A Web Site to strengthen Belief in Torah

[edu]

For the sake of a relative, whose belief in Torah needs improvement, I am looking for web site that strengthens the belief that Torah was given to Israel at Sinai at that we retain that Torah today.
So far I have found this site http://1820.co.il/?cmd=aboutus
This is how they describe the mission of their site

B"h
The main goal of this web site, is to provide scientific and logical proof of God's existence.
From the wonders of nature and the joy that comes with family purity, to the hidden Bible Codes and calculations,we hope to assist people to feel "at home" with Judaism.
This web site was founded as a result of an amazing meeting which took place between Mr. Ronnie Maman and Rabbi Shmuel Yaniv (Chief Rabbi of Givat Shmuel), in which was revealed the hidden secret of The Mystical Number  "1820", as discovered by the late Kabalistic Rabbi, Harav Pinchas Zalman Horowitz, zt"l.
A number of rabbis have devoted time and energy to delve deeper into the secrets behind this number, and hundreds of discoveries have been posted in volumes 2 & 9 of Rabbi Shmuel Yaniv's "Torah Codes" series.
The discoveries clearly show a hidden pattern throughout the entire Torah, thus strengthening the fact that the Torah could not have been created by man.
We invite to take part in our website http://www.1820.co.il/by adding new ideas, thoughts, calculations and/or anything else which can assist people in coming closer to our Heritage and to God.
May Hashem protect us from mistake and sin.
"Achdut Yisrael Ha-Olamit"
The learning is in memory and in merit ofHarav Pinchas Zalman Halevi Horowitz, ZT"L.
May he be a merit to us all.

If someone has a better or an additional site, please let me know

[muman613]

Very interesting... If you think it will bring someone back into believing in Hashem and his Torah then it may be useful. But my own feeling is that anyone who wants to rationally prove Hashem and the Torah will not be able to. Gematria and Kabbalah are useful when emmunah is strong. The problem with numerical proofs for Hashem is that if someone would one day prove these calculations false then a persons emmunah will be challenged.

[edu]

ילקוט שמעוני תהלים פרק ג [רמז תרכה] 0

א"ר אלעזר לא נתנו פרשיות התורה על הסדר, שאלמלי נתנו על הסדר כל מי שהיה קורא בהן, היה יכול להחיות מתים ולעשות מופתים, לפיכך נתעלם סדורה של תורה, והוא גלוי לפני הקב"ה שנאמר ומי כמוני יקרא.
To translate Yalkut Shimoni on Tehillim
Rabbi Elazar said that the sections of the Torah were not given upon the proper order, for if they were given upon the proper order, all that would read from them could revive the dead and perform wonders. Therefore the proper order of the Torah was hidden but it is revealed before the Holy One Blessed be He for it is stated, and who that is like me shall read. or alternatively translated who that is like me that can read.
Based on this and other sources I do believe that hidden within the Torah are fantastic wonders, that can be used theoretically to understand or even manipulate the world.
What is true though is there a danger, that irresponsible people, will/would wrongly interpret the hidden hints of the Torah and then bring disgrace, upon the whole idea that the Torah contains hidden wonders.
I for example am unhappy for those who use Bible codes to prove the Torah, when they use the Yitzchak Rabin  [that evil man, who boasted about his destruction of Jewish soldiers on the Altalena and caused Israel to sin] Amir code, because I believe the interpretations being used are not so accurate to describe the true reality.
Also if you use very strict in what is a legitimate code, you won't find statistically that similar codes appear in any other books, but if you have liberal standards of what is a legitimate code you will find them in other books and then the simple guy might be convinced that all codes are not reliable, when the truth is that only the liberal standards are not so reliable.

[muman613]

I have grown to have more belief that there are Torah codes in the Chumash. I was skeptical for a while but it only stands to reason, as you point out, that the arrangement of the words, the particular spellings, the large letters, and other scribal masoretic text all have meaning. There is the belief that there is not a single extra word or letter in the Torah, that each letter represents a Jewish Neshama. And the fact that events are not in chronological order is a clue. Those who want to denigrate the Torah will say that this is evidence of an edited manuscript by various authors in history. But the sages have an explanation for this, and it makes more sense than believing it is not from Hashem.

Torah codes are unreliable because they cannot be used to tell the future. Only after events happen can we look for them in the codes. I don't think that Torah codes should be used to prove Hashem is the Ribbono Shel Olam as I stated in my first posting.

My belief is that in order to come closer to Hashem, for a Jew who has turned away to return, is that a person must go through personal suffering. That is what happened in my particular case. I was brought up with a minimal Jewish education, Bar Mitzvahed in Conservative synagogue, and then dropped all Jewish activity for over 20 years. Only seven years ago, after several personal tragedies, did I start to observe Jewish mitzvot after finding a good Orthodox minyan in my town. In my case it was the tragedies which made me realize that as smart as I was, as witty as I was, and as good as I was, I was not in control of my life.

It is that feeling that you must let go in order to move forward. That no matter what happened to me it was all because of Hashem, good and bad, and only he could protect me from any danger. And just like Hashem promises us in the Torah, once you open a small opening in your heart for Hashem he will widen it and fill it with his presence. Everything did turn around for the best seven years ago. And even if it didn't, I would still be satisfied with my accomplishment...

