Miraculous Nature : Part Three

We will now turn to nature itself. Is the sun rising in the morning a miracle? Is nature by itself a system that is in essence miraculous? If that is so then what does a miracle even mean? If everything is miraculous then it becomes superfluous and nonsensical to talk about a miracle as something separate from the ordinary workings of nature. 

If nature is not miraculous and the laws of nature are set in place by G-d and then given free rein then doesn’t that mean that there is a system of reality outside of the divine? A principle that Chassidic thought surely denies.

Chassidut actually subscribes to both sides of the coin. There are elements of nature that are miraculous i.e. non-natural. And there are elements that are entirely natural and ordinary. What we perceive as nature is a system that seamlessly blends both these elements of the divine and the mundane.

Let’s explore this a bit more. In essence there are two things about nature that are unnatural. One is the very existence of an ordered system of reality, in fact of any reality at all. This is more a statement about creation then it is a statement about miracles. In other words all we know from existence is that there is a G-d who created this universe. The reason we know this is because of the principle brought in Jewish philosophy called ein davar oseh et atzmah or “no being can create itself”. Therefore existence implies creation by Something. We don’t know if that Something is interested in this world and gets involved with the workings of man but we know He is there.

[This is only further amplified by Chassidut’s understanding of creation ex nihilo. Namely, that creation by definition is a constant and ongoing process. Since, in order for something other then Him to exist, it requires a powerful and consistent act of creation to bring it forth against the overwhelming truth of His existence. A topic of its own.]

The second unnatural element in nature is its unceasing strength. If nature was happenstance and not a product of the divine will, then one would expect a slow decreasing of it’s strength. This is because it is a basic fact of existence that over time items break down and lose strength. Suns die, planets stop spinning, people age, corpses decay; you get the picture. If that is the case then we should see a deterioration of the system of nature. Instead however, we see that nature is just as strong as it was thousands of years ago.

Therefore, we can know through reflection and contemplation, that there is a limitless divine energy in the system of nature giving it existence and force. It is this divine energy that maintains the system and enlivens it; to the extent that it never decreases in strength.

[It is important to bear in mind that the limitless energy is only in the system of nature as a whole. To each specific detail in nature comes a limited measure “amount” of divine energy to give it existence. The force we call gravity, has a specific amount of divine energy giving it power and applicability. This is so for several reasons, most notably that it is impossible for a limited framework (the force of gravity) to contain within it an unlimited energy. Therefore clearly the limitless energy is in nature as a whole. In the klal and not in the prat.]

This then is the paradigm we were seeking. A blend of limitation and infinite, nature and miracle, ordinary and supernatural. The blend is so complete and the intertwinement so absolute that one cannot even see anything extraordinary about nature. It seems to be a self-sustaining, self- generating closed system of forces and rules. Yet behind it all is the divine, the supernatural, the unlimited.

If this is so, then consider the implications that arise from this. We explained in last week’s post about the integrated miracle, the following:

“Counter-intuitively, a dominant miracle by definition contains a lesser lower level of divinity then an integrated miracle. This is because in order for an integrated miracle to occur there must be incredibly deep and lofty levels of divinity involved. Why is this? Think about the implications of an integrated miracle occurring. You have a situation in which the divine and the mundane are conversing and blending with each other. How is that possible? How can a finite system and an infinite system have any point of commonality and interaction between them? There is no starting point within which to engage in a shared dialogue.

The answer is that in order for this to occur there must be a third truly transcendent platform that facilitates a union between the infinite and the finite. This can only come from the essence of G-d Himself which is absolute and juggles the limited and the limitless all at once. For to be truly without limit means that one must be able to exist in limited forms as well. [A subject that deserves its own series of posts.] Therefore the integrated miracle must have some of the deepest levels of G-dliness involved, levels that are beyond even being defined as infinite, in order to bridge the limited-limitless divide.”

Now, if that is true about an integrated miracle then it is far more true for the system of nature itself. Because like we said last week, an integrated miracle at the end of the day is a miracle. Clearly, then, the blend is not complete.

However if there is an intertwinement of the natural and the divine within the system of nature itself, that then is setting the ground for an absolute synthesis, in which the natural and the supernatural merge seamlessly. So much so that one needs to reflect and ponder the inner workings of the system to realize that there is something transcendent about nature itself.

