"To Know what was in Your Heart..." (Devarim 8:2): Of Divine Tests and a Knowing Heart
Parshat HaShavua
Yeshivat Har Etzion
This parasha series is dedicated
in memory of Michael Jotkowitz, z"l.
PARASHAT
EIKEV
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This shiur is
dedicated in memory of Dr. William Major z"l.
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We dedicate this
shiur to the Armies of
"To
Know What was in Your Heart…"(Devarim 8:2):
Of Divine
Tests and a Knowing Heart
Rav
Chanoch Waxman
I
During their forty years journey
through the desert the Children of Israel were sustained by their daily ration
of man, the "bread" provided for them by God (Shemot 16:13-16,
35). In thinking about the man, we often relate to the man and
God's provision of the man as a matter of practical necessity. By simple
logic, a people numbering six hundred thousand or so grown men alone will
require some sort of regular food supply during a desert journey of any length.
In line with this perspective, to no surprise, the man is first
introduced in response to the people's complaining of their having been brought
to the desert to die of starvation and stated preference to have died back in
Egypt adjacent to bubbling pots of meat, their stomachs satiated with bread
(Shemot 16:3-4). They are very hungry and rather unhappy about it. The man constitutes
the solution to a very practical problem.
Alternatively, in what might be
thought of as the perspective of Moshe, the man comprises a piece of an
all embracing regimen of miraculous sustenance, part of a larger picture of
providential care. In his first reference to the man in Sefer Devarim,
Moshe differentiates between the man and bread. In pointed contrast
to Sefer Shemot and its seven times repeated reference to man as
a type of bread (Shemot 16:4,8,12,15,22,29,32), Moshe reminds the people that
God has fed them man, something unknown to either the people or their
forefathers (Devarim 8:3). Living off of this mysterious and hitherto unknown
substance proves "that man lives not by bread alone, but man
may live by whatever God decrees." Needless to say, the man is the
"not" "bread" decreed and provided by God that
sustained the people for forty years.
Immediately after emphasizing the
otherness and apparently divine nature of man, the not-bread fed the
people, Moshe reminds the people that "your garments did not wear out, nor
did your feet swell these forty years" (8:4). Apparently, Moshe intends to
remind the people that they have been enveloped in a providential and
miraculous atmosphere. Their sustenance has been openly miraculous and even the
very rules of nature have been suspended, their clothes have not worn and
despite forty years walking, no one has gotten blisters.
In a similar vein, in his second
reference to man in Sefer Devarim, Moshe once again conjoins the
images of man, clothing and walking. As part of the buildup to the final
covenant contracted at the end of the book, Moshe once again reminds the
Children of Israel for the forty years that God has led them in the desert, neither their clothes nor shoes have worn out
(29:4). But this time Moshe goes a bit further. In pointed echo of his twice
mentioned description of his forty days upon the mountain as a time when
"I did not eat bread nor drink…" (9:9, 18), Moshe refers to the forty
years the Children of Israel spent in the desert as a time when "you did
not eat bread nor drink…" (29:5). Apparently, just as Moshe by virtue of
his connection with the divine and divine word was sustained in a miraculous
fashion for a period of forty "x" while on the mountain, so too the
Children of Israel were sustained in a miraculous fashion by virtue of
connection with the divine for a period of forty "x" while in the
desert.
Yet while the themes of pragmatic
sustenance, the probable perspective of the people, and miraculous providence,
the apparent perspective of Moshe, certainly constitute central motifs in the
story of the man, they do not constitute the entire story. The story of
the man consistently emphasizes a third motif, as yet unmentioned until
this point.
In declaring his intention to Moshe
to respond to the people's complaint and provide the man, God states the
following:
Behold I
will rain down bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and
gather each day's portion that day, so that I may test them (a'nasenu)
to see whether they will follow my instructions (ha'yeileich be'torati)
or not. (Shemot 16:4)
From God's
perspective, the provision of the man is neither a matter of pragmatic
necessity nor even miraculous sustenance. Rather it is an opportunity to test
the people, to investigate whether they will follow his commandments or not.
