Pemikiran Yahudi Mazmur 91:13: Akeidat Yitzchak & Duties

One of the wonders and axioms of nature is the fact that all things created earlier are inferior to those created later. Nature proceeds from the primitive towards the sophisticated. Man being the last in a string of creations is therefore the most perfect and the most sophisticated (Bereshit Rabbah 19). Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon states that all things created subsequent to something else enjoy dominion over those things created prior to them. Man is therefore the most dominant creature, none daring to raise their heads against him. We do not observe fully-grown camels attack lion cubs or baby tigers, since in the order of things the species created earlier is instinctively aware of its inferior status vis a vis the products of a later stage of creation (Psalms 104,2). "How great are Your works, O Lord." The Talmud Shabbat 121 asks, "Why is it that a live baby does not need to be guarded against mice? The answer is that nature operates in such a way that even helpless, unarmed man is superior to the animals.” "The fear and dread of you will be on all living creatures of the earth." (Genesis 9,2). Natural laws apply on the assumption and with the proviso that man-- supreme creature that he is-- lives up to his purpose and abilities. Natural laws are suspended on the occasion when a miracle is performed. This can be due to part of mankind having lost "the image of G-d in which he was created," or to all of mankind having forfeited this image due to their collective sinful conduct. The miracle is in fact based on the covenant made by G-d with His entire creation that when the occasion arises, its subservience to the will of the Creator will be demonstrated by its deviating from its normal behavior. Generally, the "normal" behavior is proof that nature is not a deity, but that its conduct is controlled, not free. This "normality" is reversed on occasion in order to demonstrate the same point by nature's inverted behavior. The fact that nature, after having once "run wild," returns to its usual pattern is proof that the very deviation was due to the will of G-d. Example is Exodus 14,27, "The sea returned to its normal state at the turn of morning." There are numerous other examples of this. When nature acts totally out of character on a prolonged regular basis, that fact reflects on the state of man. When the animal kingdom has observed man acting animalistically, it ceases to show obeisance to man, and the rules we read in this Parshah concerning the natural awe that animals display for humans no longer apply. The same is true of such phenomena as wind, fire, and water, all of which demonstrate their destructive potential against man under such circumstances. Had man lived up to his destiny, those elements would not represent any danger to us, and harnessing their useful potential would not be a struggle, but they would willingly put all their power at our disposal. A king whose closest advisors act rebelliously cannot expect loyalty and obedience from the populace at large. Similarly, disobedience by man against G-d leads to corruption in other sections of the universe, right down to the basic elements. When Hillel said, "When I am present, everyone is present" (Sukkah 53), what he meant was, "When man is O.K.,every thing is O.K.," i.e. all other creatures and parts of the universe behave predictably and beneficially. When the leaders of the people behave in exemplary fashion, the population at large is apt to emulate such behavior. The reverse is true also. This is why the Talmud in Shabbat 151 interprets Psalms 49,13, "But man with all his honor will not outlast the night," to mean that under the adverse conditions man has created himself, he will not be better off than the beasts. When stating that lions do not attack humans when there are at least two humans-- and the observation is made that we know from experience that this simply is not so-- the Talmud answers that this only proves that the men who have been attacked by the lions lacked the qualities that make up the kind of person who is entitled to enjoy mastery over the beasts. The tribes of Reuben and Gad exhorted Joshua to "be strong and brave." The first time they refer to the self confidence he needs to display as a leader. The second time they refer to the mastery over inner temptations he must acquire in order to command the unswerving loyalty and obedience of the people (compare Joshua chapter 1). While he had been in the ark providing for all the animals, Noach-was protected, although the animals had previously been corrupted through the perversion of mankind. When Isaiah describes his vision of the lion eating straw, this refers to the restoration of a state of nature as had occurred after the deluge in Parshat Noach (Isaiah 11,7). When the lions fail to attack Daniel in the den, this is merely a demonstration of the natural order of things, the lions having become sensitive to the type of man who faced them (Daniel chapter 6). Daniel describes the impotence of the lion against him as being a result of his upright behaviour towards G-d and his loyal conduct vis a vis the king. Not having eaten any treyfah food or drunk prohibited wine intended for pagan libations was part of the control over the evil urge that Daniel had exercised. This had imprinted on his face the aura of being a moral man, something animals can sense. The same idea is true concerning other elements of nature that can hurt or even destroy man. Such destruction, if and when it occurs, is due only to man's corruption and nature's subsequent insensitivity to man. Chananyah and his companions were unharmed by the fire in the furnace Nebuchadnezzar had thrown them into, because they, like Daniel, represented man as envisaged by G-d. They had therefore been able to hold nature in check. The discussion cited in Pessachim 118 between the angel in charge of hail and Gabriel illustrates our point. The angel in charge of hail had volunteered to quench the fire in the furnace. Gabriel replied that this would not be meaningful since water, the natural enemy of fire, would simply have been viewed as having had the upper hand over the fire in the furnace. However, the angel Gabriel being the angel in charge of fire, would descend and, while heating the furnace from the outside, cool the inside, and thus save the three men. This would be a far more convincing miracle. When Abraham had been thrown into Nimrod's furnace, G-d handled his salvation personally, drawing a parallel between His own uniqueness and the unique personality of Abraham the monotheist. Abraham deserved to be saved by the One and Only One whom he served directly. The reverse can be true also. The wild ass that bit Rabbi Chaninah died of its bite, since it had attacked a man who had been free from sin (Berachot 33). As the latter proclaimed, "Death is not caused by the snake but by sin." Kings I Chapter 20, tells of an incident when someone not normally afraid of lions due to his superior moral level was nonetheless killed by a lion as a penalty for having disregarded the order of a prophet.

