{"id":160,"date":"2017-03-20T15:10:19","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T15:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/?p=160"},"modified":"2017-03-20T15:10:19","modified_gmt":"2017-03-20T15:10:19","slug":"daat-tevunot-118-56-cont-57","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/2017\/03\/20\/daat-tevunot-118-56-cont-57\/","title":{"rendered":"Da\u2019at Tevunot 1:18 (# 56 [cont.] – 57)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Da\u2019at Tevunot<\/em> 1:18 (# 56 [cont.] – 57)<\/p>\n

1.<\/p>\n

This needs to be said too, before we come to the end of this first part of Da\u2019at<\/em> Tevunot<\/em>. It\u2019s that it\u2019s vitally important to recall that G-d\u2019s own ways are utterly and unfailingly perfect, yet He interacts with us in this imperfect world. How so? — by specifically accommodating His actions to the reality of the reward and punishment system that He established. Indeed, He tailors each of His ways here to the needs and makeup of that system 1<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

And G-d\u2019s own perfect ways will continue to accommodate themselves to<\/em> the reward and punishment system as long as it will go on 2<\/sup>. But at bottom it is perfection that undergirds all of reality — even when the system of reward and punishment is at play, since perfection is what guides and moves everything along 3<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just that as long as G-d\u2019s utter sovereignty lies hidden away as it must for the meanwhile, things will go on the way we\u2019ve thus depicted them for as long as G-d\u2019s wisdom deems that they must. In any event, things will return to the original state of perfection in the end.<\/p>\n

And so we\u2019re presented with three components to factor into G-d\u2019s interactions with us: the eventual revelation of His sovereignty, the day to day ethics-based system of reward and punishment, and G-d\u2019s accommodating His perfection to that system. It follows then that we\u2019d need to grasp all three if we\u2019re ever to truly understand things here in the world.<\/p>\n

Never forget, though, that it\u2019s G-d\u2019s will that steers all of the above and drives it; and that everything depends on His infinite abilities and will 4<\/sup>, He chose each thing\u2019s makeup and ways, and everything is under His control.<\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/p>\n

1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>Ramchal doesn\u2019t make this point here but he\u2019s alluding to the fact that even though we can\u2019t really grasp that yet, that\u2019s the reality. For, just as we humans can only perceive the universe through the filters of space, time, and our senses, we can likewise only perceive G-d\u2019s actions through the filter of the reward and punishment system that He set up rather than on their own.<\/p>\n

The closest analogy to it \u2013 though it\u2019s far from perfect \u2013 is the fact that we only understand our parents\u2019 conduct when we\u2019re young by the ways they reward or punish us for our actions, when that really says very little about themselves and their capacities.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>It\u2019s also fair to say that the fact that the reward and punishment system is the stage upon which the human experience plays itself out now \u2013 and will be until G-d\u2019s sovereignty is exhibited — might explain why we often focus more on Divine retribution than on Divine love.<\/p>\n

See Clallim<\/em> Rishonim<\/em> 6, \u201cHarashimu<\/em>\u201d which discusses the Kabbalistic notions relevant here (i.e., the rashimu<\/em> versus the kav<\/em>), as well as Ibid. 23 \u201cInyan<\/em> Hamochin<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>That\u2019s to say that much the way that the soul undergirds the body (by keeping it alive, etc.) yet it accommodates itself to the body\u2019s ways (by enabling it to express its physical needs, etc.), G-d\u2019s perfection will continue to undergird the universe yet accommodate itself to the moral needs of society and human interactions as long as it has to (see 2:6 below for a discussion about the relationship between body and soul on this level).<\/p>\n

3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>See Clallim<\/em> Rishonim<\/em> 6, \u201cV\u2019od<\/em> yesh<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>After all isn’t it said that, \u201cThe heavens were made by G-d\u2019s word; by the breath of His mouth all their host (were made)\u201d (Psalms 33:6); that \u201cYou, G-d, You are the only one. You made the heavens, the highest heavens and all their hosts, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them. You (alone) grant them all life\u201d (Nehemiah<\/em> 9:6); that we’re to \u201cLift up (our) eyes on high and see who has created these!\u201d (Isaiah 40:26); and that \u201cIt was I (G-d alone) who made the earth and created mankind on it; it was My hands that stretched out the heavens; I commanded all their host\u201d (Isaiah 45:12).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(c) 2017 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n

———————————————————-<\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman’s new annotated translation of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag\u2019s \u201cIntroduction to the Zohar\u201d is available as \u201cThe Kabbalah of Self\u201d on Kindle here<\/a>. His annotated translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> and his annotated translation of Rabbeinu Yonah\u2019s “The Gates of Repentance” is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes torah.org entitled \u201cSpiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d that can be subscribed to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Da\u2019at Tevunot 1:18 (# 56 [cont.] – 57) 1. This needs to be said too, before we come to the end of this first part of Da\u2019at Tevunot. It\u2019s that it\u2019s vitally important to recall that G-d\u2019s own ways are … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,3,4,5,6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hashkapha","category-jewish-thought","category-kabbalah","category-luzzatto","category-ramchal","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iqo7-2A","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160\/revisions\/162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/daattevunot\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}