Benjamin's jump-off page

In memory of Rabin's assassination, Conservative Jews around the world have been learning Mishnah with Rabbi Simchah Roth.

In Simchah Roth's commentary on Mishnah Berakhot he digresses to discuss the nature of evil.

RABIN MISHNAH STUDY GROUP

Daily Mishnah Study

in the climate of Masorti (Conservative) Judaism

Rabbi Simchah Roth

of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

14th December 1997 29 15th Kislev 5758

TRACTATE BERAKHOT, CHAPTER NINE, MISHNAH THREE (recap):

The benediction over rainfall and good news [in general] is "Praised be ... He Who

is good and does good". The benediction on hearing bad news is "Praised be ... the

truthful Judge". When building a new house or buying new articles one says

"Praised be God ... Who has kept us alive, preserved us and allowed us to reach

this occasion". One must recite a benediction over misfortune that also involves

good fortune, and over good fortune that also involves misfortune. One who prays

about something that has already happened is offering a vain prayer. For instance:

if one's wife were pregnant and one prayed 'May it be Your pleasure that she give

birth to a son' - that would be a vain prayer. Or if one were returning from a

journey and hears screams coming from the town and says 'May it be Your pleasure

that these not be my family' - that would be a vain prayer.

EXCURSUS

ON EVIL IN THE WORLD

On November 27th our shiur was concerned with the berakhah that we are required to

recite upon hearing bad news. I wrote: >>In this way we teach ourselves to

recognize that everything that happens is because of the will of God - not just

what we would consider the good things in life. The first berakhah before the

Shema every morning reads "Praised be God ... Author of light, Creator of darkness,

Maker of peace and Creator of everything". However, this is a deliberate and

conscious misquotation from one of the prophets. The original text [Isaiah 45:7]

refers to God as "Author of light, Creator of darkness, Maker of peace and Creator

of evil". (The sages [Berakhot 11b] felt that it was "not nice" to require people

to regularly refer to God as being responsible for the evil in this world, so they

deliberately altered the end of the quotation in our daily prayers.) Here the

prophet is attacking Zoroastrian dualism - the belief that there are two opposing

forces at work in the cosmos, the god of good (Ahura Mazda) and the god of evil

(Ahriman). In Jewish theology there is only one God, whose will is responsible for

all things.<< I then added >>It may be appropriate for us, at this juncture, to

discuss a theology of good and evil; but I shall only embark upon such an excursus

if there are requests to do so.<< There were many such requests (some of them

insistent!) so I now undertake the rashly promised excursus.

In his most important work on a philosophy of Judaism, The Guide for the Perplexed"

[Moreh Nevukhim in Hebrew, though originally written in Arabic], Rambam [Moses

Maimonides, North Africa, 12th century CE] devotes chapters 11 and 12 of Part Three

to the question of evil in God's world. This excursus is heavily indebted to that

source. Although his translators have rendered his language as discussing evil, a

careful perusal of what he has to say would suggest that what he is really talking

about is why there is suffering in God's good world. At the very end of the

Creation story [Genesis 1:31] we read that God surveyed everything that He had

created and deemed it "very good". If this world is "very good" why is there

suffering in it? Rambam says that suffering is that which we don't want because it

will hurt us in some way. "Every ignoramus imagines that all that exists exists

with a view to his individual sake; it is as if there were nothing that exists

except him. And if something happens to him that is contrary to what he wishes, he

makes the trenchant judgment that all that exists is an evil. However, if man

considered and represented to himself that which exists and knew the smallness of

his part in it, the truth would become clear and manifest to him."

Physical suffering is a part of life in this universe, which is constituted as God

wished it to be. This is sometimes very hard for us to accept. Let us try to

clarify. Rambam separates "evil" into three categories: "evil" that is concomitant

with the fact that we are alive and biologically functioning; "evils" that a person

inflicts on himself by his own deeds; evil that humans do to other humans.

"The first species of evil is that which befalls man because of ... his being

endowed with matter. Because of this, infirmities and paralytic afflictions befall

some individuals either in consequence of their original natural disposition, or

they supervene because of changes occurring in the elements, such as corruption of

the air..." Because we have a physical existence we are subject to all the

deficiencies of physicality. Things can happen to us. This is the way of God's

universe. Whatever is possessed of physicality is subject to change and damage.

This damage might be something that is part of our very nature, such as a child

being born with a physical deformity or with congenital heart disease, and so

forth. These are not afflictions that God has brought upon us by a special fiat:

they are part and parcel of our being human beings that are conceived and born and

live in this physical universe. Similarly, people might be buried alive in molten

lava because a volcano erupts in their vicinity: this is not an affliction brought

upon us by God, but our own interaction with the natural world and its forces.

