Q&A: Consecrating Something That Does Not Yet Exist
Consecrating Something That Does Not Yet Exist
Question
Hello Rabbi,
In the haftarah of Exodus there is a verse:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came out of the womb I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Can one bring proof from this verse that it is possible to consecrate something that does not yet exist? Or is this not an acceptable proof in Talmudic discourse?
Best regards,
Answer
Seemingly it is not acceptable, because the Holy One, blessed be He, is the one doing the consecration. He certainly knows what is going to happen in the future and can fully rely on that. Beyond that, He Himself brings it about (not just knows that it will happen). In particular, here this is not consecration in the sense of transferring something into the ownership of the Temple treasury or sacred property (in which case, with something that does not yet exist, it would be like transferring ownership of something that does not yet exist), but rather consecration in the sense of designation.
But I won’t deny that sometimes the Sages do derive such teachings from verses.
Discussion on Answer
In the eyes of the Sages, it seems that the Holy One does know the future. And certainly He can intervene and determine it if He decides to consecrate someone who is going to be born. But all of this is just pilpul.
As for the Holy One’s knowledge of the future, you yourself often point out that the Holy One does not know the future in matters connected to human choice, because a person has free choice. So if Jeremiah’s mother had chosen, say, to have an abortion, then Jeremiah would not have come into the world.
As for determining a designation, it seems that this rests on the same root as transfer of ownership and consecration—that in all these cases there has to be full intent on the part of the one consecrating / transferring / designating for the act to take effect.