Why Doesn’t God Reveal Himself?

Real questions, submitted by actual OU Torah followers, with their real answers. NOTE: For questions of practical halacha, please consult your own rabbi for guidance.

Q. Why doesn’t God reveal Himself as He did to Avraham, Moshe and the later prophets? Why do we need to have faith in His existence rather than fact?

A. Thanks for your question. In my mind, it's a lot like being asked why we're not automatically issued a college diploma along with our birth certificates. Wouldn't it be great to be born a college grad? Then we could all apply for jobs with a lot less effort!

But, sadly, we have to earn those diplomas. We need to invest the energy into studying and tests and papers in order to master the material. If we're just handed the diploma, we don't actually learn anything.

This is the same. A big part of our job in life is to get to know God. We're supposed to work at it. (It's one of the 613 mitzvos.) If He were to automatically reveal Himself to us without any effort on our part, we would have the diploma but we wouldn't have actually learned anything.

Yes, God revealed Himself to Moshe, Avraham, and a handful of others throughout history, but that was after they invested the effort to get to know Him. If we invest ourselves in the process, He will be revealed to us as well – not through prophecy but through the wonders of His creation.

Rabbi Jack's latest book, Ask Rabbi Jack, is now available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.