The Human Miracle
Dedicated by David and Eda Schottenstein
in the loving memory of Rabbi Gavriel Noach and Rivki Holtzberg and all of the Mumbai Kedoshim
And in the loving memory of a young soul Alta Shula Swerdlov
daughter of Rabbi Yossi and Hindel Swerdlov
In the Beginning
As a result of a near mutiny, the overbearing and arrogant Captain was forced to see a Psychiatrist by order of the Commodore.
As soon as the Captain became comfortable on the couch, the Psychiatrist began the session by asking the Captain,
“Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
The Captain said, “Okay. In the beginning I created heaven and the earth… “
Two Creations
In the beginning of Genesis, the Bible devotes 31 verses to describe how G-d created the entire world. “In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth.” In striking contrast, the Torah portions of the present weeks devote 371 verses to describe how the Jews created the tabernacle, or Mishkan, in the desert.
This seems profoundly strange.
The universe spans billions of miles and is an awesomely complex structure. After millennia of research, we have not scratched the surface of its untold depth and unbound mysteries. We have not even mastered the secrets embedded in a single atom or cell. The tabernacle, on the other hand, was around 150 feet long and 75 feet wide, and was an impressive but small tent; a little mobile "shteibel."
Why would the Torah be so expansive about the creation of a humble albeit splendorous tent in the desert and yet so terse about the creation of the cosmos with all of its infinite depth, majesty and grandeur? Does it make sense? 31 verses for creation of the world, and almost half the book of Exodus for the creation of a mobile sanctuary!
Mortality into Eternity
This strange contrast conveys something profoundly important about the Torah’s perspective on life. For an infinite G-d to create a home for finite man is not a big deal. But for a finite man to create a home for an infinite G-d—that is a revolutionary notion. It constitutes the essential revolution of Judaism that from the fragmented pieces of our hearts we can construct a home for the Divine; that the ordinary stuff of human life can be carved into a dwelling place for the Almighty; that G-d craves to dwell in the space we designate for Him in the barren desert of human consciousness.
Creation of the universe is G-d's miracle—the miracle of converting energy into matter. Creation of a structure to house the Divine in a desert is man's miracle—the miracle of converting matter into energy; the wonder of a human being surpassing himself, transcending his finite egocentricity and turning his life into a home for the Divine—that story is deserving of close to 400 verses!
This is the essence of the tabernacle story, which occupies almost half the book of Exodus and seems so remote from our present life style: that a human being, through his or her minute and limited deeds, words and thoughts, can create a home for G-d in his or her daily life; that a frail and vulnerable human being is capable of creating a space in his or her heart for the living presence of G-d. This is the miracle of Torah.
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same when a person "decides" to marry/build a family?!?
Wanting and taking the decision to built a "bayit neeman beIsrael" - a real one - stands for a miracle!! transform matter (EGO)in a positive energy is called too beit mikdash katan...
Any ... New Yorker will admit that taking this decision IS A MIRACLE!
Shavua Tov
creating vs changing
In the matter of the mishkan, there is an entirely different purpose and intention at work. The Torah is training us to become masterful in our own lives.
For that to occur, focus, the attention to detail, precision, commitment,
discipline and a host of other traits have to be mobilized, in the con- struction of the mishkan and by extension carried into our lives.
The primary exemplars for this are the Kohanim. Their work, in the mishkan, could not be haphazard, could not lack the punctilious clarity and deliberate application of the rules. We, in turn, as a mamleches Kohanim, take on the practice of being rigorous in our observance of the rules covering life, in the hope that we become impeccable in our own daily comportment, no less so than the Kohanim were in pursuit of their tasks in the Temple.
With the creation of the universe, God acknowledges
the objects that had been converted from primordial energy, and gives them names
(which is an aspect of creating, distinguishing the something from the everything by naming it). With the mishkan, the process was to refashion what already existed into something which would have a different function (that's called change, not creation). However, the creative aspect lay in the fact that there had not existed a mishkan prior to this one and, thus, we see innovation, creativity,
and a whole new vocabulary brought into being.
size of universe
speed of light = 186,400 miles per second
seconds per year = 60*60*24*365 = 31,536,000
light therefore travels 5,878,310,400,000 miles per year
estimated age of visible universe is 15,000,000,000 years. (But that's looking out in any direction, which is the radius. Therefore, to get diameter, multiply that by 2.)
186,400 miles per second * 31,536,000 seconds per year * 30,000,000,000 years gives the above answer, if I did the math correctly.
Every once in a while I think about how Hashem supervises each moment of every individual and collection in all their relations and knows their entire history. It's impossible to really relate to that in any way, but knowing it's true does help me sometimes realize just how awesome He is.
Warmest Regards
The Human Miracle
Love and Shalom.
great
Best,
Ephraim