Divine Providence '

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I. Defining Divine Providence
What is ?
Ramban, Introduction to Sefer Iyov

We must believe that God knows all individual creatures and the details of their
lives. [This knowledge includes] the heavenly creatures and the sublunary
creatures, their actions and thoughts, and the past, present, and futureAfter
[proclaiming belief in divine knowledge] we affirm belief in divine governance
and guardianship. We affirm that which the verse states, Great in counsel and
unfathomable in action, Your eyes are fixed upon all the ways of mankind...
(Jeremiah 32:19)
R. Chaim Friedlander, Emunah ve-Hashgacha, p. 9

The word supervision ( )includes two facets: (1) The first is to observe
the object of supervision in order to assess the matter and understand what is
going on with it. (2) The second aspect is a result of the first, namely to decide
how to respond and what to do with the observations. Gods supervision is no
different; it also has these two aspects. Firstly, God watches us, since He sees
and knows all, as the verse says, The Lord looked from heaven; He saw all the
people (Tehillim 33:13). Secondly, based on Gods observations and
knowledge, He acts toward us and for us. Thus, providence has two aspects:
awareness and response.
A brief history of belief in God and Divine Providence
Ramban, Commentary on Exodus 13:16

From the time that idolatry appeared in the world in the days of Enosh, religious
faith began to be confounded. Some rejected [God] completely, saying that the
world is eternal [and was never created]. They denied God and said He is not
[existent]. And there were some who denied His knowledge of particulars, and
said: How can God know? Is there knowledge above? (Psalms 73:11). And
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there were also those who admitted to Gods knowledge, but denied divine
providence, thus equating man with the fish of the sea who are not governed
[with divine providence], and have no system of reward and punishment. Such
people say, God has forsaken the world (Ezekiel 8:12). But, when God
decides to reward a person or nation and performs a miracle for them and
changes the nature of the word, it becomes clear that all of these philosophies
are null and void. A miracle indicates that there was a God who created the
world, knows what is going on, and is able to change it.

II. What God Knows

Rambam, Yesodei ha-Torah, 2:10
The Holy One, blessed be He, recognizes His truth and knows it as it is. He does
not know with a knowledge which is external to Him in the way that we know,
for we and our knowledge are not one. Rather, the Creator, His knowledge, and
His life are one from all sides and corners, in all manners of unity.
Were He to live as life is [usually conceived], or know with a knowledge that is
external from Him, there would be many gods, Him, His life, and His
knowledge
This matter is beyond the ability of our mouths to relate, [or our] ears to hear,
nor is there [the capacity] within the heart of man to grasp it in its entirety.
Thus, He does not recognize and know the creations in terms of the creations
as we know them, but rather He knows them in terms of Himself. Thus, since
He knows Himself, He knows everything, for the existence of everything else is
dependent on Him.

Rambam, Hilchot Teshuva 5:5

One might ask: Since The Holy One, blessed be He, knows everything that will
occur before it comes to pass, does He or does He not know whether a person
will be righteous or wicked?
If He knows that he will be righteous, [it appears] impossible for him not to be
righteous. However, if one would say that despite His knowledge that he would
be righteous, it is possible for him to be wicked, then His knowledge would be
incomplete.
Know that the resolution to this question [can be described as]: "Its measure is
longer than the earth and broader than the sea."
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Cyril Domb, Divine Omniscience and Free Will, Tradition 31:2
The view that God does not have foreknowledge of moral decisions which was
advanced by ibn Daud and Gersonides (Levi ben Gershom) is not quite as
isolated as Rabbi Bleich indicates, and it enjoys the support of two highly
respected Achronim, Rabbi Yeshayahu Horowitz (Shelah haKadosh) and
Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar (Or haHayim haKadosh). The former takes the views that
God cannot know which moral choices people will make, but this does not
impair His perfection. The latter considers that God could know the future if He
wished, but deliberately refrains from using this ability in order to avoid the
conflict with free will.

