Moses did not demand that we believe in what is against reason
The Chaver explains to the King of Kuzari what the 'ענין אלהי' - 'Divine matter' is. He explained to him that there are several levels in creation - inanimate, plant, animal, speaking - but also in the human species there are levels, one above the other. The existence and characteristics of Moshe prove that there is in man a high and special virtue, which cannot be understood except according to the ענין אלהי.
Now, ostensibly, we would expect the Chaver to say: 'Since I have proven to you that Moshe is a man who has the ענין אלהי in its highest degree, and that he is a prophet who spoke with God face to face, therefore we must believe everything he tells us'! But the Chaver does not say so and does not go this way. On the contrary, he tries to prove that the words of Moshe are reasonable and logical, and it cannot be said that they are against reason. According to him, what Moshe did was to reveal to us what we did not know, and to arrange before us the facts as they happened - "וְהוֹדִיעַ אֵיךְ הָיָה חִדּוּשׁ הָעוֹלָם וְיַחַס בְּנֵי אָדָם קֹדֶם הַמַּבּוּל, הֵיאַךְ נִתְיַחֲסוּ אֶל אָדָם, וְהֵיאַךְ הָיָה הַמַּבּוּל וְיַחַס הַשִּׁבְעִים אֻמּוֹת אֶל שֵׁם חָם וְיֶפֶת בְּנֵי נֹחַ, וְהֵיאַךְ נִפְרְדוּ הַלְּשׁוֹנוֹת, וְאֵיפֹה שָׁכְנוּ, וְהֵיאַךְ צָמְחוּ הַמְּלָאכוֹת וּבִנְיַן הַמְּדִינוֹת וּשְׁנֵי הָעוֹלָם מֵאָדָם וְעַד עָתָּה". and taught them how the world was created, how the generations prior to the Flood followed each other, and how they reckoned their descent from Adam. He described the Flood and the origin of the 'Seventy Nations' from Shem, Cham and Yaphes, the sons of Noach; how the languages were split up, and where men sought their habitations; how arts arose, how they built cities, and the chronology from Adam up to this day.
Faith cannot contradict reason because reason is also a divine source
In this, Rihal is faithful to his method, which he repeated several times in his book, and that is, that there cannot be a contradiction between faith and reason. That is, the religious experience cannot in any way contradict logic, and the believer is not required to believe in something that does not agree with his mind and intellect. This is what Rihal writes [1/89]: "חָלִילָה לָאֵ-ל מִן הַשֶּׁקֶר וּמַה שֶּׁהַשֵּׂכֶל מַרְחִיק אוֹתוֹ וִישִׂימֵהוּ שֶׁקֶר". "HEAVEN FORBID GOD FROM LYING AND WHAT THE MIND REMOVES FROM HIM AND MAKES IT A LIE." And also [1/67]: "חָלִילָה לָאֵ-ל שֶׁתָּבוֹא הַתּוֹרָה בְּמַה שֶּׁיִדְחֶה רְאָיָה אוֹ מוֹפֵת" "HEAVEN FORBID GOD THAT THE TORAH SHOULD COME WITH WHAT REJECTS PROOF OR EVIDENCE." It is not only that a faith that is not logical cannot stand, that is certainly true, but there is here a statement that the human intellect is itself a divine creation, and it is a way of connecting with God. God created man with a straight mind so that he would act with him and through him recognize his creator. If the experience contradicts the intellect, this is conclusive proof that this experience is false.
Even in the Sages we find a similar attitude towards the intellect as a divine source for everything. In many places the Gemara says: 'Why do I need a verse? It is a logical argument!', that is, if the matter is logical and required, there is no need at all for a verse from the Torah, and the intellectual argument requires it by itself. To such an extent do things reach, that even the well-known law that the prohibition of bloodshed is "be killed and do not transgress" - that if a person is told to kill his friend and if he does not do so he will be killed, he is forbidden to kill but must be killed - this law is learned by reason and has no source in the Torah![1]
For this reason, Rihal is careful throughout the Sefer Ha-Kuzari to base the foundations of faith on logic and intellectual understanding, and does not rely only on the power of the experience, strong as it may be. In this way, the Kuzari book becomes relevant in every generation, to every person, even if he does not connect to the ancient experience, and it is difficult for him to identify personally with the events of the past.
Most of the events narrated in the Torah occurred in the period close to it, and therefore it is reasonable that they were correct
Therefore, the proof that the friend makes in the truth of what is narrated in the Torah is an intellectual proof: when the Torah was given by Moshe, and told about historical events that happened in the past, it was in a period that was not far from the events. From the דור הפלגה - generation of the division (in which Avraham our father also lived) until the giving of the Torah only about 500 years passed, and this is a relatively short period in historical eyes. People know historical facts at such a distance of time. It is impossible to come today and tell about events 500 years ago that never happened, and to tell about them in detail and with great accuracy. No public in any generation will accept such information and embrace it, without knowing and recognizing that the things are correct and reasonable.
We will add and say that until today, 3500 years after the giving of the Torah, no contradictory evidence has been found and no discoveries have been found that refute the historical data that were said in the Torah. There are all kinds of theories and alternative proposals, but they have not succeeded in proving and refuting what is narrated in the Torah. This is clear proof of the truth of the things.
[1] See Sanhedrin 74a.
Translated from קולו של הכוזרי