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Arguments about God and His ways are ancient.
Even before people wished to build

the tower of Babel and place an idol on top, and in the days of Enosh even before
the flood, indeed, even Adam and Eve themselves resisted God. Clearly, this is
possible because the world we live in, God's creation, renders argument possible.
We cannot conclusively prove God's existence to everyone's satisfaction, either
because of the limitations of the proofs or of the skeptics. It is more important
to realize that the notion of having proof or not is beside the point when the
topic is God.
Much in our experience challenges our faith. Believers understand this as free
choice God gives us in order to make our lives meaningful or, alternatively, to
test us. Scoffers dismiss the idea that God would hide himself in such a manner
that makes His existence seem improbable to someone following what they consider
to be normal, rational thought processes.
This essay will attempt to show that this ancient argument is foolish. The fact
that the Torah is so opposed to idol worship and atheism (and by extension,
agnosticism ) demonstrates that the Torah does not take the position of the
scoffers seriously. This invites inquiry. If the matter can not be settled by
logical discourse, why not look at atheism and agnosticism as simply an honest
mistake?
The Torah regards this issue as more fundamental than intellect. Even when
profound analysis and meditation are confounded by this question, God commands us
to believe. Why?
Apparently the faith that the Torah expects from us is a choice to which the
arguments mentioned above are not particularly relevant. To understand Torah's
perspective, let us examine what is often considered the most fundamental
statement of the Jewish religion, the Shema: Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God,
the Lord is One. The Torah commands us to say the Shema twice daily, during the
time the people awake and the time that people go to sleep. In Jewish Law we are
told to say this verse in three segments, separated by a brief pause: "Hear, O
Israel", then "the Lord is our God", and then "the Lord is One". There are three
basic components to this fundamental statement of our faith.
The verse begins with the words "Hear, O Israel" because the idea conveyed in this
verse is addressed to the people of Israel, i.e. to the Jewish people. To hear
does not mean sensory audition but rather to understand, to search inwardly and
find, recognize and affirm the truth contained in this verse. This means that this
fundamental faith is not based primarily on external considerations but rather on
a reality found within the Jewish soul. This reality is a vital link between God
and the world.
Thus, the words "Hear, O Israel" lead naturally to the second grouping of words in
the verse: "the Lord is our God". The intention is not only to communicate to us
that the Lord whose Name is used in the verse is really God. Rather, we should
contemplate that He is our God, meaning that our access to that reality is through
the Jewish soul. A spark of Godliness, of utmost sanctity and absolute importance
containing the truth and purpose of all spiritual and physical dimensions of the
universe, resides within the soul. God is the real reality and this fundamental
commandment bids us to recognize and affirm this truth within ourselves.
The third grouping of words in the verse, "God is One" informs us far more than
that there is only one God. It speaks of the basic oneness pervading the universe.
This oneness exists on two levels. The harmonious workings of the world of nature
reflecting the underlying unity of its laws, physical, chemical, biological,
systemic, ecological, psychological, social, etc. are an expression of this
underlying oneness. This oneness bespeaks a single Creator. A primary significance
of the notion of God as Creator is to emphasize that physical reality is not the
only dimension of existence, indeed, nor is it the most fundamental or important.
The second level, a deeper, spiritual oneness, is found primarily in the souls of
men. It is a sense of the spiritual oneness of all reality and is expressed as a
sense of responsibility and care for all that exists.
This verse, while instructing us to recognize the first level of oneness,

primarily is directing us to adopt an approach based on the second level of
oneness. This is our ethical sense and it is meant to serve as the basis of our
perspective and goals for life. Noticing the first level of oneness can help us to
discern something of the directing force of the universe, but it is not essential
to meditate on the oneness and harmony in nature in order to come to commit
oneself to God. Indeed, we also notice disharmony throughout the universe. The
real question is how this disharmony affects us. If we use it as an excuse to
dismiss the primacy of God and banish our ethical sense, we have made an ethical
choice. If instead the pain provoked by this disharmony brings us to commit
ourselves to God and to the sense of underlying spiritual oneness issuing from the
spark of Godliness residing within us. Beyond this, if it brings us to dedicate
ourselves to improving man and his world, then we have complied with this basic
Torah commandment.
The skeptic will claim that we have no proof of the truth and reality of God and
ethical oneness. Very likely, this point of view is specious, and it is not our
intention to deal with the logic and limitations of this perspective. More to the
point, this claim of the skeptics is irrelevant. The question is not whether there
is truly a reward, here or in the afterlife for good deeds. The question is
whether or not the individual allies himself with God and dedicates
himself/herself to living accordingly, to endeavor as much as possible to express
the harmonious spiritual oneness residing in the soul and to change and improve
the world. The skeptic claims that he/she cannot confirm the reality of the
religious perspective and therefore rejects it. The religious person quite agrees
that this indeed is what occurs inside the non-religious person's psyche, and
finds this rejection to be distressing. These are the two possibilities. This is
the reality, and clarifying it is the best argument - and plea - a religious
person can make. Beyond this tends to drag us again into an old, foolish argument.

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Arguments about God and His ways are ancient.

Even before people wished to build

This verse, while instructing us to recognize the first level of oneness,

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