Appreciating the Basics
We’re happier when we appreciate the basics. Maybe we should sit down and study how many wonders are involved in eating and digesting a tiny morsel of food…
Continued from Part 1
Let's take a look at one example in our every-day lives that we take totally for granted, and don't even spare a thought for.
When we eat food we chew it and then swallow it. The food then descends to our upper stomach where it is dissolved by the stomach acids into nutrients and waste. The waste is dispatched further downwards through the lower stomach until it is expelled from the body. (It sounds simple but is actually a masterpiece of human engineering)!
The remaining nutrients are divided into literally hundreds of different vitamins and minerals all of which are essential for the healthy maintenance of our bodies. These vitamins and minerals are dispatched through the bloodstream to different organs. Because each organ needs different nutrients it is imperative that each one receives exactly what it needs; what is necessary for the heart would be detrimental to the ear, and what is vital for the kidneys would ruin the eyes. "Fortunately" there are never any mistakes and each organ receives precisely what it needs for its upkeep and maintenance.
What is fascinating about it (as if the whole process up to this stage is not wondrous enough) is that the body is programmed to know precisely where to send each type of nutrient, with the bloodstream being the "messenger" that delivers all the right "packages" to the right places.
Now imagine if Hashem had said that He would provide us with everything we need for the efficient functioning of our bodies – the ability to swallow, the stomach acids that dismantle the food, the muscles that propel the waste downwards and out, the bloodstream that circulates the vitamins and minerals all over the body – all we need to do is to direct the bloodstream as to which vitamins and minerals are to be "delivered" to each organ. Believe me we wouldn't last five minutes; within a minute or two our bodies would be in total chaos and it would be an utter disaster!! But Boruch Hashem, Hashem doesn't even ask that of us and instead does all the work for us.
And what is the payment that Hashem wants for all this? He simply wants us to show our gratitude to Him by making blessingsbefore, andGraceafter food thanking Him for what He does for us. We all make brachos and bentsch, but do we even consider what we need to be grateful for? Do we even realize what Hashem does for us? I think we take it all so for granted that it doesn't even enter our minds to think about it at all.
An added dimension to all this is that if we really were to appreciate and be grateful to Hashem for what He does do for us we would be b'simchah – happy (actually overjoyed I would say) continuously with the bounty that Hashem provides us with on a continuous basis – and to be b'simchah is a great mitzvah. Just stop and think about the way in which we, as human beings function; even if all the most advanced and up-to-date machines and equipment in the world were put together they could not even remotely begin to match what our bodies do in a "natural" way and on an on-going basis. And we are only a small part in Hashem's beautiful world that He "runs" continuously.
Apart from it being a mitzvah to be happy can you imagine what it means to live in a state of continuous happiness? Imagine what that would do for your blood pressure and tension headaches; never mind the stresses and pressures people feel in their daily lives. Hmm. Perhaps we really should sit down and study the functioning of our bodies, or consider the beauty and functionality of a leaf on a tree (Yes, even a leaf; the Rov [the Melitzer Rebbe]has explained to me how beautiful and versatile a leaf actually is, and how each type of leaf is constructed and grows in a different way according to what it is needed for).
Now let me let you into a secret. All that I have just written (apart from the last two paragraphs) has not been taken from modern research or psychology (even though it might seem so). It was written SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS AGO in a sefer (book) called the Chovos Ha'Levovos. Even the examples I brought you to illustrate each point, including how our bodies work, is taken from the sefer. (The last two paragraphs are from a different sefer).
What is absolutely astounding here is the wisdom and understanding of our Chachomim (sages) already seven hundred years ago. But this wisdom and understanding was not just developed then; it is all part of the Torah she'bichsav – written Torah – and Torah she'ba'al peh – our Oral Torah – which our Chachomim have been learning since the Torah was given to us.
Whist we consider ourselves fortunate that modern research has enriched our lives this holds true for the goyim, but not for us; we have simply not been aware of all this because we have not "studied" the right "books". All that is "new" today has been around in our seforim throughout the centuries. What I have written is only one example to illustrate that all the chochmoh in the world is to be found in our holy seforim; long before modern research and psychology came up with all their ideas the Chachomim had written about it – and what is of utmost importance – from the Torah's point of view and not from an outside viewpoint.
As we can see the Chachomim were able, even then, to plumb the depths of the human psyche and to understand exactly how human nature works.
To be continued.
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