I would like to present anew, from the ground up, this most important issue in our relationship to Hashem
Along with the many meaningful responses to the article, there was a minority who expressed cynicism or totally mischaracterized what I wrote. But listening to these voices can be a rewarding learning experience. A good mechanech tries to understand what lies behind a student’s frustration. Even the class clown who is disruptive gives us a window into what is confusing him.
Many people, including major rabbanim, have encouraged me to continue the conversation. As a mashgiach in an influential yeshivah told me, “Rav Yonah, most intelligent readers appreciate a thought-provoking treatment of the foundations of Yiddishkeit that forces them to grapple with their own position. Trust them that they will hear you through the noise.”
With this in mind, I would like to present anew, from the ground up, this most important issue in our relationship to Hashem.
The entire hashkafah I have been espousing actually comes from an explicit pasuk. “For as a man chastises his child, Hashem, your G-d, chastises you” (Devarim 8:5). Parents can relate to this pasuk on a deep level. We never approach our children from anything but a foundation of love. Our discipline is meant to flow from that foundation.
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