The secular world bombards us with messages — both
explicit and implicit — that human beings are simply
intelligent members of the animal kingdom. It would seem that
the whole advertising industry is built upon the very
profitable premise that we are very much subject to
manipulation by internal drives and external pressures. They
assume that we will react predictably to the stimuli in our
environment, just like a laboratory rat. Some food here to
motivate, some electric shock there to discourage —
according to them, our decisions, behaviors, and even self-
identities are molded by the reality that surrounds us.
Needless to say, this is a very distasteful reductionist view
of humanity. What is our response to such a view?
Let us proceed to describe in limited detail what the Torah
has to say about the true nature of Man.
Man's Uniqueness Among the Beasts
Literally from the very beginning, Man is uniquely referred
to by Chazal as, "Yetzir capov shel HaKodosh Boruch Hu"
(Midrash aggodoh Bereishis 11). Hashem fashioned Man as a
singular being not "spawned by the waters" or "brought forth
from the earth" as was all animal life — as mentioned
in detail in the first perek of Bereishis.
The ninth and eleventh chapters of Pirkei DeRabbi
Eliezer have similar distinctions when elaborating on the
details of Creation.
Midroshim speak of Odom having two unique parents: G-d
and the Earth. The Kuzari and the Ramban inform us of the
absolute clarity that we Jews are privileged to have about
our origins. In his droshoh, "Toras Hashem Temimoh,"
(Chavel edition Vol. I page 144), the Ramban writes: "And the
Torah is further a source of illumination even in its
narratives and recording of history. For all of it is great
wisdom and roots of belief.
"For we can infer from the simple sentences of Scripture that
Levi was seen by Amram the father of Moshe. And Yaakov was
seen by Levi. And Yaakov learned Torah from the mouth of Shem
son of Noach, for Yaakov was fifty years old when Shem son of
Noach died.
"Thus Moshe was capable of announcing in the presence of a
large and powerful nation, among its sorcerers, men of
witchcraft, and astrologers, the following public
declaration: "My father [Amram] told me that his grandfather
saw [a man who was present at] the Creation of the world."
For the Mabul was like the Creation of the world [not
simply a huge flood of water]. And whoever concedes to the
[reality of the] Mabul must perforce concede to the
Genesis of the world.
"And furthermore, Noach was present at a time in which he
could see the First Man, about whom it was known that he
himself was solitary in the world without any father or
mother.
"It is a certainty that if this statement was false, all
would have been aware of it, and he would have been
contradicted by the many elders and wise men of the nation
who knew history. For is it not common knowledge to our
elders, of the popular events of two and three generations
past? Of our family history, our housing and real estate, of
people who rise to power and build certain edifices, and even
events that are retold constantly?
"No-one can fabricate events of this magnitude that [should
have been] famous.
"Additionally, he [Moshe] publicly announced [in the Torah]
all the nations' pedigrees and the founding of their states;
in summary, all the minute details of the Book of
Bereishis.
"And similarly Rabbi Moshe [ben Maimon] explained in his book
Moreh Nevuchim (III:50) the intention of the
narratives of the Torah with all their genealogies were
written to inform the truth of the Genesis [of the world] to
the later generations . . . "
Thus the Rishonim make the point that Odom was aware
of his unique status of not having biological parents. He
passed this knowledge as a mesorah of Bri'as
Ho'olom to Noach to refute the heretical theory of
eternal matter.
Similarly, we make use of this same mesorah to refute
the heretical notions that man is but another species of
animal with all the physical limitations of a biochemical
organism.
This divergence between Judaism and the nature-dominated
views of the modern West was brought into sharp focus in the
famous exchange between Reb Yaakov Kamenetsky and Yerucham
Meshel, then the secretary-general of the Histadrut, on a
plane ride. Yonoson Rosenblum, author of a book on the life
of Reb Yaakov, depicted that exchange as follows:
"At the end of the flight, Meshel expressed his amazement at
the way Reb Yaakov's son and granddaughter kept coming to
talk to him and were so solicitous of his needs. Meshel
confessed that he only rarely saw his own children and
grandchildren.
