Rabbi's Blog

I just concluded teaching my five part Rabbi's Seminar for 2025: "Jews in Search of God in Modern Times." It followed on a previous seminar about "Jews in Search of God from the Bible through the Kabbalah."  

This time, we looked at how Jewish spiritual leaders responded to the challenges of the modern world with new ideas of God that fall into three major categories: Rationalism, Empiricism, or (Religious) Existentialism. For the Rationalist, "God makes sense." That believer may seek a definition of God that can be argued philosophically, is non-supernatural, or is congruent with modern science. The Empiricist comes to their belief through experience, through awe and wonder at life and creation. They may be a mystic, and would define their belief as, "I sense God."

Finally, the Religious Existentialist might say, "my life makes sense because of God." They don't necessarily need to prove God rationally or have a mystical experience, but will encounter God through deeds and relationships that bring meaning to their lives.

We devoted one class to each of these approaches, as well as an introductory class encouraging us to find new ways to think and talk about God, and a final class about Theodicy, how we understand the meaning of suffering and unfairness while still maintaining faith. That said, many modern Jews are not traditional believers, or are willing to remain agnostic while still finding great meaning in Jewish community, history, activism and values. And some of them still enjoy learning these ideas, because faith is an ongoing journey.

To view the entire series, go to our YouTube channel, which also has other interesting classes and programs that you might have missed:

Link to Rabbi's Seminar 2025

Enjoy, and I hope to see you at a future seminar with a new topic.