During the 1930s, could statesmen in England and America have behaved more aggressively in stemming the tide of Nazism, had they anticipated what we now know?

Would the Roman Senate have given so much power to Augustus had they known he would consolidate power so ruthlessly? Would we have withdrawn our funds from the stock market had we anticipated the downturn to come?

Throughout our past, there has been a fundamental tension between hindsight – what we now know – and foresight – what people at a given time may have known. As historian David M. Potter once wrote, “Hindsight… [is] the historian’s chief asset and his main liability.” The inherent tension between foresight and hindsight has been a key determinant of human behaviour, and a recent Torah portion provides an illustration of this.

In parshat Vayera, God appears to Abraham, telling him that soon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will be destroyed on account of the sinful behaviour of their residents. But before God tells this to Abraham, God says, “Shall I hide from Abraham that which I am about to do?” Nehama Leibowitz calls this “a decisive moment in world history, [in which] we are allowed to listen in to the considerations which were uppermost in the Divine mind.”

We know that God told Abraham that soon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah would be destroyed. But what happened in those intimate counsels of the Divine seems to be greater than the words that God used alone. Rashi believes that in those intimate counsels, God decided to hand over to Abraham “knowledge of the closeness of Providence.”

To understand the significance of this, a brief word about the etymology of the word providence. The word providence is the vernacular fusion of the Latin words pro, meaning fore, and vidi meaning sight. Providence, therefore, is fore-sight. What did God decide to hand over to Abraham within the “intimate counsels of the Divine?” God gave Abraham foresight.

God gave Abraham the ability to have knowledge of the future when those living in Sodom and Gomorrah had no information of what was imminent. Abraham immediately responded to the information that he was given. By intervening, Abraham acknowledged that there are implications to having information. We, too, receive information every day, and when we do, we are obligated to use that information for good.

Did God look to Abraham to use the information that God intentionally shared with him for good? According to Ramban, God decides to share His providence with Abraham because God had singled out Abraham to be the progenitor of a great nation, and, therefore, God wanted Abraham to instruct his progeny to do what is just and right. If God gave Abraham information hoping that Abraham would intervene, then that intervention – that use of information – constitutes righteousness. The Torah tells us that it’s a righteous act to use foresight.

The reality is that we are on our own as we guide our moral compasses in one direction or another. We don’t have the privilege of God handing us information on the heels of a conversation with Himself as to whether or not we should have it. But we do have what God does give us, which is a strong model to do the right thing. When we don’t know what will be, we act according to our best judgment. However, when we have information that can affect the future, we are compelled to use it.

We are taught, in the Mishnah, “Eizeh hu chacham? Haroeh et hanolad.” In other words, “Who is wise? The individual who uses foresight.”

Rabbi Thomashow is assistant rabbi at Holy Blossom Temple.