Spiritual Coaching & Divine Providence

Why is it so important for us to explore the topic of Hashgacha Pratit (Divine Providence)?

A topic which frequently arises in the spiritual coaching sessions that I have with my clients is the extent to which God is involved in our daily life, and specifically, the level of God’s active intervention in our daily life.

As you may know, the term used to describe God’s active involvement in our life is ‘Hashgacha Pratit’ (הַשְׁגָּחָה פְּרָטִית) which may be translated as ‘[Individualized] Divine Providence’, and especially nowadays, many of those who speak about this topic are Hashgacha Pratit ‘maximalists’ – meaning that they assume that all actions of all people are always fully determined by God. As Chaim Gross explains in his book ‘דרכי השגחה: The Paths of Providence Does G-d Control Everything?’ (p. 21): ‘Several influential (and rapidly growing) segments of the Orthodox Jewish community are resolute in attributing all causes and all effects to Hashem. The notion of infinity is applied to hashgacha in the same manner as it is applied to other attributes of the Almighty. The reach of providence is said to be unbounded, with every aspect of the universe divinely controlled down to the minutiae of existence. No differentiation is made between Hashem’s potential power to control events and the actual exercise of that power. Just as the Almighty is all-knowing and all-powerful, so too is He deemed fully responsible for every single link in the myriad unending cycles of cause and effect. Hashem is boldly said to be responsible for “everything”. This belief is said to be implicit in the thirteen principles of faith, which are to be recited every morning. The first principle states that Hashem “guides all creatures and He alone made, makes and will make all things.”’

For example, he then quotes a different work reflecting this maximalistic approach which rhetorically asks: “Is it possible to say that when a glass vase falls to the floor and shatters, that the number of fragments is Divinely ordained? The truth is that there absolutely is a Divine intent why, for example, there are precisely seventeen fragments and not eighteen or sixteen – and even if we cannot fathom the consequence that underlies the number, our lack of understanding is irrelevant for the actions of the Almighty.”

In contrast, R’ Gross then proceeds to explains (see pp. 55-56) that, ‘[while] it is tempting to attribute an infinite scope to Divine Providence (hashgacha) and rely on the Almighty to manipulate every detail of our lives for our ultimate benefit. [And while] this way of thinking appears simpler (as there would be no need to agonize over the precise boundaries of His involvement), more respectful to the Almighty (who then would be recognized as the sole creative force in the universe) and altogether quite comforting (as all the minutiae of existence would be subject to His benign implementation)…it is very difficult to maintain faith in a hashgacha of this magnitude. While the entire universe is under Hashem’s dominion, and is said to depend on its connection to the Almighty for its continued existence, most people at times gravitate to a belief that Hashem, at least occasionally, allows events to transpire without specifically directing every consequence in respect of each affected individual… These questions are important if for no other reason that our perception of hashgacha is inextricably linked with Emunah, our overall belief system.’

Significantly, the Gemara (Bava Metzia 107b) records a teaching of Rabbi Chanina that: ‘Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except for cold and heat’ (הַכֹּל בִּידֵי שָׁמַיִם חוּץ מִצִּנִּים פַּחִים).

Of course, it is possible to interpret this teaching with a focus on the first part of the statement that ‘everything’ is in the hands of heaven - with the exception of (just) cold and heat. Alternatively, it is possible to interpret this teaching with a focus on the last part of the statement that though everything is in the hands of heaven, our responses to cold and heat – which affect our physical health– do not fall under God’s active individualized divine providence. Accordingly, while Hashgacha Pratit maximalists attempt to explain this statement to support their view while acknowledging that some areas of the human experience are seemingly (although perhaps not truly) up to us, Hashgacha Pratit minimalists argue that this statement points to the fact that core aspects of our human experience are ultimately not actively controlled by God.

As you may imagine, rabbinic literature boasts a range of views on this fundamental topic spanning the entire axis from minimalists to maximalists, and while I personally lean towards a particular approach, I certainly recognize that many great Torah teachers have adopted different approaches to this question.

Yet, and this is the key point, though there are a wide range of positions found in rabbinic literature on this topic, the ‘popular’ and most frequently propagated approach to Hashgacha Pratit in the modern era is a maximalistic approach, with many who speak about this topic often being ignorant of any other approaches. Still, every approach generates complex theological questions, and to my mind some of the most complex are those generated by the maximalistic approach.

Personally, I believe that it is essential that we think and learn about such things with depth, breadth and nuance, and this is something that I do with my clients who often reach greater peace of mind when they encounter alternative approaches to this topic.

Ultimately, Hashgacha Pratit is too important a topic for us to merely think about on a shallow basis, and it is far too crucial for us to fail to dedicate some serious time and effort to learn more about the subject. So if you’ve not yet explored this topic in depth, then perhaps the time has come for you to do so.