Divine Providence is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts in Jewish thinking. Properly appreciating this principle is so important that it must become a point of focus in every Jew’s life. The more one is attuned to it, the easier one’s life can be; the less one understands it, the more random, the more complicated, and the more confusing life is.
Picture the Mona Lisa; a lady with her hands folded, a smile on her face, mountains in the background and a winding road. By concentrating hard, we can build up as accurate a picture of the Mona Lisa as our memory permits. But that mind-picture depends for its existence on our concentration. If our concentration is broken, the picture disappears. If we sit concentrating intently on the Mona Lisa and the phone rings with someone important on the line, our concentration will break and the Mona Lisa will be gone.
The Baal Shem Tov publicized a concept based on a verse in Tehillim (Psalms) not previously generally well known. The effect of this explanation was to show that G‑d did not create the world and move away from it (in the sense that, say, a television once made then has an independent life).
The process of creating is continuous and is maintained all the time. If it were to stop, even for an instant, the world would revert to nothingness. This is an absolutely fundamental first principle. Everything physical depends for its existence on being recreated every moment and all the time. From continents and oceans to microbes on pin heads; clouds and wind to the number of hairs on our heads and the direction they point. If the recreating process were to stop for a moment the world would disappear in the same way that the painting would disappear the moment concentration ceased.
Why is this such an important principle? Because there is an erroneous consensus of opinion, even amongst people who believe in G‑d, that He in some way established an evolving machine which runs, and because He is a Great Engineer, no repair is necessary. Some even maintain that the machine runs randomly. So the first principle of Divine Providence is that the process of creation is continuous: it requires G-d’s effortless concentration, as it were, every split second to continue to bring physicality into existence.
The Baal Shem Tov further extended the concept of Divine providence to explain that G-d controls everything, every split second as it is being brought into existence. A leaf on the ground being nudged by a breath of wind is not by accident, but has a specific reason and also relates to the general intent and purpose of creation.
No subject in Judaism is intended to be conceived of as merely an intellectual abstract. Surely, this applies in regard to Divine providence. The awareness that there is a Divine plan directing our lives should first and foremost motivate us to play an active role in bringing that plan to fruition. Each of us has a unique contribution to make in completing the intent for which all existence was brought into being.
Article adapted from sie.org
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