Ep 05: How Do We Understand and Relate to the Idea of G-d?

What if the God you reject isn’t the only God Judaism offers?As the High Holidays approach, Rabbis Jonathan Jaffe and Leora Londy open up a candid and often surprising conversation about the nature of God and belief in Jewish life. In this episode of "In Such a Time: Conversations on Jewish Life, Leadership and Meaning," the rabbis push beyond the familiar “God as parent” metaphor of the holiday liturgy and reveal the extraordinary spectrum of Jewish theological thought.Discover how doubt, contradiction, and even “not knowing” are profoundly Jewish ways of relating to God. Rabbi Londy shares how her personal theology shifts from day to day, while Rabbi Jaffe discusses why he envies the comfort that some find in a personal, listening God—even as his own beliefs are grounded in rationalism and the philosophy of Maimonides. Together, they unpack classical and modern Jewish thinkers from Kaplan and Heschel to Buber and wrestle with the limits (or lack thereof) of individual belief.Key highlights include:Why the prayer “Avinu Malkeinu” (Our Father, Our King) holds both contradiction and possibility.What happens when we read sacred text literally—and what congregants don’t know about how rabbis themselves pray.The vital role of community, obligation, and spiritual practice—and why spirituality is more like working out than you think.How theology shifts in the wake of suffering, tragedy, and even the Holocaust.A curated reading list for deepening your own exploration of Jewish thought.Whether you’re a seeker, skeptic, or someone who’s always wanted to believe, this episode invites you to rethink what it means to relate to God—and to find your own place in the conversation.Timestamped Overview:[00:00:00] Intro and framing: God talk during the High Holidays; the limits of “God as parent.”[00:01:57] How rabbis read (and sometimes reject) literal prayers; permission to define your own relationship to God.[00:04:32] Personal stories of evolving faith, doubt, and daily theology.[00:05:47] Rational vs. non-rational concepts of God; Maimonides, Kaplan, and Jewish options for belief.[00:13:17] Are there boundaries to what God can mean in Judaism?[00:16:03] “God as gravity”—Rabbi Jaffe on philosophic rationalism and aligning with the cosmos.[00:23:41] Heschel, Buber, and the power (and limits) of a personal God.[00:26:48] Practice, obligation, and the shape of Jewish life; “feel-good” Judaism vs. halachic commitment.[00:31:13] Theodicy—grappling with God and suffering (from biblical times through October 7th).[00:37:08] The significance of community and spiritual “muscle memory.”[00:43:03] The contradictions within sacred language, especially “Avinu Malkeinu.” [00:44:33] Book and resource recommendations for further exploration.[00:46:41] Closing thoughts and invitation to confront your own questions about God.Listen in to discover a profoundly honest, challenging, and liberating exploration of what—and how—you might believe.