The Music Recital Award Certificate
A girl came home smiling. She had won the musical recital contest. She was proud. She told her parents. A guest was at her home. He said – “Wow. that’s impressive. Can you also play for me to show me that you really won?”

“No.” She replied. “Why Not?!” the man asked.

“Now that I have my certificate saying I won, I don’t have to prove myself over and over. You want me to play for every skeptic that asks me. I don’t need to! I already proved myself once!”

At times a skeptic of Torah says – “if G-d exists let Him make a miracle in front of me.” The answer: G-d does not need to prove himself to every skeptic. He “proved” Himself already once when he appeared to millions of witnesses – when all the Jews heard Him speak at Mount Sinai.

Finding the Wisdom of G-d in Nature

If one observes nature – one will understand the unimaginable wisdom of G-d. In fact G-d knows the past present and future. We know he knows the past & present – how about the future? See prophesies and codes of the Torah that predict events that were to happen in the future of the Torah’s writing.

So G-d will not change his mind. The Torah that he gave – is the Torah that we observe. It does not change. All future situations are accounted for in the Torah. There is a law for a particular situation – ie, using electricity on Shabbat, Driving a car on Shabbat, etc.

Miracles Don’t Make a Faith
Thus new situations or even miracles or supposed miracles do not phase us. A miracle does not change the Torah. Even if a thousand people did a thousand miracles we do not change our belief in the Torah. Our belief in G-d remains the same. Our Torah law remains the same. Our obligation to observe it remains the same.

Arthur C. Clark, said “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” I add or indistinguishable from miracles. We are not phased from miracles or advanced technology. We are not phased from science that may seem to contradict Torah, for we know that G-d’s truth is ultimate truth.

Some examples – the Torah says in the Talmud (Tractate Berakhaot) the amount of stars in the universe. Science of several decades ago said the numbers of stars were vastly less than the number of stars of Today’s science and the number stated by the Talmud. A person from that era might have beeen in doubt about the veracity of the Torah’s number. But if he waited till today, he would have seen that the numbers of stars estimated by today’s science is approaching the nuber found in the Talmud. The Torah gives the amount of time in a Synodic Month of the Moon. Science has recently come up with the same exact time as the Talmud, known over 3,300 years ago.

Rambam says in his laws of Messiah:

And don’t think that the King Messiah needs to do wonders and signs and create a new reality in the world or resurrect the dead, or similar things. This is not the point (of The Messianic redemptive process). For Rebbe Akiva, the wisest of the Mishnaic sages, was the “weapons bearer” of The King Ben Kuziba (aka Bar Kochba). And he said concerning him (Ben Kuziba), that he was The King Messiah. And all the sages of the generation were in agreement until he was killed due to his sins. Since he was killed they (then) knew that he was not (the Messiah). The sages did not request from him, neither a sign nor a wonder (i.e. miraculous actions). The main thing is that the Torah and its laws and statutes are everlasting forever and ever, and we do not add or subtract from them….

The Jews saw first hand G-d transmitting the Torah directly to them. Millions of witnesses experienced and heard the giving of the Torah by G-d at Sinai.

We do not need any more signs. Even if others make miracles , that is irrelevant to our belief in G-d and the Torah . G-d already “proved” His authenticity and the authenticity of His law – the Torah – when He gave it to the Jews at Sinai.

In G-d’s law, the Torah, He says He will never change His chosen people, for another. he says He will never change His law, the Torah. He will not add to His law, and He will not subtract from it.

The 5 books of Moses – the Written Torah – contain all His laws. He needs no other works as amendments.

The only thing that is needed is another work to explain His laws. This is the Oral Torah, that was given to Moses at Simai. It is now called the Talmud.

Once the Rabbis from the Talmud were discussing a Jewish Law. One rabbi said if the law was according to Him a certain miracle should occur. The other sages dismissed the miracle by saying, we do not decide on laws with miracles. The sage continued providing miracles. Until He said if the law was like him, let a Heavenly voice declare that he was right. And a voice from Heaven said he was right. But the sages said we do not decide based upon a heavenly voice, we decide based upon the principles stated in the Torah. That day G-d laughed and said “My children were victorious.”

Once the Torah was given miracles do not sway us from the principles or the observance of the Laws stated in the Torah.

Logically, it doesn’t make sense rationally that G-d changes His “mind”. He is Omniscient – He knows all the past, present and future.

Thus, since we know G-d changes not His mind, we don’t change ours either.

In the quality revolution companies adopted new programs to improve the quality of world manufacturing and service industries. One such a program is called Continuous Improvement.

Using quality circles and quality tools employees aim to continuously improve production quality and efficiency.

Continuous Improvement is a Torah Concept.

In Torah, Either you are growing or falling. Staying the status quo is equivalent to stagnation.

Keeping to your ideas because you inherited them from your parents is stagnation.

Following the trends is stagnation.

Many hold tight to their ideas because they are popular. Many hold onto ideas because it is convenient. It feels right.

But this is lack of using a precious recource called the brain.

Conforming is a bit of death to one’s individuality. I let go of what I am to be accepted.

Living a life void of Torah is a religion.

It is the religion of conformity. What I feel is good is good, even though it is not particularly good.

Secularism is a religion. It’s the religion of following whatever is comfortable. It leads to falling to the lowest common denominator. What is acceptable to one group and unacceptable by another becomes acceptable to society. What is unacceptable in one year becomes acceptable the next year – until society falls into the abyss of immorality. That is what happened in Sodom. Giving charity became forbidden. Doing Kindness became forbidden. Their moral compass became corrupt. Their morality became ridiculous.

Once Eliezer – the Servant of Avraham Avinu / Abraham our forefather went to Sodom. He brought a man to the Court of Law because – he threw a rock at him. The Judge ordered Eliezer to pay the man who wounded him. He said to Eliezer – “You owe this man money. He performed beneficial bloodletting for you.” Eliezer, appalled at the justice, took a rock and threw it at the judge. He told the Judge “Now you owe me money for bloodletting! Pay the man that you said I owe money.”

The destruction of the People of Sodom was sealed for what they did to a young girl who gave food to a poor person. Doing kindness to strangers was forbidden. They took her – smeared her with honey and hung her up until bees stung her to death. Her cries to G-d caused Sodom’s fate to be sealed.”

Following truth is not religion. It is using one’s mind to do the true.

Thinking out our actions is what G.d wants from us. This is what ultimately makes us free. Free from the shackles of fad and fashion. Free from the shackles of conformity.

Sims Clothing used to have a slogan “Our best customer is an educated consumer”

A Jew’s obligation in Torah is to follow Shulchan Aruch – the Jewish Code of Law. A Gentile is to follow their 7 Noahide Laws from the Torah. This is the beginning of freedom.

This is the meaning of Pirkei Avot :

“The only free person is the one who delves into Torah.”

Why? because most people follow their desires. The Torah teaches us how to overcome our base wants to become a more noble individual. This is true freedom.