All animals are capable of physical suffering; but, perhaps, man's greatest

drawback is awareness of self. Other animals, perhaps, suffer patiently (as it

were) because the pain is "accepted" as something natural that is happening to

them; man suffers thousandfold because he is aware that he is suffering, and can

ask himself "why is this happening to me?" The basic answer is that we suffer

physical pain because we exist in this physical universe. Therefore, when we

suffer, it is surely more effective to pray that God give us the strength and

patience we need to face our affliction, rather than railing against a misperceived

sense of Divine justice. The possibility of physical suffering is the price we

have to pay for our existence, and we must face it when it comes upon us with as

much equanimity as we can muster.

To be continued.

*****************************************************************

Visit the Home Page of Torat Hayyim Congregation, Herzliyya, at

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/5454/t_h_top.html

To dedicate a shiur (lesson) send an amount of your choice, marked "For RMSG," to:

The Foundation for Masorti Judaism in

Israel, 6525 Belcrest Rd., Suite 305, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Attn: Mr. James

Demb. (Contributions are tax-deductible in the US.) YOU MUST ALSO send a private

e-mail, stating the requested date and the occasion for the dedication, to Rabbi

Simchah Roth <siroth@inter.net.il>. This is also the address for discussion,

queries, comments and requests. Please feel free to pass this material on; my

request is that you cite me as the source.

The RMSG archive may be accessed at the following site:

http://www.jtsa.edu/lists/rmsg A search engine is provided.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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RMSG: 16th December 1997

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: RMSG@JTSA.EDU

Subject: RMSG: 16th December 1997

From: Simchah Roth <siroth@INTER.NET.IL>

Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 15:26:37 +0200

Reply-To: Rabin Mishnah Study Group <RMSG@JTSA.EDU>

Sender: Rabin Mishnah Study Group <RMSG@JTSA.EDU>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RABIN MISHNAH STUDY GROUP

Daily Mishnah Study

in the climate of Masorti (Conservative) Judaism

Rabbi Simchah Roth

of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

16th December 1997 30 17th Kislev 5758

EXCURSUS

ON EVIL IN THE WORLD

(continued)

In our last shiur we noted that Rambam creates three categories for perceived evils

(or suffering): suffering that is the result of being alive in this universe;

suffering that people bring upon themselves; and suffering that is caused by other

human beings. We have already discussed the first category, and we can now proceed

to the other two.

Much of the suffering in this world is brought about by things people do to

themselves. Rationally, we can understand that if a person smokes three packets of

cigarettes a day for thirty years and then develops lung cancer they have no right

to attribute their suffering to God. If a person over feeds themselves for thirty

years and then develops cardiac disease they have no right to attribute their

suffering to God. If a person drinks alcohol to a state of incipient inebriation

and then they sit behind the wheel of an automobile, they have no right to

attribute to God their crash and the damage done to themselves and their property.

All this from the rational point of view. But, of course, people do attribute

these situations to God - or at the very least expect God to extricate them from

their situation. Yet the Bible is very clear about our responsibility for our own

actions. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel state that the old teaching that the children

must pay the price for their fathers' follies has been abrogated [Jeremiah 31:28,

Ezekiel 18:20] and that now "the soul that sins is the soul that shall die; a son

shall not be responsible for his father's wrongdoing not shall a father be held

responsible for his son's wrongdoing: to the righteous shall be accredited his

righteousness, and to the wicked shall be credited his wickedness" [Ezekiel 18:20].

Indeed, if we were not responsible for our own actions there would be no logic or

rationale for the concept of repentance and forgiveness, and Yom Kippur would lose

its meaning.

Perhaps it is necessary for us to realize that not only can we sin towards God and

towards fellow human beings, but we also can and do commit grievous sins against

ourselves. At first blush it may seem that we are not punished for such sins. But

let us remember that in this modern day and age we can readily understand that

perhaps we are not punished 'for' our sins, but we are punished 'by' our sins.

I sometimes think that people expect God in some way to intervene and to prevent

them harming themselves. I shall expatiate more on this point when we discuss the

next category; but at this stage let me point out that if God were to intervene and

prevent us from harming ourselves, God would be severely compromising our moral

independence - which according to Judaism is the hallmark of humankind. In the

Bible [Genesis 4:7] the very first murderer is warned of this: "If you do not act

well, sin is at the door, crouching [like a wild animal ready to pounce], and

desires to overpower you, but it is you who must control it [the wild animal

within]" - and if you don't you must pay the consequences.

Part of our problem is that we are all too mindful of the liturgical images of God

as a parent, because we associate parents with tenderness and forgiveness - and

what parent would not intervene to prevent offspring doing themselves harm? But we

tend to forget the other side of the coin: in one of the greatest liturgical pieces

recited during the Ten Days of Penitence, we refer to God as "Avinu Malkenu" [Our

Father and our King]. The Father has compassion, but the King must execute

justice.