Without going into the particulars, suffice it to note that much of the
remainder of Parashat Ha-man (Shemot 16:5-35) concerns legal details
such as the requirement not to leave the man over for the morrow, the
double portion that fell upon the sixth day, the laws of the Sabbath and the
Children of Israel's success or lack of success in keeping the various details
of the Laws of Man.
On a similar note, Moshe's primary
and only explicit reference to the man in Sefer Devarim, also
emphasizes the theme of nisayon, the testing of the Children of Israel
by God. The two central verses of the passage that contains the partial
citation of Moshe's words quoted above read as follows:
And you
should remember the whole way which the Lord your God led you these forty years
in the desert; so as to cause you hardship (le'ma'an a'notcha), to test
you (le'nasotcha), to know that which was in your hearts, whether
you would keep his commandments or not. And he caused you hardship (va'yeancha)
and he caused you to be hungry and he fed you the man, which you did not know and your fathers did not know. So as
to make you know that man lives not by bread alone, but man may live by
whatever God decrees. (Devarim 8:2-3)
While Moshe
certainly mentions his read on the man, its nature as miraculous
sustenance, he gives primary billing to God's own perspective, first enunciated
back in Sefer Shemot. The primary purpose of the man is to test
the people. In fact, apparently, God has deliberately caused the people
hardship and hunger. He has led them in the desert on a path that involves
hardship, hunger and the possibility of starvation. He has deliberately
structured the situation so as too necessitate the man as a pragmatic
necessity that is provided in a miraculous fashion. But neither of these themes
constitutes God's endgame. The real purpose of the suffering, the near
starvation and the man consists of the test, the trying of the people.
This brings us to the nub of the
matter. As Maimonides emphasizes in his Guide to the Perplexed (III:24), the
interpretation of God's agenda presented here, the deliberate causing of
hardship and suffering for some purpose other than punishment seems to
contradict the theological principle of God's justice. As Maimonides reminds
us, Devarim 32:4 teaches us that:
He is the
Rock, his deeds are perfect: For all his ways are
Justice.
A
faithful God, never false: True and upright is he.
While we may not be overly
disturbed by the theological formulation and proof text provided by Maimonides,
we can easily rephrase this problem in a less abstract-philosophical and more
textual-literary fashion. The passage cited above twice utilizes a variation on
the term inui, based on the stem i,n,a, and
translated above as meaning "hardship" (8:2-3). In fact, the term
probably carries a connotation a bit stronger than hardship. In the Covenant of
the Pieces (Bereishit 15:7-21), God informs Avraham that his descendants will
be strangers in a foreign land. They will "serve\slave" there and be
"afflicted (ve'inu)" by their masters in that foreign land
(15:13). Later on, in Sefer Shemot, the Egyptians do exactly that to the
Children of Israel. Shemot 1:11 informs us that the Egyptians set taskmasters
over the Israelites in order to "afflict them (le'ma'an a'noto)."
Needless to say, the Egyptian's affliction of the people was to no avail. The
more the Israelites "were afflicted (ka'asher ya'anu)" the
more they multiplied (Shemot 1:12). God eventually sees the "affliction (ani)"
of his people and declares his intention to Moshe to save them from the hands
of
All this leads to the following
formulation. As part of the
II
In point of fact, the theological
problem of God's justice, or as restructured here, the consistency of God's
character and relation to the Children of Israel constitutes but the tip of the
metaphorical iceberg. As pointed out above, God's primary agenda in providing
the man is to test the Children of Israel. In Moshe's formulation in Sefer
Devarim, the rationale of hardship\affliction (le'ma'an a'notcha)
provided for the desert journey, is immediately followed by the term "le'nasotcha"
(8:2). The testing of the Children of Israel constitutes both the real purpose
of the just mentioned hardship\affliction and the rationale for the entire
stretch of recent history; the desert journey, the near starvation and the
provision of the man over a forty year period (8:2-3). But this is
bizarre. What need does God have to test the Children of Israel? While it is in
itself theologically difficult to formulate the question this way, let us be
bold. What could possibly comprise God's motivation?
