Petach 2 (Part 3)

Klach Pitchei Chochma -- 138 Openings to Wisdom

By Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto

as adapted by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

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Petach One (Part 3)

3.

Now on to the role of wrong and injustice in the grand scheme of things.

We’re liable to reason that since G-d is said to be utterly beneficent, and given that there’s nonetheless wrong and injustice in the world, it must follow then that some other Force exist that allows for -- or even encourages -- it. But as Ramchal puts it, No: “All that’s … wrongful does not emanate from another sphere of influence that could oppose Him” -- “there’s only one Sovereign Being”; G-d alone is in control of the cosmos [6].

Ramchal is referring to the fact that there was a school of thought in antiquity that first “came up with the fallacious theory that it’s impossible to imagine something existing without assuming its complete opposite” and which then argued that if “there’s a G-d who’s utterly beneficent, then there must (G-d forbid) be another one who’s utterly malevolent” [7]. In fact that would seem to solve the dilemma. But it would also deny G-d’s sovereignty, so it’s unacceptable.

For “even though we see … so many different and conflicting great and major triggers and prompts” in the world, “we nonetheless know that there is only One G-d, with one (overarching) will”. In fact, G-d’s having created and allowed for wrong and injustice will only underscore His omnipotence, as we’ll see.
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Notes:

[6] Ramchal’s full statement is that “All that’s originally wrongful does not emanate from another sphere of influence that could oppose Him”. The term “originally” refers to the fact that everything that appears to be wrongful and unjust on the face of it will prove not to be in the end. He’ll make that point later on.

[7] See Da’at Tevunot 36 for a discussion of this. Like our sages (see Sanhedrin 39a) Ramchal is referring to Zoroastrianism which thrived in Talmudic times and threatened Jewish beliefs, since it maintained that a pair of co-equal spirits called Ahura Mazda (the beneficent “Wise Lord”) and Angra Mainyu (the malevolent “Evil Spirit”) competed with each other for control of the universe.

The idea that “it’s impossible to imagine something existing without assuming its complete opposite” somewhat parallels Newton’s third law of motion which indicates that whenever two equal objects interact with each other they exert “equal and opposite” forces upon each other.

(c) 2007 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

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