In Perek 4, the Amal stressed the importance of human kind coming together to help the oppressed and make a difference on the world. He believes the main purpose of life is to build, create, and make an impact.
We then see in Perek 5 Pasuk 7 that the Yirei Elokim tries to refute the philosophy of the Amal:
"If you see oppression of the poor and deprivation of justice and righteousness in the province, wonder not about the matter, for the Highest over the high waits, and there are higher ones over them."
From this, it seems like the Yirei Elokim is basically saying that humans have absolutely no control over situations in life, the ability help others, or changing the world. Is this indeed what he is saying?
This idea reminded me of a story I've heard many times. There are many variations of this story but it essentially goes like this:
A man is sitting on his porch as flood waters rise. A woman floats by in a boat, asking if the man needs help. "No, thank you," says the man, "I'm trusting in G-d." The waters rise higher, sending the man upstairs. A raft full of people floats by his second story window. "Get in," they say, "there's plenty of room." "No thanks," says the man, "I'm trusting in G-d." The flood waters keep rising, pushing the man up to the roof. A helicopter swoops in, lowering its ladder for the man. "Thanks anyway," shouts the man, "I'm trusting in G-d." Finally, the man is swept away in the torrent and drowns. At the gates of Heaven, the man asks God, "Why didn't you save me?" "What do you mean?'' replies God, "I sent two boats and a helicopter."
This story illustrates the actual point I think the Yirei Elokim is trying to get at. Man must have a partnership with G-d. G-d controls what goes on in this world, and we, the human beings living in His world, act as his servants fulfilling His will, in this case, helping those in need. We may not have the ability to make a change in the world or control what goes on in our lives, but we must try!
I haven't actually thought of connecting that story to Kohelet before. Good thinking! I do agree that this is the Yirei Elokim's point. However, I also wonder if the Ammal would have let the story play out like this at all. One major part of the Ammal's philosophy is that man is superior to G-d and is in control of the world. Man is the only being that can change the world. As a result, it is man's ultimate goal to create a perfect world. Naturally, as an extremist, the Ammal cannot be satisfied with nearly perfect and moves on to declare that everything he believes in is Hevel. Although the story you included involves too much "G-d" for the Ammal, I do believe that the main point (according to the Yirei Elokim) is to create a partnership with G-d. In the end, I do think that we will wind up combining the philosophies to find the real meaning in life.
ReplyDeleteI like the connection with that story. We need to have a partnership with G-d, which means we have to put in effort as well.
ReplyDeleteLily,
ReplyDeleteInteresting blog post. I think the story also summarizes the idea that man does need to have a partnership with G-d. We cannot only rely on G-d, we have to put in effort as well. The Amal is so focused on man ridding the world of injustice, that he fails to see the hand of G-d in the scheme of life. The Neheneh, on the other hand, declares that only Hashem is in control, and man has no responsibility or accountability. The Yirei Elokim stresses that G-d and man have a partnership, something that might have helped the Neheneh and the Amal view things a little differently.