Ostriches
Rabbi Dude says:
The ostrich is always depicted as sticking its hand in the sand when threatened, the rationale being that if it can't see the threat, then the threat no longer exists (ostriches, it must be remembered, have very little brains).
So too are people within the Jewish world who refuse to acknowledge the existence of anything outside the four walls of the study hall. They believe everything they are taught and never doubt anything, and are so sure of what they have always known to be true they will brand a heretic anyone who dares to question their beliefs.
This is not the way of the Tora.
The way of the Tora is intellect coupled with faith: you must--of course--try to understand the depths of the Tora and to gain insight into God's mind (so to speak), and we do this by questioning. However, in the mean-time, you must understand that God knows a lot better than you do, and you must follow what the Tora says even though you do not understand.
It would seem the Ostriches of the Jewish world understand the latter part--just follow--quite well, but are missing out on the former--question and learn.
Anyone who refuses to allow questioning cannot be said to be truly following the way of the Tora.
Interestingly enough, a bird's wings are used as a metaphor for the Tora--it enables a person's soul to fly to ever-higher levels of spirituality. An ostrich has very small wings and is incapable of flight; instead, it spends its life trying to hide from anything which may threaten its existence. And it usually gets very badly hurt by those threats as it makes itself a very easy target and destroys any chance of self-defence by its inability to see the threat. Just as a dove can escape from its predators only by its wings, so too are Yisraél saved from their persecutors through our adherence to the Tora.
The ostrich is always depicted as sticking its hand in the sand when threatened, the rationale being that if it can't see the threat, then the threat no longer exists (ostriches, it must be remembered, have very little brains).
So too are people within the Jewish world who refuse to acknowledge the existence of anything outside the four walls of the study hall. They believe everything they are taught and never doubt anything, and are so sure of what they have always known to be true they will brand a heretic anyone who dares to question their beliefs.
This is not the way of the Tora.
The way of the Tora is intellect coupled with faith: you must--of course--try to understand the depths of the Tora and to gain insight into God's mind (so to speak), and we do this by questioning. However, in the mean-time, you must understand that God knows a lot better than you do, and you must follow what the Tora says even though you do not understand.
It would seem the Ostriches of the Jewish world understand the latter part--just follow--quite well, but are missing out on the former--question and learn.
Anyone who refuses to allow questioning cannot be said to be truly following the way of the Tora.
Interestingly enough, a bird's wings are used as a metaphor for the Tora--it enables a person's soul to fly to ever-higher levels of spirituality. An ostrich has very small wings and is incapable of flight; instead, it spends its life trying to hide from anything which may threaten its existence. And it usually gets very badly hurt by those threats as it makes itself a very easy target and destroys any chance of self-defence by its inability to see the threat. Just as a dove can escape from its predators only by its wings, so too are Yisraél saved from their persecutors through our adherence to the Tora.
posted by Rabbi Dude at 5/31/2006 09:24:00 am
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