[Avodah] Proofs of God

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Eli Turkel wrote:
> I think Judaism, Torah, and religion in general would be
> better off admitting that we really do not understand how
> God works rather than parading around our speculations
> about God and claiming them as Dogma.

R' Daniel Eidensohn quoted the Menoras HaMeor:
> When a person has a calamity happen to him he should not
> think that it was just by chance.

The above two items are not contradictory. Please note that the Menoras HaMeor does NOT say what the reason for the calamity was. He only says that one should not think that it was by chance. One should think that there was indeed a reason, even though we do not know what that reason is.

R' Richard Wolberg responded:
> So tell me: What should a rasha think when good things
> happen to him? And what should've Hitler (y'mak sh'mo)
> thought when he was saved from a bomb attempt on his life?

The same thing: That there is indeed a reason, even though no one knows what it is.

The rasha would be tempted to think of the Divine Intervention as G-d's stamp of approval to his actions. We would be tempted to think of is a payment in full for the few good things which he has done.

But the truth is that no one knows. There are countless stories from Chazal which point out that we often get it backwards. Maybe Hitler's rescue was indeed a reward, or maybe Hashem wanted to keep him around so he could descend even further (like Pharaoh). Or maybe it was another reason. Who knows?

Akiva Miller