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III. How God does what He does: The Mechanism of General

Divine Providence
Rambam, Hilchot Yesodeh ha-Torah 2:9

All of the entities of the worldfrom the primordial form to the smallest insect
in the center of the earth everything exists from the power of the reality of
His absolute existence.
Nefesh ha-Chaim 1:2

The reason God is referred to as being all powerful is that the ways of God
are not like those of flesh and blood. For when a person builds a house out of
wood, he does not create the wood of his own ability. He just buys the wood
that has already been created and assembles it into a building. Once he has
completed it according to plan, he leaves it as it is, and it continues to exist.
Not so for God. In His infinite power, He created this world out of nothing. And
ever since creation, the world only continues to exist every day and every
single second by virtue of the Divine force and pristine radiance infused into it
according to His will. Were God to remove the force of His influence for even a
second, it would all cease to exist. This is in line with the morning Yotzer Ohr
prayer established by the Men of the Great Assembly: He continually renews
His creation each day, constantly. That is, literally constantly, every instant
and every second
R. Chaim Friedlander, Siftei Chaim, Emunah ve-Hashgacha 1, p. 15

At each and every second, God, by virtue of His will, causes the entire creation
to exist, from the smallest creature to the biggest. So when we see a little fly
alive and fluttering around, we should meditate and think to ourselves that
right now God is granting it life and the ability to move.
Likewise, people live and function at each instant only because God makes it so
at each moment.
R. Moshe Chaim Luzzato, The Way of God, 2:5:3, p.205

God arranged all created things in a system of steps and sequences, this being
the system that He desired. ..God thus first influences an angel, who in turn
influences another angel at a lower level. This continues step by step until the
final angel acts upon a physical thing. This can either sustain this thing, or
bring about something new, all according to the decree ultimately emanating
from GodGod created a directing angel over everything that exists in the
physical worldThus, for example, there is a directing angel associated with
trees, and its task is to strive to sustain these trees. When a decree is issued by
God, however, the directing angel of the wind may be strengthened to the
extent required by this decree. The angel of trees can then be pushed aside,
and some of his trees torn up by the wind
There are angels assigned to oversee the laws of nature, and strengthen the
various aspects and processes of the physical world. Above them are the
angels involved in carrying out decrees concerning reward and punishment,
and according to such decrees, these can prevent the angels of nature from
functioningGod Himself oversees all things, above and below
Rambam, Shemoneh Perakim 8:6

We maintain that God already expressed His will in the course of the six days of
creation, and that things act in accordance with their nature from then on
That explains why the Sages found it necessary to say that all the supernatural
miracles that have occurred [in the past] and all those that we are promised
will come about [in the future] were already designated to come about in the
course of the six days of creation, when the miraculous events were implanted
in the nature of the things involved in them. And when these miraculous events
come about at the proper time, they might seem to have been instigated right
there and then, but in fact they were not.

IV. How much God actually does: Specific Divine Providence

in Chazal
Chulin 7b

R. Chanina said: No person stubs his toe below [i.e., in this word] unless it has
been decreed so in Heaven.

Bereishit Rabbah, 10:7

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, 'Grow,
grow.'

Erchin 16b

How far does the definition of suffering extend? Rabbi Elazar said: [For
example,] whoever has a garment woven for him but it does not fit him
properly... Even if they intended to mix [ones wine] with hot water, but instead
they mixed it with cold, or [they intended to mix his wine with] cold water, but
they mixed it with hot water... Mar the son of Ravina said: Even if his shirt was
reversed. Rava, or some say, Rav Chisda, or some say Rav Yitzchak, or some
say, a tanna, taught: Even if one extended his hand into his purse to take out
three coins and two came in his hand.

Bereishit Rabbah 79:6

R. Shimon ben Yochai and R. Elazar, his son, hid in a cave for thirteen years
during a period of persecution, and they sustained themselves by eating
carobAfter thirteen years they exited and sat at the entrance of the cave.
They saw a hunter hunting birds. When R. Shimon would hear a heavenly voice
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declare, Free! Free! the bird would escape from the hunters trap. When he
would hear the heavenly voice declare Death the bird would be trapped and
captured. R. Shimon proclaimed that these heavenly voices serve to teach that
even a bird isnt captured without a decree from heaven; how much more so,
the life of a person.