So that is my story... I wish I could give better advice than suffering in order to strengthen belief in Torah... But that is my experience..

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

www.hashkafacircle.com

That site has a very different approach from the one's you mentioned, and so it presents an alternative option.   The particular Rabbi who does the shiurim, Rabbi Triebitz, feels that one cannot logically "prove" Judaism or prove G-d exists through logical explanation or philosophical arguments (similar to the approach I have seen from Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg ZT"L).  

He does feel, though, that a way to strengthen Jewish belief is to delve deeply into complicated matters of hashkafa and examine the major philosophical issues within Judaism (become exposed to the idea that multiple viewpoints are acceptable within the tradition and to explore the different viewpoints) and also to appreciate chazal and Judaism by exploring some of the historical development of Judaism.   I find personally that his approach glorifies the genius of the sages, and I also find that grappling with the major intellectual subjects in Judaism that have been discussed and argued for centuries gets me "hooked" so to speak, where I feel proudly part of that tradition and that I need to be part of that tradition.

[Kahane-Was-Right BT]

Edu, your critique of codes is similar to the critique I have heard from several rabbis.   I did not meet even ONE rabbi in my yeshiva that actually promoted or believed in the idea of 'the Torah codes.'     

I read that in one study they used the codes in moby dick and found similar things.    And yet, the original proponents of the codes still stick to their story and insist it's accurate and unique to Torah, so I really don't understand how that can be.      But if a person is "convinced" to adhere to Torah by a presentation of "Torah codes"  (I think Aish used to do this, not sure if they still do), but then they see the report of this study and similarly the vast amount of mathematicians who dispute the technique (even some who originally were impressed by it), they will feel deceived and used and betrayed, and they will cheapen their view of the Torah and rabbis and they will quit it all chas veshalom.

[muman613]

A very interesting 'coincidence' occurred this morning. I get a lot of emails from mail lists on various Torah topics from Rabbis at various organizations {Torah.org, Aish.com, TorahWeb, etc.}... This morning I read one which confirms something I posted last night about what brought me to strong emmunah in Hashem and Torah.

/* change P*a*r*a*s*h*a to p*a*r*s*h*a to get around pesky filter */

http://www.torahweb.org/torah/2010/Parasha/rsob_vaera.html

The Eternal Morasha
by Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky

There are two gifts that were bestowed upon the Jewish People that are referred to as a morasha. The first reference appears in Parashat Vaera (Shemos 6:8), where Hashem promises to bring the Jewish People into Eretz Yisroel and present it to them as a morasha. Moshe Rabbeinu, in his final words in Parashat Vezos Habracha (Devarim 33:4), provides the second reference when he describes the Torah as the morasha of the Jewish People. What is the significance of this term as it relates to these precious possessions of our people?

Morasha is related to the word yerusha - an inheritance - and yet it has a very different meaning. A yerusha belongs entirely to the recipient to do with it as he chooses. In contrast, a morasha is not an inheritance but rather a heritage. It must be preserved to be transmitted to subsequent generations. We are guardians over the precious gifts of Torah and Eretz Yisroel, making sure to hand them over to our children as we received them from our parents.

There is another important distinction between yerusha and morasha. A yerusha is received without any effort. However, one must earn the privilege of being part of a morasha. For this reason Chazal teach us (Berachos 5a) that Torah and Eretz Yisroel are acquired through suffering. Furthermore, a yerusha is only temporary. If the recipient consumes it during his lifetime, there is nothing left for the next generation. A morasha, by contrast, is eternal. Torah and Eretz Yisroel remain part of the heritage of the Jewish People for eternity.
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[edu]

Just interested to ask you Muman613.
If you think that waiting until suffering wakes up a person, is the approach we should have in outreach, how do you explain that many people including Jews, experience suffering, which leads them  to want to adopt another religion or at least be anti-G-d.
How can you show that your conclusion from your suffering is more truthful than their conclusion?

[muman613]

Just interested to ask you Muman613.
If you think that waiting until suffering wakes up a person, is the approach we should have in outreach, how do you explain that many people including Jews, experience suffering, which leads them  to want to adopt another religion or at least be anti-G-d.
How can you show that your conclusion from your suffering is more truthful than their conclusion?

Yes edu, after I posted this I realized that many Jews go through suffering and end up moving farther away from Yiddishkite. I really don't know what to say other than my teshuva was due to my upbringing, my interest in the super-natural, and the experiences of my teen-young adult years.

I don't know if there is a single strategy which can bring all Jews back. Each one must consider his or her own personal story in order to come to the conclusion that Hashem is the only way to find comfort in this difficult world.

[edu]

Can anyone recommend a movie on the internet, where a person who was clinically dead described his life after death experiences?

[muman613]

Can anyone recommend a movie on the internet, where a person who was clinically dead described his life after death experiences?

I have heard of such a video... I did not see it but I believe Rabbi Mizrachi had referred to it in a shuir I listened to...

Let me see if I can find the video for you..

[muman613]

I just found this site which is related to Rabbi Mizrachi..


http://www.puretorah.com/life-after-life.php

Here is a link to the video on TorahAnyTime:

http://www.torahanytime.com/rav_mizrachi_life_after_life_6-19-07.html

In this video a man who claims to have been clinically dead explains his experience:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7332930594849349840#