WISE COUNSEL.
[!quote] Moses Maimonides, p260.
“The soul, when accustomed to superfluous things, acquires a strong habit of desiring others which are necessary neither for the preservation of the individual nor for that of the species. This desire is without limit; whilst things which are necessary are few, and restricted within certain bounds.1 Lay this well to heart, reflect on it again and again; that which is superfluous is without end (and therefore the desire for it also without limit). Thus you desire to have your vessels of silver, but golden vessels are better; others even have vessels studded with sapphires, emeralds, or rubies. Those, therefore, who are ignorant of this truth, that the desire for superfluous things is without limit, are constantly in trouble and pain. When they thus meet with the consequences of their course they complain of the judgements of God; they go so far as to say that God’s power is insufficient, because He has given to this Universe the properties which they imagine cause these evils.”2
THE GOODNESS OF GOD’S WORK
[!quote] Moses Maimonides, 1190, p254.
“Men frequently think that the evils in the world are more numerous than the good things; many sayings and songs of the nations dwell on this idea. They say that the good is found only exceptionally, whilst the evil things are numerous and lasting. The origin of this error is to be found in the circumstance that men judge the whole universe by examining one single person only. If anything happens to him contrary to his expectation, forthwith he concluded that the whole universe is evil. All mankind at present in existence form only an infinitesimal portion of the permanent universe. It is of great advantage that man should know his station. Numerous evils to which persons are exposed are due to the defects existing in the persons themselves. We seek relief from our own faults; we suffer from evils which we inflict on ourselves, and we ascribe them to God Who is far from connected with them. As Solomon explained it: The foolishness of man perverteth his way, and his heart fritteth against the Lord.”
FREEDOM OF THE WILL
[!quote] J. H. Hertz, 1935, p255.
“Jewish ethics is rooted in the doctrine of human responsibility, that is, freedom of the will. ‘All is in the hands of God, except the fear of God’, is an undisputed maxim. And ‘to subject our will to the will of our Father in Heaven’ is the great purpose of our life on earth.
We are free agents in so far as the choice between good and evil is concerned. This is an undeniable fact of human experience; but equally so is the fact that the sphere in which that choice is exercised is limited by heredity and environment. As the earth follows the sun in its vast sweep through celestial space, and yet at the same time daily turns on its axis; even so I, in the midst of the larger national and cultural whole of which I am a part, ever revolve in my orbit. Though I cannot always even half control my own destiny, God has given the rains of my conduct altogether in my hands.”
Footnotes
Footnotes
In other words, what is regarded as superfluous are those things that are necessary neither for the preservation … species. These things are infinite in variety, as much as the desire for them can be without limit. Thus our first experience of the Infinite might be through our very desire for these things. Then, he continues, saying however that that which is necessary, and thus not superfluous, is restricted and few. Thus it is that through the constraints, I understand the Infinite? By the very act of being finite, I can then imagine the infinite… ↩︎
The desire for superfluous things is without limit precisely because that which is superfluous is without end; whilst things which are necessary are few, and restricted within certain bounds. Lay this well to heart, reflect on it again and again; those who are ignorant of this truth are constantly in trouble and pain. When they thus meet with the consequences of their course they complain of the judgements of God; they go so far as to say that God’s power is insufficient, because He has given to this Universe the properties which they imagine cause these evils.” ↩︎