V. How much God actually

Providence after Chazal

does:

Individual

Divine

Animals vs. Humans

Radak, Tehillim 145:17

This is a matter of great confusion among the scholars, for there are those that
say that when a lion devours a sheep, or any similar such instance, it is a
punishment from God for the devoured. In this vein I have found a statement of
our Sages, When Rabbi Yochanan would cast his nets into the sea to catch
fish, he would say, Your judgments are as the vast deep (hence implying that
God will judge which fish will be caught). Yet others say that there is no reward
or punishment for any creature other than mankind. But we say that other
creatures do in fact have reward and punishment, but only insofar as they
relate to the dealings of mankind.
Rambam on Human Individual Divine Providence
Rambam, Moreh Nevuchim, 3:17

There are four different theories concerning Divine Providence:

First Theory. There is no Providence at all for anything in the Universe; all parts
of the Universe, the heavens and what they contain, owe their origin to
accident and chance; there exists no being that rules and governs them or
provides for them. This is the theory of Epicurus, who assumes also that the
Universe consists of atoms, that these have combined by chance, and have
received their various forms by mere accident. There have been atheists
among the Israelites who have expressed the same view; it is reported of them:
"They have denied the Lord, and said he is not" (Jer. v. 12). Aristotle has proved
the absurdity of the theory
Second Theory. Whilst one part of the Universe owes its existence to
Providence, and is under the control of a ruler and governor, another part is
abandoned and left to chance. This is the view of Aristotle about Providence
Aristotle sees no difference between the falling of a leaf or a stone and the
death of the good and noble people in the shipIn short, the opinion of
Aristotle is this: Everything is the result of management which is constant,
which does not come to an end and does not change any of its propertiesBut
that which is not constant, and does not follow a certain rule, as e.g., incidents
in the existence of the individual beings in each species of plants or animals,
whether rational or irrational, is due to chance and not to management; it is in
no relation to Divine Providence.
Third Theory. This theory is the reverse of the second. According to this theory,
there is nothing in the whole Universe, neither a class nor an individual being,
that is due to chance; everything is the result of will, intention, and rule. It is a
matter of course that he who rules must know [that which is under his control].
The Mohammedan Ashariyah adhere to this theory, notwithstanding evident
absurdities implied in it; for they admit that Aristotle is correct in assuming one
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and the same cause [viz., the wind] for the fall of leaves [from the tree] and for
the death of a man [drowned in the sea]. But they hold at the same time that
the wind did not blow by chance; it is God that caused it to move; it is not
therefore the wind that caused the leaves to fall; each leaf falls according to
the Divine decree; it is God who caused it to fall at a certain time and in a
certain place; it could not have fallen before or after that time or in another
place, as this has previously been decreed. The Ashariyah were therefore
compelled to assume that motion and rest of living beings are predestined, and
that it is not in the power of man to do a certain thing or to leave it undone...A
duty would thus be imposed upon us which is impossible for us to carry out,
and it is even possible that we may suffer punishment when obeying the
command and receive reward when disobeying it
Fourth Theory. Man has free willAll acts of God are due to wisdom; no
injustice is found in Him, and He does not afflict the good. The Mutazila profess
this theory, although they do not believe in man's absolute free willsome
persons are born with defects, although they have not sinned previously, is
ascribed to the wisdom of God, it being better for those persons to be in such a
condition than to be in a normal state, though we do not see why it is better;
and they do not suffer thereby any punishment at all, but, on the contrary,
enjoy God's goodness. In a similar manner the slaughter of the pious is
explained as being for them the source of an increase of reward in future life
Fifth TheoryThe theory of man's perfectly free will is one of the fundamental
principles of the Law of our Teacher Moses, and of those who follow the Law.
According to this principle man does what is in his power to do, by his nature,
his choice, and his will All species of irrational animals likewise move by their
own free willAnother fundamental principle taught by the Law of Moses is
this: Wrong cannot be ascribed to God in any way whatever; all evils and
afflictions as well as all kinds of happiness of man, whether they concern one
individual person or a community, are distributed according to justiceas is
said in Scripture, "all his ways are judgment" (Deut. xxxii. 4); we are only
ignorant of the working of that judgment"There is no death without sin, no
sufferings without transgression." (B. T. Shabbath, 55a)...
But they contain an additional doctrine which is not found in the Law; viz., the
doctrine of "afflictions of love," as taught by some of our Sages. According to
this doctrine it is possible that a person be afflicted without having previously
committed any sin, in order that his future reward may be increased; a view
which is held by the Mutazilites, but is not supported by any Scriptural text
[Rambams opinion]...In the principle which I now proceed to expound I do not
rely on demonstrative proof, but on my conception of the spirit of the Divine
Law, and the writings of the ProphetsIn the lower or sublunary portion of
the Universe, Divine Providence does not extend to the individual
members of species except in the case of mankindI do not believe
that it is through the interference of Divine Providence that a certain
leaf drops [from a tree], nor do I hold that when a certain spider catches a
certain fly, that this is the direct result of a special decree and will of God in
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that momentDivine Providence is connected with Divine intellectual

