Now, the transcendent forces needn’t always follow the “chain of command” we depicted last time. They can be made to veer off-course and to affect change in other, unexpected ways. And that’s where theurgy comes in.

G-d thus granted humankind the ability to manipulate the natural course of events through natural means, and He granted certain special souls the right to do that through supernatural means. And while disparate, the two systems do have certain things in common.

Understand, of course, that while the changes we’re capable of making today thanks to advances in science and technology are astounding and sometimes do seem to bump against the edges of the supernatural, they’re still-and-all rooted in the laws of nature. And that the inscrutable changes in the past that where often *touted* as being supernatural were usually sham and sleight-of-hand. So the modern reader is understandably skeptical. But we’re assured that supernatural changes *do* come about when those souls schooled in the process engage in it.

In any event, there are “laws of supernature” just as there are laws of nature, and practitioners of theurgy need to be well-schooled in those laws and they’re restricted to them.

This series is dedicated to the memory of Yitzchak Hehrsh ben Daniel, and Sarah Rivka bas Yaakov Dovid.

Subscribe to Ramchal and receive the class via e-mail.