Of “How?” & “Why?”

One of my life’s loves is reconciling the thought pattern of Judaism with other systems of thought, such as science. Regardless of whether I am particularly good at it, I enjoy doing it and often enough I find that the seeming differences yield a deeper truth. It’s the soul in me, in the guise of a philosopher, at work.

I have recently encountered a fashionable idea which makes me feel uncomfortable. Maybe, one day I will be able to reconcile myself to it. But presently it leaves me in the cold, wondering. It’s the contemporary claim of certain religious thought leaders that religion is relegated to dealing with the “Why?” of life and science with the “How?” I am honestly surprised to see one of my favorite Rabbis among their ranks.

I agree that science can’t be expected to deal with the “Why?” of life and therefore, its real focus is exclusively on the “How?”. However, Judaism is different. It does not pigeonhole itself into dealing with only certain kinds of questions and not others. It’s my understanding that Judaism makes claims to be in the know concerning life’s “How?”

Consider that ...

• Based on the Talmud, Judaism contains an esoteric tradition called “The Workings of Creation”. It’s a secret society of select Torah sages who study a subject which is even deeper than Kabbalah, as we know it.
• Lurianic teachings about the tzimtzum, primordial contraction, and the subsequent unfolding of worlds/realms come off sounding more like a “How?” than a “Why?”.
• The Midrash teaches, “He gazed in His Torah and created the universe.” This statement bears the imagery of an architect referencing blueprints as a guide on "How?" to build a structure.
• On the surface, the Genesis story of creation mostly communicates on a “How?” level, even if only in general terms. Without recourse to commentaries there’s little mention of “Why?”
• A Torah sage of the past generation personally told me that, though he does not look there, he knows where to find all scientific information in the Torah.
• Rabbi Moshe Schatz’s “Sparks of the Hidden Light” has a lot to say about the “How?” of reality.
• The Lubavitcher Rebbe argued against elements of the scientific model expressing “How?” the universe and humanity emerged.

I don’t know for sure. However, I wonder whether pushing Judaism exclusively into the “Why?” camp isn’t an artificial contrivance to climb a high intellectual mountain, safe from the rising flood waters of science and contemporary secular intellectual currents. If this is the case, and I don’t know whether it is, then it rings hollow with apologetics.

All opposites have a higher convergence point. It’s part of the idea of Oneness. I look forward to the day humanity will discover how to answer all questions from the place where “How?” and “Why?” converge.

Afterthought (a few days later)…

On the surface level, Judaism mostly deals with "Why?" and science with "How?" This is true of Judaism’s public teachings, though it’s different for its inner esoteric teachings. There, the “Why?” is mixed with the “How?” 

The “Why?” and “How?” are in a male and female relationship with each other – as is the case of all interactive opposites. The public teachings of "Why?" do have a little bit of "How?" because each male must contain a bit of female and each female must contain a bit of male. However, that "How?" is really only to provide some context for the larger message of "Why?"

A century ago, Judaism and science were like 12 year olds to each other. 12 year olds typically see the opposite gender as "Yuck!" So, Judaism and science felt repulsed by each others’ presence.

Today, they're more like 16 year olds. They’re starting to consider each other fondly. If the trend smoothly progresses, tomorrow they'll likely be 18 year olds, ready to date in preparation for marriage. Then we may expect a total integration of Judaism and science as a single topic.

--------------------O-----------------