Bereishit, 18:19
Parshat Vayeira, 5768
Natural Law and Miracles
Every Jew, every descendant of Avraham, can himself or herself above the forces of nature, and experience miracles. This is so even though most of the time most of us are subject to the general trends of the world and to the programs of the universe. Hashgacha Prattit(Hashem’s personal attention and protection) is individually focused on us only at critical moments in our lives. For the rest of the time, unless we are one of the pious few, we are subject to the natural laws of the universe. This is the bold view of the Ramban onBereishit 18:19.
The Ramban makes this statement as he interprets why Hashem bestowed his abundant blessing on Avraham more than on anyone else. In verse 18:19 of our Parsha, Hashem states his reason:“Ki Yeda’ativ etc - for I have known him [Avraham] that he will instruct his family and descendants in Hashem’s ways”. Targumei Onkelosand Yonatan, and Rashi give different interpretations.
Divine Omniscience and Free Will
Onkelos translates “Ki Yeda’ativ - I have known” as: “it is revealed before me”. G-d’s knowledge, referred to in this verse, means His omnsience. G-d gave His magnificent blessings to Avraham because he foresaw that Avraham would instruct his descendants in the ways of Hashem. Even at this relatively early stage of Avraham’s journey, G-d already knows that he will raise his children and guide his descendants in Torah[1]. G-d’s omniscience however, of G-d does not diminish Avraham’s bechira chofshit (free choice). G-d’s ever-clear knowledge of the future patterns of our lives, does not limit our freedom of choice. One word in the Targum Yonatan translation clarifies this tension between G-d’s omniscience and our free will.
The Targum Yonatan adds the word “chassidutei (His righteousness)” to qualify what it was that is revealed before Hashem. It is not Avraham’s future choices but rather his presentcharacter that is revealed before Hashem. The purity of his present piety suffices for G-d to know exactly by what values he will raise his family. G-d’s omniscience is less about foretelling the future than it is about knowledge of the present. True knowledge and understanding of the present unveils the unknowns of the future. The ordinary person can only see things when they become obvious. Wise people, however, see events or trends the moment they are conceived[2]. Then they predict the future by extrapolation. Hashem’s knowledge of the present moment is so absolute that his predictions of the future are perfect. Avraham, according to the Targum Yonatan, is not rewarded for his future choices but for his present piety. Although a person is free to make choices in the future, those choices are heavily informed by the character and the values that he or she developed in the past.
Love as a way to elicit greatness
The second view is Rashi’s. He says that Ki yeda’ativ means “because I have loved him and in my intimacy with him I have understood his uniqueness[3]”. Love then, according to Rashi, is the understanding of that unique character in another person that differentiates him or her from every other person in the world. Character is as defining of a person as is DNA. Character can be developed and matured, but the character of each of us is different and therefore we each make different choices. Because I have loved Avraham, says Hashem according to Rashi, I have given him abundant beracha that will result in him leading his descendants in the upright ways of the Torah.
The Targum sees the way that Avraham chose to raise his children as the cause of the berachot (blessings), Rashi sees Avraham’s later choices as the outcome of the berachot that he received. According to the Targum, Hashem blessed Avraham because of the type of person he was and the kind of educational choices he would inevitably make. According to Rashi G-d blessed him so that(lema’an), he would educate his descendants in G-d’s ways.
We have so much to learn from these two interpretations. Sometimes we love people because of how good they are, we love them for their standards of integrity, morality or heroism. For their looks or their brains, their power or their accomplishments. We see qualities in the present that will influence how they make choices in the future and we love them for that. This is how the Targumim understand the favoritism G-d shows Avraham. But there is another side to the cause and effect of love and accomplishment. Often it is because of our love for people that they, particularly children, accomplish. Sometimes we should love people, children and adults, just for their unique characteristics. As we understand them more and accept them, we unleash in them powers to achieve, that previously they never had.
Does G-d show favoritism?
According to Rashi, G-d intervened in Avraham’s life in a way that meaningfully impacted his life choices. Is that fair, does He impact in our lives in the same way? It is fair, according to the Ramban. The Ramban learns that Ki yeda’ativ means: “G-d pays individual attention to his pious ones constantly understanding them and protecting them; never, even for a moment, does He sever His knowledge of them and attention to them.”
The Ramban makes a very bold statement in asserting that Hashem’s Hashgacha (personal attention) is not the same for all people. Most of the time most of us are subject to general trends in the world and to the way He has programmed the universe to respond to us. Hashem’s attention and Hashgacha is individually focused on us only at critical moments in our lives. For the rest of the time, we are subject to the natural laws of the universe. Avraham was one of those pious individuals whose Divine protection was constant and absolute and overruled natural law. That is how, for example, he was saved from the fiery furnaces into which he was thrown.
Not everything is necessarily besheirt but we too can make miracles!
This helps explain the part that G-d plays in the circumstances of our lives. Not everything is necessarily basheirt (predestined). We, most of us that is, are partially subject to the forces of nature too[4]. The Ramban says that G-d’s favorites, the truly pious among us, are protected by hasgacha (G-d’s individual attention and protection) every minute of every day. Most people though, are subject to the normal forces of the universe excepting for specific defining moments that G-d personally orchestrates. Ki yeda’ativ, says the Ramban comes to alert us to the fact that unlike most people, Avraham is protected by G-d’s personal attention all of the time.
Every Jew, every descendant of Avraham, can at any time also elevate themselves above the forces of nature and experience miracles. We can do that by detaching ourselves from dependence on all other forces of the world, and attaching ourselves unconditionally to Hashem and His Hashgacha. By trusting and relying on Hashem to the point of experiencing total tranquility even in the eye of the most turbulent of life’s hurricanes. This is the ultimate freedom of choice: the freedom to choose whether we prefer to be governed by the forces of pre-programmed nature, or by the exclusive force of Hashem’s hashgacha. This is our Avodah (spiritual practice), this is the goal of the journey of our lives.
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