{"id":490,"date":"2017-02-05T00:50:44","date_gmt":"2017-02-05T00:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/?p=490"},"modified":"2017-02-05T00:50:44","modified_gmt":"2017-02-05T00:50:44","slug":"derech-hashem-2312","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/2017\/02\/05\/derech-hashem-2312\/","title":{"rendered":"Derech Hashem 2:3:12"},"content":{"rendered":"

Derech<\/em> Hashem<\/em> – The Way of G-d 2:3:12<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to know that two sorts of things occur to us, overall: the things that function as \u201cmeans\u201d 1<\/sup> and others that function as \u201cends\u201d 2<\/sup>. Things function as \u201cends\u201d when they\u2019re brought on by one of the phenomena cited above in this chapter 3<\/sup>, and they\u2019re \u201cmeans\u201d when they only occur to bring on something or another that you\u2019ll experience 4<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

This principle is best illustrated by the verse that reads, \u201cI will thank you, G-d, for being angry with me\u201d (Isaiah 12:1) 5<\/sup>. Our sages explained that it refers to those times when things that seemed to have been bad at first proved to be good in the end — as when, for example, your cow breaks its leg on the way somewhere yet you uncover a buried treasure there (see Breishit<\/em> Rabbah<\/em> 42:1), or when you missed your boat and find out that it sunk at sea (see Niddah<\/em> 31a) 6<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

And while all sorts of bad and good things could come about either for your sake or for someone else\u2019s, nonetheless at bottom the point is that it\u2019s G-d\u2019s will that determines just whom it\u2019s going to happen to and the circumstances under which they\u2019ll come about, and for the ultimately very best of reasons 7<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/p>\n

1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>To an end, but are themselves just seemingly incidental.<\/p>\n

2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>Unto themselves, and are thus purposeful.<\/p>\n

3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>That is, when they occur with the goal of testing our spiritual mettle.<\/p>\n

4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>That is, when they occur without a specific goal in mind.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s dwell on a couple of things now, for nearly everything in this entry is confusing.<\/p>\n

For one thing, why are the things brought on by the circumstances cited earlier on said to be ends unto themselves? Aren\u2019t they in fact means<\/em> to an end \u2013 to our achieving spiritual growth? (See 2:3:1 where it\u2019s pointed out that we\u2019re all placed in various circumstances to test our mettle.)<\/p>\n

5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>This verse doesn\u2019t seem to bolster the points made above. Ramchal cites it elsewhere in his writings to allude to a specific idea which we\u2019ll expand upon below, but why is it here?<\/p>\n

6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>This entire paragraph doesn\u2019t seem to follow what\u2019s been said until now. What are we to understand from it?<\/p>\n

7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/sup>This paragraph is also off-kilter too, somehow. What\u2019s its<\/em> point?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s try to explain all of this now, as Ramchal\u2019s points here are erudite and not at all obvious.<\/p>\n

Ramchal cites the verse from Isaiah — \u201cI will thank you, G-d, for being angry with me\u201d — in a number of his works (see for example Da\u2019at<\/em> Tevunot<\/em> 118, 128 and 155, Clallim<\/em> Rishonim<\/em> 7, Iggerot<\/em> Pitchei<\/em> Chochma<\/em> v\u2019Da\u2019at<\/em> p. 404 and elsewhere) for a specific and important point. For while the verse clearly has Messianic implications in its context (especially in light of the chapter in Isaiah that precedes it), Ramchal understands it to also refer to that Post-Messianic<\/em> Age — when G-d\u2019s very presence and sovereignty will be manifest, and when all bad will be overturned to good.<\/p>\n

As such, the verse should be understood to read as follows: \u201cI will (eventually<\/em>) thank you, G-d, for having been angry with me\u201d in the past and having had bad things come my way. Because I\u2019ll come to recognize that like my apparent bad fortune when my cow broke its leg, when I missed my boat — all<\/em> of the bad I\u2019ve gone through will prove to be fortunate in the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd\u201d — to quote from the final paragraph above — \u201cwhile all sorts of bad (at-first) but (ultimately) good things could come about \u2026, at bottom, \u2026 it\u2019s G-d\u2019s will that determines just whom it\u2019s going to happen to and the circumstances under which they\u2019ll come about\u2026 for the ultimately very best of reasons<\/em>\u201d \u2013 which is, to reveal His presence and turn all of bad into goodness. (See 2:3:1 for the idea that \u201cG-d distributed these challenges among us all as a part of His plans for us\u201d; and 2:3:4 where it\u2019s said that \u201cG-d brings all of this about \u2026 so as to ultimately benefit humankind\u201d.)<\/p>\n

For it will ultimately be proven then that nothing<\/em> is incidental \u2013 everything is purposeful (see Adir<\/em> Bamarom<\/em> p. 248, Klach<\/em> Pitchei<\/em> Chochma<\/em> 49 [in the comments]) and meant for the end we just indicated, even if we don\u2019t experience that just yet.<\/p>\n

Thus, the ultimate point here is that everything<\/em> is part of G-d\u2019s plan to have us and the universe at large reach perfection, to have everything resolve itself in the end, and for us to honestly say, \u201cI thank you, G-d, for (once) being angry with me\u201d (Isaiah 12:1).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(c) 2017 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/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":"

Derech Hashem – The Way of G-d 2:3:12 It\u2019s important to know that two sorts of things occur to us, overall: the things that function as \u201cmeans\u201d 1 and others that function as \u201cends\u201d 2. Things function as \u201cends\u201d when … 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":[14,2,3,4,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hashkapha","category-jewish-thought","category-kabbalah","category-ramchal","category-torah","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iqof-7U","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490","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=490"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":492,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions\/492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}