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Parashat Va’era
Rav Haim Lifshitz
Essays and Articles:
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How God’s Servant Copes With Divine Providence When It Intrudes on Free Choice
Translated from Hebrew by S. NAthan l'ilui nishmat Esther bat mordechai "For no good - as reward for mitsva - or bad - as punishment for sin - can come upon a man except as an act of miracle. If a man would leave things to his nature or to his luck, his deeds would neither add to him nor detract from him. Rather, all the reward of the Torah and all its punishment in this world - it is all miracles and they are hidden. They are considered by observers to be the way of the world, but really they are man's true reward and punishment. For this reason, the Torah speaks at length of the destinies of this world, whereas it never explains the destinies of the souls in the world of souls, for these [the former] are wonders that are against nature, while the permanence of the soul and its cleaving to God is something that is obviously natural - that it should return to God Who gave it." (Ramban 6:2) "For every one [of the avot] has a specifically exalted essence: Avraham exalted himself by first[on his own initiative] recognizing his Creator, without any prior [initiative] toward him from Him, yitbarach. For after all, you will find that anyone to whom knowledge of the Creator has been [communicated] by His acts or by His management of His creatures [i.e. by the initiative of hashgaha, of Divine Providence] does not deserve to be praised for walking in the path God has chosen for him, because any intelligent person would choose the good." (Or HaHaim 6:3) "The avot - their level did not reach as far as cleaving to God as did Moshe's, whom God knew face to face. Therefore Moshe was able to change the causality of the lowly world and to innovate signs and wonders, that the avot were not able to innovate." (Ibn Ezra 6:3) In this same context Ibn Ezra explains that the power the avot wielded was an ability to overcome the zodiac - the natural cosmic systems. "For God said to Avraham: 'Leave your itstagninut, your astrological status.' And it is likely that this is the reason that Yisrael do not have any astrological status. It is regarding this that God said to Avraham earlier: 'I will increase and greatly increase your seed - I am the Power of Sha - dai,' whose meaning is - vanquisher of the higher systems. Not that the system is destroyed but rather that one who cleaves to His Name should be aware that He creates new good for him that would not have been found in his system….and this is the secret of the entire Torah." It is difficult to understand - from the words of the Ibn Ezra - in what way Moshe's power was greater than that of the avot and by what merit he came nearer to the Creator than they did. Likewise a difficulty exists in the concept of God's unity according to his explanation. Perhaps two parallel (never to meet) tracks are indicated: The first track could be the path of free choice. This would be the path of the avot, who did not succumb to the powers of nature because they were not impressed by the power of brute force, and preferred to adopt the regime of Godly quality, which cannot be arrested by arbitrary brute force, which raises high the banner of goals that express values, and that are connected to the causes that are bound to that same sublime quality. The free choice approach seems to create a closed and self-sufficient cycle, in which life's flow is comprised of components that derive from values, and each completes the other, and man's role in this process is critical. On this track, what moves the world is the initiative of free choice taken by will, which is the main component expressing the Godly in man. Therefore an individual - a uniquely original person - is granted final and absolute power of authority on this track. We can see from this that individualism is a feature of free choice exclusively. Indeed, the fathers of our people, the avot, were individualists par excellence. Avraham the Ivri (ever =side): "All the world on one side and Avraham on the other side." This world is built on values and qualities that derive from the individual. It should be noted though that the concept "world" is not exactly equivalent to the concept "creation." We cannot err and attribute the power of creation to man; he cannot halila be a substitute for the Creator of the world. Rather, the concept "world" apparently addresses the world of man - man's existential condition, both the immediate one and the broader one that encompasses the entire condition of human existence. There seems to be no reason to ascribe to man any influence beyond this. Man does not influence the elements of creation that are outside the cycle of human existence. "The tsadik [who is] the foundation of the world" is the person who has cultivated his human quality to the point that he becomes a partner to the Creator. This was the level attained by the avot, who by merit of their initiative of free choice bore responsibility for the entire world. They did not bear responsibility only for themselves, for the measure of perfect hesed that they attained brought with it obligations toward the entire race of man - and also privileges. They had the ability to influence the fate of man. Their ability derived from God's humility: God drew them near to Him in order to allow them to be His partners in the