What follows is that the levels of divinity involved in our earthly realm and the system that governs it called nature, contains the essence of G-d Himself. For in order to have the two absolute opposites of nature and the divine merge so profoundly and utterly, there must be a third transcendent platform that facilitates this merging. This platform is G-d Himself for whom the natural and the supernatural are not opposites. They are simply different ways of expressing Himself.  Therefore He can mix the two and have a system which is natural and limited and yet unnatural and unlimited.

This is all just explaining how it is conceptually possible to have a merging of two absolute opposites into one fluid system. In next week’s essay we will explore the ramifications of saying that our earthly natural system of reality contains not just divinity but even something of the essence of G-d Himself.

Miraculous Nature : Part Two

In last week’s post we explored some of the basic ideas and terminology of miracles and nature within Chassidic thought. We explained that a miracle is asserting G-d’s authority and mastery over our physical seemingly autonomous reality. Within this itself there are two ways of expressing this divinity within the physical, in a revealed dominant manner and in a concealed integrated manner. The revealed manner is one of dominating nature. 

The concealed manner is one of dealing with the system of nature, acknowledging its legitimacy and working with the rules of nature to a certain extent; bending nature instead of breaking it. Each path has certain superiority in terms of communicating the absolute power and dominion that the divine has over the physical.

I just want to add two points as a continuation of last week’s post. Firstly, we explained that within the integrated category of miracle there is a subdivision of the “recognizable-integrated miracle” and the “non-recognizable-integrated” miracle. 

However there appears to be a subdivision even within the category of the open dominant miracle. There is the “completed dominant miracle” and the “continuous dominant miracle”. The completed dominant miracle is one where the miracle is open and dominant, clearly flouting the laws of nature but it is a one and done event. For example, G-d turning the Nile into blood. There was just one phenomenon that broke the laws of nature. The water turning into blood. 

After that one second of miracle there was now a river of blood that was flowing and behaving in accordance with nature.

Not so with the continuous dominant miracle. In this category the breaking of nature is a constant and ongoing event. Such as the sea splitting for the Jews when they were fleeing the Egyptians. G-d could have performed one extraordinary action of changing the very nature and molecular structure of the sea into water that naturally is vertical and inflexible. If that had occurred then a separate new miracle would be necessary to get the sea back to a flowing horizontal state instead of a rigid vertical one. G-d would have had to break this new nature of the water, a nature of vertical rigidity, to bring the sea back to its prior state. But this miracle didn’t occur within a completed framework. Instead it occurred within a framework of constant supernatural behavior. Every second the water stood required an entirely new and separate act of G-d to allow the water to ignore the rules of nature. 

This category is a much more invasive and overpowering one (from natures’ standpoint) since it is breaking nature anew every second instead of being a one-time intrusion.

The second additional point is: we explained that the advantage that the dominant miracle has is that it shows G-d’s mastery over the entire system of nature, expressing the fact that He can ignore the rules of nature at will. Conversely the advantage that an integrated miracle has is that it shows that G-d is not limited to ignoring nature when He wants to change something. Rather He can even work with nature and seduce, if you will, the system of nature to change course internally.

Perhaps an analogy to consider is one of an employer and employee. Imagine a boss tells one of his employees that from his perspective the next step the company must take is x. The employee’s perspective is that course x would be disastrous for the company and in fact course y must be pursued. The boss can then order his employee to implement course x or be fired. In this scenario the boss is expressing the dominance of his perspective by breaking the employees’ perspective and overriding it. A form of mastery to be sure, but not an organic ground-up approach. Rather what we have here is an externally enforced dominance. 

The other scenario is one in which the boss deliberates at length with his employee eventually convincing him that indeed course x is the wiser one. In this situation the dominance of the boss’s perspective is organic and from the ground up. It is dominant not just because it can steamroller the employee but more importantly because it took over the employee from within, eventually resonating with the employee and becoming so real that the employee himself embraces it. Two very different forms of strength and dominance.

