[Avodah] More Philosophy, If Anyone's Up to It

[Ira Tick]

I have to first apologize about some things:  My relationship to Torah often
mingles with my love of history and my search for greater philosophical
clarity.  These loves in turn stem from my inner conscience and my personal
relationship to G-d and my people.  I cannot understand Torah in a vacuum,
not academically, not personally.  And I cannot imagine my interests in
history or philosophy stemming only from purely intellectual curiosity.
They come from a desire for personal integrity.  Therefore, many of my posts
in general and my responses to others' will drift into discussions of
history or philosophy or science, when perhaps those discussions do not
belong on the same list as halachic or purely Torah topics, even if those
topics often include discussing the validity of history and science for
understanding or living the Torah.  So if anyone prefers I leave out the
more speculative stuff, let me know and I'll tone it down.

Anyway, here goes...

I posted an email on Areivim asking listmembers if they thought of Torah
obligations as personal, covenantal, or metaphysical and what they felt
about viewing religion and ethics as objective or subjective.  Several
people, including some Areivim moderators, felt that the post was better
suited for Avodah.  I have finally given in, so here it is:

I was just curious, do my fellow listmembers (as individuals, not the group
as a whole) view religious truths as metaphysical realities, personal norms,
covenantal vows?  How do you view the relationship (triangle) between
personal feelings/motivations, religious truths, and the actual goals of
religious life.

What inspires/drives your religious spirit or comittment?  Love of G-d,
religious or metaphysical reverence of Him, awe or appreciation of Divine
might, fear of it, love of family and friends, emotional attachment to
religious ethics, to metaphysical truths, respect for an orderly system of
living?

A related question for this week:  Anyone have any thoughts about the unity
of the soul?  Parallels to the unity of G-d?  How does our view of the soul
and our own assessment of our emotions toward others affect our
understanding of religious statements about people?  Do these push us
towards or away from a metaphysical understanding of religious statements?
Towards or away from a purely emotive understanding of such statements?

I understand I'm asking some heavy questions, but I'm starving to hear what
others have to say about them, even if in pieces at a time over long
periods.

Thanks for reading,

IJT
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