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.

Applying “partnering with God” to various contexts.

I have previously mentioned that the Talmudic text that explicitly states the idea of aspiring to “partnering with God” in a specifically Halachic vein is the following:

Shabbat 10a

Every judge who judges with complete fairness even for a single hour, the Writ gives him credit as though he had become a partner to the Holy One, Blessed Be He, in the Creation. http://hasoferet.com/cbh/2012/04/01/tagin-the-crowns-on-the-letters-of-the-torah/

An Aggadic source that makes the point more subtly, but in a nevertheless highly significant area of human activity, is:

Ibid. 89a

R. Yehoshua b. Levi also said: When Moshe ascended on high (to receive the Tora on Sinai—see Shemot 24:-15-8), he found the Holy One, Blessed Be He, Tying crowns on the letters (of the Tora; see e.g. http://hasoferet.com/cbh/2012/04/01/tagin-the-crowns-on-the-letters-of-the-torah/ ).

Said He to him: Moshe, is there no (greeting of) Peace in thy town? (Moshe was apparently standing deferentially, awaiting God’s next instruction, without offering the standard greeting when one sees someone after a long period, “Shalom.” While such a greeting is usually taken for granted as being required by simple etiquette, when one thinks about it, the word constitutes a blessing, i.e., I wish for you and all your endeavors a state of integrated peace and success.)

“Shall a servant extend (a greeting of) Peace to his Master!?” replied he. (Whereas human beings are always striving towards realizing a sense of “Shalom”—see “Aspiring to Personal Shleimut” —and therefore look forward to being blessed by God that peace should inform all that they do—see e.g., the concluding blessing of the Silent Devotion recited at the various prayer services throughout the day and during the entire year, it would seem superfluous and even ludicrous to suggest that God “Needs” the blessing of a human being for Him to “become” Shalem”).

 “Yet thou shouldst have assisted Me,” Said He. (God Expects man to “partner” with Him in furthering “peace” in all of its forms and manifestations.)

Immediately he cried out to Him: (BaMidbar 14:17) “And now, I pray Thee, let the Power of the Lord Be Great, according as Thou hast Spoken.”

While a judge could be said to attempt to “maintain the peace” that marks a society imbued with holiness by resolving disputes, administering punishments to perpetrators of evil and making sure that property that may have somehow wound up in the wrong hands, be restored to its rightful owners, the idea that a non-judge should also define as his goal the expansion of peace encompasses a wider universe of situations. Virtually every situation in which an individual finds himself, whether with his family, at his workplace, within overall society, etc. could benefit from the advancement of peaceful and wholesome co-existence and cooperation.

Understanding the concept of “partnering with God” in an everyday circumstance that doesn’t even necessarily involve other human beings.

In a recent issue of Tradition (49:2; Summer 2016), a journal of Orthodox Jewish thought published by the Rabbinical Council of America, an article appeared by Rabbi Dr. Avraham Walfish, entitled, “Power and Beauty: The Mishna’s Celebration of the Creation in Berakhot Chapter 6”.  The article entails an extremely close reading of a chapter of the Mishna that deals with reciting Blessings over food. The sequence of topics as well as the possible basis for disagreements between the Tannaitic opinions recorded in the Mishna are provocatively and evocatively discussed. R. Walfish extensively deconstructs  the dispute between the Tanna Kamma (anonymous first opinion) and R. Yehuda in Berachot 6:1, 3 and 4 :

Berachot 6:1

How does one “bless” (prior to eating) produce?

With respect to produce from trees, say: “(You Are Blessed HaShem, our God, King of the universe,) Who Creates the fruit of the tree” with the exception of wine, for on wine, say: … ”Who Creates the fruit of the vine.”

With respect to produce from the ground, say: “…Who Creates the fruit of the ground” except for bread, for on bread he says: “… Who Brings forth bread from the ground.”

With respect to vegetables, say: “… Who Creates the fruit of the ground.” (Although vegetables are also “fruits of the ground” and therefore fall under the rubric previously mentioned, to highlight the disagreement between the Tanna Kamma and R. Yehuda, the blessing for vegetables is repeated a second time.)

R. Yehuda says: “… Who Creates types of grasses.”

Ibid. 3

Regarding food that does not grow from the ground, say: “… That all (has come into existence by His Word).

(Tanna Kamma) On vinegar and unripened grapes and locusts (there are traditions among some Jews that consume certain locusts deemed Kosher—see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_locust ) say: “…That all…”

On milk and cheese and eggs say: “…That all…”

R. Yehuda says: Anything that constitutes a type of curse (i.e., vinegar—the wine has fermented beyond normal drinkability; unripened grapes—the grape harvest will not provide the type of grapes that were desired; locusts—a typical Middle Eastern agricultural problem as exemplified by the eighth of the Egyptian plagues), no blessing is recited over it.

Ibid. 4

If there were before one various types of foods, R. Yehuda says: If there is among them one of the seven types of food (for which the land of Israel is praised—see Devarim 8:8 “A land of 1) wheat and 2) barley, and 3) vines and 4) fig-trees and 5) pomegranates; a land of 6) olive-trees and 7) [date] honey”), he should bless on it (first).

And the Sages say: He blesses on whichever he wishes.

On the broadest level, R. Walfish suggests that whereas the Tanna Kamma/Sages view food in terms of personal preferences and usability by the individual, R. Yehuda looks at a broader theological perspective and therefore references the stages in the original Creation described in Beraishit 1, the role that certain substances play in punishments and the privilege assigned to certain foods with respect to the place to which they are indigenous. The author makes the following intriguing claim with respect to Mishna 1:

These two special blessings (for wine and bread respectively) were instituted because more than other foods, wine and bread symbolize human creativity and culture. Bread and wine, both of which are produced by particularly long and complicated processes, are the two main items in a civilized person’s diet. The establishment of special blessings precisely for those foods that represent human creativity may be understood in light of the wording of the blessing for bread. The formula, “Who Brings forth bread from the ground” is taken from the verse(s) in Tehillim (104:14-5): “14 Who Causeth the grass to spring up for the cattle, and herb for the service of man; to bring forth bread out of the earth. 15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, making the face brighter than oil, and bread that stayeth man’s heart.” However, whereas the blessing attributes the bringing forth of the bread to God, the verse says that God Causes the plants (=grain) to grow, but it is the work of man “that brings forth bread out of the earth”! The surprising use of the verse’s language within this blessing leads to an interesting conclusion—we bless God not only for the material gifts which He Bestows upon us, but also for the ability that He Gave us to transform His Gifts into products of even higher quality. A paradoxical phenomenon emerges: the greater the extent to which the product reflects intensive human productivity, the more man’s blessings of God are enhanced… (pp. 20-1)

Applying the frame-of-reference of our being Expected by HaShem to “partner” with Him in the development and settling of the Creation, it is apparently that He adequately Outfitted us with the capacities to be able to do so. Therefore, it is not a matter of whether we can or not; but rather whether we wish to engage in offering our help in furthering the gradual perfection of the world in which we find ourselves. To be reminded of this truism whenever we eat something, particularly eating bread or drinking wine especially when we ourselves have produced these foods every step of the way, is an experience that is open not only to judges and peacemakers, but to every Jew.