The Torah of Rochelle Zell
Developing My Faith in God Maital Meisler, RZJHS 2020 Faith is a complicated subject. As de- life, I considered myself a person of faith, but I always felt vout Jews, we are all expected to have guilty for holding that title because I did not believe that faith. Yet, how can we “have faith” G-d wrote the Torah or split the Red Sea. when most of us cannot even define it. Rabbi Louis JaI would always think to myself, cobs asserts that in order to “Am I lying to myself by callI worried that faith would be have faith we must undergo ing myself a person of faith if susceptible to the Jenga effect; I do not believe in core aspects an intellectually honest exploration of tradition, belief, and if I removed one aspect of an of the Jewish narrative?” Howtrust in G-d, while simultaneinternationally accepted concept, ever, I came to the realization ously struggling with the ebb my entire tower of beliefs would that, as Louis Jacobs says, “To and flow of uncertainties. It is invoke faith in order to reject fall down. But the base of faith is highly circumstantial evidence this uncertainty, however, that stronger than this. always catches me. How am I comes perilously close to besupposed to put all of my trust lief in a God who plants false into uncertainty. clues” (“Faith”). Since I lost my simplistic, childhood ignorance, I have Revelation does not necessarily mean that G-d wrote struggled with my faith in G-d. I was told by my middle every word of the Torah and handed it to Moses on school teachers that I needed to have faith in G-d, faith Har Sinai. Rather, I interpret this narrative about B’nei that G-d will protect my family, Yisrael’s standing at the foot of faith that G-d will heal those in the mountain to be a represenBy changing my perspective on the tation of our ancient commitneed of healing, faith that G-d Red Sea from a historical event to ment to religion and trust in a will lead me to make the right a metaphor, I allowed myself to higher power. The Torah is not decisions in life. But I still had no idea what faith meant. strengthen my faith in G-d. Not a history book. Without aconly is it acceptable to consider counting for new evidence in a I knew faith was supposed to myself a person of faith without belief, I would be standing for be something greater than me, a G-d that has a false view of believing in the historical accuracy of Art by Megan Smith, but I did not feel so compelled the world. the events described in the Torah, I am Class of 2022 by the concept. I began to push encouraging intellectual honesty, further away from my faith as I worried that faith would be middle school continued. I reand therefore escaping a world of susceptible to the Jenga effect; if member my seventh grade TalI removed one aspect of an infalse clues, by doing so. mud teacher explained to our ternationally accepted concept, grade that none of the Torah is my entire tower of beliefs would real. Every event is a metaphor fall down. But the base of faith is for a life lesson, written by ancient Rabbis. When those stronger than this. For example, while I don’t believe G-d words came out of my trusted teachers mouth, I deter- actually split the Red Sea, I reinterpreted the narrative as mined that there is no point in even trying to have faith a representation of G-d’s power. anymore. The basis of Judaism is all a lie. By changing my perspective on the Red Sea from a hisHowever, as high school began, I started to realign myself torical event to a metaphor, I allowed myself to strengthwith my faith. Unlike middle school, I wanted to have en my faith in G-d. faith; this made my high school struggle with faith vastly different than my previous struggle. At this point in See Meisler, next page 26
