Q&A: Prayer
Prayer
Question
A. Have a good week. Your view is known: that there is no divine involvement nowadays, and the reason you advocate that is because there is no indication whatsoever that there is intervention. The question is whether you took into account that, in today’s reality, if it were possible actually to verify divine intervention in creation, free choice would be nullified. In other words, today, if God intervenes, He really has to hide it.
B. You wrote regarding the Sages’ aggadic interpretations that it’s just pumping things up, and that they don’t really have proofs from their interpretations for the conclusions they draw. It’s very strange that they would say things and conclusions that are not true—something intelligent people do not do. Even today, truly wise people do not do that. And it also seems that they really derived principles and ideas regarding the heavenly court and the resurrection of the dead, and also regarding history—not necessarily things that merely reinforce, but it really seems that they had a method of drawing conclusions by way of homiletical interpretation.
C. We’re still waiting for you to explain to us what the difference is between interpretations in Jewish law and in aggadah.
Answer
A. Even if you were right, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with that. So should I believe things that have no basis? Besides, you aren’t right. In the period when there was divine involvement and prophets, that did not stop people from sinning and from choosing evil and good quite freely.
B. On the contrary, I showed in that column that even great sages do this to this very day, so there is no reason to assume that the Sages did not do it. Indeed, in my opinion they are not doing something admirable, but the fact is that everyone does it.
C. When I have time, I will return to this chapter.
Discussion on Answer
Is there no one on the forum who can help me find examples?
A. Thank you very much for the answer. I didn’t ask you to believe because of this; I asked whether this consideration was taken into account in the overall framework of considerations. As for what existed in the period of the prophets—there were miracles, and there was free choice; against that there was the impulse toward idolatry. But you have to admit that today, if there were miracles that could be clearly tested in a laboratory, the world would be fundamentally different.
B. Even today there is no sage who interprets in the style of what is written in the Torah—for example, that Joab son of Zeruiah struck Abner, and then they expound there an entire interpretation that he asked him many halakhic questions. Unfortunately I don’t have examples right now, but what I remember is that people today may perhaps say irrelevant things, but they do not add events that never happened. Whereas in their interpretations the Sages really expound stories, additions, and details for which there is no need in the story, and they even add matters of fear of Heaven—for example, that David followed Abigail for an entire night and propositioned her for a sinful act. In short, let those knowledgeable on the site come and add plenty of examples.