{"id":109,"date":"2013-07-12T03:37:37","date_gmt":"2013-07-12T12:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/derechhashem.wordpress.com\/?p=109"},"modified":"2013-07-12T03:37:37","modified_gmt":"2013-07-12T12:07:37","slug":"derech-hashem-116","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/2013\/07\/12\/derech-hashem-116\/","title":{"rendered":"Derech Hashem 1:1:6"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are some problems with the archives on this class at torah.org (hence the delay on this) so I won’t have a link until that’s fixed. Here’s the text itself, though.<\/em><\/p>\n

1:1:6<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll end off our foray into the nature and make-up of G-d here and then venture into less utterly transcendent though lofty spiritual realms, including the nature of our own beings; the meaning of our lives; what G-d expects of us; and how our righteousness or wrongfulness affects us personally as well as the entire world, the Jewish year, the Jewish day, and so much more.<\/p>\n

Ramchal offers one last insight into G-d’s being here and then sums up the entire chapter by encapsulating the six facts about G-d that we’d do well to dwell on and take to heart if we’re ever going to understand this world and His ways in it.<\/p>\n

His last point is that it’s likewise important to know that there\u2019s only one G-d. This isn\u2019t simply the idea that there\u2019s only one Creator and L-rd of the universe, which most people of faith accept as true. His position is that G-d is necessarily<\/i> that by dint of the following fact.<\/p>\n

Everything in this universe is a product of a more comprehensive phenomenon, rule, or being that explains it, overrides it, and allows it to exist [1]. As such, G-d Almighty is the one overriding and comprehensive Being behind the existence of the universe without Whom nothing could exist or be explicable.<\/p>\n

So while Ramchal had already shown that G-d’s existence \u201cdepends on nothing else\u201d and that He exists \u201cof His own volition\u201d [2], his point here is that G-d is unique in that [3], and that \u201ceverything else depends on Him\u201d for its existence and all else, and \u201ccannot exist on its own\u201d [4].<\/p>\n

Thus the six facts about G-d we’d need to recall are that He exists (1:1:1), He’s \u201cwhole\u201d (1:1:2), His existence is imperative (1:1:3), He’s utterly Self-sufficient (1:1:4), He’s \u201csimple\u201d (1:1:5), and, as we just saw, that there’s only one of Him [5].<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

[1]\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An abstract example would be the fact that the unrelated numbers 907 and 6,322 (to pick any two at random) are both a product of the fact that there\u2019s a linear number system, without which they wouldn\u2019t make sense or exist. And a concrete example would be the fact that all parts of a painting are a product of the entire painting, and only exist because the painting itself does. This principle also explains all laws of nature, of physics, etc.<\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See 1:1:4 and 4:4:1.<\/p>\n

[3]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There\u2019s another way that G-d is unique. He alone determines what will happen in the end. See 4:4:1; Klach Pitchei Chochma<\/i> 1 (in Ramchal\u2019s own commentary there); and Da\u2019at Tevunot<\/i> 36. While this is a very important point and is central to Ramchal\u2019s thinking, he nonetheless didn\u2019t expand upon it in \u201cThe Way of G-d\u201d.<\/p>\n

Some would suggest that Ramchal is indicating another unique aspect of G-d: that only He exists and nothing else has autonomous existence. While this idea (referred to as \u201cPanentheism\u201d — not Pantheism which is a wholly other idea and heretical) is cited in a number of illustrious works of Jewish Mysticism (see Sefer Tanya<\/i> 1:48 and all of the second section there; Nephesh HaChaim<\/i> 3:2-8; Pitchei Sha\u2019arim<\/i>, Netiv HaTzimtzum<\/i> 6; etc.), and while it\u2019s erroneously recorded as the gist of 1:1:6 in all Feldheim editions of \u201cThe Way of G-d\u201d in their sidebar, Ramchal never spoke of this idea.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s one way, though, that one might legitimately claim that this is Ramchal\u2019s intention here. There\u2019s another version of the line which we\u2019ve translated as \u201ceverything else depends on Him\u201d and \u201ccannot exist on its own\u201d. Using that alternative text, R\u2019 Aryeh Kaplan translated the phrase to read \u201call other things \u2026 partake of Him<\/i> and do not have intrinsic<\/i> existence<\/i>\u201d. While that\u2019s an elegant way of expressing Panentheism, still-and-all no other version of the text of \u201cThe Way of G-d\u201d (including R\u2019 Y. Spinner\u2019s, which is based on the original manuscript, and doesn\u2019t even cite R\u2019 Kaplan\u2019s version as an alternative reading) uses this alternative text.<\/p>\n

[4]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See Ma\u2019amar HaChochma<\/i> as well as Yesodei HaTorah<\/i> 1:4.<\/p>\n

[5]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A final point. The Way of G-d<\/i> is set out like a tree. It starts with a seed, sets out roots, and extends upward and outward. The “seed” has been this chapter, which discusses G-d’s make-up. All that follows is an offshoot of it. So, always keep this chapter in mind and dwell on it often. For without it — without G-d and what we know of Him — nothing else makes sense.<\/p>\n

(c) 2013 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

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

———————————————————-<\/p>\n

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman 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 on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are some problems with the archives on this class at torah.org (hence the delay on this) so I won’t have a link until that’s fixed. Here’s the text itself, though. 1:1:6 We\u2019ll end off our foray into the nature … 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":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,3,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jewish-thought","category-kabbalah","category-ramchal","category-torah"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iqof-1L","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}