EE & R, 2_19: Knowing Hashem: Revisiting Prophetic Judaism: The Paradox of Decline

(For the previous installment of "Exodus, Exile and Redemption," click here. For ToC, click here.)

We have completed our exploration of the ideal of knowing Hashem for which the prophets developed the Path that seekers of spirit would walk. At this point, the essence of original Judaism should be crystal-clear to you: It involved pursuing familiarity with Hashem and acting in a way informed and inspired by that familiarity.

Armed with this understanding, we turn back to the enigma raised earlier – the apparent decline of original, prophetic Judaism. In our quest to comprehend the meaning of historical progression according to the divine plan (the overarching aim of this work, as discussed here), we were brought to confront the paradox of this setback that lies at the heart of Jewish history: If history under Providence is fundamentally about progress, how are we to interpret its apparent regression? Why would the era rich in divine intimacy cease and give way to millennia marked by the absence of such closeness with Hashem?

Thus far, our study has highlighted the virtues of knowing Hashem, upon which all of man’s greatness and blessing depends. Knowing Hashem is identified with knowledge itself, simpliciter, perfect, of all being, (as discussed here); this perfect knowledge is predicated on good character and fosters good deeds (as discussed here and here); and the society founded upon this ideal is blessed and merits to reside in a sanctified land (as discussed here). The grand destiny of the Jewish nation hinged upon attainment of this knowledge, and the reticence toward knowledge of Hashem expressed first by Avraham, who said “How can I know?,” and then by Yaakov, who said “I did not know,” only delayed its realization (as discussed here), with Yaakov being subjected to the prophets’ criticism for his lack of knowledge and resultant less than perfect behavior (as discussed here).

It would seem that knowing Hashem is an unqualified good, an ideal to be pursued single-mindedly and unwaveringly, from which any deviation is not merely a detour but a regression, a setback in the forward march of divine history. However, a deeper look suggests otherwise. It was none other than the greatest men of spirit, the forefathers of the Jewish nation and founders of its religion, who said about Hashem: “How can I know” and “I did not know” – might that not indicate that ignorance of Hashem also has a crucial role to play in Judaism? Perhaps in some way knowledge of Hashem is not the perfect and uncomplicated good we have thus far judged it to be.

Furthermore, the ideal of knowing Hashem championed in the books of the prophets is conspicuously absent from the Torah itself. This, too, suggests that there might be another perspective: Although the prophets taught prophetic Judaism, which is based on knowledge, the Torah seems to teach something else – an approach to Hashem that isn’t based on knowing Him.

This dichotomy between the Torah and the Prophets will be the subject of the next section of this work, “Between the Torah and the Prophets.” Our exploration will lead us to discover an alternative pathway to Hashem within which ignorance of Him is no deficiency but is rather the height of truth and virtue, and this discovery will provide us with the tools we require to understand the twists and turns of divine history.

(For the next installment of "Exodus, Exile and Redemption," click here.)