I am a Talmudist who
studied under the greatest rabbis of the past generation, Rabbi Aharon Kotler,
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashev, Rabbi Shmuel HaLevi Wosner
and others. On the other hand, I live in a world which is in flux, and various
forces are at work to bring new elements to the control of our world. I have a
friend who has spent years studying these various forces, and he is very
pessimistic.
Therefore, on the one hand, I feel confident presenting my books
and blog materials to the public, rooted in my ancient reliance on Talmudists
and Torah. On the other hand, there are huge numbers of people who are restless
and seeking and who have strong opposition to what is going on in the world
today. Therefore, I have to decide whether to just talk Talmudic, or to talk
directly to those who demand changes in the world, or else, and they are
growing stronger every day. Do I have a right to talk about them when I surely
am no expert in their grievances and ambitions?
My friend actually
gave me an idea that might just work for me. He told me that in the many masses
of people who are upset with our systems for various reasons, there are among
them two basic responses. One holds that our masses do not have reliable
attachment to spirituality and are therefore hungry for somebody to help them
with it. Others have other grievances and are looking for some hideous
solutions to the problems.
One person who succeeded in reaching these people big time began
by talking Talmud to them and succeeding with prominent leaders! On the one
hand they are seeking something new, but on the other hand, they know that
spirituality is crucial for them and for the world, and they have no clue how
to achieve it, after they have basically dropped faith in previous religions.
But when presented with Jewish Talmudic teachings they often feel that this is
closer to the truth and they want to hear more!
As my friends tells me frequently, the world is splitting into
various groups who are angry at much of what is happening socially and
spiritually. But these angry people have questions and no answers. They
desperately want to re-connect to beliefs that can point to a spirituality that
has a history and a future. There is no solution for these people other than to
learn a bit of Jewish Orthodox beliefs. Here is why.
The Jewish Orthodox community is growing by leaps and bounds
while other religions are disappearing. We have a solid source going back
thousands of years of a G-d who is loving and caring and who wants to listen to
the feelings of humans. We have a bible written by Moses with the help of G-d
and we have thousands of years of great rabbis teaching and explaining so that
people realize that they are involved with truth.
If anybody wants to talk to me about these matters, write to me
at eidensohnd@gmail.com or ask for my phone number, which could take a bit
longer.
