Timeless Torah

I have long been fascinated by the parallel axioms that traverse the spiritual and physical realms. The strict discipline that governs the physical sciences is of particular interest to me, as it demonstrates a simple truth: G-d’s perfection is paramount everywhere, since He cannot be limited to any one dimension.

If I am sounding oblique, let me clarify with a specific example. In this week’s Biblical reading, we are told that the ancient Israelites constructed and worshipped a Golden Calf. What surprises many of the commentaries, and indeed most laymen, is the incongruous behavior of the Jews. A mere three months earlier, they had witnessed the greatest of wonders when the Almighty had redeemed them from the bondage of Egypt. Add to that the miracles that were on open display at the splitting of the sea, a cloud of protective glory, and food falling from heaven, and one can easily appreciate their enthusiastic response at Sinai.

As the Bible itself declares, the Jews were so eager to adopt the doctrine of monotheism and all of its ramifications that they rashly blurted out, “We will do”, i.e., meaning, ‘We accept whatever you ask of us even before we know exactly what it is you are commanding.’
And yet only forty days after that proclamation of loyalty, they were reveling in lascivious and idolatrous practices. True, the people were disoriented by the prolonged absence of their leader and moral compass, Moses, who was still on Mount Sinai. Nonetheless, their precipitous fall in such a relatively short time from one extreme to the other shocks us.

This vacillation is not unique to that generation, only more pronounced. Indeed it was only a matter of a few days between the twin announcements by our ancestors that, “This is my G-d and I will glorify Him,” at the Red Sea and “Is G-d among us or not?” in the waterless desert.

What emerges from this fickleness is a spiritual axiom, one that may be disturbing, but still true. One can experience G-d, even intimately, and then quickly lose sight of Him. The nature of this free will, a uniquely human gift endowed by the Creator to only one specie, is based upon our being centrally located in the spiritual universe. The scientific parallel to this moral quagmire that allows us to recognize G-d, and a moment later to believe that a piece of lifeless gold is Divine, is the centrality of a human being’s physical size in a world measured by spatial reality. According to scientists, homo sapiens relative size to the world around him suitably positions him to relate to all forms of matter from one extreme to the other. Man can and does perceive (as well as understand) the microscopic world, estimated to be 10-25 of his size. At the same time, we also have the ability to view (as well as relate) to the cosmic realms of the universe, estimated at 1025 times his size.

What is important here is not the number, to the 25th power positive or negative. That is immaterial. What is crucial? Man seems to be exactly in the middle. That being the case, most of the scientific community conjectures and agrees that if humans were to be only one factor of 10 smaller or larger, man would be unable to fathom the opposite end of the universe. This unique positioning of being smack in the center corresponds to (and is nothing more than a physical manifestation of) the moral and spiritual space occupied by man.

Simply put, if man were to be one degree more animalistic or physically driven than he already is, he could never have stated, “We will do,” or believed in an intangible Power. Conversely, if he were to have been created one level closer to G-d with the unceasing awareness of Hashem’s constancy, then man would never have accepted that an inanimate object be revered.

Hence the spiritual placement of man is especially balanced, which is why one day, man can pull off the petal from the spiritual daisy and say, “I believe,” and 24 hours later says, “I believe not.” Thus being dedicated to the Divine or catering to a Golden Calf are two choices at different ends of the same spiritual seesaw.