The biblical period is known as the time, in the history of the Jewish people, when God was always close and present and the moral was linked to the natural. The man of the Bible understood that if he observed the commandments of the Torah, he could expect good rains for his crops, have many children and achieve victories over his enemies. God himself managed both the natural and the moral. The punishment that Cain received for the blood of his brother that he shed, the Egyptians who drowned when the Red Sea opened, are examples of this double function of the Creator: to use His power over nature, to teach us a lesson. The biblical blessings and curses illustrated how nature and historical events reflected the Covenant that the people of Israel had with God.

But in the book of Job, things begin to change. There is a division between the God of Nature and the God of Morality. Nature punishes Job severely, even though he was a pious person who observed the divine commandments. And Job does not understand how the God of the Bible, who uses nature to teach us ethical lessons, now acts with him in this way.

The Talmudic period, on the other hand, no longer has a close and present God. It is the period of defeats, the destruction of the temple and of exile. Hard and difficult historical events began to crack the biblical promise of immediate gratification if you observed the mitzvoth. The Talmud tells the story of a boy who, obeying his father’s instructions to keep the mother bird away from the nest, so that he could take her babies, falls from the tree and kills himself. The mitzvoth of respecting your parents (Shmot 20:12) and of keeping the mother bird away (Devarim 22:6-7) are stipulated by the Torah to carry a long life as a reward. However, this case presents us with a conflict with that biblical promise. The Talmudic master concludes: “There is no reward for fulfilling the commandments in this world.”

And the rabbis question themselves in the Talmud: If God hates idolaters, why doesn’t He destroy them? If someone stole seeds and planted them, why doesn’t He prevent them from germinating? And our sages answer: Olam qui minhago noheg, the world functions under its own natural laws. The crucial point of this Talmudic text is the admission that natural forces and events do not reflect the moral relationship between men and God. The tsunamis that have killed thousands of people are not a divine punishment. In biblical times God spoke clearly. Now, He is silent.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Conflicting Visions, by Rabbi David Hartman.