NATURE:
“The heavens speak of Hashem’s glory, and the skies tell
of His handiwork.” (Psalms 19:2)
The heavens, which
are comprised of the sefirot, melachim, etc…, show His infinite power. The
physical version of the heavens, show His skill and creation.
“From the wings of the land we have heard song, glory to
the righteous.” (Isaiah 24:16)
It is known that
each living organism cries out in its own praise of our Creator. The land calls
out in praise of the righteous because it is the sages that rule over the
physical world.
“I will also send the teeth of domesticated animals
against hem, with the venom of the creeping creatures of the dust.”
(Deuteronomy 32:24)
Nature was created
simply for the reason of carrying out the will of Hashem. Hashem’s agents are
in all things bringing glory to His name and helping the world to continue
according to His plan.
“Hashem founded the land with wisdom; He established the
heavens with understanding.” (Proverbs 3:19)
You would think that
the heavens would be formed with wisdom and the earth understanding as Kabbalah
teaches us that wisdom is higher then understanding. The truth is that it took
more work to create Hashem’s light in a concealed manner as it wanted to be
revealed. After-all, we were created by Hashem in order that He could share
with us His light. The nature we see in this world is the highest light
concealed in a lower form.
“More than the voices of many waters, than the mighty
waves of the sea, Hashem on high is mighty.” (Psalms 93:4)
Water has a
tremendous amount of force and might. Most of the water in the world is
continuously flowing non-stop from place to place. We can try and learn from
watching the waves at a beach, the force and control Hashem has over the world.
In but a moment water can sweep an entire ship or
“The sun, [when covered by] the moon, stood in its abode;
they speed at the light of Your arrows, and the
shining of Your glittering spear.” (Habakkuk 3:11)
Light travels very
quickly. It is interesting that a person who is blind is blessed to have
stronger senses when it comes to other things. If only we appreciated the power
of light, it would strengthen us in our spiritual abilities to see the light of
Hashem. Unfortunately, instead, it dulls our other senses.
“He made darkness His secret place; His pavilion around
Him was dark with waters and thick clouds of the skies.” (Psalms 18:12)
If Hashem was going
to hide in darkness, why did He create all this light? Could it have been in
order to blind us from seeing Him? The opposite, nature and light should
strengthen us in our belief of Him.
“I shall be as the dew to
It is dew that
strengthens the ground and nurtures the plants. Just like dew falls every
morning, so too… Hashem is bringing down spiritual dew from heaven every
morning. All a person has to do is make a new beginning each morning and except
the coming day as an entirely new creation. Then they will blossom that day
into a beautiful servant of Hashem bringing those around them gladness.
“Lift up your eyes upon high, and perceive Who created
these!” (Isaiah 40:26)
Whenever you see
something physical, you should always lift up your eyes to Hashem and you will
see the spiritual light of that object. Hashem surrounded us with nature so we
could constantly have an opportunity to perceive Him through the physical
world.
“The lion is the mightiest of animals, and turns away
before no-one.” (Proverbs 30:30)
We should be like
the lion that puts no emphasis on physical fears. We should fear none other
then Hashem.
“I shall consider Hashem to be in front of me at all
times.” (Psalms 16:8)
Hashem made us
physical beings so to put Him in front of us in only a spiritual sense would be
too difficult for us. We should relate to Him in a physical sense, like a
peasant to a king, so we can feel true humility.
“Arouse yourself, O north [wind], and come, O south! Blow
upon my garden, let its spices flow out; let my Beloved come to His garden and
eat of its precious fruit..” (Song of Songs 4:16)
Wind is an element
that can be both gentle and harsh. We can learn from wind that being able to
have a good balance of character is very important.
“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard
shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fattened
calf together… (Isaiah 11:6)
In the times of
Moshiach there is such a level of peace that the animals will be gentle to one
another. For now though, we can learn a lesson from animals that being at war
with others is inhuman.
“You, O Hashem poured a generous rain to strengthen Your
heritage when it languished.” (Psalms 68:10)
Hashem made nature
such a large part of our life that it affects our daily activities immensely.
If something affects a person so much, shouldn’t they learn about it and try to
understand its wisdom and reasoning?
“Then shall the trees of the forest sing out at the
presence of Hashem because He comes to judge the earth.” (I Chronicles
Why should the trees
sing when Hashem judges us? The trees have been around for a very long time.
They live longer then any other living organism so they have seen all of
history. And as it says, “eitz chaim hee”, the trees will surely give for us a
favorable testimony.
“When I behold the heavens, the word of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You established;
what is man, that You are mindful of him? (Psalms 8:4-5)
This shows the great
mercy of Hashem because compared to the celestial powers we are nothing and yet
Hashem still hears our cries and sustains us.
“I lift my eyes up to the mountains, where shall my help
come from?” (Psalms 121:1)
We should look to
the mountains for encouragement as we can see from them that even the smallest
of them cannot be uplifted when confronted. Hashem too will help even the
smallest and simplest of us.
“The voice of Hashem is upon the waters, the Hashem of
glory thunders, Hashem is upon many waters.” (Psalms 29:3)
Hashem is speaking
to us through the waters. He is saying, “move, move”!