influence, and the same beings which are benefited by the latter so as
to become intellectual, and to comprehend things comprehensible to
rational beings, are also under the control of Divine Providence, which
examines all their deeds in order to reward or punish them. It may be
by mere chance that a ship goes down with all her contents, as in the abovementioned instance, or the roof of a house falls upon those within; but it is not
due to chance, according to our view, that in the one instance the men went
into the ship, or remained in the house in the other instance: it is due to the will
of God, and is in accordance with the justice of His judgments, the method of
which our mind is incapable of understanding. I have been induced to accept
this theory by the circumstance that I have not met in any of the prophetical
books with a description of God's Providence otherwise than in relation to
human beingsDivine Providence is related and closely connected with
the intellect, because Providence can only proceed from an intelligent
being, from a being that is itself the most perfect Intellect. Those
creatures, therefore, which receive part of that intellectual influence,
will become subject to the action of Providence in the same proportion
as they are acted upon by the Intellect.

Rambam, Moreh Nevuchim, 3:51

An excellent idea presents itself here to me, which may serve to remove many
doubts, and may help to solve many difficult problems in metaphysics. We have
already stated in the chapters which treat of Divine Providence that
Providence watches over every rational being according to the amount
of intellect which that being possesses. Those who are perfect in their
perception of God, whose mind is never separated from Him, enjoy
always the influence of Providence. But those who, perfect in their
knowledge of God, turn their mind sometimes away from God, enjoy
the presence of Divine Providence only when they meditate on God;
when their thoughts are engaged in other matters, divine Providence
departs from them. The absence of Providence in this case is not like its
absence in the case of those who do not reflect on God at all: it is in this case
less intense, because when a person perfect in his knowledge [of God] is busy
with worldly matters, he has not knowledge in actuality, but only knowledge in
potentiality [though ready to become actual]Hence it appears to me that it is
only in times of such neglect that some of the ordinary evils befall a prophet or
a perfect and pious man: and the intensity of the evil is proportional to the
duration of those moments, or to the character of the things that thus occupy
their mind.
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R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Halakhic Man, p. 128

