Benjamin Blech

“Good" and "bad" describe the subjective feelings we have toward semothing; the words "true" or "false" deal with reality, regardless of our feelings.”

“Until the Tower of Babel, humans had only planted and sown, reaped and harvested. Farmers are dependent upon nature and, in their dependency, turn to God. Builders, however, seek to control nature. And in their sense of might they tend to overplay their own role and at times to believe that they are no longer dependent on God. “Come let us build a city and a tower with its top in Heaven” (Genesis 11:4). The Talmud adds (Sanhedrin 109a): “We will build a tower that reaches so high that we will be able to come to the very throne of the Almighty and topple him.” The metaphor is profound. The scientist says if we build high enough, if we indicate our ultimate strength, if we reach the skies and soar to the very Heavens, then we, too, with Yuri Gagarin, the first Russian cosmonaut, can say with unbounded egoism, “There is no God, because I was in the Heavens and I did not see Him.” “Let us make us a name” was the cry of the first technological wizards. “We will dethrone God.” And so they built the Tower of Babel.”

“To allow a human being to drown because you are busy telling God how much you care about Him and His world is the ultimate hypocrisy.”

“The Jew cannot accept the New Testament since it is the words of one man intended to undo what the Creator had shared with all of His children.”

“the man who knew that his people were in the "fire of Egypt," which would some day be paralleled by the crematoria of contemporary history – to that Moses was shown, in the first communication from God, that “the bush may burn, but it will not be consumed.” The Jewish people may be in flames, but contrary to the laws of nature, they will never be destroyed. Am Yisrael Hai, “the Jewish people will live forever,” was the metaphorical message that served as the true purpose of the miracle of the burning bush. The burning bush was more than a miracle; it was a message.”

“Here is a fundamental distinction between Judaism and Christianity. The Gospels record the miracles performed by Jesus at length, and miracles play an extremely significant role in Christianity. The wondrous acts of Jesus, such as reviving the dead, healing the incurable, and transforming water into wine, are meant to serve as cogent evidence not only of his divine authorization but of his divinity. The virgin birth and the resurrection are not only major events but also fundamental articles of belief; this, despite the specific warning in Deuteronomy that "if there arise in your midst a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder" and that sign or wonder is used as a rationale for rejecting any part of the Torah, then the "miracle" must clearly be rejected. In Christianity, miracles were sufficient to warrant the replacement of the Old Testament by the New, the message of Moses to be superseded by that of Jesus.”

“What we deem insignificant may bear light to the whole world.”