A thought on Parshas Va'era
A Thought on Parshas Va'era
"...l'man tei'da ki la'HaShem ha'aretz..."
"...so that you will know that the Earth is HaShem's..." (9:29)
As Moshe forewarns Pharaoh of the onset of yet another plague, he patiently explains that a purpose behind these Divine decrees of destruction is that the people understand that this world is HaShem's.
The Rambam (Moreh HaNevuchim 3:29, 54) explains how the appearance of wondrous events, including the plagues which struck the Egyptians, can lead people to understand and accept Divine omnipotence. Many people somehow find it possible to accept that there is Majesty in the universe. They look to the sky and spy planets and stars coursing the heavens. This is a humbling moment for some, since we clearly recognize that there are vast luminary and celestial bodies which are "under control" and operate in an orderly way.
A Power, a Source, a Cause has created and choreographed the heavens and there can be nothing stronger, greater or unitary as the Creator. We cannot begin to control the skies, and can accept that the stars and planets and cosmic forces are under the precise hashgacha which is required for them to exist and to operate.
The appearance of extreme earthly events, moments when the earthly order is altered and the lives of mortal and other creatures are directly impacted, is also wondrous and miraculous, even when the toll is devastating. At those moments, there are those who can understand and accept that there is an event of Divine craft occurring. The wise person concludes that just as the heavens get the Divine directed hashgacha which they require, so does the world below get the directed hashgacha which it requires at that moment, as the earthly order is altered and impacts humanity.
Until that event, the complacency of routine order is present, and there are many who have no cognizance of HaShem. When the world changes, momentarily or for a set interval, that change must be Divinely ordained. It has to be intended and calculated. The same power which orchestrates the events on high is apparent. When HaShem's majesty is manifest on the Earth below. explained Moshe, people must concede that we live in HaShem's world and are but a part of His vast universe.
* * * * *
The Rosh takes the same concept but illustrates it in reverse. We note that the "magicians" of Egypt seemed to replicate some of the signs and wonders which Moshe had facilitated. After a certain point, however, the magicians gave up and were unable to imitate the Heaven-sent events.
A magician, writes the Rosh, may be able to perform his deceptions and manipulate an object or a person's perception only of the tangible and mundane. The skies and heavens, the higher realm, cannot be accessed by those "arts." The skies and the galaxies, the wind and the climate, are the exclusive messengers of HaShem.
One might conclude that the material world operates on its own power and that HaShem is limited to the cosmic realm. When wondrous signs are brought about in the material world as well as in the skies above, this demonstrates that HaShem is indivisible. HaShem alone empowers all events and circumstances. Human beings are limited and the Earth is HaShem's.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...l'man tei'da ki la'HaShem ha'aretz..."
"...so that you will know that the Earth is HaShem's..." (9:29)
As Moshe forewarns Pharaoh of the onset of yet another plague, he patiently explains that a purpose behind these Divine decrees of destruction is that the people understand that this world is HaShem's.
The Rambam (Moreh HaNevuchim 3:29, 54) explains how the appearance of wondrous events, including the plagues which struck the Egyptians, can lead people to understand and accept Divine omnipotence. Many people somehow find it possible to accept that there is Majesty in the universe. They look to the sky and spy planets and stars coursing the heavens. This is a humbling moment for some, since we clearly recognize that there are vast luminary and celestial bodies which are "under control" and operate in an orderly way.
A Power, a Source, a Cause has created and choreographed the heavens and there can be nothing stronger, greater or unitary as the Creator. We cannot begin to control the skies, and can accept that the stars and planets and cosmic forces are under the precise hashgacha which is required for them to exist and to operate.
The appearance of extreme earthly events, moments when the earthly order is altered and the lives of mortal and other creatures are directly impacted, is also wondrous and miraculous, even when the toll is devastating. At those moments, there are those who can understand and accept that there is an event of Divine craft occurring. The wise person concludes that just as the heavens get the Divine directed hashgacha which they require, so does the world below get the directed hashgacha which it requires at that moment, as the earthly order is altered and impacts humanity.
Until that event, the complacency of routine order is present, and there are many who have no cognizance of HaShem. When the world changes, momentarily or for a set interval, that change must be Divinely ordained. It has to be intended and calculated. The same power which orchestrates the events on high is apparent. When HaShem's majesty is manifest on the Earth below. explained Moshe, people must concede that we live in HaShem's world and are but a part of His vast universe.
* * * * *
The Rosh takes the same concept but illustrates it in reverse. We note that the "magicians" of Egypt seemed to replicate some of the signs and wonders which Moshe had facilitated. After a certain point, however, the magicians gave up and were unable to imitate the Heaven-sent events.
A magician, writes the Rosh, may be able to perform his deceptions and manipulate an object or a person's perception only of the tangible and mundane. The skies and heavens, the higher realm, cannot be accessed by those "arts." The skies and the galaxies, the wind and the climate, are the exclusive messengers of HaShem.
One might conclude that the material world operates on its own power and that HaShem is limited to the cosmic realm. When wondrous signs are brought about in the material world as well as in the skies above, this demonstrates that HaShem is indivisible. HaShem alone empowers all events and circumstances. Human beings are limited and the Earth is HaShem's.
Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 8:25 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home