In this instance, the standard
philosophical formulation of the problem of nisayon should be of some
assistance. By no accident, Maimonides' discussion of the problem of God's
justice inherent in our story serves as an introduction to his extensive
discussion of the problem of nisayon. At the tail end of his discussion
(Guide to the Perplexed III:24), Maimonides warns
against the "imaginings of ignorant fools" and "their evil
thoughts." He warns against the possibility that God tests men in order to
find out information that he has not previously known. As God is omniscient,
and knows not just the past and present, but the future as well, there exists
no possibility that he tests in order to achieve knowledge. Such a reading
constitutes a philosophical impossibility.
But in point of fact this
interpretation seems to be the simple sense of the Biblical text. The text
almost unfailingly connects the term and concept of nisayon with the
idea of knowledge. As cited above, in a clear echo of God's words in Sefer
Shemot (16:4) Moshe informs the Children of Israel that God has led them on
their journey, afflicted them and fed them the man to "test
you (le'nasotcha), to know (la'daat) that which was in
your hearts" (8:2). Similarly, later on in Devarim, Moshe warns the people
from following after the false prophet who urges the worship of other gods. In
explaining the fact that the false prophet performs valid signs and wonders,
Moshe maintains that it constitutes an occasion upon which "the Lord your
God tests you (me'naseh), to know (la'daat) whether
you love the Lord your God with all your heart…" (13:4). Finally, in the
first and most well known of the four contexts in which the Torah describes God
as testing, Bereishit 22:1 informs us that God "tested (nisah)"
Avraham. The story of the binding, the Akeida (22:1-19) reaches its crescendo
with last moment call of the angel. Just as Avraham takes the knife to
slaughter Yitzchak, an angel calls from Heaven to stay his hand. The angel of
the Lord commands Avraham not to lay his hand upon the lad "for now I know
(ata ya'dati) that you fear God" (22:12). Avraham's readiness to
sacrifice Yitzchak has been demonstrated and there is no need for the actual
deed.
To put this together, the constant
conjunction of "testing" and "knowledge" as well as the
formulation of the just cited passages seems to imply a causal relation between
"testing" and "knowledge." God tests in order to gain
knowledge. He tests Avraham to find out whether he is in fact truly God fearing
and tests the Children of Israel to know what is in their hearts and
investigate whether they will follow his commands. But this seems difficult to
say the least. Is not God all-knowing? What possible need does he have to test
humanity? As Maimonides would have it, is this not just the opinion of fools?
III
A comprehensive analysis of the
thorny theological issues and philosophical problems raised until this point
remain far beyond the scope of our discussion. The issues of God's justice and
knowledge raised by the story of the man and the Biblical idea of
"trial" have preoccupied thinkers for quite a while and are not
clearly resolvable in a neat fashion. Nevertheless, let us not despair, as in
many other cases, the text may yet lead the way to some sort of resolution. At
the very least it may provide insight and allow us to tilt towards one of the
existent interpretations of nisayon. With this in mind, let us turn our
attention back to Moshe's discourse upon the desert journey, the man and
the concept of "trial" found in Parashat Eikev, the locus of
his previously cited speech.
The two verses containing the
problematic references to God's afflicting and testing the Children of Israel
(8:2-3) are in fact embedded in a larger speech of Moshe urging the Israelites
to keep the commandments. In almost stereotypical fashion for Sefer Devarim,
Moshe opens his address with a prompting to keep "all the commands
commanded this day." This of course will lead to success in possessing and
flourishing in the land promised to the forefathers (8:1). At this point, Moshe
segues to the importance of memory, memory of the journey through the desert,
God's affliction of the people, God's testing of the people, the man and
the miraculous nature of the people's preservation in the desert (8:2-4). In
sum, the material discussed previously. At this point, Moshe moves to what
appears to be the logical terminus of this particular segment of Moshe's
address. He returns again to the topic of the commandments, urging the people
once again to keep the commandments.
You shall
know in your heart; that just as a man disciplines his son so too the Lord your
God disciplines you. And you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God,
to walk in his ways and to fear him.