management of the creation. To this end, He freed them from the obligation to bow to the laws of creation, i.e., the laws of nature. Here we derive Ibn Ezra's golden rule: "And this is the secret of the entire Torah." One track for those high-quality initiators of free choice, and another track for the rest of mankind - who are dragged after the stimulations of existence that are contained in the survival system. These determine that man belongs - to the point of total enslavement - to the laws of nature. "Fate," chance, and circumstance are the guidelines that man is seduced into following; coping with the laws of survival is his sole occupation. In contrast, and on a separate track, those who have adopted free choice march from victory to victory, benefiting greatly from their bent for freedom. Yet the bent for freedom is neglected by most, in favor of an enslaving connection that becomes the extreme of belonging. Such people are dragged along a parallel track - not the freedom of choice but the enslavement of survival, due to their laziness, which all too soon becomes a sense of helplessness born of the passiveness that induces atrophy. And so two tracks were formed in the creation. Those who had taken free choice created a direct connection with the Creator - one of reciprocity - which granted them the right to circumvent the laws of nature that the Creator had established for his creants. Ibn Ezra calls these laws the galgalim ha'emtsa'im, the "intermediate rotations." These are circumvented by the "vanquishers of the system of the zodiacs," because "the one who cleaves to His name should know that He creates new good for him, that would not have been in his system." Ibn Ezra appears to be referring to a reciprocal relationship of mida k'neged mida, "measure for measure." The initiative of free choice, the reach toward God, is rewarded by a response from the supreme hashgaha. "As he measures out, so do they [the heavenly court] measure out to him." We have before us a clear-cut method, without deviation and without exception, clearly understandable, accessible to analysis, to criticism, and to comprehension: Reward and punishment in direct relationship to action - transparency as a guiding principle for those capable of exercising direct and personal freedom of choice. Yet what is to become of the vast majority of believers, those who succumb to the decree of blind fate, who do - it is true - relate to "the great and mighty and awesome Lord" as to the supreme power, but as to one removed from them, uninvolved with them, just as they all the other forces of nature have no common language with them. For these people, fulfillment of Torah and mitsvot is based solely on a fear of punishment. Even reward and punishment are not perceived as a direct response to the initiative of free choice. They see nothing personal in it. It is some mysterious and autonomous system: It runs by itself. It does not address one's own individual uniqueness. One must adapt to it, ignoring those personal needs that derive from one's uniquely original essence. And so man gropes in the dark of hishtadlut, his efforts walled in on all sides, gader mizeh v'gader mizeh: " 'Oy,' my creature urges! 'Oy,' my Creator urges!" Woe unto me, from the compelling contingencies of reality, and woe unto me from the One Who "forced…Mount [Sinai]." He cannot make a clear decision. No answer appears on the horizon. He jumps back and forth from one to the other, getting no nahat - no rest and no pleasure - from himself or his existence. Paying lip service to the obligation to "serve God with happiness", his words are empty of content or feeling. The Ramban seems to delve quite deeply into this mysterious encounter, where reward and punishment meet free choice on the one hand and hashgaha on the other. It seems fairly clear that the Ramban does not accept Ibn Ezra's approach: "And the wise Rabi Avraham interprets it as…However the meaning of the katuv is that He appeared to the avot by this name with which He vanquishes the systems of heaven, to perform great miracles for them, because the normal way of the world was not revoked from them." (Compare this with Ibn Ezra's statement: "It is regarding this that God said to Avraham earlier: 'I will increase and greatly increase your seed - I am the Power of Sha - dai,' which means vanquisher of the higher systems. Not that the system would be destroyed but rather that the one who cleaves to His Name should be aware that He creates new good for him that would not have been found in his system." Meaning that the normal way of the world was revoked for them.) The Ramban is concerned about misinterpreting the text, about attributing connotations of dualism that are not compatible with the monotheistic perception of God's exclusive oneness, which determines that God's supreme rule can never be divided or shared: "For no good - as reward for mitsva - or bad - as punishment for sin - can come upon a man except as an act of miracle. If a man would leave things to his nature or to his luck, his deeds would neither add to him nor detract from him." Can this be so? The random fate of the rasha also befalls the tsadik? There is no doubt that this is not the intention of the Ramban. In fact he finds it necessary to add: "Rather, all the reward of the Torah and all its punishment in this world - it is all miracles and they are hidden. They are thought by observers to be the normal way of the world, while in truth they