Is Hashem "an Angry God"?

It wasn't until I was nearly done writing this dvar Torah that I realized it is more about Sefer Devarim than Parashas Eikev. Oh well. Since it's based on the Ralbag's commentary on Eikev, then I'm still counting it as a dvar Torah on the parashah. Enjoy!

 

Artwork: Wrath of God, by Kev Walker

Is Hashem "an Angry God"?

As a member of the nation charged with the mission of Kiddush Shemo ha'Gadol (Sanctifying the Great Name of God), I find myself perturbed whenever Hashem gets "a bad rap." One example of this is His portrayal as "the angry God of the Old Testament." 

Undoubtedly there are many factors which contribute to this stereotype, but let's face it: the Chumash does record quite a number of divine punishments - particularly in Sefer Bamidbar. One can certainly get the impression that Hashem is easily angered. Indeed, the first time I prepared to teach Sefer Bamidbar, I was advised by a veteran educator to make sure that students didn't walk away with an image of Hashem as a hot-tempered God Who is preoccupied with punishing His people. 

In his list of lessons at the end of the parashah, the Ralbag provides an interesting perspective on the divine wrath directed at Bnei Yisrael throughout their sojourn in the Midbar:

The seventh lesson [we learn from this parashah] teaches us the depth of Hashem's plans (exalted is He). Although Yisrael tarried in the Midbar for 40 years as a punishment, [Hashem] utilized this [time period for an additional] purpose, namely, to test whether [Bnei Yisrael] would keep the mitzvos of Hashem or not, so that they would be ready for the time when they would inherit the Land. For this reason, Hashem disciplined them immediately after they rebelled - in contrast to Hashem's minhag (customary practice) of being slow to anger. But He did this for the sake of hashgachah (providence) on all of Yisrael, so that they would refrain from sinning against Him. It is for this reason that He afflicted them and starved them in the Wilderness for 40 years, in order to demonstrate His wonders to Israel, in order to strengthen their observance of the mitzvos. 

According to the Ralbag, Hashem’s disciplinary approach during the 40 years in the Midbar was an anomaly. Ordinarily, Hashem is “slow to anger.” The Ralbag explains the term “slow to anger” in his commentary on Ki Tisa (Shemos 33-34):

The ra (“bad”) that occurs to existences will only occur infrequently and minutely, and is not intended for its own sake, due to the fact that Hashem is the One Who established the manner in which [the world] is governed. Hashem wisely arranged things so that only the smallest amount of ra occurs … and the ra which does occur is only a byproduct of the good, as is the case with [divine] rebuke via hashgachah pratis.*

Reading this Ralbag reminds us of an important lesson: one cannot simply infer universal principles from particular instances of hashgachas Hashem; it is entirely possible that Hashem utilized an anomalous mode of hashgachah, as warranted by those particular circumstances, and we would be mistake to assume that this was His general way of doing things.

This isn’t to say that we can never universalize from the cases of hashgachah in Tanach. Rather, it means that we must be sure that we are aware of all the factors at play in every case before we attempt to universalize. 

In short, it means that the task of understanding hashgachas Hashem is a whole lot harder than I once imagined. I used to think that you could just look at the facts from that story and infer a universal. This Ralbag reminded me that we can’t assume that all of the relevant facts (or factors) are spelled out explicitly in the story. There may be larger factors at play which the pesukim assume that we are aware of, and which must be taken into account when trying to understand the workings of the hashgachah.

I know this isn't a new idea or anything. I just think that we can always use an additional reminder of how difficult it is to grasp the ways of Hashem, and how arrogant we would be to assume that we can easily know how He operates. 

* If you’re interested in a detailed explanation of this, I refer you to Ralbag's commentary on Sefer Iyov and his magnum opus, Malchamos Hashem – both of which would take us far beyond the scope of this blog post. If you are interested in an overview of this idea from a different angle, see my post: Punishing Children for their Fathers' Sins.