לֹא־נִכְחַ֥ד עָצְמִ֗י מִ֫מֶּ֥ךָּ אֲשֶׁר־עֻשֵּׂ֥יתִי בַסֵּ֑תֶר רֻ֝קַּ֗מְתִּי בְּֽתַחְתִּיּ֥וֹת אָֽרֶץ׃
ניט פֿאַרהױלן איז געװען מײַן געבײן פֿאַר דיר, װען איך בין געמאַכט געװאָרן אין פֿאַרבאָרגענישגעשטריקט געװאָרן אין טיפֿענישן פֿון דער ערד.
German Commentary
einer äusserlich entwickelten Hautblase. שפיר s. oben III, 8. מרוקם von רקם wirken, bilden, auch von der Entwickelung der Glieder des Embryo im Mutterleibe, vgl. Ps. 139, 15. שפיר מרוקם = eine Blase von Haut oder Fleisch, auf der sich entwickelnde Körperteile des Embryo bereits äusserlich angedeutet sind.
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.
German Commentary
eine äusserlich entwickelte Hautblase. שפיר s. Bechor. III Note 8, מרוקם von רקם == wirken, zusammensetzen, auch von der Gliederung des Embryo im Mutterleibe, vgl. Ps. 139, 15, eine Blase von Haut oder Fleisch, auf der Körperteile des Embryo bereits äusserlich angedeutet sind.