We also tend to forget that God has already intervened! The Torah [Deuteronomy

4:15] admonishes us to "take exceedingly great care of your persons". And on this

verse Rambam teaches [Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot De'ot 4:1]: "Since maintaining a

healthy and sound body are part of the service of God ... it is necessary for a

person to distance themselves from things that are harmful to the body, and to

accustom oneself to wholesome and healthful things..." We cannot claim that we

were not warned.

To be continued.

*****************************************************************

Visit the Home Page of Torat Hayyim Congregation, Herzliyya, at

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/5454/t_h_top.html

To dedicate a shiur (lesson) send an amount of your choice, marked "For RMSG," to:

The Foundation for Masorti Judaism in

Israel, 6525 Belcrest Rd., Suite 305, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Attn: Mr. James

Demb. (Contributions are tax-deductible in the US.) YOU MUST ALSO send a private

e-mail, stating the requested date and the occasion for the dedication, to Rabbi

Simchah Roth <siroth@inter.net.il>. This is also the address for discussion,

queries, comments and requests. Please feel free to pass this material on; my

request is that you cite me as the source.

The RMSG archive may be accessed at the following site:

http://www.jtsa.edu/lists/rmsg A search engine is provided.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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RMSG: 22nd December 1997

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: RMSG@JTSA.EDU

Subject: RMSG: 22nd December 1997

From: Simchah Roth <siroth@INTER.NET.IL>

Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 09:06:03 +0200

Reply-To: Rabin Mishnah Study Group <RMSG@JTSA.EDU>

Sender: Rabin Mishnah Study Group <RMSG@JTSA.EDU>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RABIN MISHNAH STUDY GROUP

Daily Mishnah Study

in the climate of Masorti (Conservative) Judaism

Rabbi Simchah Roth

of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

22nd December 1997 31 23rd Kislev 5758

EXCURSUS

ON EVIL IN THE WORLD

(continued)

So far in this excursus we have noted that Rambam creates three

categories for perceived evils (or suffering): suffering that is

the result of our being alive in this universe; suffering that

people bring upon themselves; and suffering that is caused by

other human beings. We have already discussed the first two

categories, and we can now proceed to the third.

The overwhelming majority of the suffering that there is in this

world is caused by what human beings do to other human beings.

Sometimes the action is unintentional, but the suffering that it

can bring about is immeasurable. When an inebriated driver

knocks down an innocent pedestrian she did not intend to cause

harm; but harm ensues: bodily harm, possibly even death. The

sole reason for the pedestrian's plight is the unthinking and

unintentional mayhem inflicted by the reckless driver. The fact

that the deed was unthinking and unintentional ("But I didn't

mean to do it") in no way reduces the driver's responsibility and

culpability. Three of the Mishnah's most studied tractates (Bava

Kama, Bava Metzi'a and Bava Batra) are devoted to what Western

jurisprudence would call "torts" - damages claimed as the result

of someone else's actions towards you. One of the main Torah

bases concerning our responsibility is to be found in Exodus

21:28-32. Basing itself upon the stipulation of the Written

Torah that people are responsible for the actions of animals in

their charge, the Unwritten Torah enlarges upon this: not only

are we responsible for the actions of our animals, but we are

responsible for damage caused by anything in our charge. The

above-mention "Law of the Ox" differentiates between culpability

for a "first-time offender" (where the owner only pays

half-damages, because he may not have known that his animal might

cause damage) and the culpability of an owner whose animal has

already "been in court" - "warned" is the term used by the Torah

(verse 29). I mention all this in order to make one point: Torah

Law does not view human beings like the rest of the animal world.

A human being who causes damage can never claim that "this is

only the first time": "Adam le'olam mu'ad" [a human being is

always considered as having been "warned". The action of our

reckless driver may not have been intentional, but she must be

held to be aware of the possibility that she could cause harm to

others (or their property) and calculate her behaviour

accordingly. Who was responsible for the suffering of the

innocent pedestrian? - the driver or God? Obviously it was the

driver.

But human suffering at the hands of other human beings can be

almost infinitely multiplied - and the Jewish people have six

million reasons this century alone for knowing this to be the

case. And when we talk of the Holocaust inevitably the question

will be raised in some form or other - "Why did God let it

happen?". While people would consent to the sole culpability of

the reckless driver, they would require Divine intervention to

prevent a holocaust. Yet, if we follow the logic of Jewish

philosophy and take it to its logical conclusion, we would

understand that God will not intervene to prevent one or more

human beings causing harm to one, a hundred, a thousand, a

million, six million other human beings.

