When Giovanni Pico della Mirandola was twenty-four‚ in the year 1487‚ he decided to hold a disputation. This was a fairly common occurrence in the schools: a question would be stated‚ and a respondent would take up a position on the question and hold it against the arguments of the learned people present. What made Pico’s unusual was that he proposed to hold his own against all comers on no fewer than nine hundred separate points of philosophy. It never happened‚ because the Pope got hold of
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completely in awe of and committed to his religion‚ to a young man that is unsure of his standing with God. Before the Holocaust‚ Eliezer would fill his days with religious studies‚ and even went so far to ask his father for a personal teacher of Kabbalah. Once when Moishe asked Eliezer why he prays‚ Elie replied: “Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?”(4). It was as if Elie could not even fathom not praying; To him‚ praying was part of his daily ritual. The first time
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eventually‚ their bond strengthens as they rely on each other for survival and comfort. Elie and his father didn’t have the customary father-son relationship. Elie retells that his father did not show signs of encouragement when he wanted to study the Kabbalah: "You are too young for that. Maimonides tells us that one must be thirty before venturing into the world of mysticism‚ a world fraught with peril. First you must study the basic subjects‚ those you are able to comprehend" (13). He recalls that
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asi “that thou art‚” meaning that the soul is the eternal and Absolute Being. Monistic mysticism is also found in Taoism‚ which seeks unity with Tao‚ the ineffable way. Theistic mysticism‚ unity with God‚ characterized Christianity‚ Judaism (in the Kabbalah)‚ and Islam (the Sufi sect)‚ and is also found in
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Elie respected his father because he was an important member of his community‚ but his father wasn’t very supportive of his study goals. Elie wanted to learn Kabbalah but his father said he was too young for that and needed to understand basic studies before he did anything. Elie’s father wasn’t sentimental about anything unlike Elie‚ him and his father had a very professional relationship. Unil him and his father
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Eliezer’s Change in Faith At the beginning of Night‚ Eliezer was driven to further his knowledge of the Kabbalah despite his father’s wishes. He was so determined that he found a master in Moishe the Beadle to help him. Together Eliezer and Moishe would read the Zohar to “discover within the very essence of divinity (5).” Eliezer hoped to enter eternity‚ a time that he thought “question and answer would become ONE (5).” However‚ Eliezer’s faith and relationship with God began to change because
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to avoid making the same errors. However‚ as it is evident in history‚ that is not always the case. In the novella Night by Eliezer Wiesel‚ he explains how‚ a host of those dreadful‚ yet historic‚ events. In Night‚ after witnessing genocide‚ local Kabbalah teacher Moishe the Beadle warns the Jews of Wiesel’s city. They denied his claims‚ losing their chance to avoid deportation. While at the concentration camps‚ the guards are hardened to the fact that the Jews are human; they proceed to torture and
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Life of Pi‚ by Yann Martel‚ starts off with an elderly man in Pondicherry‚ India‚ telling one of the authors‚ “I have a story that will make you believe in God” (x). The author stops and thinks‚ Was this some Jehovah Witness knocking on my door? (x). This author‚ Yann Martel‚ is from Canada‚ where our other author‚ Piscine Molitor Patel‚ is from Pondicherry‚ India. Piscine is a middle eastern boy who’s family owns a zoo‚ with magnificent animals. Piscine does not like his name‚ because of all the
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From the start‚ the creation and fall of Man is summarized in this: the creation and reason for human nature is "God gave Man free will‚ from Man’s free will‚ sin and death came into the world." Although Milton is not necessarily saying the Fall of Man went down the way he wrote it‚ the story is much more believable – and more entertaining – if the characters seem like they could have been real people. Satan places his pride first and resists obedience to God‚ thereby taking the alternative that
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memoir. At the beginning of the memoir‚ according to Elie’s description‚ he thought there is a distance and lack of understanding between his father and him. Wiesel felt puzzled that his father did not encourage him when he wanted to study the Kabbalah. Usually‚ if a child told his father he was interested in some fields‚ the father will feel happy. He will encourage his child to choose whatever he likes and will support his decision. What Elie’s father did is not usual. He said to Elie‚ “You are
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