ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף שמות 39:43

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, ad to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so." (Genesis 1:28-30)

23. The Rabbi: Did we not state before that speculation, reasoning and fiction on the Law do not lead to the pleasure of God? Otherwise dualists, materialists, worshippers of spirits, anchorites, and those who burn their children are all endeavouring to come near to God? We have, however, said, that one cannot approach God except by His commands. For he knows their comprehensiveness, division, times, and places, and consequences in the fulfilment of which the pleasure of God and the connexion with the Divine Influence are to be gained. Thus it was in the building of the Tabernacle. With every item it is said: 'And Bezaleel made the ark . . ., the lid . . ., the carpets . . .,' and concerning each of them is stated: 'Just as the Lord had commanded Moses.' This means neither too much nor too little, although our speculation cannot bear on works of this kind. Finally it is said: 'And Moses saw the whole work, and behold they had performed it just as the Lord had commanded, thus they worked, and Moses blessed them' (Exodus 39:43). The completion of the Tabernacle was followed by the descent of the Shekhinah, the two conditions which form the pillars of the Law having been fulfilled, viz., firstly, that the Law originated with God; secondly, that the people conformed with it in a pure mind. God commanded the building of the Tabernacle, and the whole people obeyed--as it is said 'Of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart, shall ye take My offering' (Exodus 25:2)--with the greatest zeal and enthusiasm. The result was equally perfect, viz. the appearance of the Shekhinah, as it is said: 'And I will dwell in their midst.' I gave thee the example of the creation of the plant and animal, and told thee that the form which distinguishes one plant from another and one animal from another is not a natural force [but a work of God, called nature by philosophers. As a matter of fact the powers of nature] are capable of favouring such a development according to the proportion of heat and cold, moisture and dryness. One thing would, then, become a plant, another a vine, this a horse, that a lion. We are unable to determine these proportions, and could we do it, we might produce blood or milk, etc. from liquids mixed by our own calculations. We might, eventually, create living beings, endowed with the spirit of life. Or we might produce a substitute for bread from ingredients which have no nourishing powers, simply by mixing the right proportions of heat and cold, moisture and dryness, and particularly if we knew the spherical constellations and their influences which, in the opinion of astrologers, assist to bring forth of anything that is desired in this world. We have seen, however, that all alchymists and necromancers who have tried those things, have been put to shame. Do not raise the objection that these people are able to produce animals and living beings, as bees from flesh and gnats from wine. These are not the consequences of their calculations and agency, but of experiments. It was found that cohabitation was followed by the birth of a child; man, however, does but plant the seed in the soil prepared to receive and develop it. The calculation of proportions which give the human form belongs exclusively to the Creator. In the same manner is the determination of the living people worthy to form the seat of the Divine Influence God's alone. This calculating and weighing, must be learnt from Him, but we should not reason about His word, as it is written: 'There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord' (Proverbs 21:30). What dost thou think we should adopt in order to become like our fathers, to imitate them, and not to speculate about the Law?