{"id":221,"date":"2010-12-14T08:01:48","date_gmt":"2010-12-14T12:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ramchal.wordpress.com\/?p=221"},"modified":"2010-12-14T08:01:48","modified_gmt":"2010-12-14T12:01:48","slug":"right-and-wrong-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/2010\/12\/14\/right-and-wrong-finale\/","title":{"rendered":"Right and Wrong (finale)"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we\u2019d pointed out a few paragraphs back, Ramchal contends that one of the major factors of the God Yichud<\/em> is the detail that all bad will revert to goodness once His Yichud<\/em> is revealed; we\u2019ll end this section with a discussion of that.<\/p>\n

As Ramchal words it here, \u201cin the end all harm will be rectified and all wrong will revert to actual goodness. And God\u2019s<\/strong> <\/strong>Yichud<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>will thus be revealed\u201d <\/strong>(Petach<\/em> 4) [1]. For in fact, \u201cwrongfulness reverting to goodness is itself the mystery of the complete (revelation of God\u2019s)<\/em> Yichud\u201d (comments to Petach<\/em> 4).<\/p>\n

But the idea of all wrong reverting to goodness seems highly problematic to say the least; for one thing, because Ramchal seems to say something else at other points. He indicates a number of times that wrong will eventually be undone<\/em> after having been defeated by goodness, both in every individual\u2019s lifetime and in the course of human history [2], which is far less radical and much more consistent with the prevailing view. But that\u2019s clearly not his contention here in Klach<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The notion that all wrong will revert to goodness is also challenging because it seems to imply that everyone will \u201cget off scot-free\u201d in the end, if you will [3]; or that the breakdown of right versus wrong will ultimately prove to be meaningless or useless. So let\u2019s see how Ramchal addresses those issues.<\/p>\n

One point to be made is that wrongdoers will not \u201cget away with murder\u201d whatsoever, as the expression goes, in that \u201ceverything will (eventually) be utterly perfected and rectified \u2026 either through repentance or retribution<\/em>\u201d (commentary to Petach<\/em> 1), and thus fairly and deservedly rather than arbitrarily [4]. And each person will indeed be made to answer for his or her deeds [5].<\/p>\n

Why then did God create evil in the first place if it\u2019s only going to be destroyed in the end? Because God\u2019s ultimate \u201cgoal wouldn\u2019t be reached otherwise<\/em>\u201d (commentary to Petach<\/em> 2). For wrong will prove to have functioned as a \u201cstraw man\u201d if you will, who seems<\/em> to thwart God\u2019s wishes. Once it is done away with, though, it will be clear that \u201cwhatever we perceive as ostensibly thwarting His will only does so because He permitted it to<\/em>\u201d (commentary to Petach<\/em> 1).<\/p>\n

As such, wrong was created to be destroyed, and God\u2019s having done that was comparable to someone \u201cbreaking (something) so as to fix (it later on)<\/em>\u201d (commentary to Petach <\/em>4), meaning to say on purpose and for a constructive end. And as a consequence, \u201cwhatever is initially wrongful<\/strong> (by all appearances) \u2026 will undoubtedly<\/strong> (prove to be) good in the end <\/strong>(Petach<\/em> 2), and \u201cand it will (thus) be realized and clear in retrospect that there is only one Ruler<\/em>\u201d (commentary to Petach<\/em> 2) [6].<\/p>\n

This completes \u201cOn the Revelation of God\u2019s Yichud<\/em> and His Beneficence\u201d. Ramchal provides us with this fine encapsulation of it:<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral things are involved here. First, God\u2019s <\/em>Yichud will actually be revealed. Since this involves having evil revert back to goodness, that couldn\u2019t actually come about until evil was actualized in the lower realms. Secondly, the revelation of God’s <\/em>Yichud will be so precious that (those who experience it) will enjoy great delight when they attain it. Thirdly, since this revelation involves an initial concealment, that fact allows a place for (our Divine) service (in life) and it allows for reward when it\u2019s experienced\u2026. But as soon as God\u2019s <\/em>Yichud will be revealed, there will no longer be a need for (our Divine) service<\/em>\u201d (comments to Petach<\/em> 4) [7].<\/p>\n

