How Can I Pray When I Have Doubts About God? - Jeremy Gimpel: The Land of Israel Fellowship

this red heifer is recognized as the ultimate archetypical irrational law it's the name of the parsha and in hebrew we call that type of law a law that's beyond logic and if you look at the word in hebrew hok can we put it up on the screen hok means law a law beyond reason is a rational law but the word comes from the word engraved it's somehow engraved and keep that in the back of your mind a hulk is a ritual or a command that wouldn't have been discovered by the intellect or rational of men there's a torah command not to mix wool and linen in clothing that's not a logical deduction it's a hook honor your mother and father do not steal do not murder that's amish a rational society should be able to come up with laws that will benefit the society at large even if the society can't arrive at the moral code and they haven't encountered the bible yet the command to not steal it should be just a rational logical command that they should keep a hook it's like interrelated with the word engraved it's beyond logic and it's something else the ritual is trying to engrave something into our heart into our soul you're supposed to experience something that's affecting you that has nothing to do with logic and here we're taught something so deep in this week's parsha that you know i i received a prayer a question from a friend and he says i just he doesn't like know if he believes in god and it just seems unreasonable to pray that he if he doesn't really believe it's like how can you pray if you're sure not sure you really believe it's just what do i do with that how do i pray if i'm just struggling and there's a lot there and you know and it's a totally legitimate question and it's reasonable and i think that the question is relevant for a lot of young adults curious teenagers seeking out questions and seeking out their ways in the world and it may be relevant for all of us at different points in our lives or different points in our days it's like what do we do with that when we're just like we're just in a place of like confusion and so here we have an amazing key to enter into the temple and when we've encountered death we've encountered some confusion we're estranged with existence itself the first thing you need is a red heifer huh why is that the key to enter into god's presence that's what the temple represents you first need this sacrifice the whole process is beyond logic it's beyond rationale you take cedarwood hyssop and crimson and you put them together and ashes are mixed with living water nothing here is rational it's by passing the logical and aiming toward the instinctual um it's a generation of an experience not a hypothesis if someone is stuck and they say i just don't believe in god how can i even think about praying here the code is remarkable the path to entering into the temple is not rational to enter into the presence of god is not a matter of logic or proofs or smarts prayer is an experience that's engraved in our life and why pray if you don't believe i think the torah teaches us that through proper prayer in this irrational way you can generate from within yourself an experience of god an encounter that's engraved in our life the knowledge of god or the experience of god is something you gain from the inside it's not something you gain from an intellectual exercise it's not something that you need to prove or logical deductions or something that's gained through the intellect because someone's smarter than you can come around and then knock that down and you're like okay well i hope someone's smarter than that guy that was smarter comes around and knocks him down you're just sort of left in circles the torah is teaching us that our knowledge of god is innate it's within us it's self-evident if a person reaches out beyond their understanding if they face infinity and seek a relationship with the creator of all being that approach that step toward god that's speaking to god that's beyond logic will arouse within them a feeling of god in their life even if they don't understanding or even fully believing the sages of israel teaches that the natural state of human beings when you take what all the fear and the distractions and the noise and you're just existing when you peel all the layers away the song of your soul is a song of thanks gratitude emerges thanks that's the tradition even across the east even buddhists acknowledge i mean they don't acknowledge god as we do but they say the proper posture in the world is from a place of gratitude thank you it's like we have a natural tendency to say thank you it's like who exactly is the you in that thank you it's like who are we directing that thanks to abraham joshua heschel in so many of his writing talks about an encounter with god as ineffable it's like it's nothing you can believe in because whatever you experience is beyond words it's like you can't argue with an experience that's ineffable it's like we can't even speak about it once you put god into words it might sound childish or misrepresented so people don't believe in something that's childish or inauthentic but a moment of immune is something that can't be transmitted into words it's inevitable it's not logical there's nothing to refute because the experience is it's engraved on my soul and in my life experience but like the red heifer the first step is an act that's beyond rational to speak into infinity and beyond and expect an answer is not logical but in that action that bypasses the logic something happens that we can enter into the presence of god so what i would say is take some time go outside into nature and just start expressing gratitude thank you thank you thank you thank you for my life thank you for my health thank you for my family you don't even know who the you is and thank you you're just being natural and expressing that natural innate gratitude and the way you see yourself as an agnostic or as an atheist or as a skeptic just keep on saying thank you and perhaps that part of you might burn away keep on thinking and expressing gratitude perhaps the king will open the gates for you to enter and have time in his presence security and prayer that's really the way and without leadership today all of us united that's our path purity and prayer and that's the life that's guiding us in these dark times hi my name is jeremy gimpel a lot of people want to know exactly what the land of israel fellowship is and what members receive when they join so let me explain the land of israel fellowship is a global online community with hundreds of members from over 40 countries around the world their live sessions and gatherings that create a direct personal connection to the land of israel and the lovers of israel from around the world there's no online gathering that i'm familiar with that is connected to the land of israel that unites and brings together such a diverse group of people backgrounds and nationalities it feels like prophecy it feels like something we need in these times a window in to a better future on the horizon there's a divine unity we experience every week in our fellowship broadcast we heard these amazing teachings from an authentic hebrew and israel perspective and our jaws drop not only because they ring so true and are such a blessing because they are so consistent with what we believe these sunday morning gatherings are nothing less than a house of prayer for all nations cindy lo the united states of america the land of israel fellowship is an amazing resource for learning torah the bible and the prophets unfiltered and uncensored directly from the land of israel we've been studying torah for almost 20 years but we feel we are stepping into it more than ever and seeing new depth and dimensions to scripture we're encouraged more and more every week calendar dell usa members receive access to all the archives in the library of teachings on every portion of the torah the biblical feast hebrew prayer prophecy sessions on the ancient wisdom of the prophets of israel to help us navigate through these turbulent times these sessions are so rich i re-listen to each and truly each session is the best one yet tehela is a tremendous asset and the teachings ari shares are so rich i've read the bible so many times and i've known the things you are teaching the hebrew understanding is what christians have missed for centuries sister georgian from germany the land of israel fellowship is truly unique because it's built upon personal relationships with the teachers of the fellowship myself rabbi arya bramwitz in tahila gimpel every member has direct access to the staff 24 6 via email or direct whatsapp to ask questions to comment to connect directly to all the teachers and over the last years we've connected to some of the most beautiful people on the planet so if you want to find out more and join the land of israel fellowship you can click on the link below and if you want to try it out for just a month you can email fellowship at the land of israel.com and we'll hook you up i hope to see you shalom from the mountains of judea