The fundamental of providence is here transformed into a concrete

commandment, an obligation incumbent upon man. Man is obliged to broaden
the scope and strengthen the intensity of the individual providence that
watches over him. Everything is dependent on him; it is all in his hands . When
a person creates himself, ceases to be a mere species man, and becomes a
man of God, then he has fulfilled that commandment which is implicit in the
principle of providence.
Ramban on Individual Divine Providence
Ramban, Commentary to Genesis 18:19
And to me it seems correct that these words actually refer to knowledge (as
opposed to the various interpretations suggested by other commentators). This
hints that God's "knowledge" indicates His providence over this lowly world,
which involves His watching only in general terms. And even the people living
on this world are subject to the forces of nature ( )until their appointed
moment arrives. But He turns His (special) attention to His pious ones ( )to
know them in great detail so that His protectiveness should be on them always.
Ramban, Commentary to Iyov 36:7
To the extent that this individual comes close to God by cleaving to him, he will
be guarded especially well, while one who is far from God in his thought and
deeds, even if he does not deserve death because of his sin, will be forsaken
and left to accidents...Those who are close to God are under absolute
protection, while those who are far from him are subject to accidents and have
no one to protect them from harm...Since most of the world belongs to this
intermediate group, the Torah commanded that warriors be mobilized...
Ramban, Commentary to Exodus 13:16
And therefore the Torah, in the context of public wonders, writes (Ex. 13:16) "so
you should know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land" - to teach about
providence, that He does not abandon the land to random chance like some
(mistaken individuals) think...And through awareness of the great and public
miracles, a man will accept the hidden miracles which stand at the very
foundation of the entire Torah. For a man has no share in the Torah of our
teacher Moshe unless he acknowledges that all the details and events
(affecting us) - whether on a national or private scale - are all miracles and that
there isn't anything natural about them. Rather, our success will be reward for
doing (the Torah's) commandments and [conversely] being cut off ( )will
be punishment for transgressing them. Everything is decreed by the One Above
as I mentioned previously.
Ramban, Commentary to Deuteronomy 11:13
You should know that miracles are performed, whether for the good or for the
bad, only for the completely righteous or the completely wicked. However, as
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regards ordinary people, the way of the world orchestrates for them good or
bad according to their actions.
Ramban, Shaar ha-Gemul
The Sages mention another path of suffering. They stated (Erkhin 16b): It was
taught in R. Yishmaels study hall that anyone who experiences 40 days without
any suffering has received [his reward]. The explanation of this matter is that
there are things that occur to a person which are part of the way of the world,
and they occur to all people. For instance, sometimes his work is difficult,
sometimes when he eats bad food he will experience pain, his head will hurt if
he stands too long in the sunand a person will not be saved from these
matters unless he is a rasha gamur who is destined for Gehenom, in which case
he will receive any reward he deserves in this world and he will be protected
and everything will go his way in this worldBut all other people, tsaddikim
and reshaim, are all subject to the way of the world [in this regard]. And this is
the meaning of the gemara in Erkhin which says that suffering extends even
to a situation where a garment does not fit a person properlyor where a
person puts his hand in his pocket to take out three coins and only pulls out
two But these types of misfortunes are not a form of suffering [which
occurs because of sin] because they happen to everyone, but real suffering
only occurs as a form of atonement.
Ramban, Commentary to Iyov
Since most of the world belongs to this intermediate group, the Torah
commanded that warriors be mobilized, and that the priest anointed for war
send back the fearful so that they will not sap the courage of the others. It is
for this reason too that we find the preparation of the order of battle in the
Torah and the prophets, for example, And David inquired of the Lord, and the
Lord said, Do not go up; circle around behind them... (II Samuel 5:23), and Go
and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men (Judges
4:6). Had they been meritorious, they would have gone out with a few people
and achieved victory without arms, and had they deserved defeat, no multitude
would have helped them. In this case, however, they deserved to be treated in
the manner of nature and accident. This is a matter which was explained well
by Maimonides in the Guide of the Perplexed.
Dr. David Berger, Miracles and the Natural Order in Nahmanides
Nahmanides affirmation of miracles refers specifically to the realm of reward
and punishment promised by the Torah. Similarly, when he makes the extreme
assertion in his commentary that all things that happen to us are miracles, he
immediately continues, If a person observes the commandments his reward
will make him successful, and if he violates them his punishment will destroy
him. In his sermon Torat HaShem Temimah, where he repeats his strong
statement about miracles, the evidence again comes from the promises of the
Torah (yeudei haTorah). Nahmanides intention is that all things that happen
to us in the context of reward and punishment are miracles.
Nahmanides is concerned by Maimonides tendency to limit miracles
wherever possible, a tendency exemplified most disturbingly in his allegorical

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interpretation of Isaiahs prophecy that the nature of wild animals will be

transformed at the end of days.
R. Aryeh Leibowitz, Hashgacha Pratis
When an individual is righteous and dedicated to the goals of mankind, he is
governed by specific individual divine providence through the process of
hanhagas ha-mishpat. But, when an individual is distracted from God, and
divorces himself from his divine mission, he is left to the influence of chance
meaning, he is no longer judged based on his merit, and is not dealt within
the arena of hanhagas ha-mishpat. Instead, he is relegated to the level of the
rest of creation and judged only by his role in the universes revelation of Gods
glory, hanhagas ha-yichud. Since his actions and initiatives do not determine
his fate, rather dependent on other factors, he is classified as being left to the
influence of chance.