We already hinted at this in our last shiur. Man is a creature

endowed with free will. We are not automatons, programmed to

perform only in accord with the designs of our Manufacturer.

Rambam points out at the very beginning of his Guide for the

Perplexed [1:2] that if man did not have free will there would be

no point in the whole of the Torah and its mitzvot. If we were

programmed to do only good there would be no reason to warn us

not to do wrong. (There is no point in telling a creature 'Thou

shalt not steal' if that creature is constitutionally incapable

of stealing.) Free will means that we can decide for ourselves

how we will act: the Torah can only prescribe and warn. At the

very end of his career Moses pleads with his flock (in God's

name) along these lines [Deuteronomy 30:11-20] "This command that

I give you today is not too difficult for you... It is not in

heaven ... or overseas... It is very near to you indeed - in your

mouth and in your heart... See, I set before you this day life

and good and death and evil [suffering]... I call heaven and

earth to witness that this day I set before you blessing and

curse: do you choose life!"

The fact that we have free will, to choose whether to obey or

not, means that we have been granted the capability of doing

enormous good and immense harm. We can find a cure for cancer or

we can blow ourselves to bits: it's entirely up to us. But in

order for free will to work God has to set a limit to Divine

power: if we are to be free agents morally, God may not intervene

and deprive us of that capability at will. The Babylonian Amora,

Rabbi Chanina, put this at its most succinct [Berakhot 33b]:

"Everything is in the power of Heaven except the fear of Heaven".

In other words, God has removed human behaviour from the sphere

of Divine control and influence. Rabbi Chanina bases his

observation of a verse different from the one we have quoted, but

equally effective [Deuteronomy 10:12]. "And now, Israel, what is

it that God requests of you? It is but to fear God, walk in

God's ways..."

To be continued.

*****************************************************************

Visit the Home Page of Torat Hayyim Congregation, Herzliyya, at

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/5454/t_h_top.html

To dedicate a shiur (lesson) send an amount of your choice,

marked "For RMSG," to: The Foundation for Masorti Judaism in

Israel, 6525 Belcrest Rd., Suite 305, Hyattsville, MD 20782.

Attn: Mr. James Demb. (Contributions are tax-deductible in the

US.) YOU MUST ALSO send a private e-mail, stating the requested

date and the occasion for the dedication, to Rabbi Simchah Roth

<siroth@inter.net.il>. This is also the address for discussion,

queries, comments and requests. Please feel free to pass this

material on; my request is that you cite me as the source.

The RMSG archive may be accessed at the following site:

http://www.jtsa.edu/lists/rmsg A search engine is provided.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

RMSG: 24th December 1997

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: RMSG@JTSA.EDU

Subject: RMSG: 24th December 1997

From: Simchah Roth <siroth@INTER.NET.IL>

Date: Wed, 24 Dec 1997 15:43:41 +0200

Reply-To: Rabin Mishnah Study Group <RMSG@JTSA.EDU>

Sender: Rabin Mishnah Study Group <RMSG@JTSA.EDU>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RABIN MISHNAH STUDY GROUP

Daily Mishnah Study

in the climate of Masorti (Conservative) Judaism

Rabbi Simchah Roth

of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

24th December 1997 1st Day Chanukah 25th Kislev 5758

EXCURSUS

ON EVIL IN THE WORLD

(continued)

So far in this excursus we have noted that Rambam creates three

categories for perceived evils (or suffering): suffering that is

the result of our being alive in this universe; suffering that

people bring upon themselves; and suffering that is caused by

other human beings. We have also noted that the overwhelming

majority of the suffering that there is in this world is caused

by what human beings do to other human beings.

Many people find it difficult to accept the idea that God will

not intervene to prevent wrong being done. Consciously or

unconsciously they expect God to act as some kind of Universal

Crime Prevention Officer, or Celestial Policeman. This is an

absolute impossibility if we are to maintain man's moral and

behavioural autonomy.

Man - all of mankind - is capable of unthinkable evil. There are

only two powers in existence that control and limit that

capability. One is a person's moral conscience. The other is

physical force brought to bear by other human beings to prevent

the evil being perpetrated.

I do not think that Rambam was prepared to recognize the

universality of morals. He viewed what we called morals as

"muskamot" - behavioural patterns that a group of people has

accepted upon itself by agreement, tacit or explicit. Monogamy

seems to our own moral sense to be an obvious requirement for the

person who wishes to behave rightly; a South-Sea islander might

well see bigamy in a similar light and look upon our monogamous

culture with the same misgivings as we look upon his bigamous

behaviour. The same would apply to countless other items of our

moral code and behaviour patterns. (In the Guide for the

Perplexed [1:2] Rambam even puts the wearing of clothes among the

"muskamot".)

