The Cause of All Causes

I have told and been told many jokes in my life. I’ve forgotten most of them. That’s probably a blessing. But years ago, I heard a joke that has remained with me. I want to share it with you. It’s an old joke; perhaps you’ve heard it. But I think it is worth retelling.

A business professional is running late for an important meeting with a prominent client in New York City. They’re driving. As they near their destination, they can’t find any place to park. The local parking garage is full; all the on-street spots, even the illegal ones, are taken. They drive around the block several times, desperately searching for parking; time is ticking away. Frustrated and stressed, they finally turn to a higher power for help. Looking up at the sky, they exclaim, “God, please help me find a parking spot. I will be late for my meeting and can’t find any available space!” Suddenly, as if by a miracle, a parking spot opens up right in front of them. Thrilled and relieved, the person looks up to the sky again and says, “Never mind. I just found one.”

There are many things to like about this joke. As with much good humor, it displays human foibles. A touch of hypocrisy, maybe? Think, for instance, of the saying, “There are no atheists in foxholes,” implying that in times of crisis, people are more likely to turn to a higher power or express belief in God, regardless of their usual religious stance. It is also worth noting that the driver did not start with a divine petition; it was a last resort. Finally, like many people, the driver takes credit for a successful project even though someone else may have done the heavy lifting.

But the most intriguing part of the joke is its illustration of a serious philosophical question in a humorous way, namely, how much of what happens in life is the product of an individual’s effort versus how much is out of their control? How much of what happens in life is a product of atoms in random motion, coincidence, nature, genetics, or divine providence?

Let’s look at another joke before examining the philosophical question more thoroughly. It deals with the same issue as the previous one but from a different perspective.

A person is stranded on the roof of their house during a huge flood. As the water rises, they pray to God for help. Soon, a boat comes by, and the driver tells the person to get in and they’ll be taken to safety. The person replies, “No, thanks. I have faith in God. God will save me.” The water continues to rise, and now a helicopter appears overhead. The pilot drops a rope and urges the person to grab hold of it and use it to climb aboard the helicopter, telling them that they will be carried to safety. Again, the person refuses, repeating their statement that God will save them. The floodwaters keep rising, and the person drowns. In the afterlife, they meet God and ask, “Why didn’t you save me? I had faith in you!” God replies, “I sent you a boat and a helicopter. What more were you expecting?”

The person in this joke was expecting a miraculous intervention. That expectation caused them to overlook it when it arrived in normal ways, even though God sent it. How could a boat and a helicopter be divine help?

In the mornings, while my wife pours over the daily news and checks how she did with yesterday’s crossword puzzle, all the while responding to numerous WhatsApp messages, I read a book. I’ve had an overdose of news lately and need to hear things different from the tragedies recorded in our papers.

Avram : [coming into the synagogue] I’m sorry, Rabbi…

Rabbi: Yes, of course; what news of the outside world?

Avram : [holding up his paper] Terrible, Rabbi!

Rabbi: Then don’t tell me. If I want bad news, I’ll read about Noah and the flood.

Fiddler on the Roof. 

I’m in the Noah and the flood reading group. Lately, I have been reading Rebbe Nachman of Breslov at breakfast. Rebbe Nachman was a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism. He was born on April 4, 1772, in Medziboz, Ukraine, and passed away on October 16, 1810, in Uman, Ukraine. He founded the Breslov Hasidic movement, a branch within Hasidic Judaism that follows his teachings. Rebbe Nachman significantly influenced Jewish thought and spirituality despite his relatively short life. Following the Rebbe’s death, Breslover Chassidim did not choose a replacement. Breslov continues today, and the Rebbe’s followers faithfully study his teachings. Here is one of them I read recently, germane to our discussion.

Faith in God, not in the means
 
Many people make the mistake of turning the means through which something comes about into an intermediary between themselves and God. They do believe in God, but they also believe in the intermediary, saying that we have no option but to depend upon a particular means in order to bring about a certain result. For example, they put their faith in their business activities as the cause of their livelihood, placing all the emphasis on their own endeavors as if God would somehow not be able to provide their livelihood without them. Likewise people put all the emphasis on the means through which a cure comes about – the medicine – as if without medicine God does not have the power to heal. That is not so. The Holy One, blessed be He, is the Cause of all causes, and there is absolutely no need for any one particular means. Even while resorting to a given means to try to bring something about, we must believe only in God and not put our faith in the means. Likutey Moharan I, 62

Greenbaum, Avraham. The Essential Rabbi Nachman (pp. 14-15). Jewish Inspiration, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Let’s explore Rebbe Nachman’s position in a little more detail. In a causal chain, “the means through which something comes about,” there are three components in the Rebbe’s view: 

God —> Means —> Effect. 

The Rebbe gives a couple of examples. We’ll use the medical one: 

God —> Medicine —> Cure. 

In this example, God is the initial cause, also called the primary or root cause. Medicine would be the intermediate or secondary cause. And the Cure would be the causal chain’s effect or its result. Rebbe Nachman advises having faith or believing that God alone is the cause of the Cure, for God alone is the only necessary cause in the chain. Medicine is just one of the ways God can effect the Cure. But God could have chosen anything to do it, or, one supposes, nothing at all, that is, to “directly” cure the sick person. God is the necessary and sufficient cause in the chain. Nothing else is “required.” 

It’s an intriguing exercise to look again at the parking and rescue jokes told earlier from a putative Rebbe Nachman perspective. In both jokes, from a Rebbe Nachman point of view, God, as the source of all causes, is the only cause of the final result: a suddenly freed-up parking spot and the death of the homeowner.  

Interestingly, it would appear that in the first joke, not even the driver’s prayer was necessary for God to intervene. At best, it could be considered a “contributing factor.” But in the Bible book of Exodus, there is a precedent for getting God’s attention by crying out.

…and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw the children of Israel, and God took cognizance of them. (Exodus 2:23-25, JPS 1917). 

I remember studying this passage with my son. He suddenly broke out in laughter. I asked what was so funny. He said it was as if God didn’t know what was happening until he heard us yelling! 

In the second joke, the drowned homeowner made the ironic mistake of not seeing God behind the intermediate cause. Rebbe Nachman does not deny that God can and does use intermediate causes.

I hope you have a good week filled with all kinds of miracles, those you see and those you don’t!

All the best,
Gershon