Sunday, September 15, 2013

I Don't Know


                                                         
                                                                          
Yesterday was Yom Kippur. If you're unfamiliar with the holiday, it's the most important annual observance on the Jewish calendar. It's the Day of Judgment; the day of reckoning for us all; the day on which we are all judged regarding our behavior during the year that has just passed and our fate for the following year. Will we live or die?

On that day we fast, having neither food nor drink for about twenty-five hours. We focus on our shortcomings and our regret for them. We petition for forgiveness; we vow to try to eliminate our sinful behavior in the future.

Does it work? I don't know. It would be presumptuous of me to think that I have survived because I have led a virtuous life or that G-d has forgiven all my sins, but the reality is that I am still alive.i And it would be disrespectful of me to suggest that the lives of those who perished last year were less valuable than mine.

I don't know. But that's just fine. According to Avot,ii one of the tractates of the Talmud, “Regarding that which he [the wise man] has not learned, he says 'I have not learned this.'” And in Berachotiii it is written, “... a Master said: let thy tongue acquire the habit of saying 'I know not,' lest you be led to falsehoods.” There are many variations on this theme in the various cultures, but all point out that admitting ignorance is the beginning of wisdom.

There is a genre, which is usually concluded with a “one-liner,” that centers on a guru at the top of a mountain. He is usually asked about the meaning of life, or its secret. While his response is unlikely to shed any real light on the question, that is not important. More to the point, the guru does not know – though he will not say so.iv What is significant, however, is that the question seems to matter to so many people. And it is one to which there is no certain answer. There are numerous uncertain ones – philosophers, amateur and professional – claim to know what it is, but they are fooling themselves.

It is a commonplace of those who are observant of one religion or another to confess that they are clueless. They will usually frame their views with an acknowledgment of the existence of a Creator followed by an admission that they do not, and cannot, know His Mindv on the subject or why He did what He did. They don't know, and they acknowledge it. And they concede similar ignorance about a host of other issues – physical and metaphysical – that deal with existence and with the world around us.

There are many, however, who discount any value or validity for religion. To them, neither fate nor faith has any meaning. Scientific proof is the only thing that matters. Lacking it, any view represents superstition. They know what is verifiable, and are certain that, in the end, Man,vi will understand everything. They are not willing to say “I do not know,” unless it is followed by the word “yet.” They adamantly favor a “big bang” over a “creation,” although it is difficult to be sure what the difference is. In both cases “something” derived from “nothing” which, is a scientific contradiction, but so be it. Their beliefvii makes them happy.

As for me, I'm comfortable with the idea that I don't know everything, as well as with the fact that I cannot do so and will never do so. I will be judged next Yom Kippur as I was yesterday. It is my responsibility to follow the rules of my religion – and it is a responsibility that I glory in taking.

Science will take care of itself.







Next episode: “A Perfect World” – Don't you just wish?





I       Or, at least, I hope I'll still be among the living when this is published. Since I'm writing this about a month in advance, I can't be sure.
ii       Chapter 5, Mishna 10.
iii      4a.
iv      Which raises questions about his wisdom – the mountaintop notwithstanding.
v       Both words are anthropomorphisms. No sexism is intended. Not even in the word “anthropomorphism.”
vi      No sexism is intended here either. Use whatever pronoun you like.
vii     Although they'll deny that belief has anything to do with it.

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