concepts of man’s freedom; possibilities of Divine intervention aggravate the problem of theodicy. Although Judaism is certainly receptive to the concept of miracles, in fact Judaism does not need miracles to prove the Deity’s munificence. Creation, nature’s wonder, and ongoing life-cycles are more than sufficiently wondrous. That is, the “mundane” is indeed miraculous in and of itself. ⁵⁵⁹

To take matters one step further, one can fairly posit that in the context of an all-merciful God (El Moleh Rachamim), a God always watching in the here-and-now poses almost as severe a problem as a God intervening in the here-and-now. For the rahamim (mercy) aspect will presumably impel intervention at a given threshold (if Divine mercy is even remotely similar to human mercy). And intervention, or the possibility of intervention, leads us into the philosophical dilemmas noted above.

Emphasizing the concept of intervention raises a plethora of philosophical problems, many already interconnected with theodicy.⁵⁶⁰

Why is there evil extant at all, especially during periods of manifest Divine intervention?
Does man rule the earth or not?
To what extent will the intervening Deity violate the laws of nature?

Thus Divine intervention, while emotionally gratifying, is philosophically problematic.