כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר אֵֽינְךָ֤ יוֹדֵ֙עַ֙ מַה־דֶּ֣רֶךְ הָר֔וּחַ כַּעֲצָמִ֖ים בְּבֶ֣טֶן הַמְּלֵאָ֑ה כָּ֗כָה לֹ֤א תֵדַע֙ אֶת־מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה הָֽאֱלֹהִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַעֲשֶׂ֖ה אֶת־הַכֹּֽל׃
바람의 길이 어떠함과 아이 밴 자의 태에서 뼈가 어떻게 자라는 것을 네가 알지 못함 같이 만사를 성취하시는 하나님의 일을 네가 알지 못하느니라
Rabbeinu Bahya
An intellectual approach to our verse: man experiences three different worlds in the course of his existence. He experiences the first such world while he is within his mother’s womb; during this stage man begins to develop and to admire the wondrous ways of his Creator and the greatness of His works. Concerning this stage of man’s development David has said in Psalms 139,15: “My frame was not concealed from You while I was being shaped in a hidden place, knit together in the recesses of the earth.” He had already referred to this phenomenon earlier in verse 14 of the same psalm when he said: “I praise You for I am awesomely, wondrously made; Your work is wonderful.” David was speaking about all the wonderful ways required for G’d to produce a sophisticated creature such as man.
The men of the Great Assembly who perfected the liturgy of the daily prayers for us already acknowledged all this when they bade us recite every morning the words: אשר יצר את האדם בחכמה וברא בו נקבים, , “Who has fashioned man with wisdom and provided him with numerous orifices any one of which if not functioning correctly would prove fatal to him” [loosely translated. Ed.]. The signature of this short prayer concludes with ומפליא לעשות, “and doing wonders.” Considerations of this nature prompted Solomon to write in Kohelet 11,5: “Just as you do not know how the life breath passes into the limbs within the womb of the pregnant woman, so you cannot foresee the actions of G’d, who causes all things to happen.” in other words, all of G’d’s works are of a mysterious miraculous nature. Solomon simply uses as an example something we are aware of and familiar with to illustrate a principle which operates throughout the universe. Just as it is beyond our understanding to understand how something spiritual is introduced into the womb, so it is beyond our understanding to understand the workings of G’d’s השגחה, benevolent supervision of what goes on in His universe, and how His designs in it can be assured despite our freedom of choice.
Concerning this part of the cosmos and the mysterious ways in which G’d operates within it, Job says (Job 10,9-11): “consider that You fashioned me like clay; will You then turn me into dust? You poured me out like milk, congealed me like cheese; You clothed me with skin and flesh and wove me of bones and sinews.” Job referred to the world in which man spends a strictly limited time, nine months plus a few days at the outside. In that part of his world man is devoid of intelligence and knowledge and is not exposed to external pressures. He would be quite content to remain within this mini-cosmos for all his life seeing that all his needs are taken care of without his having to lift a finger, were it not for the fact that he has no control over being born into a larger cosmos. This is what our sages in Avot (end of fourth chapter) referred to when they said: “man is born against his will.”
No wonder man cries at the moment of birth seeing that he leaves behind such an ideal existence. This is merely an indication that the world the baby is born into is one full of pain, disappointments, and confusion. Man had been transferred from the world in which he was formed into the second world he experiences during his existence, this present terrestrial universe. He does have certain advantages compared to the world he has left behind when he left his mother’s womb. In this world as a general rule man’s intellect grows more or less apace with the development of his body. His wisdom keeps increasing until he becomes wise as a result of having studied the Torah and performed its commandments. As a by-product of all this he acquires a degree of understanding of the workings of G’d, his Creator. In spite of all this, man’s stay in this present terrestrial world is of very limited duration, as a rule not exceeding eighty years. When he dies, i.e. is removed from this life, this also occurs against his will, and this has prompted the sages in Avot 4 which we quoted already as commenting on our involuntary birth to say that our death is equally involuntary. Had man been asked about his preference, the chances are that he would have opted to live on earth forever.
From this terrestrial universe man is transferred to the third world he will experience, i.e. the world known as עולם הבא, “the world to come,” the world of the future. There are no limitations of time in that world. The delights enjoyed in that world are not transient. In that world man is compensated for all the good deeds he has performed while on earth.
The men of the Great Assembly who perfected the liturgy of the daily prayers for us already acknowledged all this when they bade us recite every morning the words: אשר יצר את האדם בחכמה וברא בו נקבים, , “Who has fashioned man with wisdom and provided him with numerous orifices any one of which if not functioning correctly would prove fatal to him” [loosely translated. Ed.]. The signature of this short prayer concludes with ומפליא לעשות, “and doing wonders.” Considerations of this nature prompted Solomon to write in Kohelet 11,5: “Just as you do not know how the life breath passes into the limbs within the womb of the pregnant woman, so you cannot foresee the actions of G’d, who causes all things to happen.” in other words, all of G’d’s works are of a mysterious miraculous nature. Solomon simply uses as an example something we are aware of and familiar with to illustrate a principle which operates throughout the universe. Just as it is beyond our understanding to understand how something spiritual is introduced into the womb, so it is beyond our understanding to understand the workings of G’d’s השגחה, benevolent supervision of what goes on in His universe, and how His designs in it can be assured despite our freedom of choice.