This is all from the perspective of our reality, the natural. What about from the divine perspective? What are the differences between the dominant and the integrated miracle? From G-d’s perspective the two categories of miracles are extremely diverse in their meta-physical structure. Counter-intuitively a dominant miracle by definition contains a lesser lower level of divinity then an integrated miracle. This is because in order for an integrated miracle to occur there must be incredibly deep and lofty levels of divinity involved. 

Why is this? Think about the implications of an integrated miracle occurring. You have a situation in which the divine and the mundane are conversing and blending with each other. How is that possible? How can a finite system and an infinite system have any point of commonality and interaction between them? There is no starting point within which to engage in a shared dialogue.

The answer is that in order for this to occur there must be a third truly transcendent platform that facilitates a union between the infinite and the finite. This can only come from the essence of G-d Himself which is absolute and juggles the limited and the limitless all at once. For to be truly without limit means that one must be able to exist in limited forms as well. [A subject that deserves its own series of posts.] Therefore the integrated miracle must have some of the deepest levels of G-dliness involved, levels that are beyond even being defined as infinite, in order to bridge the limited-limitless divide.

The question that now needs to be addressed is the following. After everything is said and done how can we assert that there is a form of miracle that is integrated with nature since even after all the integration there is a point where nature says no and the miracle says yes. In other words you can bend nature all you want but at a certain point there is a negation of what the natural outcome would have been. Thus even the integrated miracle is not truly at one with nature.

Chassidut concedes this point and responds by holding up nature itself (removed from the concept of miracles) as the paradigm of a true synthesis between the divine and the natural.

This will be the topic of the next post. Stay tuned.

  

"Miraculous Nature" - Part One

OVERVIEW

The centrality of miracles within religion is not a new concept. If an omnipotent G-d exists then the possibility of a transcendent force breaking the laws of nature is obvious and apparent. What is not as apparent is if there is a comprehensive system within Jewish thought for understanding the interaction between the laws of nature and miracles. What are the mechanisms of this interaction. Are there different categories of miracles and what are the conceptual differences between them. When does G-d intervene and when does He not. Why would G-d intervene if he wants man to forge his own destiny and ultimate redemption.

All these are important questions. Yet it appears that a system and language was not fully developed for understanding this area of Jewish thought until recently. What follows is an analysis of the inner workings and intricacies of miracles as the concept has been developed by the Chabad masters. In later posts we will explore these same concepts from the perspectives of other Jewish thinkers and discover the differences that exist on this topic.

I want to put together a mailing list so please email me your email address if you want to know when a new post is up. Thanks for reading.

CHAPTER ONE

To begin we must first define our terms. A miracle means that according to the natural order of the world the outcome would have been x. Instead, the outcome was y and we are attributing this unnatural outcome to the intervention of the divine. Meaning there is an engagement and interaction between two systems of reality. How do these two systems connect? Or do they? What are the consequences of this connection?

To understand this we have to step back and examine the meta-physical structure of a miracle. A miracle in Chassidic thought means that there is a revelation of a level of G-dliness that transcends the physical world. It is this revelation that is the catalyst for the physical phenomena that we see on the experiential end. So there are two distinct elements here. There is a spiritual level descending into the material natural realm and revealing itself, what we will call the “divine end”. The second element is the physical result of this divine revelation, what we will call the “users end”. 

I.e. G-d places a certain degree and quality of life- force into nature to make it work and a miracle is when G-d takes out this degree of life-force and inserts a higher and loftier life- force into the world. Let’s consider a specific case such as when the sea of reeds split for the Jews. There was the normative level of divinity that is usually in the water giving it its existence and nature. This divine bundle of energy, if you will, gave the water its nature of flowing and being under the dominion of certain forces such as gravity, the pull of the moon and the currents flowing within it. The sea splitting and standing like a wall was the result of a transcendent life-force being inserted into the water, a life-force that was above the physical realm and thus not subject to its laws.

This is the first most basic level of a miracle, what we will call the “open dominant miracle”. Open because it is a revealed apparent miracle. “Dominant” because in this category there is no dialogue or engagement between the two systems (of nature and the divine). Rather the divine comes in and takes over, i.e. breaks the system of nature and doesn’t reckon with it.

