Faith isn’t Commanded

“According to Judaism, miracles and extraordinary signs are not evidence for or against eternal truths of reason. That’s why Scripture itself instructs us to refuse a hearing to any prophet who teaches or counsels things that are contrary to established truths, even if he supports his mission with miracles…”

These lines are taken from the book “Jerusalem, or on Religious Power and Judaism” which was published in 1783 and was written by who would be considered as one of  the greatest philosophers of the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment - Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786)

I have written about Mendelssohn in this column about a year and a half ago as I was exploring Jewish Zealotry, which Mendelssohn was in opposition to. Mendelssohn, the Talmudic scholar who entered Berlin through the gate meant for beasts, for being a Jew, and who hid in his teacher’s attic for years studying secular philosophy and coming out of it a hunchback, (according to Mendelssohn, it was the studying of Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed so deeply and so long that caused it) claimed that Judaism was an enlightened religion which was based on reason and more than any other religion, allowed for the integration with modern life; and that it could co-exist with advancements in science, culture and philosophy and did not stand in opposition to them.

I’m bringing Mendelssohn today because of the curious command made by God to Moses and Aaron in our portion, to convince the Pharaoh to let the Israelites go by performing… magic tricks. 

“When Pharaoh speaks to you and says, ‘Produce your marvel,’ you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh.’ It shall turn into a serpent.” (EXO 7:9)

This was the second time that Moses and Aaron went to confront the Pharaoh. Their first attempt was a complete failure. That time they came with no “powers or signs” and simply asked: “Thus says יהוה, the God of Israel: Let My people go that they may celebrate a festival for Me in the wilderness.” (EXO 5:1)

The Pharaoh replied: “Who is יהוה that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know יהוה, nor will I let Israel go.” (EXO 5:2)

Our commentators struggled with the idea that God would now send Moses and Aaron with such “cheap tricks” to try and make their appeal stronger. Torah scholar, teacher and commentator Nechama Leibowitz (1905-1997) in her book “New Studies in Shemot (Exodus)”  brings several examples of that struggle:

Leibowitz draws from both Alsheich and Abarbanel to suggest that God instructed Moses and Aaron to prepare those “tricks” knowing the Pharaoh’s intention was to humiliate them in front of their own people - The Israelites. After all, the Israelites were already upset with Moses and Aaron; their first attempts to liberate them backfired as Pharaoh did not only refuse, but also increased their labor and suffering. 

Instead of being angry at Pharaoh, the Israelites were angry with their own chosen leaders. Now, Pharaoh planned to put the two leaders on the spot and show the Israelites that they had no power whatsoever. 

We later on see that when Moses and Aaron do display “special powers,” Pharaoh is not impressed. Midrash Shemot Rabah proceeds to describe Pharaoh laughing and bringing his women and children to match the magic themselves, saying: “Do they bring fish brine to Spain, fish to Akko?

By that, the Midrash puts words in the Pharaoh's mouth saying: How dare you try to impress me with something that Egypt is an expert in?

Nechama Leibowitz explains that our tradition’s approach to magic is that it only works to convince those who are prone to be convinced by it.  

There are plenty of examples in our written and oral tradition, as well as in Jewish thought, which rule out the use of magic or the supernatural to enhance God’s authority or existence.  

One example brought by Leibowitz is the Talmudic explanation of Elijah's double plea to God when he cried: “Answer me, answer me.” The first time, our sages explained, was for the fire to descend and consume the altar, and the second was so the people would not dismiss it as “an act of magic.”

Maimonides, who as we know tremendously influenced Mendelssohn, claimed that any engagement in acts of magic, superstition or the supernatural was plain idolatry.

Mendelssohn beautifully wrote that the essence of Judaism was to understand, rather than to believe. That the Torah was meant to give us a set of rules to follow and work to do and was not meant to convince us of God’s existence or make us believers. If there were supernatural acts by God or miracles to be found in the Torah, those were put there to provide excitement and inspiration to the reader, like “body and soul” as Mendelssohn put it. The miracles were there as support and not as the main interest.

In Mendelssohn’s words: “Among all the prescriptions and ordinances of the Mosaic law, not a single one tells us what to believe or not believe; they all tell us what to do or not do. Faith isn’t commanded… …All the divine law’s commandments are addressed to man’s will, to his power to act.”

The hardest thing about being a Jew in my opinion, is to accept the fact that there is no proof of God’s existence, no salvation and no promise — rather it is the call to accept responsibility for your actions, to honor your given free will by making virtuous decisions and to be motivated to act without any hope for your actions to be reciprocated or rewarded.

To hint at our current political climate, I’d only say that the message is this: Don’t believe anyone who offers quick and miraculous solutions, because what really stands between us and greatness is lots and lots and lots of hard work.