(8:5-6)
At this point we may
well wonder as to the overall logical flow of the narrative. Throughout Sefer
Devarim Moshe stresses the connection between keeping the mitzvot and
reward and punishment. Keeping the commandments leads to reward and violating
the commandments leads to punishment. So too in part of the text cited here
(8:1, 5-6). Similarly, Moshe often links historical memory and the
commandments. Out of gratitude for God's kindness, providential care and
miracles, the Children of Israel should keep the commandments. Once again, so
too in part of the text cited here (8:4-6). Yet these themes do not constitute
the entirety of the passage nor even its' central motif. Rather, it is God's
mysterious afflicting and testing of
Rather than confronting the logical
problem head on, let us first continue on with the structure of the larger
"keep the commandments\memory" narrative (8:1-18) in which we find
Moshe's mention of the man and the problematic doctrine of affliction
and testing. This may be of some help. While there is no real substitute for
looking at the entirety of this lengthy piece of text, the following chart will
have to suffice for now. The overall structure of the speech can be mapped as
follows:
|
|
Verses |
Themes |
|
Segment One |
8:1-6 |
Keeping the commandments, Remembering God's leading the people on the desert journey, God's afflicting, testing, the Man, God's providence |
|
Segment Two |
8:7-10 |
The goodness of the land, thankfulness to God |
|
Segment Three |
8:11-18 |
The danger of forgetting God and not keeping the commandments, forgetting God and his providence on the desert journey, attribution of success to the power and might of my own hand |
Although the chart
only provides a partial picture of the general thrust of the narrative, it
should be readily apparent that segments one and three stand in a relation of
"opposition." While segment one focuses on "keeping the
commandments," "remembering" and recognition of God, segment
three focuses on the linguistic and conceptual opposites of these notions. In
segment three, Moshe refers to the possibility of "not keeping the
commandments," "forgetting" and the attribution of success to
one's own might, a failure to recognize God.
Bearing this relationship in mind,
let us take a careful look at the language of segment three. The latter part of
Moshe's "commandments and memory" speech reads as follows:
Guard
yourselves lest you forget the Lord your God and not keep (li'vilti
shemor) his commands...that I command you this day. Lest you
eat and become satiated, build good houses and dwell in them; when you herds
and flocks multiply…and all that you have is multiplied. Then your heart
will be lifted up (ve'ram le'vavcha) and you will forget
the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt…Who led you through
that great and terrible desert…where there was no water who brought forth water
for you from a rock; who fed you man in the desert which your fathers
did not know, so as to cause you hardship\afflict you (le'ma'an
a'notcha), so as to test you (le'nasotcha), to do you good at
your latter end. And you will say in your heart: My power and the might
of my hand have gotten me this wealth. And you should remember the Lord
your God, for it is he who gives you power to make wealth… (8:11-18)
As pointed out
previously, in contrast to section one of his address (8:1-6) where Moshe twice
stresses "keeping the commandments" (8:1,6) that "I command you
this day" (8:1), here Moshe raises the specter of "not keeping the
commandments" that "I command you this day" (8:11). Similarly,
again as already mentioned above, in a second obvious contrast between the two
segments, in the latter part of his speech, Moshe twice mentions
"forgetting." The people will "forget" God and not keep his
commandments (8:11). They will "forget" God who redeemed them from
But there is more to it than this.
The process of forgetting\not keeping the commandments in the latter part of
Moshe's address is tied up with a third symbol, that of the "heart."
As a result of inhabiting the good land and finding success, the Children of
Israel's "heart" will become "raised" (8:14). In more
colloquial terminology, they will become arrogant, prideful and egotistical. In
the second usage of the term found in the segment, Moshe predicts the people
will "say in their heart," i.e. begin to believe and claim, that it
was their own power and might that has led them to their success (8:17). But of
course, as Moshe points out in the last sentence of his speech in a return to
the remembering\forgetting symbolism of the passage, the people should
"remember" that it is God who has given them the strength to succeed.
