Reply To: Lo sichanem

So…the maharal is a “low level hashkafist of the last 100 years”?

Who are the “gaonim”? Saul lieberman? Adin steinsaltz? Eliezer Berkowitz?

The dividing line between atheism and other forbidden ideas, and belief is simple; one decided that he does not believe in Hashem, the Torah, or any of the other 13 ikkarim, or dismisses a chazal that he doesn’t like…and another, believes in the full belief system of Judaism. I don’t understand the question.

There can be times when a person struggles in emunah, or has doubts; that doesn’t mean it’s permitted to maintain those doubts. Just like someone who struggles with lashon hora.

Where do chazal say that the torah was “completely lost”? That’s nonsense. There is an unbroken chain of mesorah, and the vast majority of klal yisroel kept the vast majority of the Torah. Take a look at Josephus’ contra apion, or the meforshim on the pesukim which seem to imply otherwise. The neviim chastised the nation about specific shortcomings, but according to you, they should have treated them like tinokos shenishbu…