As I always say, there is no ONE Jewish approach to anything. Judaism is not a religion of dogma. Many will disagree with what I am about to say, and that is fine. One of the foundations of RAMBAM's philosophy is that G-d, and His will are unchanging. He is undoubtedly thinking of Plato's definition of G-d as the "Immovable Mover". Many, including yours truly, would argue that this is not the G-d of the Torah. When G-d informs Abraham of His plans to destroy Sodom, Gemora, and the other Cities of the Plane, Abraham does NOT react with "Thy Will be done!" He argues "will the Judge of all the world not do Justice?" He debates with G-d. albeit respectfully "what if there are fifty righteous men there? Forty-five? Forty? Twenty? Ten?" G-d accepts the supplication, and agreed not to destroy the cities if he finds ten righteous. True, there were no ten either, but G-d shows Himself to be much more than an Immovable Mover. After the building of the Golden Calf, G-d says to Moses "let me alone, and I will destroy them, and make of you a great nation". Moses essentially replies "over my dead body", and G-d relents. Throughout the Tanach, we find G-d responding to the prayers of the righteous. We even have one case of a prophet, already dead, resurrecting someone.(2 Kings 13:21) Occasionally, G-d informs the prophet who is offering the prayer that a tragedy MUST take place, but this is the exception rather than the rule. In the Talmud, stories of miracles, great and small, abound. If we are to be honest, I doubt if ANYONE has not experienced a miracle. Although we must take aggadah as not necessarily literal, still, it at least shows us that our Sages viewed miracles as common occurrences. We even say in the amidah "For your miracles that are with us every day".Stories are told about Rabbi Honi Hame'agel who would draw a circle on the ground, stand inside, and tell G-d that he is not stepping out until He grants rain.Some drizzle would come down, and he would say "That is not what I meant!". It would begin to pour, and he would say "we can take neither too little nor too much good". Then it would rain properly. The other rabbis remarked "he is like a child who speaks insolently to his father, but gets what he wants!" The Talmud boldly says "A Tzaddik decrees, and G-d fulfills" A still bolder statement is "G-d decrees, and a Tzaddik nullifies". Moreover, their influence continues even after death. In the Temple, the morning sacrifice was offered right after sunrise, with its major preparations beginning at first light. An appointed individual would climb a tower, and would be asked "Is the East lit up yet?" He would answer "Yes, as far as Hebron" (about 20 miles South of Jerusalem). The Mishnah asks "why Hebron? In order to arouse the merit of those who sleep in Hebron" (the Patriarchs and Matriarchs). In other words, a seemingly "off the cuff" remark, was actually a concealed prayer, appealing to G-d in the merit of the Righteous. Rabbi Meir, commonly known as "Rabbi Meir Baal Haness" (Master of Miracles), even told people in need of a miracle to say "G-d of Meir, answer me!". Many people, including yours truly, daily put a coin in a tzedakah box, and recite this formula. In the story we began with, the Baal Shem Tov recited a prayer and meditated. Several generations later, the mere telling of the story was enough. Rather than being a Hasidic distortion, as some would claim, this fits easily into Biblical and Talmudic beliefs. But isn't all this hubris? After all, the Torah informs us that G-d is not "a respecter of persons". Can we ascribe G-dly prerogatives to a human being? That will be my next post.
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