The only force that we Jews can view as binding regardless of our

subjective codes is the stipulations of the Torah. We do not

refrain from theft, murder or adultery because these are

obviously immoral: we do so because the Torah requires this of

us. In this we have had an enormous influence over the thinking

of the greater part of the human race, in that Christians and

Moslems have taken their moral code from the stipulations of the

Torah as we taught them. (Other peoples and faiths also accept

these requirements from a different source, whatever it might

be.)

But no one can prevent a person from stealing, murdering or

committing adultery if they choose so to act. And it makes no

difference how many times and how many people are involved. As I

mentioned a few shiurim ago, when Cain murdered one quarter of

the human race (as it were), God did not stop him or otherwise

prevent him from perpetrating his evil design. God explains to

him afterwards that he acted as he did because he did not

restrain himself, and that it is his duty to rule over his baser

instincts and not let them rule him. That is all.

So, I believe that the question that one often hears asked,

"Where was God during the Holocaust?" is the wrong question. God

will no more prevent such a colossal tragedy than he would

prevent John Doe from stealing a doughnut from a bakery. Only

John Doe can do that - and failing that anyone else who can

exercise some power of coercion over John Doe. And God will not

prevent us from destroying ourselves in some world-wide nuclear

Armageddon; only we can do that. God warns and judges, but does

not play the policeman. So the question should be rephrased:

"Where was the rest of mankind during the Holocaust?" (Perhaps

this is something that we should bear in mind as we near the

twenty-fifth Yahrzeit of Rabbi Avraham Yehoshu'a Heschel. I AM

my brother's keeper, and God will not help us if we drop our

vigilance.)

But God does seem to "interfere" in a round about way. Rambam

discusses the fact that there are stories in the Torah that seem

to contradict his thesis. Very well-known is the recurring

phrase in the Exodus story that "God hardened Pharaoh's heart".

How come that God deprives Pharaoh of his moral autonomy?

Rambam's answer, in a nutshell, is as follows:

Sometimes a person will behave in a way that is so outrageous or

cruel that Divine Justice cannot permit the possibility of

Repentance. It is an axiom of Judaism that nothing stands in the

way of true and sincere repentance. Pharaoh did not blanch at

giving the order to massacre fully one half of the Israelite

people. Such a massacre must find its just reward. Therefore,

once Pharaoh has embarked upon his stubborn path, God intervenes

and, as it were, closes the door behind him: there is now no

escape; and he must follow his chosen path through to its bitter

end. He cannot repent. That is why God hardens Pharaoh's heart:

to prevent his repentence.

It may, perhaps, be easier for us to understand this point if we

consider for a moment the following (imaginary) scenario. We are

in the Chancelry bunker deep in the heart of Berlin, Germany, and

the date is May 1945. Adolf Hitler places the barrel of his

pistol at his temples. During the split second before he pulls

the trigger to commit suicide he has a flash of complete and

utter remorse. He sees his whole life pass before him in a flash

and truly and sincerely repents of everything he has ever done

wrong. Can we imagine to ourselves that God would forgive him,

since nothing stands in the way of true repentance? This cannot

be, so it may not be permitted to come to pass. Hitler chose his

evil path, and at a certain stage God determines to keep him on

that evil path through to his bitter end. And we can pinpoint

that stage. In his book "The Modern Jew faces Eternal Problems",

Aaron Barth describes how he related to the news that Hitler had

declared war on his erstwhile ally, Russia. It seemed incredible

that, with all his successes on the Western front, Hitler would

open up an Eastern front when there was no need to do so. Barth

wrote from Eretz-Israel to a friend in the USA, "This day God has

hardened Pharaoh's heart". What a wonderful insight.

*****************************************************************

Visit the Home Page of Torat Hayyim Congregation, Herzliyya, at

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/5454/t_h_top.html

To dedicate a shiur (lesson) send an amount of your choice,

marked "For RMSG," to: The Foundation for Masorti Judaism in

Israel, 6525 Belcrest Rd., Suite 305, Hyattsville, MD 20782.

Attn: Mr. James Demb. (Contributions are tax-deductible in the

US.) YOU MUST ALSO send a private e-mail, stating the requested

date and the occasion for the dedication, to Rabbi Simchah Roth

<siroth@inter.net.il>. This is also the address for discussion,

queries, comments and requests. Please feel free to pass this

material on; my request is that you cite me as the source.

