Q&A: Determinism and Prayer
Determinism and Prayer
Question
Hello Rabbi,
If we accept the assumption that the laws of nature, including the laws of physics, are deterministic, what place is there for prayer that involves the Creator’s intervention in nature? In other words, is there any point at all in praying for rain if we assume that all meteorological processes are deterministic?
Unless, of course, we start from the assumption that the Creator intervenes in nature and in how it operates, in which case the question does not arise at all.
Answer
I’ve already written about this here several times. Briefly, I would say that in my view the Holy One, blessed be He, does not intervene in the day-to-day course of events, but it is possible that sometimes He does (I do not know how one can tell when that is the case). Therefore there is a problem with some of the requests in prayer, and at most one can try, on the chance that maybe He will intervene, but I wouldn’t count on it. The praises and thanksgivings are easier to understand. Praise is for the creation of the world and its laws. Thanksgiving for something that happened to me can be explained as follows: when something happens to me, I thank the Holy One, blessed be He, for creating the world and the laws of nature through which it happened to me. With the other parts of prayer there is no problem.