This state of an
"elevated," "arrogant" and fundamentally unknowing\ignorant
heart contrasts with the usage of the term "heart" in the first part
of Moshe's speech. As cited earlier on, the first part of Moshe's speech terminates
with the following words:
You shall
know in your heart; that just as a man disciplines his son so too the
Lord your God disciplines you. And you shall keep the commandments of the Lord
your God, to walk in his ways and to fear him. (8:5-6)
To put this all
together, the first and third parts of Moshe's long "mitzvot and
memory" speech (8:1-18) comprise "complementary opposites." In
other words, while they constitute linguistic opposites, they both intend the
same purpose. The first part outlines what we might term the positive state of
a knowing\remembering heart. The people remember and hence possess a humble and
knowing heart that fears God. In consequence they keep the commandments. The
third part outlines the opposite and negative state, what we may term the state
of an ignorant\forgetful heart. The people forget and hence possess an arrogant
and ignorant heart. Having forgotten God and attributing their success to their
own powers, they abandon the commandments. But of course, the latter state is
highly undesirable. As such Moshe closes the latter part of his speech with one
last plea to remember, to remember God and to remember that he is one who
grants strength and success. In other words, he emphasizes once again the
importance of the positive state, of the knowing\remembering heart.
IV
This brings us to a fourth
linguistic connection between the two segments of Moshe's speech and back to
the twin issues of "hardship\affliction" and "testing." In
addition to its' references to "forgetting," "commandments"
and the "heart," the latter segment of Moshe's address (8:11-18) also
echoes the first segment (8:1-6) by referring to the whole complex of the
desert journey, the man, God's causing hardship\affliction and testing
of the Children of Israel.
Immediately following the mention of
the danger of "a raised heart" (8:14), Moshe delineates the contents
of this experiential and cognitive state. The people will forget God who
"led you (ha'molichacha)" in "the desert" (8:15) and
who "fed you man (ha'ma'achilcha man)" (8:16). This of
course constitutes a near perfect parallel to the historical references found
earlier in the first part of Moshe's speech. In the prior, positively phrased
part of his address, Moshe had already told the Children of Israel that God has
"led you (ho'lichacha)" in "the desert" (8:2).
Likewise, Moshe had already told the people that God "fed you the man
(va'ya'achilcha et ha-man) (8:3).
More importantly, as part of the
history lesson, in a highly precise echo of the previous mention of the
"affliction\hardship" and "testing" (8:2), Moshe once again
raises the problematic terms of "inui"
and "nisayon."
…who fed you man in the desert which
your fathers did not know, so as to cause you hardship\afflict you (le'ma'an
a'notcha), so as to test to test you (le'nasotcha), to do you
good at your latter end. (8:16)
Just as previously
the man was part of a deliberate regime of hardship, affliction and
trial (8:2-3), so too here, the man is part of a deliberate regime of
hardship, affliction and trial.
Apparently, the complex of
historical memory, the man and the experiences of hardship and trial
play a key role in the knowing\remembering heart – ignorant\forgetful heart
dialectic that comprises the core of Moshe's "keep the commandments"
speech. Consequently, on the textual plane, the complex comprises the
centerpiece of both the positive and negative formulations that respectively
comprise the first and last parts of Moshe's speech (8:2-3, 15-16). On the
simplest level, the role is that of contents. Part of what the knowing heart
knows and remembers is the history of God's afflicting, trying and sustaining
the Children of Israel. Part of what the ignorant heart forgets is exactly that
history, the history of God's afflicting, trying and sustaining the Children of
Israel.
On a deeper level, a careful reading
of the text may indicate that remembering the historical complex of hardship,
trial and sustenance, or its forgetting, plays a causal role in the
knowing\remembering heart – ignorant\forgetful heart dialectic under
discussion. Moshe in fact seems to state such in the first part of his speech.
As pointed out previously, Moshe
opens the first part of his speech with a general prompting to keep the
commandments (8:1) and then moves to the imperative of remembering the journey
and the entire complex of hardship, trial and sustenance (8:2-4). At this
point, the segment turns to the theme of "knowing in one's heart"
(8:5) and the purpose stated at the start, i.e. keeping the commandments (8:6).
In other words, remembering affliction, trial and sustenance is what comprises
and creates the existential state of the "knowing heart." Affliction,
trial and sustenance are what eventually lead, through the intermediaries of
historical memory and the knowing heart to the keeping of the commandments.
By logic, the exact reverse is true
in the latter part of Moshe's speech. The forgetting of God and history, the
forgetting of hardship\affliction, trial and sustenance is not so much the
internal state, the "contents" of the forgetful\ignorant heart but
also its cause. By forgetting history, the Children of Israel run the risk of
becoming arrogant, they stand to fall prey to an elevated heart and will
eventually deviate from path of God and his commandments. Once again, affliction,
trial and sustenance, by virtue of preventing and negating the
forgetful\ignorant and arrogant heart are meant to lead to keeping of the
commandments.
