Q&A: Signs or Heavenly Hints
Signs or Heavenly Hints
Question
Does the Rabbi think that there are heavenly messages conveyed to us through events that happen?
And in any case, does the Rabbi think that the Sages thought so? [For example, they say that if suffering comes upon a person, he should examine his deeds, and if he finds nothing, he should attribute it to neglect of Torah study, and there are all sorts of statements like that.]
Suppose that the terrible murder that happened had not happened to two other communities that are also on the border, and those two communities are Sabbath-observant. Is it reasonable to assume that the Holy One, blessed be He, is hinting to us, at least in this respect, that we need to strengthen our observance of the Sabbath?
I write "suppose," because that's what I heard, but I don't rely on the sources because I have no idea how reliable they are. [By the way, I heard various rabbis saying that at that party they violated the three cardinal sins, but in my opinion that's nonsense.]
But again, I want to discuss the principle—if the case did precisely match the message I want to draw from it [suppose that everyone who kept the Sabbath was completely unharmed], would there be anything to that?
I would be happy to receive an answer. Thank you very much.
Answer
In my opinion, no. And even if so—nobody knows and nobody can decipher them (and don't believe any nonsense they're trying to sell you, claiming that what happened clearly points to something, like the stories about Kibbutz Sa'ad and Alumim, for example. Nonsense). That is also why there is no point in conveying such messages, so they probably are not conveyed. In my view, the attempt to decipher such messages is a Torah-level prohibition of "do not practice divination" and "be wholehearted."
Discussion on Answer
Following up on the above—there are very many places in the words of the Sages that explain a certain punishment as coming for a certain sin.
Do you think they really did think this way?
I don't know. It could be that this is only meant as encouragement to fulfill those commandments.
As for the previous question, interpreting the intentions of the Holy One, blessed be He, from what happens in the world is "do not practice divination." Especially since here that interpretation leads us to do something (because without a practical conclusion there is probably no real prohibition; it's just plain nonsense).
There is a difference between saying that what happened should awaken us to self-examination and to check our deeds, which is of course perfectly fine, and attributing what happened to a specific cause.
First of all, let's talk under the assumption that something that happened clearly indicates something, or at least that it's very likely.
Could the Rabbi please explain why, in his opinion, this is included in the above prohibitions?
I'm talking about trying to understand for which sin a certain punishment was given in the world—and accordingly, what we should strengthen in the present—not about trying to get a sign from Heaven about the future. [As I understand it, that's what is included in "be wholehearted" and "do not practice divination." No?]