______________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

[1] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See the statement that all \u201cwrong was created to be undone (in the end)\u201d Da\u2019at<\/em> Tevunot<\/em> 124. Also see Ginzei<\/em> Ramchal<\/em> p. 247.<\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See for example Iggerot<\/em> Ramchal<\/em> 4, 14, 23; Klallim<\/em> Rishonim<\/em> pp. 294-295; Ma\u2019amar<\/em> HaGeulah<\/em>, and elsewhere. See Y. Avivi\u2019s analysis on pp. 98-100 of Zohar<\/em> Ramchal<\/em> with examples offered, as well as his argument there (as well as on pp. 206-208, 289) that Ramchal\u2019s views evolved over time to the one expressed here. But see R\u2019 Shriki\u2019s arguments against that chronology in Rechev<\/em> Yisrael<\/em> p. 180 note 53*. Also see R\u2019 Friedlander\u2019s statement at the end of the first paragraph on p. 36 (English pagination) in his edition of Klach<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But one need only read the following statement by Ramchal to understand his intentions: \u201cThe left (side; i.e., the side of wrong) will (first<\/em>) be subdued by the right (side; i.e., the side of goodness) when good will dominate, and (then<\/em>) wrong will revert to goodness\u201d (Sod HaYichud<\/em> in Ginzei Ramchal<\/em> p. 264). Also see the discussion near the end of BT Yoma<\/em> (86b) to the affect that one\u2019s sins will be turned to merits<\/em> rather than just atoned for when he repents out of a true love of God, which will presumably be true of all of humankind when God\u2019s Yichud<\/em> will become manifest.<\/p>\n

[3] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As Ramchal puts it here, \u201cIn the end, all people, whether righteous or wrongful, will enjoy (God\u2019s) largess<\/em>\u201d (commentary to Petach<\/em> 2).<\/p>\n

[4]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See Derech<\/em> Hashem<\/em> 2:3:5, 9; Messilat<\/em> Yesharim<\/em> Ch. 5; and R\u2019 Friedlander\u2019s note 461, on p. 187 of his edition of Da\u2019at<\/em> Tevunot<\/em>.<\/p>\n

[5]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 After indicating that \u201call people, whether righteous or wrongful, will enjoy (God\u2019s) largess<\/em>\u201d as we cited in our note above Ramchal then indicated there that \u201chowever, God has to deal with each individual according to his ways<\/em>\u201d (commentary to Petach<\/em> 2). His point there is to not only underscore Divine Justice but to also indicate how that too helps explain God\u2019s Yichud<\/em>. For as he goes on there to say, \u201cfor (while) it\u2019s necessary to punish the wrongful, (that\u2019s only) in order to exonerate them afterwards. (After all,) if His intention was to reject the wrongful, they should actually be destroyed rather than be punished so as to be purified later on. The fact that they are punished to benefit them later is clear proof that His will is only for good<\/em>\u201d (commentary to Petach<\/em> 2).<\/p>\n

[6]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See Ramchal\u2019s comments to Petach<\/em> 49 on p. 180.<\/p>\n

Also see R\u2019 Shriki\u2019s thorough treatment of the matter on pp. 168-180 of his edition of Da\u2019at<\/em> Tevunot<\/em>, and on pp. 229-281 in Rechev<\/em> Yisrael<\/em><\/p>\n

We contend, though, that at bottom Ramchal\u2019s point is that given that God Himself is goodness itself (see Derech Hashem <\/em>1:2 and Klach<\/em> 30 p. 101, and the statement that \u201cthere\u2019s no wrong either in \u2018The Beginning\u2019 or \u2018The End\u2019, as everything is good (i.e. God) then\u201d [Sod<\/em> HaYichud<\/em> in Ginzei<\/em> Ramchal<\/em> p. 264]), it thus follows that when wrongfulness is undone, reality as we know it will implode upon itself as well (see our note 2 to this section), and \u201call wrong will revert to actual goodness\u201d <\/strong>(Petach<\/em> 4), i.e., Godliness.<\/p>\n

[7]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Also see Adir<\/em> Bamarom<\/em> p. 393.<\/p>\n

(c) 2010 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":"

As we\u2019d pointed out a few paragraphs back, Ramchal contends that one of the major factors of the God Yichud is the detail that all bad will revert to goodness once His Yichud is revealed; we\u2019ll end this section with … 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":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}