Nature: a Tool or a Trick?

Without a doubt any listing of the Ten Greatest Miracles would include the Splitting of the Sea. It possesses all the theatrical elements of a real ‘keeper’. Take the setting: a stark, barren desert, and an angry sea. On one side, the world’s most advanced civilization; on the other side, a band of slaves recently freed. Even more impressive than the backdrop and the characters was the action: The bad guys thundering across the desert, the good guys caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. And at the last moment, a miracle: a fiery column, a powerful east wind, and a divided sea. That night, the balance of world power shifted. Mighty Egypt was brought to its knees in one blast of G-dly justice.

There were other changes; more introspective ones. The Egyptians realized that their king was not god and their gods not king! More important, after such an overt miracle the Jews completely, “Believed in G-d,” and sang His praise.

By the way, what exactly is a miracle? We commonly consider our natural world from the perspective of cause and effect. This assumption comforts us: as long as we follow the prescribed formula (cause), we should be able to predict the outcome (effect).

Those who subscribe to this philosophy recognize that it is G-d Who created the universe, gave us our individual talents, and arranged our opportunities (mazal). However, it is we who utilized our ambition and initiated the effort to advance G-d’s gifts.  In spite of all the talk about “faith,” this group sees themselves as G-d’s ‘partners’ deserving of credit.

There is a deeper perception. All of nature, including us man, is merely a tool wielded by G-d to maintain His universe. As such, it and we warrant no tribute. However, even this perspective assumes that nature is substantive. Imagine looking through a keyhole which limits your field of vision. All that is visible is a moving pen, but not the hand of the writer. A heretic would be the one who decides that the pen magically writes by itself. The believer is the one who knows the pen is a tool at a writer’s disposal. Nature is the pen in the hand of G-d.

While this is a step up, this view is still mistaken. According to this, nature like the pen has its own independent existence.  A truer picture sees nature as an illusion. In other words, unlike the writer, G-d does not require any tools. Whatever He wills comes into immediate existence.  Nature then is only a deception obscuring the reality of G-d. It serves only one purpose, that humans retain freewill.

To act on this perspective, demands extraordinary trust. We, as the products of this illusion, harbor the mistaken assumption that nature has actuality. Thus only a handful of people have ever been able to attain a level like Moses who lived beyond the tricks foisted upon us by nature. Hence, “Forty days I (Moses) was without bread or water.” The Parting of the Sea provided such a view. It was so beyond the norm, so spectacular, that the veil of nature was temporarily lifted to reveal the fallacy of nature. Perhaps the following analogy may clarify.

On the front seat of a city bus a small boy held a plastic dashboard that had a steering wheel and a horn. His gaze was fixed intently on the road. As the bus veered right and left, he turned his steering wheel accordingly. Of course, when the bus stopped, he stepped on “the brakes,” and a small pneumatic psssss escaped his lips. He checked the doors and windows periodically, and honked abrasively when they were cut off. He worked hard the entire trip, much to the amusement of the passengers.
“He dreams day and night about becoming a bus driver,” his father explained. “Before I got him the toy, he would drive me crazy, trying to grab the wheel and getting in my way. Now, I tell him he’s driving the bus! As you can see, he does his job, allowing me to do mine in peace.”

The Almighty runs the whole show: He gives us our gadgets and tells us: Nu, drive the bus! And we, small-minded children that we are, struggle to keep the bus on course. We exhaust ourselves from the effort, while ‘upstairs,’ all the passengers are amused. Our livelihood is fixed on Rosh Hashana, yet we struggle to earn it. If we feel someone is getting in our way, we yell, “Get outta my way!” So while we wave our arms and go through the motions, we should never forget, we’re back-seat drivers.

At the banks of the Sea, comprehension dawned. It became clear that the script had been written way before and the envelope sealed. There was no need for alarm. But we who were oblivious were sweating. Hashem even let us think we were driving the bus. The tribal leader, Nachshon, plunged into the waters, Moses prayed, and we thought we had accomplished. Well, we all know the rest of the story.

Should we have remained passive? No! G-d very much wants us to do everything within our means to help ourselves. Knowing that our escape route has already been mapped out, we should worry a little less, but still be proactive. Perhaps, that is what is so “difficult” about splitting the Sea; Hashem must hide His face and allow us to imagine the world is ours to drive.

Among the things that give people stress, earning a living and finding a zivug (mate) undoubtedly rank high. Yet our bashert (our destined mate) is proclaimed forty days before we were conceived (Sotah 2a). Our annual wealth was also already decided on Rosh Hashana (Beitzah 16a). Yes, we go through the motions, as we must. But remember, He splits the sea, even as He makes it seem we are holding the wheel. We fret, we dodge, and we turn, and Above, the Almighty steers our lives. So get out of His way and enjoy the ride!