Q&A: Prayer
Prayer
Question
Hello Rabbi, a friend asked his rabbi whether prayer works within nature (the Mishnah in Berakhot), and this is what he answered him:
“The claim that because they discovered that the sex of the fetus is determined from the moment of fertilization, this proves that every natural process is deterministic is not logically correct.
Besides that, even regarding the sex of the fetus, the fetus can undergo a morphological change that changes its sex without changing its genetic makeup.
In general, it is known today that there is a certain percentage of non-deterministic process within nature, so prayer can apply there.”
I didn’t understand the answer exactly. Can the Rabbi address these claims?
Answer
First understand the answer, and then ask whatever you want to ask. I’m not Google Translate.
Discussion on Answer
I reject it, as you quoted from me. What is the question?
Is the Rabbi familiar with this theory, that not all of nature is deterministic? Can the Rabbi expand on it or send a link to an article or video about the matter?
It’s not a theory, just a misunderstanding. See the column series 322 and onward.
The question is: if everything in nature is deterministic, where does prayer come in, assuming we’re not talking about praying for a miracle? The rabbi there said that today it’s known that there’s a certain percentage that is non-deterministic…
How does the Rabbi relate to that answer?