In chapter 18, Rambam further elaborates his view of providence. In this chapter, it becomes clear that providence for Rambam means Divine protection over the details of one's life. In the previous chapter, Rambam had said that providence might govern whether a person were at the place of a particular event or not, so it was that function of providence that he is stressing here.

Rambam's opinion-- just to review- had been that individual humans have providence, but in the animal realm, providence does not get more specific than the overflow from the celestial spheres guarding the species of plants and animals. This week's chapter presents a problem, though, since Rambam asserts that species are a construct of the mind, and all that really exists are individuals.

PROVIDENCE AS A FUNCTION OF INTELLECT

We will return to animals in a moment, but the denial of the importance of species in human terms means that whatever providence attaches to humans attaches to them as individuals (Rambam does not here discuss the notion of Kelal Yisrael having a relationship with God, but we can leave that for another time). Since individuals connect to God by developing their intellect, Rambam says, the greater the connection, the greater the protection. This means, then, that those who have developed themselves more gain greater protection from God (and here, Rambam is fairly clear that providence means-- in some sense-- God's involvement and protection in one's life).

Rambam does not elaborate on how this works, but it is worth pausing a moment to speculate. Since Rambam believes that there is no change in God, he cannot believe that as a person develops his or her intellect, God pays more attention to that person. Rather, it would have to be something more automatic than that-- the development of a person's intellect creates a connection between the person's intellect and the Active Intellect (God). That connection itself, I would guess, provides protection in Rambam’s view. Again, he doesn’t say this, but unless something in the fiber of the universe protects those more connected to God, we would have to assume that God does it bikhvodo u-ve-`Atsmo, in all His glory. That, however, implies change in God—since the relationship between the Divine and individuals changes as the humans change—and Rambam abhors the notion of change in God (as we will see in coming chapters as well).

SPECIES AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO PROVIDENCE

Rambam’s notion that species are a construct of our minds is clearly true and yet forces us to rethink some of his view of providence. By saying that species do not exist outside the mind, I believe Rambam intends that it takes our intellect to relate various individuals to each other, saying that they actually belong to a group. Species are not objective categories so much as convenient groupings of individuals. [Actually, if my minimal biology is correct, species are currently defined as those animals that can reproduce with each other and produce viable offspring; were he living today, perhaps Rambam would have conceded that species do exist.]

In human terms, Rambam’s denial of meaning to the concept of species helped elaborate his view of providence over individuals. However, Rambam had previously said that providence only applies to species of animals, not to individual animals (nor individual plants, etc.). How could that be, since species are mental constructs according to Rambam?

To understand how that might work, we need to remember that Rambam had not said that species have direct providence while individuals do not. Rather, he had said that providence reaches the separate intellects of the spheres, and the overflow from that goes to the species of animals. If we can think back to when Rambam was explaining his view of cosmology (and Yehezqel’s vision of it in Chapters 1&10 of his work), he had said that the ofanim (sorry, I know a lot of readers found these terms confusing, but for a moment it will help us understand Rambam’s view) were completely controlled by the hayyot. At the time, I noted the comment and how it suggested a lack of freewill in aspects of life here on Earth. Here, Rambam does not take that to its fullest possible extent—he believes animals move as they will—but his notion of providence over species suggests the same relationship.

The providence actually goes to the celestial spheres—which are, in Rambam’s view, intellects—and the overflow from them goes to the species. That suggests a connection between the species as a group and the spheres. In our terms, it might mean something like the instincts and laws of nature that keep the ecology in balance are a result of Divine providence, mediated through the intellects of the spheres. I only pointed this out because it brings together discussions from earlier with Rambam’s view of providence here—and unifying different parts of a picture is always worthwhile.

The next chapter in the Moreh talks about God’s knowledge, since knowledge is a necessary companion to providence. To make sense of a concept of providence requires some concept of how God knows, which we’ll address next week.

SOME PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON PROVIDENCE

Before we finish this week, though, I thought I’d register some of my thoughts on providence. Especially in a post-Holocaust age, the question of how God’s providence works is either as alive or more alive for our generation as for any other generation in history. While my views are not as well-formulated as Rambam’s, I basically follow views espoused by other Jewish thinkers, primarily Ramban.

First, I think Rambam underestimated the interconnectedness of the universe, making it difficult to believe that providence does not affect the world as a whole. Rambam seemed to believe that God does not control physical events in our lives, although He might determine whether or not we are at the scene of an accident, etc. The interconnectedness of ecological systems, however, means that in order for God to have any effect on events in this world--- as Rambam clearly seems to believe happens—He must at least have the ability to affect events generally.

NATURE REFLECTS THE DIVINE AS WELL

That having been said, I recognize the notion of laws of nature, of a natural order, and so on. I think it important to note, however, how much of that nature (even animals, if we factor in instincts that are natural to them) works to guarantee the smooth running of the ecology as a whole. If a plant grows upward, thus getting the sunlight it needs, it simply follows a natural instinct, but that instinct came from the Creator.

Seeing even nature as Divinely ordained and controlled makes miracles easier to explain. Since all of nature is really a result of God’s providence, changes in that nature aren’t qualitatively different from the ordinary events—they are all under God’s control.

PROVIDENCE IN PERSONAL TERMS

In some senses, this means I believe we can and should relate events in our lives to God more than in Rambam’s view, although it would be important not to exaggerate. Particularly events that do not seem to fall simply under the control of nature—a near-miss car accident, the accumulation of wealth by someone whose talents are not obviously greater than those of others who do not succeed so much, not contracting an illness when others are being caught in the contagion—I would think should at least possibly be ascribed to providence. And, of course, the reverse as well—in times of trouble I believe we should at least consider the possibility that this represents punishment for something, or at the very least is yisurim to focus our attention on worship of God.

Of course, the problem Rambam would have with any view such as the one I have outlined is that it implies constant change and flux within the Divine, since God is connected to (or rules over) the constantly changing universe. That change itself is a problem for Rambam, since a perfect being should not have to change. I can imagine two approaches to this problem other than Rambam’s.

WHO’S AFRAID OF CHANGE IN THE DEITY?

First, there is a kabbalistic concept called tsimtsum, the voluntary contraction by God to allow the universe to exist. Why God wanted that is not clear (nor do I have enough familiarity with kabbalistic thought to delve further into related concepts, such as kelipot or shevirat hekelim), but it suggests that in some way God voluntarily gave up His perfection, and that as we work towards the days of the Messiah, we are restoring perfection to God, as it were. Obviously, such a concept only works for those willing to entertain it, but it would explain how providence could actually connect God to this changing world.

A second, perhaps related, approach might be helped by the notion of different levels of infinity. At the end of the last century a man named Georg Cantor proved that there are different levels of the infinite. He showed that, for all that integers never run out (meaning that I have an inexhaustible supply of whole numbers), there were still "more" fractions than integers (there were not, however, "more" integers than even numbers, for example). I don’t care right now about the proof, but the concept is useful in that it shows that for all that something can be infinite, it can get "more" infinite.

I wonder—I dare not assert this confidently—if there might not be levels of perfection as well. Without taking away from one level’s perfection, might it not be possible for something to get "more" perfect. It might be, then, that in some way the Divine relationship with the world, for all that it causes flux and change, also leads to higher levels of perfection in the Divine.

I include my thoughts not because they are well-formed or convincing, but because I think that thinking through these issues, at least occasionally, is a vital part of being a Jew. Since the Rambam gave us the opening to do so, I thought we would take advantage of it.