The RMSG archive may be accessed at the following site:

http://www.jtsa.edu/lists/rmsg A search engine is provided.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

RMSG: 26th December 1997

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: RMSG@JTSA.EDU

Subject: RMSG: 26th December 1997

From: Simchah Roth <siroth@INTER.NET.IL>

Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 10:22:14 +0200

Reply-To: Rabin Mishnah Study Group <RMSG@JTSA.EDU>

Sender: Rabin Mishnah Study Group <RMSG@JTSA.EDU>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RABIN MISHNAH STUDY GROUP

Daily Mishnah Study

in the climate of Masorti (Conservative) Judaism

Rabbi Simchah Roth

of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

26th December 1997 3rd Day Chanukah 27th Kislev 5758

EXCURSUS

ON EVIL IN THE WORLD

(concluded)

We conclude our excursus on Evil in the World with some of your

comments:

Sherry Fyman writes:

If I correctly understood the recent discussion on Rambam's view

of individual suffering, you explain his view that the individual

should not feel that personal suffering is directed against him

or her by God. What is his basis for this view? While it

appeals to me on a gut level, our whole religion is based on the

notion that God is directly involved in our destiny as a people.

Isn't it logical to extend this to a personal level?

I respond:

This could either be a very difficult nut to crack or a very easy

one - and I am not sure that the alternatives are mutually

contradictory. Sherry is raising the issue of Divine Providence,

the extent to which God is perceived as being involved with the

destiny of all creatures. It is sometimes very difficult to

state categorically what Rambam's philosophical view actually was

concerning several major theological issues, because of the way

in which he designed his book "The Guide for the Perplexed".

Realizing that some of his views could possibly be interpreted as

deviating from traditional Jewish thought, he seeded his book

with a generous helping of obfuscation, deliberate

contradictions, and artful misdirection. His expectation was

that the masses would understand his book at one level while the

thinking person would perceive his real intentions. In most

cases he succeeded. As regards Providence:-

In Chapter 17 of Part III Rambam prefaces his discussion by

mentioning five views on Divine Providence:

a) Those who consider that there is no providence at all with

regard to anything whatever in all that exists ... This is

the opinion of Epicurus ... Aristotle [one of Rambam's

philosophical heroes - SR] has demonstrated that this opinion

is inadmissible.

b) Those who hold that providence watches over certain things

... whereas other things are left to chance. This is the

opinion of Aristotle.

c) The third opinion is ... the opinion of those who hold that

in all that exists there is nothing ... that is in any

respect due to chance ... This is the opinion of the Islamic

sect, the Ash'ariyya.

d) The fourth opinion is the opinion of those who hold that man

has the ability to act of his own accord ... The [Islamic

philosophical trend of the] Mu'tazila also hold this opinion.

e) The fifth opinion is our opinion, I mean the opinion of our

Law.

As far as this latter opinion is concerned, Maimonides divides it

up into sub-sections: "What has been literally stated in the

books of our prophets and is believed by the multitude of our

scholars; I shall also inform you of what is believed by some of

our latter-day scholars; and I shall also let you know what I

myself believe about this." In his own inimitable way, Rambam

has thus prepared the thinking reader for the possibility that

not everything stated by the prophets is to be understood

literally "as is believed by the [ignorant - SR] multitude of our

scholars"; that there are scholars of repute with whom he

disagrees; and there is his own view (assuming that this is not

camouflaging his acceptance of Aristotle's view).

Rambam then makes the following points:

a) "It is a fundamental principle of the Torah of Moshe Rabbenu

... that man has an absolute ability to act ... that in

virtue of his nature, his choice, and his will, he may do

everything that is within the capacity of man to do...

Similarly all the species of animals move in virtue of their

own free will. God has willed it so. This is a fundamental

principle concerning which ... no disagreement has ever been

heard within our religious community."

b) "It is likewise one of the fundamental principles of the

Torah of Moshe Rabbenu that it is no way possible the God

should be unjust."

c) "This is what is stated literally in the Torah of Moshe

Rabbenu..."

... In other words, these two points belong to "what has been

literally stated in the books of our prophets and is believed

[wrongly] by the multitude of our [ignorant] scholars". Later on

in the chapter Rambam expatiates upon his "own view" according to

which there is only "general providence" for creation as a whole,

and only man is the subject of "special providence". This

"special providence" is in direct proportion to the intellectual

closeness that a person develops between their own intellect and

the Divine Intellect.

When one studies this book over many readings one begins to get a

feel for the man's methodology. My own - completely

unsubstantiated - opinion as to Rambam's real view is that it was

an amalgam of that which he describes as "my own" and that which

he ascribes to Aristotle. Firstly, that is that there is no such

thing as "special providence" for individuals and species: "I do

not by any means believe that this particular leaf has fallen

because of a providence watching over it; not that this spider

was devoured by this fly because God has now decreed and willed

something concerning individuals ... for all this is in my

opinion due to pure chance, just as Aristotle holds". Note how

Rambam artfully slides from the leaf and the fly to

"individuals", and the implications that are there enshrined.

Thus, secondly, Divine Providence is over the generality of

creation, but not over each and every individual.