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Religion as the Answer to all Questions

R. Joseph Soloveitchik, Halakhic Man, footnote 4

Even though Kierkegaard disagreed with Hegel's philosophy from beginning to
end and made it the object of his fierce, stinging attacks, he, nevertheless,
accepted from him the dialectic principle (with many significant changes, to be
sure). And this concept of the dialectic, which he and Karl Barth introduced into
the analysis of the unfolding of the religious consciousness, and this view
concerning the antinomic structure of religious experience, which was revised
and refined by Rudolf Otto in his book, The Idea of the Holy, give the lie to the
position that is prevalent nowadays in religious circles, whether Protestant
groups or in American Reform and Conservative Judaism, that the religious
experience is of a very simple nature - that is, devoid of spiritual tortuousness
present in the secular cultural consciousness, of psychic upheavals, and of the
pangs and torments that are inextricably connected with the developments and
refinements of man's spiritual personality. This popular ideology contends that
the religious experience is tranquil and neatly ordered, tender and delicate; it is
an enchanted stream for embittered souls and still waters for troubled spirits.
The person "who comes in from the field, weary" (Gen. 25:29), from the
battlefield and campaigns of life, from the secular domain which is filled with
doubts and fears, contradictions and refutations, clings to religious as does a
baby to its mother and finds in her lap "a shelter for his head, the nest of his
forsaken prayers" [H. N. Bialik, "Hakhnisini tahat kenafekh"] and there is
comforted for his disappointments and tribulations. This ideology is partially
imbedded in the most ancient strata of Christianity, partially rooted in modern
pragmatic philosophy; but mainly it stems from practical-utilitarian
considerations. The advocates of religion wish to exploit the rebellious impulse
against knowledge which surges from time to time in the soul of the man of
culture, the yearning to be freed from the bonds of culture, that daughter of
knowledge, which weighs heavy on man with its questions, doubts, and
problems, and the desire to escape from the turbulence of life to a magical,
still, and quiet island and there to devote oneself to the ideal of naturalness
and vitality. This Rousseauean ideology left its stamp on the entire Romantic
movement from the beginning of its growth until its final (tragic!)
manifestations in the consciousness of contemporary man. Therefore, the
representatives of religious communities are inclined to portray religion, in a
wealth of colors that dazzle the eye, as a poetic Arcadia, a realm of simplicity,
wholeness, and tranquility. Most of the sermons of revivalists are divided in
equal measures between depicting the terrors of hellfire and describing the
utopian tranquility that religion can bestow upon man. And that which appears
in the sermons of these preachers in a primitive, garbled form, at times
interwoven with a childish naivete and superficial belief, is refined and purified
in the furnace of popular "philosophy" and "theology" and becomes
transformed into a universal religious ideology which proclaims: If you wish to
acquire tranquility without paying the price of spiritual agonies, turn unto
13