Then there is what Chassidus calls the integrate miracle. An integrated miracle is a miracle that is not readily apparent to the perception of Man. An example of this would be the military miracle of Hanukkah. By Hanukkah there was no specific place where one could point and say there is the breaking of nature. What you had was a situation that was incredibly unlikely to the point of being impossible to believe. If one saw one weak person overwhelm one hundred battle hardened veterans they would be utterly shocked to the point that they would most probably feel that they had just witnessed an act of G-d. Yet nowhere was there an openly supernatural act occurring that was clearly beyond the realm of the natural. This is what Chassidus calls the “integrated miracle”.

An important point to bear in mind is that a dominant miracle is dominant because it is open and is open because it is dominant. The two concepts are bound together. If something is openly flouting the rules of nature then clearly it is not working with nature but rather breaking and dominating the system of nature. And so too with an integrated miracle. An integrated miracle is integrated because it is concealed and is concealed because it is integrated.

[Within this itself there are two categories. There is the “recognizable integrated miracle” such as Hanukkah where clearly something incredible and otherworldly took place. Then there is the “non- recognizable integrated miracle” where the miracle is so internalized within nature that it is not apparent at all that anything supernatural occurred. What the Talmud calls ‘ein baal hanes maker be’niso’ or “the master of [i.e. the one who experienced] the miracle does not even recognize his own miracle”. For the sake of clarity and conciseness this analysis will limit itself to the general category of the “recognizable integrated miracle”.]

The conceptual implication of this category (of the integrated miracle) is that there is a possibility of the divine system working with the natural system and not just ignoring it at will. I.e. G-d wanted the Jews to win over the Greeks- yet there are different ways they could have won. G-d could have rained down fiery hail on the Greeks as He did in Egypt. He could have stopped the sun as He did for Joshua. Yet the miracle took place within the system of nature and not outside its scope.

Obviously there was a bending of nature; but a breaking did not take place. Nature was manipulated and redirected instead of simply being ignored.

CHAPTER TWO

Chassidic thought asserts that the primary purpose of a miracle is to show that G-d is present and in charge. If that is the case then what innovation does each category of miracle bring to the table? I.e. do the two categories of the “dominant” miracle and the “integrated” miracle represent simply two different ways of achieving the same end result? Or are they actually two radically different paths resulting in two very different ends.

In fact they are two very different paths with two different ends. A dominant miracle expresses something that an integrated miracle could never express and vice versa. When G-d breaks nature He is showing that the system of nature is not something that he needs to deal with and redirect; rather the entire system has no say in the matter. The sea split not because the divine coaxed nature or redirected nature but rather because in the face of the divine there is no substance to nature that one would need to reckon with in the first place. Put simply the dominant miracle is expressing the negation of the natural order to the divine will.

Not so with the integrated miracle. The integrated miracle is expressing something quite different. This category is demonstrating that the divine is not just powerful because it can negate the natural order and overwhelm it. Rather the divine is so powerful that it can even bend nature to its will from within the system itself. Natural and yet supernatural. An act of G-d taking place from within rather than from without. Put simply the integrated miracle is expressing the vulnerability and compatibility of the natural order to the divine will.

 

  

The Medievals and Islam

This week I am presenting a short summary of the medieval Rishonim and Islamic thought on the value of the physical. Next week will be starting a new series of posts on a new subject. Stay tuned.

THE MEDIEVALS

Many of the medieval Rishonim were troubled by the overwhelming role physicality plays in Judaism. If Judaism is about becoming closer to G-d shouldn’t one neglect the body instead of being obsessed with it?

Indeed this perplexed many a Jew and the Rishonim sought to address this issue in a variety of ways. Some of them wrote philosophic works analyzing the pros and cons of the spiritual versus the corporeal. 

Some strove to find a psychological and social benefit to many mitzvoth. This helped because if the mitzvah was intended to better man it wasn’t so much an obsession with physicality per se as much as it was an obsession with improving man’s psyche and psychological orientation. The question then became why the commitment to improving man through constant physical rituals and mechanisms. Not that that doesn’t require a systematic answer but the harshness of the question was perhaps softened.

