There is no doubt, the talmudic Sages conclude, that God Himself had to be the first and ultimate shadkhan (matchmaker). Who else could blend two disparate personalities so that they cleave together "as one flesh"? Did he not arrange the union of Adam and Eve? The conclusion was irresistible, and it was written no fewer than five times in midrashic literature: "Marriages are made in Heaven."
This is not a romantic American cliche, but a serious statement of predestination. God determines which people will unite successfully and serve as vehicles for human survival. Does not the Talmud say: "Forty days before the birth of a child, a heavenly voice proclaims: 'The daughter of so-and-so will be married to so-and-so?'" The Talmud even illustrates how this idea induced a spirit of quietism in some people, with the tale of a young woman who refused to wear pretty clothes, jewelry, or cosmetics to attract a husband, because she believed that - regardless of what she might do - her suitor would be brought to her by God.
This raises a thorny question: If the selection of a mate is preordained, why is it necessary to go through the elaborate charade of selecting a suitable mate? And why do so many marriages fail?
Rabbi Akiva responds to a similar question of predestination by saying, "Everything is known to God, yet free will is given to man." God knows what we will do and how things will work out, but it is still up to us to arrange our own life. Only after all of the arrangements have been made can we say confidently that this is what God had originally ordained.
- Maurice Lamm, The Jewish Way in Love and Marriage
Links: A Molinist View of (the UK General) Election (7 May 10), A Molinist View of Relationships (19 May 10), A Molinist View of Samson's Marriage (30 Jun 10)
I recently while playing Bejeweled and in one of my thoughtful moments.. thought, Life is like a Bejeweled heh...
ReplyDeleteIn the sense, the algorithm has already been set and is randomly generated each time a new game loads, some are more difficult than others but in each round, a player has the choice to put in more effort and concentration or not. How much better, that the one who set the algorithm doesn't randomly generate our lives for us, and even fashions it in a way out of faithful love that knows us each so intimately.
Perhaps a tardy way of understanding the concept of freewill and predestination, but *shrug* it helps me (: