The Phoenix Jewish news., 1962-04-27

we must think of our God in terms
of a moral and spiritual power
which motivates our universe not
supernaturally but through a nat
ural power.
He uses an excellent analogy that
fire is necessary in baking a loaf
of bread as an external force from
the outside, but it is the yeast
mixed with the dough itself as a
kind of inner force which causes
the loaf to rise. This is how he UNI
derstandS the concept of God = as
one who is the yeast of our being,
causing the natural forces of our
universe to have meaning and pow
er.
In this sense he asks his readers
to understand that God is also linn
tied by His very nature and that
His limitation is that He must fol-
low certain laws which are His
very being.
God does not change the laws
which are the revelation of His
very spirit. Rabbi Gittelsohn gives
meaning to Albert Einstein's belief,
"God does not play dice" but he
interprets the spirit of God IN
terms of a meaningful and pur-
posetuI universe that has power TO
help man solve his problems.
Rabbi Gittelsohn comes to grips
with practical problems, struggling
to give an answer to the meaning
of human existence. None of us go
through life that we do not come
to a tragic moment when out OF the
depths of our being we cry, 20
God, why did You do this to me?
God, why didn't You listen?" DR..
Gittelsohn makes us realize that
a painless world would be a god
less one.
He shows that pain is process
of teaching, and just as there is no
birth without pain, so there is no
freedom or growth without its
teaching.
Rabbi Gittelsohn quotes a beauti-
full analogy of Chassidic RabDl
who understood the problem OF
pain in life as a great teacher
when he said:
Each person experiences dis
tress in accordance with the stat
ure of soul and his work. There
Is the one who is distressed be-
cause of children, because OF a
neighbOr, a parent. And there is
one of higher degree of excel
Ieuce who is distressed over dis
taut neighbOrs. And there is one
greater than he who is distressed
because of the whole city. And
then there Is one of very noble
stature and he is distressed De
cause of the entire world"
Each of us must learn to conquer
pain by growing bigger than we
are. IL we are concerned with pet
tv things. we become as petty as
the things over which we are con-
cerned. If. however, we find the
power to grow greater than we are
and look upon ourselves as paru-
Gle of a greater world, then we can
understand the place and position
that each of us holds.
We each have our place to play
in life and our contribution to make
to its growth. Our Immortality,
then. is the contribution that we
make to the on-going process OF
evolution. We are all products OF
this evolution and each of us hav-
ing something to give must give it
our all.
Each of us can shorten our
lives by awaEing each morning
with a negative thought. For
none of us can ever show enough
consideration and kindness and
love for those to whom we owe it
with all our hearts.
This does not mean we must re-
prove ourselves but, to the con-
trary, it means that the business of
life itself means going on each day
with some new hope and enthusi-
asm. Life is not lost by sudden
death, but life is lost when we fail
to make it mean the most in each
of the precious moments that are
given to us.
No matter how sad things are,
we can make them better if we
hope to make them so.
What are the ways by which we