"The Way of G-d"

Part 2: “Divine Providence”

Ch. 2: “Mankind in this world”

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Having determined that G-d granted us humans alone an active role in the universe, and that He and we interact, we turn now to our place in the world in the face of all that. And we go backwards, from “end” to “means”.

As Ramchal indicated before, our end has always been to attach ourselves onto G-d’s Being in The World to Come. That is our raison d’etre, laid out plain.

We’re also taught that it’s there, in The World to Come, where we’ll enjoy the sort of repose and tranquility that only someone who had achieved a magnificent, all-encompassing, and long sought-after goal could enjoy.

After all, true happiness only comes when one’s dreams are implemented and his worst fears averted. And the greatest dream of the soul is to cling on to G-d while its greatest fear is that it won’t.

So much for the end; now back to the means.

Some might argue that it would seem better for us to have started out in The World to Come, and thus avoided this so very long and seemingly unnecessary excursion into the world with its many snares and risks. But G-d deemed it necessary for us to start off here, and to be bound first by the exigencies of this world.

Hence it follows that everything in this world serves as a means-- a means of helping (or hindering) us in our ultimate goal. And that that, in fact, is every material thing’s raison d’etre.

Thus put succinctly, everything other than man serves man’s end; while man himself serves G-d’s.

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