Having a "relationship with God" makes no sense to me.
It feels like something Christians talk about.
I had an overdose of that God relationship talk when I was an evangelical Christian.
I became Jewish to be hyper-rational and pick up shiksas.
Rabbi Aryeh Ben David’s new book, The Godfile: 10 Approaches to Personalizing Prayer, is so good I read it for the second time in a week today.
Here’s a sentence he repeats: "Everything that is true (vertically) is also true like this (horizontally)."
He means that our relationship with God will affect how we treat others.
Is this true?
I’m skeptical.
I don’t deny it.
I believe God made us. I believe God is interested in His creation. I believe He wants us to relate to Him, our maker. I guess that means He wants us to have a relationship with Him.
Eww, I’m not into that language. But the reality the language symbolizes is true.
In general, I think people who relate closely to G-d will treat other people more ethically.
A friend talked to me over Shabbat about his problems and how they were HaShem’s will.
"Do you really believe that?"
"Yes," he said.
I believe there’s meaning in our suffering. I agree with Viktor Frankl that it provides the opportunity for us to reach higher moral values. That we need to find the meaning in our struggles and I guess there’s only ultimate meaning if there is a God who cares.
So however much it rubs me the wrong way emotionally, I have to bow to this God talk.
