[Avodah] Mazal vs. Malach

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, March 12, 2007 10:26 pm, R Moshe Yehuda Gluck wrote:
: Ruach Chaim (Avos 1:2) quotes Chazal: Ain lecha eisev ba'aretz she'ain lo
: malach b'rakia makeihu v'omer lo gadel. The citation given is Bereishis
: Rabbah 10. In Bereishis Rabbah 10:7 I found the following: Amar R' Simon ain
: lecha kol eisev v'eisev she'ein lo mazal b'rakia she'makeh oso v'omer lo
: gadeil. Is R' Chaim Volozhiner equating Malachim and Mazalos? Or, is the
: Mareh Makom wrong and there is another Chazal which says Malach?

A one word change like that is more likely an issue of divergent girsa'os and
a bad MM. But even if it is a faulty MM, I would still take RCV's say so that
this 2nd girsah exists, somewhere. (Side question: Are the mar'eh meqomos
RCV's or his son RYV's?)

In any case, mazal is predestination (not luck), the stars' paths are as
clockwork. Mal'akhim are the vehicles of nature. RCV quotes this very maamar
in Nefesh haChaim to make that point.

The underlying point that teva is through the chain of causality starting from
on high, continuing through mal'achim and/or gilgulim down to the grass
beneath our feet works in either version of the medrash. Which may be how two
variants survived.

Tir'u baTov!
-mi

-- 
Micha Berger             Spirituality is like a bird: if you tighten
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