To put this together,
affliction\hardship, trial and divine sustenance, are meant to comprise a
transformative historical experience for the Children of Israel, one whose
benefit echoes down through the generations, that attempts to guarantee
continued loyalty to God and his commandments.
V
While this may sound highly
abstract, the text seems to support this claim in a highly concrete fashion. As
emphasized previously, the mentions of "affliction\hardship" and
"testing" in the two halves of Moshe's speech parallel each other in
a precise fashion. Yet this is not completely correct. In fact, the two
sentences contain one apparently glaring disparity. This can best be seen by
juxtaposing the two references.
|
The "knowing heart" – 8:2 |
The "forgetting heart" – 8:16 |
|
..so as to cause you hardship\afflict you (le'ma'an a'notcha), to test you (le'nasotcha), to know that which was in your hearts whether you would keep his commandments or not. |
...so as to cause you hardship\afflict you (le'ma'an a'notcha), so as to test you (le'nasotcha), to do you good at your latter end. |
While the first
segment of Moshe's address defines the purpose of affliction and trial as to
know the contents of people's hearts and investigate their fidelity to the
commandments, the latter part of Moshe's address defines the purpose of
affliction and trial, as somehow granting a future benefit to the people. While
it may seem mysterious how these two phrases mean the same thing, the normal
rules of parallelism and the overarching macro-parallel between the two segments
indicate that such is indeed the case. Somehow, investigating the hearts of the
Children of Israel, trying their shemirat mitzvot, their keeping of the
commandments, benefits the people in the long run.
To put this in the terminology
utilized earlier, affliction and trial constitute a transformative historical
experience, one that builds the knowing and humble heart and negates the
forgetful and arrogant heart. As such, they contribute, through the means of
the knowing-remembering heart to the people's future keeping of the
commandments. As the text phrases it: "to do you good" (8:16). In
afflicting and trying the people, God benefits the people. Somehow the search
for a heart committed to God's commandments generates exactly the object of the
search, it builds commitment to the commandments. But
this still seems mysterious. How does the complex of affliction, trial and
sustenance build commitment to the commandments?
This
piece of the puzzle may in turn be found in yet another of the Torah's nisayon
stories, the as yet unmentioned story of the "trial" at Sinai.
Upon perceiving the thunder,
lightening and fire at Sinai the people fled. Shemot 20:16 informs us that the
people "were shaken" and "stood far off." They requested of
Moshe that he act as intermediary. They no longer wish to hear the voice of God
in an unmediated fashion, lest they die. In response, Moshe attempts to quell
the people's panic. He informs them that:
…God is
come to test you (nasot etchem), so that his fear (yir'ato) will
be upon you, and so that you will not sin. (Shemot 20:17)
In this passage,
Moshe advocates the exact same position he later maintains in Sefer Devarim
regarding the God's "trying" of the Children of Israel. The purpose
of a "nisayon" is to benefit the Children of Israel. The
benefit is manifested in increased fidelity to God's commandments, in the
formulation of Shemot - the prevention of sin. The link between the experience
of the trial and the commitment to the commandments occurs via the religious
virtue of yir'ah, translated as fear, or awe of heaven. The experience
of the trial is an experience of awe and fear of heaven. As such, the
experience itself, or a properly internalized and assimilated memory of such an
experience serves as a spur to loyalty to God and consequently results in the
keeping of his commandments. By no surprise, Moshe's second mention of the
"keeping of the commandments" that follows upon the imperative to
remember the "trial" of the desert and the man,
closes with the mention of the "fearing" of God. (Devarim 8:6)
But there is more to it than this.
As mentioned earlier, in his numerous references to trial and the man in
his "mitzvot and memory" speech (8:1-18), Moshe refers not
just to hardship but also to divine providence. He refers not just to
suffering, but also to sustenance. In a similar vein, when Moshe explains the
signs performed by false prophet as stemming from God's interest in
"testing" the people, he refers not just to "testing,"
"knowing," "hearts" (13:4) and "fear" of God
(13:5), but also to "loving" God (13:4). In other words, a
"trial" does not just revolve around the religious virtue of fear and
awe of heaven. It also revolves around the religious virtue of love. It intends
to stir and form the mix or balance of fear and love of heaven that comprises
the ideal religious personality. As such the trial of the man includes
not just the hardship and trying of the people but also their miraculous
sustenance. Awe\fear, love and fidelity to God and his commandments are meant
to be the result.
