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About Karl Popper, and a question about providence

שו”תCategory: generalAbout Karl Popper, and a question about providence
asked 9 years ago

Hello Rabbi,
I read Karl Popper’s books “The Open Society and Its Enemies” and “The Poverty of Historicism,” and I wanted to know whether you think Popper is a classical conventionalist and whether your criticism of this approach applies to him as well. Also, do you think his criticism of the concepts he calls historicist (such as those that claim to present a uniform law of development for history) also applies to someone who thinks in an essentialist way, and whether his criticism also applies to the Hegelian parts (especially in “Orot”) in Rabbi Kook’s teaching.
Second question – I read your article “Hermeneutics of Canonical Texts”, where you wrote that in your opinion the process of canonization of the Toshba is supervised by God, how does this fit with your view that God is not supervising? Or do you think the Toshba deviates from this rule?
Thanks in advance!


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מיכי Staff answered 9 years ago
Although I have read the books, I cannot answer. I do not remember the details of the reviews (which are quite complicated) and this is a question for a research paper and not for an answer on the Internet. My view of God’s providence has changed since then. In any case, I offered an explanation there for the perception accepted in yeshivahs and among traditional scholars.

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משה replied 9 years ago

Can you please elaborate on why your view on matters of providence has changed? What are the reasons for this?
Do you have any articles on this subject?

מיכי Staff replied 9 years ago

This will be explained in the book I am currently writing. I have also explained it briefly here on the site in several places.

מושה replied 9 years ago

So who is watching? Your Honor, if what is put in here needs to be watched, then the one who put us in will never watch over us?

Rabbi, why is it worth spreading your opinion that you, as a single opinion (from what I know), believe that there is no watchfulness in our day, how can this benefit the innocent or not innocent readers?
When you say there is no watchfulness, do you also mean the animals that don't speak? So what is the difference in watchfulness over the lowly who speak, the lowly who don't speak but live, and the lowly who are in between (heavens, stars, etc.)
What is the essential reason that you think there is no watchfulness,
If there is no watchfulness, how will the righteous be written? How will it be fulfilled in them: “Do not let the rod of your foot slumber; your keeper will neither slumber nor sleep; the keeper of Israel, the Lord your keeper, the Lord your keeper, your shadow at your right hand” , and at night on the bed they say: Behold the bed of Solomon, with sixty heroes around it, “:”The eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth”, the Prophet said in the Book of Psalms:

“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, beholding the evil and the good”, ראל Although many believe that providence extends beyond reason and after labor, and although we have found that he cannot hide his face from evil and look upon labor, know that the eyes of the Lord are “everywhere”. It is clear that although according to the picture we draw that looks from the holy place or from a place or to a place prepared for private providence, we say that this place and this man are special to the world of providence, and this place and the man will hide his face from it and not look at them. But according to the view that all of creation is the eyes of God, and everything was prepared in such a way that nothing is left to chance, and all of nature and the whole process and the outcome is full of eyes that are the messengers of providence that look and observe everything that is done, and there is no darkness and no shadows where evildoers can hide, because the eyes stand around them everywhere, and they "watch between the bad and the good"; everything is prepared for calculation, and the observer is the one who watches the future to come, and so these eyes that are the eyes of providence will watch the future between the bad and the good, and all according to the providence that fills all places: thus.
Who wants to expand on more interpretations of this verse:

https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/%D7%9E%22%D7%92_%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99_%D7%98%D7%95_%D7%92

Rabbi, do you think you disagree with the other interpretations or are you suppressing and saying that ”in our day” there is no providence like in the past?

In conclusion, I must: “In every place where I mention my name - I will come to you and bless you” (of course, in every place and at every time).
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous to save from the death of their souls, you called in trouble and I rescued you, he will never let the righteous die.

The Lord The Lord, a God of compassion and mercy, long-suffering, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth. Keeping loving-kindness for thousands, bearing iniquity and transgression and sin; and purging, and will not purge; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation. His loving-kindness to thousands of generations. These are the attributes of the Lord. There is no disputing this. Abounding in loving-kindness and truth. May his name be praised forever. Amen.

מיכי Staff replied 9 years ago

Moshe, truth always has value. And in this case it also has a simple benefit for those who are not willing to buy into the clichés and slogans we grew up with. I offer them a way to remain rational believers. You can find a repetition of the slogans of providence under any fresh tree and whoever wants will be drawn from there.

מושה replied 9 years ago

I try with all my teeth to chew and chew so that what I hear here is digested and I can't, .

How can rational people be called "believers" without being rational to the essence of G-d? I don't see this as I see that. That won't work!
The Torah has already "captured" them by definition: "Because they say, G-d does not see us." G-d has forsaken the land. 13 And he said to me: "Return again and see the great abominations that they are doing." This is also true of the "rational" ones you are talking about.

The essence of G-d is His providence in the world. "I will be who I am, and I will send you to you - this is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations."
The Creator constitutes all of existence that He created. I am the One who has not changed (I have not changed).
Rabbi, if the Creator does not watch over us, who does?

מיכי Staff replied 9 years ago

If God does not guard a city, it is in vain that a guard is guarded. If He does not supervise (in the active sense) no one supervises. Passive supervision is certainly likely to exist, since He monitors what is done. But He probably does not intervene, or at least hardly intervenes. The current is conducted according to the laws of nature without divine intervention.

מושה replied 9 years ago

The verse you brought is in my favor - guarding the city is supervision over the entire city - supervision in a real sense due to providence.
The supervision is the result of providence!
So it is worth expressing correctly - from now on you will write that He does not interfere (almost not) but He certainly watches over!

Know, dear reader, that God hides His face from us because this is what we deserve, it is because of our sins - but He watches over. On the other hand, He does not want to destroy us, the Holocaust is also the result of providence - He could have easily destroyed us, what is the problem, let neither the Astites nor the Gelites break My covenant with them for their destruction, for I am the Lord their God (and this is an argument against the Christians, since His covenant with us is alive and well). This means that in order to remove the veil of hiding His face from us, one must truly return to Him! And this is what needs to be conveyed to the "believers" The rational ones. Hannah asked for a son, and she received it! Why didn't he give it to her from the beginning? So that we would learn that the One who watches over this city has no problem fulfilling our every wish! Therefore, in my opinion, we need to be very careful because if we don't trust our protector (God) over this city, we will cease to exist - we have no right to think that we are alive today because of our own merit! Only because of His infinite mercy! How can we not thank Him for that and think, "Has the Lord left the land?" Or "Has the Lord left the land?" We think, "My power and the might of my hand made me this mighty one." There is no such thing. It is really idolatry. That is why I said earlier that I am unable to connect with the idea that there is no providence!

What do you want the Almighty to intervene in? In the laws of nature? But nature does not protect us! Nature cannot save a person from an accident! Nor a person from drowning! And no man hates him, nor does a soldier lie in wait for him! And behold, the angels of God ascend and descend upon him – and behold, the ’ stands upon him, this testifies to the constant providence!
Strong and blessed and thank you, Honored Rabbi!

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