Can God change his mind?
Ask the rabbi.
Rabbi Raymond Apple
REASONS FOR COMMANDMENTS
Q. Are we allowed to ask for reasons for all the Jewish commandments?
A. There is a long train of endeavours to find “ta’amei hamitzvot” – reasons for the Divine commandments.
Abraham Joshua Heschel says: “There are many perspectives from which observance may be judged.
“The sociological: does it contribute to the good of society or to the survival of the people?
“The aesthetic: does it enhance our sense of form and beauty?
“The moral: does it help us to realise the good?
“There is also the dogmatic: observance is the will of God and no other justification is called for.”
Heschel adds that no one perspective is enough by itself but “since Jewish observance embraces the totality of existence, a synoptic approach would bring forth its relevance in terms of all higher values, and would open a comprehensive view of its meaning”.
If, however, we fail to look for, or are unable to find, a rationale for a given commandment, does this exempt us from this mitzvah?
Samson Raphael Hirsch’s answer is that in all systems of law the binding force of a law is independent of the motive behind it.
Sometimes a code itself provides information as to the underlying idea of a law, but without such information the law remains the law:
“As in Nature the phenomenon remains a fact although we have not comprehended it yet as to its cause and connection, and is existence is not dependent on our investigation, but vice versa, thus also the components of the Torah remain the law even if we have not discovered the cause and connection of a single one”.
Franz Rosenzweig stressed that one should be loyal to the precepts as a whole and due course commitment to the details would come.
Asked whether he put on tefillin, he replied, “Not yet” – implying, “A time will come when I will!”
DOES GOD CHANGE HIS MIND?
Q. How can anyone expect to change God’s mind by means of prayer?
A. Biblical teaching says clearly, “God is not a man who changes his mind” (Num. 23:19). That looks like the end of the story.
However, another verse seems to say the opposite: “God repented of the evil which He had intended doing to His people” (Ex. 32:14).
Actually both could be true, since Jewish theology says that when necessary God leaves the throne of justice and moves onto the throne of mercy. The implication is that the decision He makes in accordance with the justice of the situation can be mitigated if human beings appeal to His mercy.
One explanation is that it is not God who is changing but human beings. If we remain as we were when He judged us, His decision stands firm. If we repent and become different, He now sees a different situation that could call for a different decision.
What about the case of a sick person for whom family and friends offer desperate prayers? This too could be seen as an individual – the patient – becoming a new person.
Just as the doctors can give a patient a new lease of life, so too do sincere prayers have the potential to earn the patient a new dispensation.
Rabbi Raymond Apple served for 32 years as the chief minister of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, Australia’s oldest and most prestigious congregation. He is now retired and lives in Jerusalem where he answers interesting questions.
