Q&A: Divine Will
Divine Will
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Is it possible to apply the concept of will to God? The well-known question is whether will does not indicate a lack, and the common answer is that His will is not like our will. If one goes in the direction of that answer, then the divine will is some new entity—let’s call it X. About X nothing can be said except that it answers the question of why things happen in a way they were not supposed to behave. In other words, this is just positing a solution without really solving the problem.
Does the Rabbi have another explanation for the concept of divine will, divine intervention, and providence?
Answer
I agree with your claim about answers of the kind that what applies to Him is not like what applies to us, since that drains the discussion of content. But I do not think that will necessarily points to a lack, even in human beings. See my columns on altruistic acts (120 and 122).
Discussion on Answer
I didn’t mean that the topic is mentioned there. I meant that there you’ll see that will does not indicate a lack.
Are there other places where the Rabbi discusses this issue? In those articles the topic is hardly mentioned.