Hello,



From reading your site, I must admit that it seems we truly are in the messianic times and Armageddon (which is a war of ideas and not necessarily a war of blood) is indeed already here.

First I must say that there is a lot of wisdom on your site, and impressive expertise on the part of the people who are involved in writing your essays. It is amazing, and of course I have not come to criticize your activity, just to state my opinion.

I think it is very important for all of us (Jews and non-Jews alike) to investigate and ask, and certainly to understand that Judaism does not and never has belonged to the Orthodox or religious more than it belongs to the whole Jewish people and the whole world. (Even in the Gemara it is stated that the Torah was given at Mount Sinai in the 70 languages of the world’s nations.) We also learn from Chazal (and specifically from the Gemara) that they did not rest until they asked all the questions and settled them. Each of us, of course, must also do so, and if one does not find answers in Judaism, maybe one should even seek elsewhere. I don’t think there is any absolute truth and Judaism isn’t the only possible path.

But on the other hand, it is not important whether the Torah is from Sinai and whether Chazal erred or whether they were or weren’t scientists. (I do, though, learn kabbalah and am also a physics student, and I have to say that quantum theory and all the modern theories of physics match what is written in the kabbalah with amazing accuracy.)

The Torah and the writings of Chazal have a more important message, as Rabbi Akiva wrote: “Love your fellow as yourself; this is a fundamental principle of the Torah.” This means that all the commandments were given only to allow us to be capable of loving every person, be he religious, secular, Arab, or of some other nation, and to live together in harmony, for “each man is part of the Divine on high.” This, I think, is the supreme value and all the rest are only derivatives and ways to meet this end.

The main point of Judaism, I think, is the relationships between people, and I don’t think it is at all important whether Moses wrote the Torah or whether the stories in the Torah and Chazal’s literature are true; what is important is what it does for us and whether it makes us better people, more tolerant and loving.

I came to Judaism through the study of kabbalah and I have, for the first time, found a powerful spiritual teaching (after a deep search of Eastern philosophies), one which truly teaches how to love and what giving is. It is not for naught that people all over the world now learn kabbalah, be they Jews or gentiles, because as soon as you get into it you understand that the whole world was not meant for wars, and that all religious institutions (be they Jewish, Christian, or Muslim) were created only to reign over their followers, and in their names we all have been killing each other for thousands of years. Perhaps this is why religious institutions scoff at the learning of kabbalah, for fear it will topple their institutions (may that happen soon). Torah and Judaism (and not the Jewish religion!!!) has a clear message of peace and unconditional love.

I in no way criticize your work, and as Rabbi Kook said, every stream of Judaism contributes to the spiritual development of the Jewish people, certainly including a stream like yours, which struggles with many things and stays far away from religious fanaticism.



I hope that everyone will join the war against baseless hatred; I think the Torah and the Jewish writings give many tools to do so.



Have a good month,



Yuval