are a man's true reward and punishment." …Meaning that we have before us two methods of relating to man - one for the tsadik and one for the rasha. However, this difference is not externally visible, due to the crudeness of the natural system. The natural system is not equipped to reflect what is taking place beneath it. Behind the scenes, a differentiated system of reward and punishment exists, which makes qualitative distinctions, both in terms of the short range and in terms of the long range. This system is fitted to each and every person according to what he deserves, and according to his degree of free choice, which is usually combined with his relationship to the normal processes of brute-force world. It is not a transparently visible process, but there is a consistent clarity that is visible to anyone who delves beneath the surface, who knows how to penetrate beyond superficial reality, to glimpse the reality that is taking place behind the scenes. Such a one will be privileged to discover the miracle that is concealed and wrapped in nature. 'Hidden miracle', this method is called. It is the method by which Divine hashgaha fits itself to and completes the initiative of human free choice. Thus we find that for the avot, those mighty knights of free choice who knew how to read between nature's lines, only hidden miracles were performed. On the surface of things, to the untrained eye, the world continued on its normal way. Not so when B'nei Yisrael are steeped in the utter distress of existence. With them the Creator of the universe must activate midat harahamim, through direct involvement, i.e. through miracles and wonders that make sport of the undoing of the natural processes, that arrest all things natural, that bring the natural processes to a jarring halt. For the Ramban, there are two methods of reward and punishment, and each is based on a different element. To avoid distressing frail mortals, the two are kept entirely separate. One addresses reward and punishment in this world, and this method more or less adjusts itself to the ways of nature. The other, the truer one, addresses the ultimate reward and punishment, in the next world. This one is compatible with God's laws, and nothing mars its pristine purity of fit. Both methods have a perfect justice that is beyond appeal or doubt. However, one method is reflected by existential reality, which is comprised of a combination of hashgaha and free choice - as human behavior is combined of hashgaha and free choice - while the other method of remuneration - in the world of truth - is direct, and outstanding for its purity of connection between Creator and created, unequivocally and without barriers, as befits the Divine method of justice at its best and truest. The Individual and the Group The makot - the plagues in Egypt were not directed at any individual or even at any group but rather at nature. They were ecological plagues apparently. The Creator's intention was to rip the mask off nature, to expose the bona fide proprietor. "Let them recognize and let them know - all the dwellers of the earth" who owns the creation. Let them know by Whom the powers of nature are ruled. Not by man in all his intelligence, nor even by the mystical powers of the cosmos. There is one single direct address for the universe and for all its affairs: The Creator yitbarach. His management of the universe is set in clear and transparent terms that can suit anyone - the weak as well as the strong, the foolish as well as the wise, the wicked as well as the righteous. This was the point that Moshe argued so stubbornly, until he finally won his goal - of securing midat harahamim, the measure of mercy. midat harahamim means relating to man on the human level. It is a mida that adapts itself to every individual's ability and to every individual's situation. The replacement of the old method of free choice by hashgaha worried the compassionate shepherd of Israel. For after all man was blessed with two tendencies, with each complementing the other. The tendency to freedom and the tendency toward belonging are found in every person in different quantities and in different relation to one another. The gifted, the uniquely original individuals are blessed with a need for freedom that is a most central need - it includes all the other elements that are bound up with freedom: These are the tendencies to responsibility, to hesed, to giving and to caring about the other and about society. In keeping with this, the method of reward and punishment that tends toward midat hadin is addressed to them, for after all "the Holy One examines the subtleties with tsadikim, though they be as fine as the strand of a hair." These mighty heroes run the risk of complication with hashgaha and all its sensational miracles, because it is a method that necessarily limits free choice. The transparency of reward and punishment grows clouded. Now we may understand the Ramban's perception: He argues for flexibility within unity, for after all every person has a mix of both tendencies - a tendency toward freedom and a tendency toward belonging. The difficulty that Moshe anticipated was from the larger group - the weak of spirit, who require an intervention from on high by the method of hashgaha. Moshe feared that the intervention of hashgaha would atrophy their sense of their own personal needs. After all, a man's initiative of free choice requires stimulus, and needs that derive from the difficulties of