잠언 8:27의 유대 사상

It is a fundamental rule of our faith that reward or punishment follow as a result of actions performed by man who is free to determine his course of action. Another fundamental rule of our faith is the conviction that man's actions interact with the way nature operates. If one conceives of man as a microcosm and of nature as the macrocosm, the former exercises profound influence on the workings of the latter. Perversion in man, ultimately results in major malfunctions in the cosmic forces controlling the universe. One can conceive of the universe as an orchestra in which each instrument plays its assigned part. Should an instrument fail consistently, the disharmony created will disable the entire orchestra. Perhaps the comment by our sages about David's harp starting to play all by itself (Berachot 3) may be understood simply. When man does his share, the entire orchestra comes alive and worships its Maker. On the one hand, nature is supposed to provide the planet's sustenance; on the other hand, man distributing nature's bounty in a fair and equitable manner complements nature's work and completes the task of performing the will of the Creator. There are numerous verses in scripture supporting this thesis of the interaction of the laws of nature and human behaviour. "If you walk in My statutes etc" (Leviticus 26,1-13) is followed by a list of at capacity. On the other hand, if you do not, nature will react accordingly (verses 14-20 same chapter). The statutes referred to are the laws of nature. G-d used the Torah as the blueprint for creation, hence the interdependence of the observance of Torah laws and the normal functioning of nature. Our sages go so far as to list seven basic sins and the distortions in nature that these sins will eventually bring in their wake (Avot 5,10). These penalties are not viewed as retribution, but as the natural corollary of the manner in which the microcosm functions within the macrocosm. Fortunately, nature is an extremely complex system, therefore aberrations in human behaviour affect only part of the system, not the whole. Were this not so, total destruction of the earth as we know it would have occurred frequently. As it is, the manifestations of malfunctions in nature affect only limited areas and mirror specific human aberrations. Perhaps the statement that the universe was created by ten directives instead of a single one (Avot 5,1) also suggests that G-d had wanted to insulate parts of the universe from other parts, to insure that man's misconduct would not result in destruction of G-d’s entire handiwork at one stroke. The very name of the musical instrument known as aley assor, the ten stringed one, may hint at the ten spheres of creation, which when working together in harmony, represent the universe in its most perfect condition. The ten directives, as our sages explain, represent G-d’s patience with His creatures. That is why G-d waited ten generatioms before He brought on the deluge. Again, we find ten generations between Noach and Abraham. G-d excercised patience during all these generations until Abraham emerged on the scene and began the task of reversing human aberrations.