Thus far "the very difficult" answer to Sherry's point. The

easier answer is that God is, indeed, actively and directly

involved with the destiny of the Jewish people in general and all

mankind in particular; but that involvement does not necessarily

extend to the particular. The Jewish people has, through the

ages, suffered enormous atrocities at the hands of our enemies,

and our numbers have probably been more than decimated. But,

because of Divine Providence, the Jewish people still exists and

flourishes.

More of your comments in our next shiur.

Shabbat Shalom and Chanukah Same'ach!

*****************************************************************

Visit the Home Page of Torat Hayyim Congregation, Herzliyya, at

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/5454/t_h_top.html

To dedicate a shiur (lesson) send an amount of your choice,

marked "For RMSG," to: The Foundation for Masorti Judaism in

Israel, 6525 Belcrest Rd., Suite 305, Hyattsville, MD 20782.

Attn: Mr. James Demb. (Contributions are tax-deductible in the

US.) YOU MUST ALSO send a private e-mail, stating the requested

date and the occasion for the dedication, to Rabbi Simchah Roth

<siroth@inter.net.il>. This is also the address for discussion,

queries, comments and requests. Please feel free to pass this

material on; my request is that you cite me as the source.

The RMSG archive may be accessed at the following site:

http://www.jtsa.edu/lists/rmsg A search engine is provided.

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RMSG: 29th December 1997

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: RMSG@JTSA.EDU

Subject: RMSG: 29th December 1997

From: Simchah Roth <siroth@INTER.NET.IL>

Date: Mon, 29 Dec 1997 09:30:01 +0200

Reply-To: Rabin Mishnah Study Group <RMSG@JTSA.EDU>

Sender: Rabin Mishnah Study Group <RMSG@JTSA.EDU>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RABIN MISHNAH STUDY GROUP

Daily Mishnah Study

in the climate of Masorti (Conservative) Judaism

Rabbi Simchah Roth

of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

29th December 1997 6th Day Chanukah 30th Kislev 5758

Rosh Chodesh

EXCURSUS

ON EVIL IN THE WORLD

(concluded)

We conclude our excursus on Evil in the World with some more of

your comments and my responses to them:

Remy Landau writes:

I am wondering whether or not such concepts as the Shoah

[Holocaust - SR] can indeed fall into the Rambam's ideas of God's

role in human suffering. I'm not certain that Maimonides could

have ever imagined, let alone understood, something as thoroughly

incomprehensible as that rampant evil so willfully perpetrated

by highly intelligent human beings.

I respond:

I think that we have already addressed this question. However,

for the sake of completeness let me suggest that the evil

perpetrated during the Holocaust was monstrous in its compass not

in its ethos. The annihilation of the communities of the

Rhineland, for example, in 1096 was just as horrific and ruthless

and complete - and, unfortunately, one could give countless other

examples from Jewish history of such mass slaughterings. So the

avowed annihilation of Jews was not something new, and Rambam, in

his experience, could easily comprehend what man was capable of

doing to man. What he could not have known was the staggering

compass of the Nazi extermination scheme, with all its modern

technological possibilities. But, pro rata, a greater percentage

of the Jewish communities in Speier, Wurms and Maintz was

slaughtered in 1096 than in Europe between 1941 and 1945. When

we are brought face to face with monstrous evil it is the child

in us that expects the father-figure to wave a magic wand and

"make it go away"; the adult in us must force us to act against

that evil in order to make it go away. "Everything is in the

hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven" - that is in our

hands, and we ARE our brother's keeper.

Israel man writes:

The explanation of "Evil in the world" raises a few questions in

my mind. The explanation leads to a logical conclusion that the

blessing of "Ha'Gomel" is not necessary as God has nothing to do

with the cause and outcome of illness or accident. Also the

figures of speech as "im yirtze Hashem" [God willing] or "baruch

Hashem" [Thank God] would [not] be in congruence with your

explanation.

I respond:

I fail to understand why showing our gratitude to God for the

good things that happen to us [Birkat ha-Gomel] necessarily

conflicts with Rambam's philosophy. If this universe is the way

it is because that is God's pleasure - that is the way God

created the universe - then everything that happens in it may

ultimately be ascribed to God. It is true that we now understand

that the sun does not rise every morning because God says "Get up

and do it again"; but the mechanics of the universe are, to the

religious mind, the surest and most certain indication that the

Divine pervades the whole.

Bill Wiesner writes:

I have always thought of Abel's murder as the first holocaust.

When 25% of humanity is killed it is serious business. Even more

so in this case since Abel (as far as we can tell) was the only

sinless one of the first four people. So my question: what good

is prayer if God won't intercede on our behalf? Who was better

off? - Cain, whose sacrifice was not accepted - but who married

and had children; or Abel - without sin - but also without a life

or heirs. I must confess that I personally believe in free will

to a point; and that point is where my free will bumps up against

the Eternal.

