"'[Blessed art Thou] who formest light and createst darkness'. Let him say rather: 'Who formest light and createst brightness'? — We keep the language of the Scripture. If that is so, [what of the next words in the text], Who makest peace and createst evil: do we repeat them as they are written? It is written 'evil' and we say 'all things' as a euphemism."
Sunday, August 12, 2012
God Who Creates Evil - Brakhot 11
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Maybe this isn't a statement of discomfort at God creating evil, but rather a philosophical opinion on the nature of evil. Maybe the editor of this bracha doesn't believe so much that evil is a force unto itself, but rather an unfortunate byproduct of creation. How can we say that our benevolent God created evil? Rather, our benevolent God created everything, with the "good" in mind, but evil happened. Perhaps even God cannot always control the ripple effect of God's actions (how's that for theologically challenging? - given what we've seen so far, though, I wouldn't dismiss the possibility that our rabbis knew this kind of a God).
ReplyDeleteRami, I think you're right, and I think the rabbis were on to it also. It seems that the only theodicy which really makes sense in a Jewish context requires that God not be omnipotent. There's two statements a) God is totally good, b) God is totally powerful. These are put into conflict by the concept of evil, and most attempts at theodicy either begin breaking down a (through dualism (ie. the Devil), or Gnosticism (gotta love that Demiurge)). However, I think the rabbis take the less common approach and try and break down b in order to understand evil. If God isn't omnipotent, then evil is pre-existent, and God is working on it, and we can help. Whether its the leftover debris from creation or the overflowing of Gevura over Chesed, either way its something that allows us and God to work together to defeat evil. God remains 'good' and it fits with the overarching Jewish theme of covenant.
Delete