Since Adam was created on a very high level of spirituality, the Garden of Eden within which he was placed was the perfect habitat for him. The Ramchal discusses the function of physicality and how it is changes to be more or less spiritual based on the person living within it.
Punishment automatically has a negative connotation. The Ramchal begins to explore G-d’s reaction to man’s negative acts, proving that it can’t possibly be motivated by anger or vengeful feelings. Divine response is solely for man’s good, which means it must be coming from love. The scale G-d measure all actions by is distance or closeness to Him, always attempting to help us choose closeness - the ultimate good.
G-d’s relating to us with justice stems from love. Albeit a possibly painful experience, once we understand that we can find the capacity to respond in a more mature fashion than trying to hit back in anger or rebellion. Rabbi Kirzner explains that the freedom we have is pointless if we can never be taught how to actually do it right. While counterintuitive, the experience of Divine justice can be one that can be appreciated.
What if man can’t handle the experience of Divine justice? The Ramchal introduces the idea of a provisional suspension of the justified response to man, where we are given more time to correct our path. Don’t we all want that? Not really. Sometimes the amount of rope we’re given can be used to hurt ourselves far more than help. Rabbi Kirzner explains the danger the world is in when it is given the time to continue in the path of negativity, and G-d’s continued nurturing of the world.
What if man has acted in a way that makes him undeserving of being nurtured by G-d? The Ramchal introduces a frightening concept of man staying alive in a physical sense, but in reality being disconnected from Divinely given life. The result is someone dead who shows external signs of life. The powerful lesson? Don’t take your spirituality for granted. A very thought-provoking class.
If we observe the first two thousand years of the world, it seems that aside from a few major incidents in history there was no system of action and consequent Divine judgment. While this hiatus sounds rather blissful, in reality it leads to an excess of evil and suffering. Follow the concept of suspending judgment by understanding G-d’s concealment and what that brings about.
Our growth process in this world is extraordinarily similar to the maturation of a child. While we see what a child is doing, there is a wealth of potential that will only be revealed over years. Part of our limitation is that we see some of what G-d is doing, but lack a totality of understanding of the full picture and where the world is headed. This is something we will only understand once Moshiach comes.
There are times in our history that the conduct of G-d seems to be completely hidden. There are other periods of time when evil is magnifying itself and negativity abounds. However, we still have the capacity to access spirituality through the Torah. While the world is not moving in a way consonant with these ideals, we can pray to make it a part of our lives – and achieve that.
The essence of G-d never changes. However, our ability to appreciate spirituality and His revelation changes. While revelation can be given through miracles, these are really external in nature. The “Wow” moment quickly fades if we don’t have a method to incorporate it into our lives. How do we internalize G-d’s revelation?
How do we fit in to the picture of G-d’s revelation? If we simply watch the various periods of history, G-d’s open presence seems rather erratic. What decides the level of revelation we’re given? The Ramchal proves through an analysis of history that we are the ones this decision rests upon. Are we ready to do what is necessary to see a fuller picture of G-d? Rabbi Kirzner ends off with a fascinating parallel between human development and the Divine movement toward revelation.