Others chose to delve into the meta-physical underpinnings of mitzvoth. Such a construct was very useful since it gave intrinsic meaning to the minutiae of the law. From this vantage point, putting teffilin on was not just a ritual act but one that took on massive proportions. Teffilin was an act that healed the cosmos, brought down light and order into a chaotic world and connected one to the chochma (wisdom) of the divine. As such the value and purpose in simple physical acts became tremendously meaningful and one could rest assured that they were indeed becoming closer to G-d. Again, this did not explain why one must use the physical spectrum in order to activate divine mechanisms of global healing and holiness but at least it gave one the confidence that the acts they took were essential and necessary.

In truth the philosophical Rishonim, the psychological Rishonim and the meta-physical Rishonim all ended up in similar places. They all undertook to explain the significance of the physical within Judaism in order to justify the overwhelming place that the material has in Jewish religious life. Each one in their own way. But ultimately they did not explain fully why the physical spectrum must be used instead of the spiritual. Instead they gave useful language for understanding and internalizing meaning in the material. But why G-d cares about physicality in the first place was not really discussed and analyzed in a systematic way.

ISLAM

Many Islamic scholars dealt with the conflict between the spiritual and the physical. In truth there were two very different schools of thought within the scholarly Islamic world. The Ash’arites and the Mu’tazalites. The Mu’tazalites were the rational school of the thought while the Ash’arites were profoundly irrational. To explain this would require us to go into some length on Islamic history and the evolution of their philosophic and theological world, but a quick summary shall have to suffice.

Put simply the Mu’tazalites stressed G-d’s justice and rationality while the Ash’arites stress His will and power. To give but one example:

The question of Man’s free will is an ancient one. In the Islamic world this question revolved around the nature of the Koran.  Was the Koran created in time? Or has it co-existed with G-d eternally?

The Ash’arites claimed that the Koran was eternal and outside the scope of history. 

There were two possible problems with this that the Mu’tazalites bitterly fought against. One was that if the Koran has co-existed with G-d eternally doesn’t that create problems concerning the one-ness and absolute unity of G-d? Wasil ibn ‘ata, one of the first Mu’tazalites said “He who affirms an eternal quality beside G-d affirms two gods”. Indeed the Ash’arites claimed that all of G-ds attributes such as kindness and strictness co-existed eternally within him. To the Mu’tazalites’ questions, they simply responded that it had to be accepted “bila kafya”. The Ash’arites had no problem with saying the Koran has existed co-eternally with G-d.

[Chassidus discusses at length a similar problem which is – how do the Sefirot exist within G-d yet not create any plurality within His being?]

The other possible problem was determinism. If the Koran was never created and instead is eternal then all the historic events it recounts were predetermined. But to the Ash’arites this wasn’t a problem, on the contrary, from their perspective everything is predetermined. Because if man has power to choose freely and not even G-d knows or can influence his decision then there is a sphere of power outside of G-d, something unthinkable to the Ash’arites.

At any rate, the Ash’arites espoused the idea that the physical has no intrinsic value just as the spiritual has no intrinsic value. This is because to them there is no set of values that can even be thought of outside of revelation. I.e. there was no epistemology in their world view. They held that revelation is everything. 

An important point though, is that to them, even the idea of revelation is wrong. Revelation implies that an act, say killing, is good or bad objectively, just that G-d is coming to reveal what is good and what is bad. To them the act has no value per se. Killing is bad because G-d said so and for no other reason.

In this they diverge from Chassidus which holds that there is much truth to that statement, just that the two ideas are not mutually exclusive. I.e. killing essentially is bad because G-d said so, just that there is room for the idea that killing should be seen as bad per se as well.

[I will write a series of posts on this in the near future since it is an intriguing concept and profoundly consequential in many areas of religious thought.]

Most of the Islamic research I did was based on (directly and from the bibliography of) a book called The Closing of the Muslim Mind which is an elaborate analysis of Islamic thought.

Good Shabbas and thanks for reading.

The Inverted Scheme - Part Two

Many ideas and theories have been given as to the purpose and value of the physical realm. While in last week’s post we examined some of the ideas given by Chassidic thought, this week we will explore the Mussar and Kabbalistic approaches to this subject. Next week we will examine the Medieval Rishonim’s perspectives as well as the Islamic and Christian conceptions.  

