Given 6/8/18
By Rabbi Mendel Kessin
https://TorahThinking.com
Focus of second section of Derech Hashem: Hashgacha
- Framework
- Purpose
- Determines all that exists
- Situation
- Free will
- Actions
- Response of Hashem
Occurrences in the world are the responses of Hashem to the acts of man
Hashem takes into account ALL variables. Pretty much infinite
Ramchal talks about the responses in a general way, as the specifics of each situation are infinite
Everything that exists only exists due to a purpose, it's situation included.
Hashem sustains all creations including those that are spiritual.
Each individual entity advances the purpose of creation.
A key to proper Tefillah / prayer is to contemplate this for a few minutes before you start.
The Hashgacha to Man is different than that to other creations due to his having free will and being a true cause.
This results in 2 major types of hashgacha
- That of beings without free will and are completely acted upon
- That of beings with free will who can act upon
The Hashgacha of man has 3 subdivisions.
- Midah kneged Midah (din) mishpat
- A partial suspension of din to give us a chance (rachamim)
- A complete suspension of din to fulfill His desire (yichud)
Hashem can look at someone in 2 ways
- On his own
- As a contributor to the community
One of the greatest activities a person can be involved with is zikui harabbim
The Hashgacha on a person can be a response to thought (which is the cause of feelings) and action.
When approaching Hashem in Tefillah it's always better to do so with an attitude of Him providing for us from love for unknown reasons, as opposed to presenting what we perceive to be our merits.
A Jews purpose is to do the Tikun. The purpose of a goy is to assist the Jews in doing the Tikun. They thereby get Olam Habah
A goy can also get Olam Haba by doing the 7 Mitzvos of Bnei Noach.