Dr. Gershon Rosenstein, prominent Russian scientist, a
specialist in the chemistry of the brain, discovered religion as an adult and
prevailed on the Soviet government to let him to go to Israel, where he could
practice his newly claimed faith.
Shortly after his arrival there, he was interviewed about how a scientist
could suddenly accept religion. He said
among other things, “I remember the first time I tried to pray, to probe the
depths of my heart and reach God. My
scientific mind said to me, ‘You fool, what are you doing? To whom are you speaking?’ To this day, I have a great fear about what
would have happened to me if I had not overcome my intellectual hesitations at
that moment.”
What would have happened to him? He would have spent the rest of his life
stuck in the illusion of self-sufficiency, believing that his own strength and
intelligence were all he had, and all he would need, to make it through
life.
In a Hasidic story, the disciple
comes to the rabbi and says, “I have a terrible problem. I can’t pray.
I try to say the words but nothing happens. I don’t feel anything. What should I do?”
The rabbi answers, “Pray
for the ability to pray."
-Harold Kushner
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