Kaisipang Hudyo sa Mga Awit 91:14: Akeidat Yitzchak, Duties & Guide for the Perplexed

Exodus Rabbah 81, says, "had the nations realised the value of the tabernacle, they would have built castles surrounding it." Until that time, the nations heard the voice of G-d, and whenever something occurred that was inexplicable in terms of natural law, they were frightened. Once hashgachah peratit became a fact in the life of Israel, supernatural events no longer automatically caused panic among the nations of the world. Nebuchadnezzar's experience with the three men who were saved from the furnace, and Daniel who was saved from the lions, are examples of this. (Daniel chapter 3) However, as stated, among the gentiles such occurrences are rare and serve exceptional circumstances, whereas among the Jewish people such events became frequent, almost commonplace as long as the Jewish people were loyal to G-d and the Torah. Some Israelites, of course, treat such awareness as being of secondary significance in their daily lives, though they are aware of G-d and His power. Such people do not rate Divine intervention if and when it would be the only thing that can save them. People like that are like village dwellers who know that a king rules in the capital, but who are not even aware of the king's name, status, etc. Such people are no better than the best of the gentiles, except that they are saved from destruction because of the people around them who do not deserve to be destroyed. Another category are those who, while calling on the G-d of Jacob and wishing to know His whereabouts, are still not close to Him and His temple, like city dwellers who while aware of the palace and who it is that resides in it, content themselves to have dealings only with the king's lowest ranking servants. This group does not deserve Divine intervention on its behalf, and would be saved only by a ness nistar, a hidden miracle, which occurs daily and is not credited as proof that the hand of G-d is at work. The third category are those who are fully devoted to the king, who register joyfully to offer him their services. Such people are as if at home in the king's palace, the king knows them and the work they perform for him. It is this kind of person who on occasion rates Divine intervention to protect him, and on whose behalf the king does not hesitate to change the laws temporarily. Such a person, in turn, becomes the instrument by means of which G-d’s omnipotence and awareness of what occurs in each person's life is demonstrated. It is the prayer of Moses in Psalm 90, that Israel's deeds be such that they can merit Divine intervention at all times, (last verse) After that, Moses details various aspects of hashgachah peratit in Psalm 91. First, he refers to those who complain about the hidden nature of Divine manifestations and tells such people not to worry. G-d would protect them even if the person himself will be unaware how this is done. "For He will save you." If you attain a greater degree of closeness, you will even qualify for protection against commonplace dangers "because His angels he will command for you." This is still not the level of nissim geluyim, visible miracles, since such things as stepping on vipers underfoot do not make the headlines when we speak about hashgachah peratit going out of its way. The help experienced by the likes of Daniel, when the scoffers who attributed his survival to the fact that the lions had not been hungry, were thrown into the same pit and consumed by the lions, demonstrated that kind of hashgachah peratit. Darius' letter proclaiming the power of the Almighty and other such examples, testify to the power of G-d. The reason that such miracles occur, is to enhance G-d’s reputation among the gentiles. Moses states in Psalms 91, 14, "for he has clung to Me, therefore I will deliver him, I will elevate him because he knew My name." In Psalm 98,9, we find Moses acknowledging that G-d judges the world in fairness. This in itself is unnatural, since natural law would favour the physically strong over their weaker adversaries. Only the special blessing "and the fear of you and the dread of you will be on all the living creatures of the earth," (Genesis 9, 2) enables physically inferior man to extend his dominion over the more powerful animal kingdom. This blessing, however, is restricted to deserving man. In that Psalm then, homage is paid to the miracle that notwithstanding inferior status, justice prevails over brute force. This is viewed as a manifestation of hashgachah peratit. Israel is as powerful relative to other nations, as animals are to man. The condition in either case is the preservation of the tzelem elokim the Divine image, in accordance with the respective demands made upon either "man" or "Israel." The prophecy concerning "the latter days" in Isaiah chapter eleven, in which powerful animals are described as no longer molesting the weaker species, is the vision of a world when natural law will have ceased to prevail. Since the degree of personal intervention is in direct proportion to the degree of saintliness of the persons concerned, as we have demonstrated, extraordinary examples of such intervention may occur from time to time, testifying to the deserving nature of the person for whose sake they occur. Once we have seen that quality and not quantity governs the value G-d places on human beings, the fact that we are told that G-d selected the Jewish people "not because of your numerical strength" begins to assume some significance. "For you are numerically smallest" (Deut.7,7) means from you I expect what can be expected only from the select few, due to their elevated moral standards G-d’s army is not distinguished by the number of its divisions, but by the excellence of its soldiers. The Exodus from Egypt became possible not due to collective endeavour, but because of the merit of a few select individuals, especially the ones already in their graves, who had been the recipients of G-d’s oath due to their merit. (Abraham)

Reflecting the high standard of Israel, the opening Midrash described the disease as epilepsy, a temporary affliction, of brief duration. The remedy quoted, the kami-a, amulet, is considered spiritual in nature, not something organic, (in Talmudic and Midrashic parlance) This suggests that the aberration had been brief, subject to prompt correction by proper spiritual orientation. Angels achieve their shleymut, perfection, by means of a single expression, i.e. experience. (Daniel 4,14), whereas man requires two expressions, i.e. experiences. The first was "let Us make man in Our image," at the time man was being created. The second expression, a further stage leading to complete perfection was the revelation at Mount Sinai. Hopefully, the two experiences between them will achieve mankind's refinement, and convert our potential into the actual achievement of the finest our species is capable of.

C) There is a special hashgachah for Tzaddikim to whom G-d relates as if they were part of His own Self. Whenever G-d’s personal intervention is mentioned, this suggests that it was occasioned through the merit of our forefathers. Redemption is due to the good deeds of our ancestors. For instance, when G-d talks about redeeming Israel from Egypt, keeping His promise to Abraham the tzaddik, He says "I shall pass through Egypt," which our sages interpret to mean that G-d personally, will do this, not by means of an angel, and emissary. (Exodus 12, 12) Or, "I shall make it rain bread from heaven." (due to the merit of Moses) There are numerous other examples of this. To sum up, hashgachah exists everywhere, but its specific manifestation varies according to the merit of the individual or people concerned. A similar thought is expressed in Psalm 33. a) "G-d frustrates the counsel of nations." b) "Hail to the nation which counts the Lord as its G-d." c) "Express jubilation to G-d, O righteous people." In the first instance hashgachah manifests itself negatively, preventing harm from befalling G-d’s people, preserving G-d’s master plan from being interfered with. Even when G-d exercises His personal hashgachah over the nations of the world, the objective is the preservation of His people." To save the life of His servants from death." (Psalms 33, 1) The four kings of Sodom that were saved, were saved for the sake of Lot, even though they themselves had long been guilty of death. Pharaoh was saved for the sake of Sarah. Clearly, whenever we have evidence of G-d’s personal interference in history, it is for the sake of the Jewish people or in order to save individual deserving Jews.