MUSSAR

We will start with the doctrine of Mussar which is, to a certain extent, the Litvish philosophical and psychological school of thought. Mussar takes a position which is very different than Chassidus. In Mussaristic thought the world is here primarily as an arena and platform for man to overcome temptation and evil in order to receive spiritual rewards.

[It is interesting to note that Mussar appears to have no global imagination or agenda. It seems to be very focused on the inner evil of man and less concerned with the world without. This is in sharp contrast to Chassidus which, while placing enormous importance on the inner machinations of the individual, is also extremely focused on the global picture and ushering in the universal utopia of Moshiach.

As well, the psychological difference in perspective between Chassidus and Mussar is so great as to render them entirely different doctrines with almost no overlap. While this is an oversimplification, there is much to be said on this. Definitely the topic of a future blog post.]

Thus do we find in Mussar that the world is considered to be simply a preparatory stage before advancing to the real goal which is gan eden or “spiritual bliss”. Why does G-d want to give man spiritual bliss? Because it is in His nature to do good to his creations. Teva hatov le’heitiv.  I will call this the “G-d is good doctrine”. 

Why then not just create souls and place them in gan eden in the first place? Why go through this whole charade of creating an earthly realm with its physical temptations to test man and only if he is deemed meritorious then place him in spiritual bliss? To this Mussar answers that if man was simply given spiritual pleasure and bliss he would not enjoy it fully. Because one doesn’t appreciate something freely given as much as they do something earned by the sweat of their brow. In other words, not just is the world an interface for man to earn a place in gan eden, even the very reason why the world was created instead of gan eden in the first place, is also there just to enhance the pleasure and bliss of the soul in gan eden .

There is much to admire in this weltanschauung. While the self-oriented underpinnings of this approach might come across as primitive or simplistic, in truth the value that Mussar places on Man is not to be underestimated and is a powerful endorsement of the importance of man within the global scheme of things.  

KABBALAH

Kabbalah takes the very same “G-d is good doctrine” but ends up in a vastly different conceptual place.  “G-d’s nature is to do good” is not seen as a psychological idea as much as it is an existential idea. In other words, G-d wants to do good because it fulfills a need to express the full potential of his capabilities. This is a Kabbalistic statement about the inner workings of the divine. Namely, that in the spiritual realms any possibility has to be actualized and given form of expression. Contrast this with our physical reality where the gap between one’s potential and their actual is often never bridged.

[Why this is so, involves a lengthy and abstract discussion on the inner workings of spiritual potentiality.]

Therefore since G-d can do good- he must do good. Thus the good G-d does, by creating our world and giving us existence, is not driven by the same motivation that humans can relate to. In the Mussar school, G-d does good much like a human would do good. Because they want to be good. But in the Kabbalistic school of thought G-d shares no such commonality of motivation with an earthly being. Rather the good he does is driven by a unique and distinct element of his spiritual nature. That potentiality must be given expression.

Ultimately both schools have to reckon with the question of “how can we assert any nature to G-d”? There are many theological and philosophical problems that arise from stating that G-d has a nature and that that nature is good. Indeed Chassidus rejects this doctrine precisely for this reason. G-d being an absolute and omnipotent entity cannot be limited and defined to a specific nature or indeed any nature at all. At his most core level, G-d simply is. We cannot say more than that. To do so would be to define him and to define his essence is to limit his essence. That’s not to say that there is no value to the “G-d is good doctrine”. Indeed Chassidus readily admits to its existence in lower spiritual dimensions of reality.But to assert that G-d at his core is driven by this, is incorrect.

An expression of this idea is the following Chassidic interpretation: in the nusach (liturgy), we say “hamechadesh be’tuvo be’chol yom tamid”. The plain meaning is that “G-d, in his goodness, renews creation every single day”. Chassidus interprets it as “G-d renews his nature of goodness every day in order to bring about the renewal of creation”.

Thus Chassidic thought gravitates away from the “G-d is good doctrine” whether it is the ontological twist that Kabbalah takes or the human-oriented approach of Mussar.

In the next post we will briefly look at the medieval Rishonim’s perspectives as well as the Islamic and Christian approaches to this issue.