EE & R, 2_6: Knowing Hashem: Faith before Knowledge, Engagement before Marriage

(For the previous installment of "Exodus, Exile and Redemption," click here. For ToC, click here.)

If you aspire to walk the prophetic Path and attain knowledge of Hashem, you must first develop faith. This is because the sublime knowledge of the very nature of the universe is difficult to grasp and not easily comprehended. Only if you possess a strong sense of what it is you seek to find, along with the conviction necessary to persistently pursue divine knowledge even when it seems elusive, can you expect to reach the illumination you seek. A steadfast belief in the goodness of the universe opens pathways to understanding its intricacies, while unsteady faith will likely never transform into knowledge. One must first believe firmly in the goodness of Hashem’s universe in order to ever acquire true knowledge of it.¹

This point is made in many passages in Tanach. The first passage is the narrative of Hashem’s introduction to Avraham, where Hashem said to him: “I am Hashem” (which was an offer for Avraham to know Hashem, as discussed in a previous chapter). The verse immediately prior to this introduction teaches how Avraham merited this offer:

And he believed in Hashem. (Genesis 15:6)

Belief preceded knowledge: Once Avraham had faith in Hashem, a path to knowledge of Hashem opened before him. The point is made again in this verse that recounts the same event:

You found his heart faithful before You, and You made the covenant with him. (Nehemiah 9:8)

Faith must come first.

Jeremiah, too, alludes to the spiritual progression from faith to knowledge:

It is not by faithfulness that they prevail in the land. They have gone from evil to evil, and Me they have not known, declares Hashem. (Jeremiah 9:2)

Those who lack faithfulness will never attain knowledge.

In this final passage, the prophet Hosea compares the stage of faith that precedes knowledge to the period of engagement that typically precedes marriage:

And I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you shall know Hashem. (Hosea 2:22)

On that day, the prophet says, “You will call me ‘my husband,’ and no longer call me ‘my master’” (ibid, 18), upon which verse Rabbi Yochanan commented: “Like a bride in her father-in-law’s house (i.e., married), and not like a bride in her father’s house (i.e., betrothed).”² Our relationship with Hashem will progress from engagement to marriage.

This analogy to marriage and engagement is instructive for understanding why faith is a prerequisite to knowledge, and for learning how to progress through this stage of the course that culminates in knowing Hashem.

Marriage is typically preceded by engagement, which is essentially a commitment affirming the goodness of the marriage partner. If a person were to attempt marrying without prior commitment, opting instead to keep an open mind about his or her spouse’s merit, the marriage would likely fail. Something unforeseen will probably arise, e.g., a negative character trait or an annoying habit, and without a prior conviction to see things in a positive light, a person is liable to judge his or her spouse negatively.

Likewise, the universe: Its goodness is revealed to the person committed to that notion and remains hidden from the one who doubts it. That is why faith is so important. The person of fickle faith won’t persist in his mission to find knowledge in the face of the inevitable challenges posed by life’s vicissitudes. Therefore, on the Path to familiarity with Hashem, faith paves the way for true knowledge.

(For the next installment of "Exodus, Exile and Redemption," click here.)

1. What would bring someone to have faith in something he doesn’t yet know? The earlier stages of the course of attaining knowledge, which are good character and the baring of the soul before Hashem. These stages will be explored in the next several chapters.

2. Talmud, Pesachim 87a.