40. What Divine Providence Is

Having eliminated what divine providence isn’t, the Rambam introduces one more position, the one to which we subscribe. The Jewish position on God's providence starts in the Books of Tanach and is elaborated upon by the Sages of the Talmud. We will assemble this theory in pieces.

A. The idea that man has free will is one of the fundamental principles of the Jewish faith. What we do is the result of our own decisions, not the result of us being cogs in the universe. (And, by the way, all species of animal also move of their own volition. God designed things so that living things move freely and that man can make his own choices.)

B. Another fundamental belief of Judaism is that nothing evil can be attributed to God. Any happiness or misfortune that happens to a person or a community is the result of God's objective justice. The smallest pin prick is a punishment for some misdeed and the tiniest pleasure is a reward for some merit. Deuteronomy 32:4 tells us that "all His ways are justice," it's just that sometimes we don't understand how that justice works.

According to the earlier theories, everything that happens to a person is the result of random chance, God's will or God's wisdom. Our theory, however, maintains that what befalls a person is the result of man's merits, or lack thereof. The Ash'ari would say that a person could suffer his entire life simply because it is God's will. The Mu'tazila would say that this is unjust, therefore the person (or animal) suffering must be rewarded and all of this is the result of God's wisdom. We, however, maintain that God's affairs are managed with justice. God will not strike anyone unless he has done something to deserve it. We already demonstrated this idea from Deuteronomy chapter 32; the Sages expressed similar sentiments in a variety of places. For example, Talmud Shabbos 55a tells us that "there is no death without sin and no suffering without transgression." Baba Kama 50a says that God "is long-suffering but will ultimately exact payment" for sins. There are many such statements in the Talmud.

C. An additional aspect not found in Tanach but expressed by the Sages is the concept of "yissurim shel ahava" - "afflictions of love." This principle maintains that it is possible for a person to receive afflictions without having committed any sins. This is done in order increase a person's future reward. This is similar to the opinion of the Mu'tazila but there is a significant difference: nowhere in Judaism do we find precedent for the idea that animals, birds, fish or insects can earn reward. It is without Biblical or Talmudic support (though the Rambam says that some of the Gaonim liked the concept when they learned of it through the Mu'tazila).

And so, with all this in mind, we come to the Jewish theory of divine providence, as stated by the Rambam, based upon Scriptural sources. He finds this position to be more reasonable than the previously-stated philosophies 1-4, and less subject to objections:

5) With the exception of man, divine providence does not extend to individual members of a species. Only in the case of man does God concern Himself with the fates of individual beings, treating them with justice based upon their actions. When it comes to other species, the Rambam actually agrees with Aristotle, who said that what happens to plants and animals is random and capricious. The way a leaf falls and whether a spider catches a particular fly are not micromanaged by God as part of His divine plan. These are cases where things "just happen."

Divine providence, the Rambam tells us, is related to God's intellectual influence. Only man is affected by this influence, as it grants us the ability to discern things that we are capable of understanding. Consequently, only man is subject to providence, which examines our deeds and rewards or punishes us accordingly.

Following this outlook, it's entirely possible that the wind might blow at random and sink a ship. If people went out on that ship and were lost in the storm, however, then that is the result of God's providence.

The Rambam feels compelled to adopt this position, rather than that of the Mu'tazila, because none of the Books of the Prophets ever describe God's providence as extending to any creature other than man. In fact, numerous verses express surprise that God takes any notice of man whatsoever given how insignificant we are! One such example is from Psalms 144:3, "What is man that You are mindful of him?"

There are, however, numerous verses describing how God's providence does extend to man. These include Jeremiah 32:19 ("Your eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of men, to give each according to his ways"), Job 34:21 ("His eyes are upon all the ways of man and He sees all his steps"), and many others. The Torah itself is replete with verses in which God says that He will repay a person in accordance with his deeds. The entire history of the Patriarchs demonstrates God's individual providence in action. But animals? We have permission to slaughter them. Sometimes we are even commanded to slaughter them. This is the exact opposite of divine providence.

The idea that God's providence extends to man and not to other creatures is actually expressed by the prophet Habakkuk. In the first chapter of the book that bears his name, he says, "...when the wicked swallows up the man who is more righteous than he and makes men like the fish of the sea, like the creeping things, that have no ruler over them." (verses 13-14). We see clearly from this that lower creatures do not enjoy individual providence. Man, however, does as God "...has ordained them for judgment..." (verse 12).

You might think that the idea that divine providence does not extend to animals is contradicted by numerous Biblical verses, including:

* He gives the beast its food (Psalms 147:9);

* You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing (Psalms 145:16);

* Young lions roar after their prey and seek their meat from God (Psalms 104:21).

This, however, is not the case. All of these verses address God's providence towards the species as a whole, not towards individual members of any species other than man.

So, in conclusion, God's providence is directly related to His influence on the intellect. Therefore, only creatures on whom the gift of intellect is bestowed are subject to individual providence based on their actions. The other theories either exaggerate providence to the extent that God is Personally moving every speck of dust, or they diminish it to the point that nothing is the result of His will. In either case, we end up with some ludicrous conclusions, which are removed by the approach espoused by the Rambam.