“We praise before we prove”
Tonight I went to a modified Seder meal at one of the Synagogues in town. This is an annual event to which Christians are invited and it provides some explanation of the event and symbolism.
Before the meal, I had a chance to read parts of their prayer book in the synagogue. I copied the following section from the Siddur Sim Shalom Prayer Book, A prayerbook for Shabbath, Festivals & Weekdays:
Understanding God is not attained by calling into session all arguments for and against Him, in order to debate whether He is a reality or a figment of the mind. God cannot be sensed as a second thought, as an explanation of the origin of the universe. He is either the first and the last, or just another concept.
Speculation does not precede faith. The antecedents of faith are the premise of wonder and the premise of praise. Worship of God precedes affirmation of His realness. We praise before we prove. We respond before we question.
Proofs for the existence of God may add strength to our belief; they do not generate it. Human existence implies the realness of God. There is a certainty without knowledge in the depth of our being that accounts for our asking the ultimate question, a preconceptual certainty that lies beyond all formulation or verbalization.
There was much more in the prayerbook that I would have liked to reread and reflect upon. At some point, perhaps I shall find a copy of it.
isn’t is a great experience? I had the honour of attending Mrs. B’s family seder last year and it was such a wonderful experience. I even got to participate in the readings and stuff. Did you have some of the wine? Isn’t is amazing? I wish we had holidays like that (I wish my family celebrated together so reverently like that too).
Just add a pile of sugar to normal wine and it will taste Jewish (I saw that on Frasier). That is a really cool quote out of the prayer book though!