Belief

Dear Rabbi, I am currently in a bit of a conundrum that I’ve been in for some time now. i consider myself a religious Jew. I pray 3 times a day, learn Gemara and tanach frequently, wear tefillin, etc. I was brought up less religious than I am now, and I grew in my Judaism because I believe it teaches the best morals, but above all, seems to understand human nature absolutely perfectly. I am also, however, a very scientific thinker, and I generally tend to believe where the evidence most strongly points towards. this lead me to question the flood story of Noah. Reading the Hebrew, it seems central to the story that the flood was global, and that everything died besides what was on the boat.   as a biochemistry major, I know scientifically cannot be the case for numerous reasons. Firstly, there is too much genetic evidence to the contrary, ie the last common ancestors of every living thing aren’t only 4000 years old. Additionally, if all species come from one location on mount ararat, we’d expect to find a much higher biodiversity proximal to this site, and then as you move further away, the diversity shrinks. This is not the case. There is also plenty of geological evidence that this global flood never occurred. I love Judaism, but I need a much more solid basis for belief if I am to commit to a life guided by its principles. I have read a few books addressing doubt (eg ani maamin by rabbi Joshua Berman) that say that there are opinions that the flood was local. Indeed, Rav Gedalia Nadel, a student of the Chazan Ish, interprets it in the same way. I also know that the ram am says that if science contradicts the Torah in any way, it’s because we’ve been interpreting the Torah the wrong way, not that we need to shut out the evidence and pretend like it doesn’t exist.   I am skeptical, however. This is because it seems like the only reason the “local flood” theory (which most probably did happen) is being more widely accepted is because the global flood has been disproven. I believe it would be beneficial for me to find out if there are any sources suggesting the local flood opinion is valid before the discovery that the global flood couldn’t have happened. I know that Josephus mentions somewhere (and I can’t quote where off the top of my head) that after the flood, people came down from the mountaintops when it was safe, suggesting the flood account is hyperbolic and didn’t really mean that everything died.   I also know that in the torah, giants, descendants of the nephilim were in the land of Canaan when the Jews went to spy out the land. This would have been impossible if all nephilim died out in the flood and there was nobody there to produce giants.   there is so much to be said about this topic, I could go on forever. I’ve done a lot of research because it’s very important to me to search for the truth. I guess what I’m asking, is if, reading the torah honestly, is there a legitimate way to interpret the flood account as local and not global? And are there any sources, pre-18th century that hold a similar view?   thank you for taking the time to read this long question!   best wishes,   jacob

The Torah tells us l'yirah ליראה Hashem. This is frequently translated as to fear Hashem. I have always understood this to mean to respect or be in awe of Hashem. What do you belive it means?

Must I atone for the sin of idol worship if I did it in my dream? I had a dream last night that I physically bowed down and prayed to some statues of deities and enjoyed doing so. I have no idea what triggered such a dream because it never crossed my mind to do this in real life. Did I sin by having this dream?

  GatewaysOnLine.com Rabbi Mordechai Becher   JBSTV (ch 138)   Gateways login: I heard R. Becher's presentation on the peculiarities of the Sanhedrin's minimum-of-23-judge court, on "Dimensions of the Daf", on JBS ch 138. I wrote to him just to say "hello", and to perhaps-pointlessly offer him a copy of "Whoever...".   Dear Rabbi Becher, I have only recently been watching JBS tv (ch 138) for a few minutes each day. I am not fond of Reform Judaism, but I like to see what others are thinking. This morning I saw your presentation on the peculiarities of Sanhedrin trials for capital crimes (e.g., automatic acquittal for a unanimous 23-judge conviction). I have not read the Talmud formally, and I wouldn't do that. But I keep it close, as a reference source, to which I have had to turn many times. The teachings of your presentation today, however, were thoroughly unfamiliar to me. I found your presentation to be gripping and, in that respect, effective, because I could not turn it off after 5-10 minutes, as I usually do with ch 138 programming. I would welcome your opinions of the brief sections, in my own book, which touch on the Covenant (i.e., with whom was it actually made?) and on B'reishis 16:1-12, especially 8-10, which deals with the 'wild ass' theory of the origin of Islam. My views on these passages, which are unpopular views, are succinctly stated in the 2 Appendices of my book 'Whoever You Thought You Were...You're A Jew!'; a book which shows the manner in which ancient Judaism gave rise to all the durable religions of the world today, whether such is obvious (as in the cases of Christianity or Islam) or hidden (as in cases such as Buddhism or Hinduism). I doubt you'll have the time or the willingness to do this, although I also know that you have the knowledge and the energy to do it, if the ruoch moves you to do so. If you would even consider reviewing my brief presentations on these two subjects, and showing me where I'm wrong (which opinion, on your part, I'd greatly respect), please send me a mailing address and I'll send you a book. Please do not feel pressured in any way; I am not popular, and there will be no benefit to you, other than the benefit of knowing that you have brought the weight of your knowledge to bear on behalf of a man who was headed in the wrong direction, and that you have changed that direction to a better one. Unless, of course, you opine that I'm not wrong. That would be very interesting.

What is Judaism’s perspective on libertarianism and freedom as a political and social philosophy

Hi Rabbi, my daughter went to a Yeshiva all her life till the last 2 years where there was an issue at school and ended up in Public High school. After this she changed and my daughter no longer cared for Judaism. It so bad you can't even mention what happened on October 7th in Israel without her rolling her eyes. Is it possible for a Jewish girl to hate her religion so bad that she has a distain for it, Would she have Emunah again, What can I do to minimize this hate?

With everything going on right now I have a question. Many Christians believe that we are supposed to support Israel and the Jewish people in there taking back the Holy lands of the Old Testament. Do Jewish people care wether or not Christians fight along side them? Do the Jewish people look at Christians as fools who believe in a false and failed profit who by there blood lines and or conversion to Christianity ( which from my understanding is a sin worthy of death for a Jew and a violation of one of the 3 main commandments ) is completely impossible and that no Christian will ever enter into the kingdom of God? And what do Jewish people think about Christians and there belief that they must defend and back the nation of Israel and the Israeli people?