Correction to Off The Derech In the book is called "Off The Derech" by Faranak Margolese, published by Devorah Publishing, on page 179 the following is written. "This does not mean we should shy away from such conversations. Instead, we should acknowledge the difficulties in doing so and move ahead anyway. Educators such as Rabbi David Gottlieb, who present the issue of God's existence to Baalei Teshuva, can show us how. He does not shy away from discussing the matter simply because he can not prove it. Rather he asserts at the outset that, in it's pure form, certainty is almost always elusive. We do not generally base our decisions on certainty, but rather on probability. There is always an element of doubt when it comes to our life choices and beliefs, but we pick a side anyway - we take a leap. The question is how big a leap, and whether or not we are willing to take it. The intellect will not make the leap for us or make it disappear. It can only lessen the gap, making it easier to leap if we choose to. We must use the intellect to understand the issue, but we cannot expect it to prove God's existence or choose to believe." The last paragraph does not in fact represent my position. There is no leap. We have sufficient evidence to require us to believe that the Torah is true. The only choice we have is to be rational or irrational, and the latter is clearly the wrong choice. The interested reader should look at Living Up to the Truth on this website. |