The appeal of the idea of “partnering with God”.
The concept of man “partnering” with God has figured prominently not only in my last post “To Be a Partner with HaShem Means to Pursue Righteousness and Justice”, but also previous essays entitled: “Partnering with God”; “Partnering with God II” ; “Shakespeare and Parashat VaYetze: Partnering with God III”; “’Standing Prayer’ of Confrontation and Protest”; and “Principles of Shlichut (Surragacy) Derived from Eliezer in Parashat Chayei Sara”. When I reflect upon why I think that this such a concept provides a powerful frame-of-reference to a religious individual, I believe that it represents a dialectical middle position between the two extremes of: a) “Hitbatlut” (self-abnegation) where the believer is expected to literally and figuratively sacrifice any personal concerns in favor of totally serving HaShem, and b) “Hishtadlut” (personal striving) requiring someone to feel that everything depends upon him alone to effect change and increase spirituality and holiness. When one “partners” with God, he is Expected and even Required by the Divine to personally pursue his goals, even as he views himself as furthering God’s overall Program for His Creation. Man therefore subjugates himself to higher principles and ideas, but at the same time understands that he is to be an active, rather than passive, agent and even innovator in bringing such ideas about.