"The Way of G-d"

Part 2: “Divine Providence”
Chapter 3: “Personal Providence”

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As we said, everything that happens to us happens with a particular aim in mind. And that is that we and the world at large reach our full spiritual potential. That being so, it stands to reason that G-d Himself arranges how this all plays itself out in our lives.

The point to recall, though, is that all decisions made in this realm are rooted in Divine justice and balance as we indicated, and are based on our own actions. For in very real ways, even without our knowing it, we ourselves determine our own life circumstances by the sorts of ethical and spiritual decisions we make.

Now, some people are helped outright to reach their full spiritual potential. And it either happens to them actively, as when they're suddenly allotted things seemingly "out of the blue"; or passively, when certain stumbling blocks are whisked away from them "serendipitously". While others are helped out less dramatically and more discreetly, in varying degrees; and others yet aren't helped at all (though they certainly may achieve spiritual growth without it).

The opposite's true as well. Some people's attempts at spiritual growth are blocked or hampered, others' are actually thwarted and stymied, while yet others' are utterly doomed to failure. Again, the point is that all of this is likewise based on the individual's own deeds.

In practical terms that means to say that some will become wealthy, for example, in order to make their spiritual quest easier. While others will become poor in order to be stymied in their efforts. Understand of course, though, that wealth could also prove to be a wrongful person's undoing, and could come to him for that reason alone. Or it could come his way in order to somehow hinder his efforts to do harm.

Recall, though, that all this is done with the sort of meticulous and pinpoint wisdom that only G-d Almighty who is omniscient is capable of exhibiting. For He alone knows all the details involved, the secret conversations each one of us holds in our hearts, and the eternal as well as finite ramifications of each and every phenomenon. He alone knows what's truly fair and what's not; what would be for the ultimate good despite appearances, and what not, regardless of what we might imagine.

This series is dedicated to the memory of Yitzchak Hehrsh ben Daniel, and Sarah Rivka bas Yaakov Dovid.

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