religion! If you wish to achieve a fine psychic equilibrium without having to first
undergo a slow, gradual personal development, turn unto religion. And if you
wish to achieve an instant spiritual wholeness and simplicity that needs not be
forged out of the struggles and torments of consciousness, turn unto religion!
"Get thee out of thy country," which is filled anxiety, anguish and tension, "and
from thy birthplace." which is so frenzied, raging, and stormy, "to the land" that
is enveloped by the stillness of peace and tranquility, to the Arcadia wherein
religion reigns supreme. The leap from the secular world to the religious world
could not be simpler and easier. There is no need for a process of transition
with all its torments and upheavals. A person can acquire spiritual tranquility in
a single moment. Typical of this attitude is the Christian Science movement.
It would appear to me that there is no need to explain the self-evident
falsity of this ideology. First, the entire Romantic aspiration to escape from the
domain of knowledge, the rebellion against the authority of objective, scientific
cognition which has found its expression in the biologistic philosophies of
Bergson, Nietzsche, Spengler, Klages, and their followers and in the
phenomenological, existential, and antiscientific school of Heidegger and his
coterie, and from the midst of which there arose in various forms the
sanctification of vitality and intuition, the veneration of instinct, the desire for
power, the glorification of the emotional-affective life and the flowing, surging
stream of subjectivity, the lavishing of extravagant praise on the Faustian type
and the Dionysian personality, etc., etc., have brought complete chaos and
human depravity to the world. And let the events of the present era be proof!
The individual who frees himself from the rational principle and who casts off
the yoke of objective thought will in the end turn destructive and lay waste the
entire created order. Therefore, it is preferable that religion should ally itself
with the forces of clear, logical cognition, as uniquely exemplified in the
scientific method, even at times the two might clash with one another, rather
than pledge its troth to beclouded, mysterious ideologies that grope in the dark
corners of existence, unaided by the shining light of objective knowledge, and
believe that they have penetrated to the secret core of the world.
And, second, this ideology is intrinsically false and deceptive. That
religious consciousness in man's experience which is most profound and most
elevated, which penetrates to the very depths and ascends to the very heights,
is not that simple and comfortable. On the contrary, it is exceptionally complex,
rigorous, and tortuous. Where you find its complexity, there you find its
greatness. The religious experience, from beginning to end, is antinomic and
antithetic. The consciousness of homo religiosus flings bitter accusations
against itself and immediately is filled with regret, judges its desires and
yearnings with excessive severity, and at the same time steeps itself in them,
casts derogatory aspersions on its own attributes, flails away at them, but also
subjugates itself to them. It is a condition of spiritual crisis, of psychic ascent
and descent, of contradiction arising from affirmation and negation, selfabnegation and self-appreciation. The ideas of temporality and eternity,
knowledge and choice (necessity and freedom), love and fear (the yearning for
G-d and the flight from His glorious splendor), incredible, overbold daring, and
an extreme sense of humility, transcendence and G-d's closeness, the profane
and holy, etc., etc., struggle within his religious consciousness, wrestle and
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grapple with eah other. This one ascends and this descends, this falls and this
rises.
Religion is not, at the outset, a refuge of grace and mercy for the
despondent and desperate, an enchanted stream for crushed spirits, but a
raging, clamorous torrent of man's consciousness with all its crises, pangs, and
torments. Yes, it is true that during the third Sabbath meal at dusk, as the day
of rest declines and man's soul yearns for its Creator and is afraid to depart
from that realm of holiness whose name is Sabbath, into the dark and
frightening, secular workaday [sic.] week, we sing the psalm "The Lord is my
shepherd; I shall now ant. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He
leadeth me beside the still waters" (Ps. 23), etc., etc., and we believe with our
entire hearts in the words of the psalmist. However, this psalm only describes
the ultimate destination of homo religiosus, not the path leading to that
destination. For the path that eventually will lead to the "green pastures" and
to the "still waters" is not the royal road, but a narrow, twisting footway that
threads its course along the steep mountain slope, as the terrible abyss yawns
at the the travelers feet. Many see "the L-rd passing by; and a great and strong
wind rending mountains and shattering rocks...and after the wind an
earthquake...and after the earthquake a fire" but only a few prove worthy of
hearing "the still small voice" (1 Kings 19:11-12). "Out of the straits have I
called, O L-rd." (Ps. 118:5). "Out of the depths I have called unto Thee, O L-rd."
(Ps. 130:1). Out of the straits of inner opposition and incongruities, spiritual
doubts and uncertainties, out of the depths of a psyche rent with antinomies
and contradictions, out of the bottomless pit of a soul that struggles with its
own torments I have called, I have called unto Thee, O L-rd.

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