[Avodah] Hashgacha Pratis for goyim

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 04:29:28PM +0300, Michael Makovi wrote:
: I've taken to joking that Rabbi Slifkin could have taken a translation
: of the Moreh, added an appendix with statements of Rabbis Hirsch and
: Kook on science, and called it a day....

First, my apologies. I had intended to reject this post rather than
invite another RNS debate. I have too many other things going on in my
life to willingly volunteer to moderate that. The damage having been
done, here's what I replied on the substance of RMM's email within that
attempted rejection notice.

The Moreh dealt with Aristotle and a universe that had no beginning. The
Rambam had to conclude that either Aristo was wrong (which he did) or
we misunderstood the Torah. We are contending with Hubble, Wegener,
Safronov and Darwin (the universe, solar system, earth and life,
respectively). Closing the gap between two descriptions of a universe that
had a beginning is far smaller, and can be done with reconciliation. The
Rambam had to show that one side was wrong.

:                                   ... The route he rather took (i.e.
: his book The Challenge of Creation) is merely more comprehensible for
: the masses.....

(BTW, Slifkin doesn't say anything substantially different than what was
already published in English and easily accessible to the masses decades
before by R' Aryeh Carmell [and the authors he and R' Cyril Domb collected
in Challenge], R' Aryeh Kaplan, etc...)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             A person lives with himself for seventy years,
micha at aishdas.org        and after it is all over, he still does not
http://www.aishdas.org   know himself.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                            - Rav Yisrael Salanter