The Hovot HaLevavot continues to describe the concept of סיבות sibbot-causes. G-d works through multiple steps and causes. The gezera/decree is the beginning and the final outcome was planned by G-d.
He quotes Kohelet:
כי גבוה מעל גבוה שומר וגבוהים עליהם.
Above and above is a watchman, above everything else. This means that Hashem is standing far away, far removed from the scene and He’s pulling the strings from above.
He says further:
והליכות דיני הבורא יתעלה יותר נעלמות ועמקות ועליונות מהגיע אל ידיעת חלקיהן כל שכן כללן.
The ways of G-d are too deep, hidden and lofty for us to understand even the individual steps of them, and all the more so to understand the whole picture.
G-d does things in such intricate ways, with each step so complex, and when they are put together it’s even more elaborate. That’s how G-d works. The Hovot HaLevavot uses the word נעלמות - hidden, and the root of the word עולם/ world, is hidden In other words: the world is hidden.
We don’t understand Hashem’s ways.
As a Mashal, there was a Jewish cartoonist named Rube Goldberg who designed cartoons of elaborate contraptions that featured a series of complex steps intended to perform the simplest of activities.
Wikipedia defines a Rube Goldberg machine as a machine intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and overcomplicated fashion. Often, these machines consist of a series of simple devices that are linked together to produce a domino effect, in which each device triggers the next one, and the original goal is achieved only after many steps.
These devices consist of many small contraptions, each of which lead to the next. They can range from 7-8 steps to 70-80 steps.
The cartoon below illustrates how they work:
In the above illustration, 18 steps were involved in accomplishing the simple target activity- wiping a chin.
What’s more difficult? To just lift a napkin and directly wipe your chin or to do it in all those many steps? Obviously it’s more complex to do it in many steps.
That’s the greatness of Hashem. He makes things happen in many, many steps, and each step on its own is complex, says the Hovot HaLevavot. For the cracker to pop up and hit the bird etc. is complicated. To have each of these complex steps work together is close to impossible. In the attached video, a very complicated Rube Goldberg contraption is demonstrated.
I’m a skeptic. I have a hard time believing that all those 80 steps were executed to perfection. I think they cut the video and re-filmed at certain points.
But Hashem can do it. He can employ a multitude of complex steps. If you watch the process in the middle, you may wonder where this will lead or how all of this ever get to the final outcome. And you’ll be in shock when you see it finally come to fruition. That’s the point. We can’t understand the individual steps or the whole thing. Look at Shidduchim, for example. The girl goes here, the boy is there, meets one person, then another...Step and after step, and cause after cause come together to bring the final outcome.
The following Shidduch story is a good case in point:
A boy was accepted to a prestigious yeshiva in Israel. But the week he was scheduled to arrive, there was a volcano that erupted in Iceland. Due to the high levels of ash in the sky, all flights in and out of Europe were grounded temporarily. He was delayed by a few days and by the time he arrived in Israel, the yeshiva had no place for him. He went to another yeshiva seeking a place there. Because the z’man had already started, he was tested at the home of the Rosh Yeshiva, whose wife spoke English. When she met and spoke with the young man, she was so impressed with his middot that she thought he’d be perfect for granddaughter. He ultimately married her and ended up the Rosh Yeshiva’s grandson. How’d Hashem make it happen? There were many, many intricate steps, including a volcano that sent up ash and cancelled all flights in Europe! Only Hashem can make it happen. He is the master of sibbot.