Expert: Ovadiah ben Avraham - 7/28/2009

Question
QUESTION: It is a sin to test God but i am having trouble knowing what this means! does it mean to ask God something or to ask something of God? Or does it just mean to threaten God? As in "if God doesn;t do this then....."

i hope it is not a sin to ask him questions for i have asked him many!!!!!

ANSWER: Tempting G-d means to do something silly or foolhardy and expect G-d to save you (ie stepping on the Statue of Liberty or handling live poisonous snakes. It also means making some sort of deal with G-d that would cause Him to step out of the natural to fulfill His part of the bargain or when your part of the deal likewise is impossible. Certainly threatening G-d would not be the best idea either. Asking G-d questions is not tempting Him, nor is respectful debate with Him. Hope this helps. Shalom!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: what about oathing? are these not making deals? sort of...if you do this, i oath to do this.   is this testing God?

Answer
Vows and oaths are permitted by the Torah (Numbers 30) so long as they are not extreme, such as in the examples I noted in my first response or violate Torah law. A good example of a prohibited oath is promising to sacrfice the first thing to come out of the house if a certain act is done by G-d. Shalom!