VI
To close, let us try to tidy up some
loose ends. By now, we should no longer need to worry about the problem we
began with, the problem of God's justice, or Egyptian like action. God's
causing of hardship to
Similarly, we have gone a long way
to unpacking the Torah's notion of nisayon, the idea of a trial. It
represents an experience meant to influence the one tried. As Ramban puts it in
his comment on the trial of Avraham, (Bereishit 22:1), a trial is for the
benefit of the one tested. In the particular variation of this interpretation
presented above, a trial aims to build the religious virtues of love and fear
of God, to build the "knowing heart" that maintains fidelity to God's
word and follows his commands. In this light, we no longer need to worry about
another one of the issues raised along the way, the connection between
undergoing a trial and the outcome of following God's command. A trial leads to
love and fear and love and fear lead to keeping the commandments.
Yet nevertheless, much remains
unresolved, particularly the linguistic problem of nisayon mentioned
earlier. As pointed out above, and adamantly rejected by Maimonides three of
the four contexts of God testing stress the connection between testing and
knowledge. The parasha of the false prophet (see 13:4), the parasha of
Moshe's "mitzvot and memory" speech (see 8:2) and the Akeida
(see Bereishit 22:1, 12) all seem to suggest a certain causal relation between
God's testing and knowledge. God tests in order to know, to arrive at knowledge.
God tests to know the hearts of the tested (8:2, 13:4), and the apparent move
is from ignorance\lack of knowledge to knowledge. This problem still remains
standing.
While there exist
many solutions to this problem, much of our analysis has constituted an attempt
to perform a revolutionary turn on this problem and to provide the sketch of a
particular possible solution. As our discussion of Moshe's "mitzvot
and memory speech" should demonstrate, God's search for knowledge, his
investigation of the heart of
But there is more to it than this.
As briefly mentioned earlier, on the literary plane, God's search for knowledge
of
Further Study
1) This shiur has attempted to expand on
Ramban's groundbreaking interpretation of nisayon as actualization while
drawing from Rambam's explanation of the Akeida found in Guide to Perplexed III:24. a) Review Bereishit 22:1. Now see Rav Sa'adiah Gaon
(cited in Ibn Ezra) and Ibn Ezra 22:1. Try to formulate the two main opinions
found in their comments. b) Read Guide to the Perplexed III:24
(primarily the opening and closing segments). How well does Rambam resolve his
opening difficulty? How well does his theory deal with the case of the man?
How well does it deal with the linguistic difficulty discussed in the shiur
above? Note the centrality of love and fear of God in his interpretation of the
Akeida and the differences between his opinion and the opinion espoused in the
shiur. c) See Ramban Bereishit 22:4, Shemot 16:4, Devarim 8:2. Does Ramban 22:4
indeed advocate a "actualization" theory of nisayon
as opposed to a "reward" theory? Make an argument based on 16:4
and 8:2. Note Ramban's reason in 16:4 for rejecting Rambam's opinion.
2) Reread Devarim 8:1-6. Note the five
occurrences of the term da'at in the text. Analyze the relationship
between the middle three occurrences. Now analyze the relationship between the
first and fifth occurrence. Formulate how these two relationships and the
shifting of the term supports the central idea of the shiur above.
3) See Devarim 6:16 and Shemot 17:1-7. Now see
Ibn Ezra and Ramban 6:16. Formulate two theories for the prohibition to test
God based upon their comments. Now try to formulate an alternative in light of
the shiur above.
4) See Devarim 7:17-19. Pay careful attention to
7:17 and 7:19. Interpret these verses in light of 8:1-18 and the shiur above.
Now read Devarim 4:32-40. Note the connections between 4:34-36, 4:39 and
8:1-18. See Rashi, Ibn Ezra and Ramban to 4:34. Try to formulate a theory for
the repeated references to masot in the Torah.