Joseph's brothers say to their father: "recognise whether this is the coat of your son or not." (Genesis 37,32) We are told to remember what Amalek did to us. (Deut. 25,17) We are told not to fear nations surrounding us. (Deut 7,18-21) Since we are human beings, not just animals, it is expected that we can refine certain characteristics, are not limited to instinctive reactions. If one can learn to compensate for the weakness of certain of one's senses, then surely one can find means to reinforce certain character traits. A blind man develops a more acute sense of hearing. A shortsighted person can improve his vision by the use of spectacles. A person suffering from certain character weaknesses must also find means to compensate for this. Using one's power of imagination, one can imagine situations that make one's phobias seem unjustified and ridiculous. The process of thought association with specific objects is known to be an excellent memory jogger. These aids must be applied when we are asked to observe certain commandments involving remembrances. Seeing the tzitzit reminds us of other mitzvot such as kilayim, forbidden mixtures. This has been discussed at greater length in chapter sixty five. Awareness of the importance of memory joggers may have led some prophets to find common denominators for certain mitzvot, and thus make it easy for us to have these short summaries constantly at our command. Isaiah manages to condense Torah into two slogans, "observe justice and perform righteousness." (chapter 56) Chabakuk manages to sum it up in a single slogan, "the righteous will live by his faith" (2,4). No doubt the purpose of these apparent over simplifications is simply to provide a constant reminder, which when triggered will remind us of all the other mitzvot which are incumbent upon us to perform. When the Talmud (Ketuvot 30) tells us that all is in the hands of Heaven except the contracting of colds and heatstrokes, we know very well that both those phenomena are natural phenomena and as such not subject to our control. In fact, no remedy has yet been found for the common cold. Nevertheless, the sages are telling us that if one falls victim to those two ailments, this is due to negligence on the part of man, to wilful over-exposure etc, and cannot be blamed on outside forces. Just as one can control colds and heatstrokes, so, by employing memory properly, one can reinforce one's senses of trust and confidence in the help of G'd, no matter what the circumstances. This is what David said (Psalms 27,1) "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?, The Lord is the source of my strength, of whom shall I be afraid?" He means that if his attitude is based on remembering G'ds many past acts of kindness and assistance, why would he be afraid of anyone in the future? In the same vein, Moses tells the people: "you are today about to cross the Jordan in order to dispossess people greater and more powerful than you etc." (9,1). This calls for faith and confidence based on the recollection of all the past triumphs achieved through Divine intervention. The foremost memory jogger is the keriyat shema, which for that reason has been included in our daily prayers three times. We will examine the passage in detail to gain a better understanding of its significance. The following questions suggest themselves:

When the intelligent man will look and contemplate how the Creator tests people with the troubles of this world we mentioned, and that he was saved from them, and spared from their tumults, even though he deserves them - his praise will increase for the favors of G-d on him, and he will hurry to repent and seek forgiveness for his past sins and iniquities which the Creator has concealed for such a long time, and he will run to cling to the service of the Creator, out of fear of them (the punishments he deserves) and so will avert them, as written "If you will diligently hearken to the voice of the L-ord your G-d... I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians" (Shemos 15:26), and "the L-ord will remove from you all illness, and all of the evil diseases of Egypt which you knew, He will not set upon you, but He will lay them upon all your enemies" (Devarim 7:15), and one of our early pious ones would say to his disciples: "see, the serpent does not kill, rather it is sin that kills" (Berachos 33a), and David, peace be unto him, said: "You shall tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the serpent shall you trample under foot. Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him" (Tehilim 91:13).