
For me, God is not a personal being. God does not know me, care for me or respond to my prayers. God is also beyond gender, being neither male nor female.  God simply is the energy animating the universe. It is our duty to understand how this world operates in order to make sense of our existence.  All I want is to be given the sustaining tools of a meaningful life, the wisdom to accept my limitations and the skills to overcome them within nature’s possibilities. I hope for wholeness and contentment. 
Do I believe in miracles? The universe is a wonderful place. Every moment is awesome and noteworthy. No, I do not believe in miracles defined as an intervention by God into the normal workings of nature. When something incomprehensible occurs, it is because we still don’t know how the world really operates or how the laws of nature make changes possible. 
Do I “believe” in God? Faith is often understood as a firm belief in something for which there is no proof. For me, however, “to believe” in God means to affirm convincingly God’s existence after careful examination of all the available data.  What is the purpose of prayer? There are three types of prayer: petition, praise and gratitude. For me, the purpose of prayer is to express gratitude for our existence and formulate praises for being alive. Petitionary prayers are expressions of our wishes. I do not expect any divine response to my prayers, but I do feel the need to formulate prayers of praise and gratitude. They make me feel better. 
How do I explain evil? I believe there is such a thing as evil caused by human beings or nature (moral and natural evil).  At times, saintly people suffer, the wicked thrive (e.g., the Nazi Holocaust), and volcanoes create destruction.  However, this is not because God is unwilling to respond to our pleas, but because God is neutral and operates according to set patterns. That is, God cannot intervene. We do not always know why the universe works in this way. Our human task entails that we study nature with all our ability to find the reasons for what we see as unfairness. Over the years, we have made a great deal of progress in our attempt to understand God, but we still have a long way to go.  I also maintain that human beings are not born with a sense of morality but are taught to become ethical individuals. Most of them achieve this high level, others do not.  How free are we? Thinkers have debated the issue of determinism versus free will for a long time. I maintain that we are constrained by our limitations of time and place. We do, however, have some free will within our limits, and we should cherish that freedom. Does religion still matter? Yes, it does. Religion gives us a perspective on a meaningful life. However, it needs to be based on rationality and modern thinking. It should not promote fundamentalism and obscurantism, but encourage peace and mutual respect, allowing the free debate of all existential questions of our time.  

May 3, 2020 (printed from Ohr l'Naorrr, Spring, 2020)