Chassidic lore tells a story that when Achad Ha’am (Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg) – who was married to a Schneersohn – met, with the 5th Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom DovBer Schneersohn, they both had choice words to express about the other.
Achad Ha’am paraphrased the Midrashic sentiment (Sifra, Vayikra 26:14), saying: “He is knowledgeable of the world, yet he rebels against it.” Meaning that his anti-Zionist and enlightenment views were not from obliviousness, but rather notwithstanding his knowledge.
The Rebbe Rashab, Rabbi Shalom DovBer, expressed an opposite sentiment about Achad Ha’am, saying:
“Even were he to have been by the splitting of the sea, he would dismiss it as a mere natural phenomenon.”
The lesson is twofold: Our strength and commitment in Judaism and her values cannot be a mere product of ignorance, but rather conviction. Additionally, we must realize that cynicism and skepticism taken to an extreme is a product of foolishness. Adequate evidence is the only possible proof that we can rely on in this flawed world—as no matter what, we can always question any evidence.
