Vladimir Tsesis - Why We Remain Jews: The Path to Faith

Why We

Remain

Jews

The Path to Faith

VLADIMIR TSESIS, MD

Academy Chicago Publishers

Published in 2013 by

Academy Chicago Publishers

363 West Erie Street

Chicago, Illinois 60654

2013 by Vladimir Tsesis

First edition.

Printed and bound in the U.S.A.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Tsesis, Vladimir.

Why we remain Jews : the path to faith /

Vladimir Tsesis. First edition.

volumes cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-89733-732-8 ISBN 978-0-89733-717-5

1. JewsIdentity. 2. Faith. 3. Judaism and science.

4. Tsesis, Vladimir. I. Title.

DS143.T77 2013

305.8924077311092dc23

[B]

2013015968

To my grandchildren, Ruthie and Ariel, who are my future.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all I am most grateful to my wonderful wife, Marina, who is always my best friend, adviser, and inspiration. She and my son Alexander were my main source of encouragement for writing this book.

I am deeply indebted to Laura De Santo Wagner, who did an excellent job as an editor of the manuscript before it was submitted to the publisher.

By a stroke of destiny I met Eric Miller at the right place and the right time. He was the first to read the entire manuscript when it was ready to be sent to prospective publishers and deemed it worthy to be presented to a wide audience. I am very grateful to him for his friendliness and unfailing optimism.

My deep gratitude to the wonderful folks at Academy Chicago Publishers; Zhanna Vaynberg and Genevieve Salazar, who both helped me form my manuscript into a finished work, and co-founders Jordan and Anita Miller, who decided to take a chance with me.

My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.

Daniel Pearl, 2002. Last words before he was murdered by militants in Pakistan

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Albert Einstein

The unexamined life is not worth living.

Socrates

INTRODUCTION

The idea of creating this book occurred to me when one of my close friends suggested that I write a story explaining how I came to my belief in God. I gladly accepted the proposal to express my thoughts about the Divine Presence, because, though I was brought up by parents who were skeptical about religion and even Gods existence, the idea of God has never left me since I was a young child.

I started to write a short story, but soon I realized that the concept of faith in God is very broad. It does not exist in abstract reflections but is a result of numerous events, meetings, thoughts, observationseverything that is called life.

Indeed, in order to describe and understand the path an individual has taken to God, it is necessary to tell where he grew up, who his parents were, what important people he encountered during his lifetime...Besides this, there is also the inherent and individually unique evolution of views on the different aspects of existence that serve as a foundation of our encounters with Him who gave us the gift of conscious life.

It took me two years to fulfill my friends request and present this story, in which I share with my reader events, meetings, and ideas that have led me to a firm belief in God.

The title of this book was inspired by a lecture titled, Why We Remain Jews, or Can Jewish Faith Still Speak to Us? by the late political professor, classicist and Jewish thinker Leo Strauss given to a small audience at the Hillel Foundation at the University of Chicago in February 1962.

In my book, I want to give the reader a sense that faith is not a whim of the imagination, caprice of thought, or the opium of the people.

Religion, in my view, is the only option available to us that allows an honest, logical, and appropriate response to the resolution of the innermost secrets of human existence. For me, such a conclusion is basedamong other reasonson the abysmally short life of human beings in comparison with the age of the universe they live in, on the facts of human history, and on the whole human experience that accompanies us during the limited time of our lives.

This book has been written by a Jew, and, naturally, it tells the story of Jewish self-identity and of Judaism. However, it might be of interest to anyone searching for Truth.

I believe in one of the fundamental doctrines of my religion, which is paraphrased in the American Declaration of Independence: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. In other words, following what is written in the Torah, because all men are created in the divine image and likeness, each human being is equally entitled to be respected by other people.

Judaism is the family in which I was born and raised, and it is inseparable from the core of my personality.

Following one of the basic tenets of Judaism, I believe that the righteousnot only Jewish people, but everyone who in life performs virtuous deedscan equally count on the reward of the Almighty after death.

In this book, I tell true stories about my life experiences that have formed my ideas about God and religion.

People generally follow, in varying degrees of balance, both their rational consciousness and the voice of their hearts. To those for whom the voice of the heart is not enough to bring them to faith in God, I tell them, contrary to popular opinion, religion and science are not antagonistic but complementary to each other, each fulfilling the function assigned to it in humanitys perception of the world. Moreover, it is my firm conviction that, when examined without prejudice, religion and science are in perfect harmony. In order to support this view (which may seem inconsistent to some readers) I rely on the objective evidence of the latest achievements of advanced scientific thinking.

The concept of being Jewish has a religious, a cultural, and an ethnic component. Therefore, in this book, these outlooks always go hand in hand.

Another reason I had for writing this book was the desire to share my own experience of taking the first steps and then becoming fully involved in the life of the synagogue and the Jewish community.

I hope that those readers who are attracted by my invitation to continue the glorious religious tradition of their fathers will, like me, find a deep psychological satisfaction in a pure, not politicized, faith in God, in the covenants of His Torah, and in an active involvement in the religious life of His people.

DENYING GOD

Many highly enlightened acquaintances of mine often wonder why Ian educated personbelieve so strongly in God. Before giving an answer to such a question I ask my companions to kindly explain what prevents them from believing in God. Their responses vary widely. Some of them flatly reject religion; others keep a mysterious silence or shrug their shoulders.

I am not at all surprised by the reactions of atheists, who reject Gods existence out of hand and completely. Indeed, we live in a free country where everyone has a right to hold his own views. Much more amazing to me are the responses of those who might be called skeptics. These are the people who wonder why others believe in God, but at the same time never miss an opportunity to hold religious ceremonies: to celebrate the Bnei Mitzvah of their children, weddings, and the births of babies in their families. Moreover, they show even more respect for religious traditions when they go through trying times. During religious ceremonies, such people always demonstrate their sincere respect for worship and the sermons delivered by rabbis.