existence, and sensitivity to those needs and a willingness to cope with them. The prayer of the freely-choosing individual is built on the awareness of his own ability to cope and his own responsibility for his actions. He recognizes his own strengths and his own talents. His prayer is of the sort that requests Hatsliha Na, "Give me success O pray…" Meaning, pray God, help me to succeed in realizing the potential of the powers that are dormant in me, in order to use them for avodat Hashem, i.e. in order to fulfill the unique role with which I have been charged, for the sake of which I have come to this world. In contrast, the one who is caught in existential distress, the one of paltry means, who stands empty-handed before the great and mighty Lord, feels the sensation of his own lowliness and his own helplessness. His prayer is hoshia Na, "save me, O pray,". For I have not the slightest idea of how or why or to what purpose I have gotten into this distressing existential situation. I have no idea because my sense of existence that is based on survival did not lead me to a search for meaning, nor did it require me to realize any values or goals that are higher than the very goal of survival itself, that single-minded goal that pushes all other goals aside. It is this negligible goal that man requests of his Creator. And the Creator - who is merciful and compassionate toward his creants - is forthcoming. He does not demand of the ani mima'as, the impoverished-of-deed to initiate free choice and to express clear and focused requests. For after all, what does the one who needs saving know about what is good for him? He casts his burden upon God, and relies on the Higher Wisdom to know better than he what his needs really are. His faith is perfect; it is with love that he accepts everything his Creator gives him. His prayer contains an element of faith and trust that is direct and perfect. For this reason, he merits the direct and loving response of a personalized Providence - a hashgaha pratit - that is miraculous. It is miraculous and direct and entirely clean and free of the intervention of human intelligence. Human intelligence is that part that focuses upon local existential needs, causing the initiative of the freely choosing human being to come forth and express an articulate and powerful prayer. Then what shall the simple devoted believer do, who casts his burden upon God? For what shall he pray? "To Tell in the Morning Your Kindnesses, and Your Faithfulness in the Nights…" There are two agendas in prayer. One agenda derives from recognition of the effectiveness of free choice and of prayer, which ultimately facilitates the success of the prayer. The other agenda derives from recognition of the effectiveness of the Divine: God heals the sick because the sick need healing. It is a recognition that only the Creator has the power to heal the sick. The prayer for knowledge can be differentiated in the same way: One person prays: "God will illuminate my eyes," because I have a problem that to my eyes cannot be solved and I request assistance in solving it. Another prays for the most accessible and characteristic human ability, for the ability that makes man unique and raises him above all the other creants. It is the ability that grants him a place of importance among men, more than any other ability: Human insight. So here he stands and prays before the One who knows all thoughts, and admits that he has no knowledge of his own, and were it not for God granting him knowledge, he would be devoid of knowledge, God forbid. Such a prayer is no easy task for a man of education and knowledge. Nevertheless, he is required to join both of these conflicting sensations together in order to complete the experience of existence. The truth of the matter is that no one is blessed with only one experience of existence. Everyone experiences both. Usually a person experiences recognition of his ability in the specific area where he has been granted talent: One person is strong and the other is practical and the third has social connections. In the area where he lacks talent, he will naturally be more aware of the Creator's power and more acutely conscious of his own helplessness. It appears that this division of experience is reflected in a division of focus according to times of prayer: The morning tefila is meant to request assistance - that one might succeed in one's areas of strength. The evening tefila is not meant for requesting at all but rather for deepening one's faith in the power of the Creator. So Too With the Miracles in Egypt "A man is obligated to see himself as though he himself has gone forth from Egypt." This obligation seems to include the same element: Pondering the sense of one's own helplessness, one's own inability to cope with the difficulties of existence - and focusing upon and deepening one's belief in one's absolute dependency upon hashgaha, which comes to one in merit and as a result of recognition of one's own powerlessness, and in merit and as a result of one's faith that the answer is to be found in heaven. Such faith originates in the miracles in Egypt: In Egypt the plagues were directed, as mentioned, against nature rather than against man. As far as b'nei Yisrael were concerned, the makot were a lesson in the ways of hashgaha pratit. They were performed so that belief in God's initiative of hesed could strike roots in man's heart. Go To Top
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