[Avodah] Humanoids, Who Cares? What Difference Does it Make?

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Sep 27, 2011 at 10:00:54AM -0500, Lisa Liel wrote:
> On 9/27/2011 7:48 AM, Micha Berger wrote:
>> I see RMR as asking what's really a compound question:

>> 1- Is the mode by which HQBH created Adam relevant to our lives? Does
>> it even qualify as aggadita, or is it a historical curiosity?

> Whose lives?

Let me rephase, then: Does it hold relevency beyond that which we give it?
As I further asked:

>> 2- Okay, people are curious, and so they'll explore the question. But
>> if the problem is thorny and might lead people religiously astray, is
>> the right approach to find an answer they may not find compelling, or
>> is it to point out that the question is (depending on the answer to #1)
>> either on the periphery to the religion or outside it altogether?

If the means of the creation of man has no inherent religious
significance, then we can choose to realize that fact rather than allow
the chase of what may be a will o the wisp shake our faith.

My own inclination is Kantian (or perhaps Machian), and as per REED,
that we only know the world-as-perceived, not the thing-in-itself. I
don't think that much of what we consider reality had meaning until
after the eitz hadaas. I needn't repeat the whole shpiel again. I'm
just pointing out that from where I sit, the question we're exploring
really doesn't have an answer we can fully fit in our heads. And as we
won't ever get the full answer, we can argue whether elephants are like
walls, snakes, spears trees fans or ropes, and none of us are entirely
right -- but also none entirely wrong. In some way we can't fathom,
both conflicting answers are true. See REED's take on the age of the
universe lefi haRamban, MmE 2, pg 152, amd the Gra (on the next page).

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             It's nice to be smart,
micha at aishdas.org        but it's smarter to be nice.
http://www.aishdas.org                   - R' Lazer Brody
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