Popular acceptance of prophets, Part 1

Hi,

"Every prophet selected by the Creator for His mission was given such an acts as a sign, whether controlling natural entities, like preventing fire from burning or preventing a river from flowing… And when such a sign was given to him, people who saw it were compelled to sanctify him and to believe that which he told them, for sages did not present signs such that they would be credible to people."

(Rabbi Saadia Gaon, Ha'Emunot v'haDeiot 3:5)

"Anyone the prophet encounters, when he meets him and hears his Divine words, has spirituality renewed with him, and he is separated from his own dross with a purity of spirit and a thirsting for those [spiritual] levels, and a cleaving to humility and purity."

(Rabbi Yehudah haLevi, Kuzari 1:103)

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

"Seeing Gd", Part 1

Hi,

"Moshe Rabbeinu's statement has already confused some people, as he asked of his Gd, 'Show me Your glory.' And the response added confusion, saying, 'You cannot see My face, for no man may see Me and live.' And people's confusion doubled with His statement, 'You will see My back, and My face will not be seen.' 

"I will say, to reveal and explain this, that Gd created a light and displayed it to prophets, as evidence that the words of prophecy they hear are from the Creator. When a prophet sees it, he says, 'I saw the glory of Gd.'"

(Rabbi Saadia Gaon, Emunot v'Deiot 2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Death in the time of Mashiach

Hi,

"People ask: Will we die after this? I respond that people will not die; they will be taken from the period of Mashiach to the pleasantness of Olam HaBa. Regarding this the Sages taught, “Those deceased people whom Gd will revive will not return to their dust.”"

(Rav Saadia Gaon, Emunot v'Deiot 7)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Rational and Non-Rational Commandments

Hi,

"The first of two types of commandments are… matters regarding which Gd has implanted in our minds an understanding of their benefit, or of the benefit in avoiding them... The second type are matters regarding which the mind [sechel] does not declare that they are objectively good or bad. The Creator added instructions and prohibitions in these [latter] matters in order to increase our reward and success."

(Rav Saadia Gaon, ha'Emunot v'haDeiot 3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Humans v Angels II

Hi,

"Gd informed us via His prophets that He gave Man an advantage over His other creations, as Bereishit 1:28 says, 'And they will reign over the fish of the seas, etc.'… He gave us the ability to serve Him, and He put [the world] before us and gave us control.

"He placed freedom of choice in our domain and instructed us to choose the good, as Devarim 30:19 says, 'See, I have placed before you today life and good, etc.'… And if one will think that some non-human entity is more significant, let him show us the advantages, or some of them, which another creature possesses, for one could not find such a thing."

(Rav Saadia Gaon, haEmunot v'haDeiot 4)

חג אורים שמח,
Mordechai

Gilgul (Reincarnation): A Skeptic's View

Hi,

"I say that I have found some people among those who are called Jews who believe in Gilgul, and they call it 'transmigration.' In their minds, this means that Reuven’s spirit enters Shimon, and then Levi, and then Yehudah. Some, perhaps mnost of them, believe that a human soul may enter an animal, or an animal enter a human. The types of foolishness and confusion are legion."

(R' Saadia Gaon, Emunot v'Deiot 6:8)

Have a great day,
Mordechai