"Reb Yaakov explained to him, `You believe in Darwin. In your
children's eyes, you are just one generation closer to the
apes than they are. But for us, the central event in history
was the moment when Hashem spoke to the entire Jewish people
at Sinai . . . My children and grandchildren honor me as
being closer to that Revelation. They view me as someone who
had contact with spiritual giants beyond their comprehension,
and therefore attribute to me a wisdom and spiritual
sensitivity that they lack.' "
*
Even in the second chapter of Bereishis where this
distinction is left out, one need go no further than Rashi to
again find a decisive difference. Only Odom's yetzirah
was with two yuds — one for this world, and one
for his final Resurrection. This is in contrast to all
animals' death which is final.
But this is remarkable. It means that man's physical body can
be mystically elevated to a sublime physical existence in
Olom Habbo via Techiyas Hameisim. And even
while yet living in this world, special human beings have
been shown to be capable of reaching this spiritualization of
the body — as is recorded regarding Chanoch, Serach bas
Osher, Moshe Rabbenu (temporarily) and Eliyahu Hanovi (see
Rabbeinu Bachya quoting the Rashba in Bereishis 1:21
discussing the Livyosson).
This surely implies that even the physical component
of man cannot have any common origins with mere animals.
Alternatively, the gemora Brochos (61) understands
these two Yuds as a reference to man's twin urges: the
yetzer hatov and yetzer hora. Again, it needs
to be emphasized that this dual nature of man is alluded to
in the verse before G-d imbues man with his nishmas
chaim, indicating the inherent ability to transform one's
natural drives to serve one of two opposite inclinations.
Man's True Relationship With Nature
Nature's fate is inextricably bound with man. It can be
brought to perfection and spiritualized by his actions, or it
can be corrupted and "materialized" by them. Not vice-
versa.
To illustrate this we have the Midrash Koheles Rabba
(7:28) cited in the foundational first chapter of Mesillas
Yeshorim entitled, "Chovas Ho'Odom Be'olomo." Man
is given an awesome responsibility by G-d: "Dedicate your
mind not to corrupt and destroy My world!"
The overall theme of Rav Chaim of Volozhin's holy sefer
Nefesh HaChaim is to elucidate the metaphysical
effects of Man on the worlds around him, including the
material one. In particular in Shaar I perek 6
and Shaar II perek 6 he cites many references
in the Zohar that provide a powerful "behind the
scenes" depiction of Odom HoRishon's formation. All the
elements of creation were instructed to contribute of their
essence to man so that man would literally be a microcosm
whose combined spiritual and physical being would encompass
all of created existence.
As a direct result of this fateful relationship, the entire
physical creation became more corporeal and distant from
ruchniyus, as a result of Man's destructive choices
throughout history.
The world's diminution from pre-Eitz-Hada'as existence
to a post-Eitz-Hada'as one, marks a most radical and
far-reaching metamorphosis. The more Kabbalistic works of the
Ramchal such as Derech Hashem (1:3:5-11) and Daas
Tevunos describe Odom's precipitous fall from immortality
to bring death and decay to the entire world order. (The
Ramchal explains the 6,000 years of world history to be
followed by 1,000 years of desolation, mentioned Sanhedrin
97, as a direct consequence of this enormous sin.)
The language of all the curses on Odom and Cayin, Dor
Hamabul, and Sodom and Amorah describes the very ground
that they walked on to be either totally destroyed or
otherwise adversely affected. After the Mabul, life
needed to feed on other life to survive. Vicious competition
and suffering in nature was the necessary by-product of man's
own evil choices.
In the last perek of mishnayos Sotah we read of the
loss of productivity and quality of the earth's produce as a
consequence of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh
— due to our failings. This deterioration of the
physical earth is the horrifying reflection of the negative
impact that sin has on the basic fabric of the physical
world. As the gemora Sanhedrin (99b) warns us
solemnly: "Va'asisem osom — Va'asisem atem."
*
In conclusion: It is not that modern man has been formed and
conditioned by the natural world, or is dominated by animal
drives of survival inherited from primitive ancestors. It is
just the opposite. We find ourselves in a very unnatural
world, vastly diminished and darkened. It is obstructed by
our own actions from the pure light and harmony that is
inherent in G-d's benevolent creation.
From all of the above it emerges that we cannot view
ourselves as the sum total of our various natural drives and
environmental stimuli. Rather it is the very nature of our
physical existence which is affected and conditioned by the
enormous spiritual power invested in the bechiroh of
Man.