Concerning this part of the cosmos and the mysterious ways in which G’d operates within it, Job says (Job 10,9-11): “consider that You fashioned me like clay; will You then turn me into dust? You poured me out like milk, congealed me like cheese; You clothed me with skin and flesh and wove me of bones and sinews.” Job referred to the world in which man spends a strictly limited time, nine months plus a few days at the outside. In that part of his world man is devoid of intelligence and knowledge and is not exposed to external pressures. He would be quite content to remain within this mini-cosmos for all his life seeing that all his needs are taken care of without his having to lift a finger, were it not for the fact that he has no control over being born into a larger cosmos. This is what our sages in Avot (end of fourth chapter) referred to when they said: “man is born against his will.”
No wonder man cries at the moment of birth seeing that he leaves behind such an ideal existence. This is merely an indication that the world the baby is born into is one full of pain, disappointments, and confusion. Man had been transferred from the world in which he was formed into the second world he experiences during his existence, this present terrestrial universe. He does have certain advantages compared to the world he has left behind when he left his mother’s womb. In this world as a general rule man’s intellect grows more or less apace with the development of his body. His wisdom keeps increasing until he becomes wise as a result of having studied the Torah and performed its commandments. As a by-product of all this he acquires a degree of understanding of the workings of G’d, his Creator. In spite of all this, man’s stay in this present terrestrial world is of very limited duration, as a rule not exceeding eighty years. When he dies, i.e. is removed from this life, this also occurs against his will, and this has prompted the sages in Avot 4 which we quoted already as commenting on our involuntary birth to say that our death is equally involuntary. Had man been asked about his preference, the chances are that he would have opted to live on earth forever.
From this terrestrial universe man is transferred to the third world he will experience, i.e. the world known as עולם הבא, “the world to come,” the world of the future. There are no limitations of time in that world. The delights enjoyed in that world are not transient. In that world man is compensated for all the good deeds he has performed while on earth.
Ezra ben Solomon
“God created the great sea-monsters” [Gen. 1:21]: These are the four camps outside the shekhinah of the blessed Holy One, glorifying and exalting Him with words of song and praise. Of this it says “You created him to delight in him” [Ps. 104:26].
“And all the living creatures who creep” [Gen. 1:21]: This is the being with four faces, those of man, lion, ox, and cherub. Each of those faces itself has four faces and four wings, the wings spread out above the faces. Their appearance and their deeds have the appearance of fire. Within the red fire there is a black fire. This is the one spoken of in the [prophetic] tradition, where it says: “That is the being I saw beneath the God of Israel on the River Chebar, and I knew that they were cherubs” [Ezek. 10:22]. That is why the verse says: “which the waters caused to swarm forth after their kind” [Gen. 1:21]: They are [collectively] called “beast” [or “being”], for their bodies are joined but the faces are separate.185The author plays on the inconsistency of number in these texts. Therefore it says: “which the waters caused to swarm forth after their kind.”
“And each winged bird after its kind”:This refers to those angels created on the fifth day, for there are various rungs, some lower than others and some higher than others. There is a fire that pushes out fire and a fire that consumes fire. Some of them are from water, still others from air. The mission of each is in accord with its essence: the one sent on an errand of mercy is from water; the one who goes as an emissary of justice is derived from fire. Therefore no one angel is sent for both justice and mercy.
“God blessed them, saying: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, filling the land and the waters of the seas’” [Gen. 1:22]. As Scripture says, “Like entities in the full belly” [Eccles. 11:5], since water did not flow forth from wisdom until the sixth day, of which Scripture says “Let earth bring forth a living being after its kind” [Gen. 1:24]. The angels that were created on the fifth day are negated, just as the spark is reabsorbed into the coal, once they have sung their song. The reason [for their existence] is external to them and they are not sufficiently strong to stand before their Creator. They are incarnated a second time, sing their song, and then they disappear. Of this matter it has been said: “New each morning, great is Your faith!” [Lam. 3:23]. Here our Psalm continues: “All of them look to You to give them their food in its due time” [Ps. 104:27]. This refers to their flowing forth.
“And all the living creatures who creep” [Gen. 1:21]: This is the being with four faces, those of man, lion, ox, and cherub. Each of those faces itself has four faces and four wings, the wings spread out above the faces. Their appearance and their deeds have the appearance of fire. Within the red fire there is a black fire. This is the one spoken of in the [prophetic] tradition, where it says: “That is the being I saw beneath the God of Israel on the River Chebar, and I knew that they were cherubs” [Ezek. 10:22]. That is why the verse says: “which the waters caused to swarm forth after their kind” [Gen. 1:21]: They are [collectively] called “beast” [or “being”], for their bodies are joined but the faces are separate.185The author plays on the inconsistency of number in these texts. Therefore it says: “which the waters caused to swarm forth after their kind.”
“And each winged bird after its kind”:This refers to those angels created on the fifth day, for there are various rungs, some lower than others and some higher than others. There is a fire that pushes out fire and a fire that consumes fire. Some of them are from water, still others from air. The mission of each is in accord with its essence: the one sent on an errand of mercy is from water; the one who goes as an emissary of justice is derived from fire. Therefore no one angel is sent for both justice and mercy.
“God blessed them, saying: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, filling the land and the waters of the seas’” [Gen. 1:22]. As Scripture says, “Like entities in the full belly” [Eccles. 11:5], since water did not flow forth from wisdom until the sixth day, of which Scripture says “Let earth bring forth a living being after its kind” [Gen. 1:24]. The angels that were created on the fifth day are negated, just as the spark is reabsorbed into the coal, once they have sung their song. The reason [for their existence] is external to them and they are not sufficiently strong to stand before their Creator. They are incarnated a second time, sing their song, and then they disappear. Of this matter it has been said: “New each morning, great is Your faith!” [Lam. 3:23]. Here our Psalm continues: “All of them look to You to give them their food in its due time” [Ps. 104:27]. This refers to their flowing forth.