Reply To: Talking about G-d

Avram:

When I said “I’m still not convinced,” I meant that I’m not convinced that refraining from talking about G-d (and the Torah and the mitzvos) is the right way to for a Jew to behave. I’m not saying that it’s wrong either, merely that I’m still trying to understand.

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“When, however, a non-Orthodox Jew asks me why I keep my fridge light off on Shabbos, simply responding, “because Hashem told me to”, while true, would not actually answer the question. He’d immediately retort, “where in the Torah does it talk about refrigerators??”

You could reply that our faith is based on not only the written Torah, but also on the Oral law that G-d gave to Moses, and that both have been studied, interpreted and elaborated upon by our sages over the centuries and millennia. You could say that you have been taught by Rabbis whom you trust that we’re not permitted to operate lights on Shabbos and that rule is based on the Torah. You could offer to refer the questioner to books or web sites that explain in more detail, if he’s interested.

Or you could simply say that the answer is complicated and that you don’t have time to go into it right now. If that doesn’t satisfy the questioner, so what? That’s his problem.

The above is not intended as advice for you to follow; it’s just a response to your question.

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Feivel:

Thanks for the response. I’ll take some time to think about it.