AVI LIBERMAN
COMEDIAN, ACTOR, WRITER, AND AUTHOR
Avi Liberman is a standup comedian, screenwriter and actor. He has appeared in numerous TV shows and performed standup all over the world. Avi has a book out entitled “Traveling During The Pandemic” where he went to eight countries in seven months, with Israel serving as his base while traveling. He has performed for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for the troops and was the first Israeli citizen to perform in Dubai following the Abraham Accords. Avi is probably best known for his biannual tour in Israel called “Comedy For Koby”where he brings a group of comedians to Israel to perform, with proceeds benefitting the Koby Mandell Foundation, which works with children and families of trauma. He can be followed on Instagram at @avilibermancomedy.
I’m Not Spiritual
AVI LIBERMAN
When it comes to the issue of proving God, I’ve always found it exhausting to try to convince someone who doesn’t accept God’s existence. I use the word “accept” as opposed to “believe” because for me, contrary to what you’d like to believe, belief requires an element of wishful thinking, as opposed to acceptance, which requires an understanding of strong evidence. You might say, “You Gotta Believe!” when it comes to your baseball team winning in the ninth inning when down by ten runs, but deep inside, you know it won’t happen. If you ACCEPT that a comeback in that situation is all but impossible, you can move on and hope for the best the next game.
When it comes to God, my approach is pretty basic. You can’t have something “ex nihilo,” from nothing. When I look at all the amazing things, not only on our earth but also in our universe, I simply find it absurd to suggest that there was a “Big Bang” just by chance, and numerous complex life forms just happened. Keep in mind, I have no problem with the Big Bang Theory, but who made the bang? For me, it’s the simple things, not great miracles, that convince me God is here. I can watch one episode of “Our Planet” and be convinced. I can look at a couple in love and marvel at a connection that cannot be proved in any science lab.
I remember once asking a mother if she loved her son. Upon her obvious answer of yes, I just simply said, “Prove it!” After any example given, I could have easily said, “any nice stranger may say the same thing,” but of course I know the love of her child far outweighs anything any kind stranger would have.
While I’ve had plenty of situations in my life where I could look and just say, “I got lucky” or “that was coincidence,” those are the times where I feel God present. I remember my Rabbi saying that he feels most connected to God when he says the prayer after going to the bathroom. Yes, Judaism has one for that! When we take what could be viewed as the profane, and make it holy, that’s God at work. That our bodies can function and we are able to simply relieve ourselves is an amazing thing. Without it, we’d have kidney failure and die. Something that simple is not lost on me.
It may not be spiritual or mind blowing, but that we have law and order in society (not the TV show, even though I’m glad we have the show too) is a sign of God. If man made whatever law, then man can unmake it. We take a lot of laws for granted. Don’t steal may seem basic, but if you’re a thief, that law stinks. There must be something above man, which laid basic ground rules, and no matter how you try and reason your way around it, God says otherwise.