[Avodah] "God who knows the future"

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, Aug 04, 2011 at 06:47:42PM -0400, T613K at aol.com continued her
exhange with RDR:
:>> "Tzafui" absolutely does mean  foreknowledge.>>

:> So you're saying Rashi and the Bartenura are  wrong?

: I don't know, how do they translate "Hakol tzafui vehareshus  nesunah"? 

The Bartunra ad loc (Avos 3:15) says that R' Aqiva is saying "Everything
a person does bechadrei chadarim is revealed before Him."

The Rambam is the one who adds that this also include what the person
will do, and thus raising the question. The Tosafos Yom Tov follows the
Rambam, by name. GGe add on Avos 5:6 "that Knowledge does not compell the
things that are possible. And behold all the nissim are teluyim veomedim
in the possibility of bechirach which is the control of man. For all
the nissim are for people." Then he invokes the Rambam's "answer" that
"lo Machshevosei machsevoseikhem".

The Tif'eres Yisrael also follow the Rambam, but translates "tzafui"
as literally referring to seeing the present. He says "That which the
tana says 'hekol tzafui' and didn't say 'hakol yadua', because on all
knowledge there is shaikhus to past and future, but the word 'tafui'
is that He sees the thing like the present before Him [and this is
the intent of the Rambam...]"

Those are all the mefarshei hamishnah on the BI CD who have the words
"hakol tzafui" in them, although not all 6 relevent quotes.


Point being, just because the Rambam's peshat gained popularity doesn't
mean it's the only peshat. As I said, it's dangerous in hashkafah
to assume that anyone speaking before the revelation of Tzimtzum
necessarily is espousing an opinion from within the range we today
consider acceptable.

Between the Ari, the Ramchal, the Besh"t and the Gra, we developed a
particular subset of the rishonim's viewpoints to the exclusion of others.

Just because something seems outlandish, and totally at odds with
everything you learned since Morah Miriam's Pre-1A class, doesn't mean
it ain't so.

-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Zion will be redeemed through justice,
micha at aishdas.org        and her returnees, through righteousness.
http://www.aishdas.org
Fax: (270) 514-1507