I respond:

We have already had a discussion on the efficacy of prayer, so I

won't repeat everything again: you can find the discussion in

RMSG of 1st and 4th December last. The logical furtherance of

Bill's thesis would be "better a live sinner than a dead saint".

Yet it was Cain himself who pleaded with God that he could not

live with his conscience: "My punishment is too great for me to

bear" [Genesis 4:13]. I repeat what I have written before: often

we are not punished FOR our sins but BY our sins.

Before I introduce the next (and last) comment I want to break

from a rule that I set for myself right at the beginning of RMSG.

I never give participants in our discussions their titles

(Professor, Cantor, Rabbi etc) nor do I describe their

provenance. However, I feel I must introduce our next

participant in order to prevent too many raised eyebrows. He is

a non-fundamentalist Christian pastor working in a church

community in western Germany, and I have been in e-mail contact

with him now for several years. (Since English is not his

mother-tongue I have taken more editing liberties than usual.)

Christian Guenther writes:

In part II of your excursus you wrote: >>I shall expatiate more

on this point when we discuss the next category; but at this

stage let me point out that if God were to intervene and prevent

us from harming ourselves, God would be severely compromising our

moral independence - which according to Judaism is the hallmark

of humankind.<<

Moral independence is - according Christian teaching - the

hallmark of humankind also. But another important question in

Christian theology is "unde malo" - from whence comes the evil,

and why does it exist? And most Christian theologians teach that

doing evil things is caused by man's moral independence and is a

privilege of humankind and of God. But - why only humankind? My

dog obviously seems to have a conscience and responsibility for

all members of our family. Monkeys (chimpanzees) can lie and

sometimes they do much more evil things to other monkeys. The

results of modern ethology seem to show that being evil is

something like a surviving strategy. Now, what can be learned in

the teaching of Judaism about the nature or essence of evil?

I respond:

I do not accept the addition of the words "and of God". God does

not act morally; God acts in accordance with God's will. We do,

however, believe (not know) that God does not demand one values

standard of us while adopting another in the governance of the

universe. (Put more simply: we do not believe that God says,

"Don't do as I do, do as I tell you".) When Abraham challenges

God "Shall not the Judge of all the Earth act justly?" [Genesis

18:25] his challenge goes unanswered. Furthermore, I do not

think that animals have a moral consciousness. If they

distinguish between right and wrong it is because of human

training, not because of some innate awareness or peer-group

teaching. Christian's observation about our nearest primate

cousins is very interesting, but I do not have the necessary

knowledge to evaluate it. Maybe someone else does.

Christian continues:

Referring to humans doing evil, you pointed to non-intervention

by God. I like this point of view, it pleases my "enlightened"

idea of history. (A lot of Christians think - unlike me - that

God helps them with smaller or bigger signs and wonders, or

punishes them with evil or sufferings, like some billiards player

who engaged a truck driver and some street workers with pneumatic

hammers to cause vibrations, so that the balls change their

direction if necessary.) The moral independence of humankind is

still untouched in this construction!) But reading a lot about

the Holocaust, its demonic dimension and its absurdity, I

remember that Eli Wiesel wrote some books about a Torah-juridical

inquiry by Rabbis who lived in Birkenau. At first they condemned

the Germans, of course, secondly themselves, the Jews, thirdly

they condemned God. My question is: Do you think that we would

look at the evil in this very simple, individual and somehow

"enlightened" or positivistic way if we would be victims of a

comparable demonic, absurd situation?

I respond:

Probably not, but our reaction would be subjective and would not

in any way vitiate the objective view we have presented. I

recall the advice of the great sage Shammai in the Mishnah [Avot

2:4]: "Do not judge your fellow until you are in his situation."

Chanukah Same'ach and Chodesh Tov to everyone.

*****************************************************************

Visit the Home Page of Torat Hayyim Congregation, Herzliyya, at

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/5454/t_h_top.html

To dedicate a shiur (lesson) send an amount of your choice,

marked "For RMSG," to: The Foundation for Masorti Judaism in

Israel, 6525 Belcrest Rd., Suite 305, Hyattsville, MD 20782.

Attn: Mr. James Demb. (Contributions are tax-deductible in the

US.) YOU MUST ALSO send a private e-mail, stating the requested

date and the occasion for the dedication, to Rabbi Simchah Roth

<siroth@inter.net.il>. This is also the address for discussion,

queries, comments and requests. Please feel free to pass this

material on; my request is that you cite me as the source.

The RMSG archive may be accessed at the following site:

http://www.jtsa.edu/lists/rmsg A search engine is provided.