The Body as Microcosm of the Universe
August 06, 2002
Scanning, correcting, and formatting the texts from The Spleen Laughs and the Stomach Sleeps takes quite some time, so for now I’m just providing the text we studied, with occasional emphasis of the parts I particularly enjoyed.
Human as a Microcosm of the Universe — Avot d’Rabbi Natan, Chapter 31
Rabbi Yosi the Galilean says: Whatever the Holy One, blessed be He, created in the world, He created in man. A parable: to what may this be likened? If one takes a wooden tablet and tries to draw many forms, he is hard put to it because he has no room to make the drawings; but he who draws on the earth can go on drawing many forms and spread them out.
But the Holy One, blessed be He — may His grcat name be blessed forever and to all eternity — in His wisdom and understanding created the whole world, created the heavens and the earth, the beings on high and those down below, and formed in man whatever He created in His world:
He created forests in the world and He created forests in man: to wit, man’s hair;
He created evil beasts in the world and He created evil beasts in man: to wit, the vermin in man;
He created channels in the world and He created channels in man: to wit, man’s ears;
He created a wind in the world and He created a wind in man: to wit, man’s breath;
A sun in the world and a sun in man: to wit, man’s forehead;
Stagnant waters in the world and stagnant waters in man: to wit, man’s rheum;
Salt water in the world and salt water in man: to wit, man’s tears;
Streams in the world and streams in man: to wit, man’s urine;
Walls in the world and walls in man: to Wit, man’s lips;
Doors in the world and doors in man: to Wit, man’s teeth;
Firmaments in the world and firmaments in man: to wit, man’s tongue;
Sweet waters in the world and sweet waters in man: to wit, man’s spittle;
Stars in the world and stars in man: to wit, man’s cheeks;
Towers in the world and towers in man: to wit, man’s neck;
Masts in the world and masts in man: to wit, man’s arms;
Pegs in the world and pegs in man: to wit, man’s fingers;
Kings in the world and a king in man: to wit, man’s heart;
Clusters in the world and clusters in man: to wit, man’s breasts;
Counselors in the world and counselors in man: to wit, man’s reins;
Millstones in the world and millstones in man: to wit, man’s stomach;
Mashing mills in the world and mashing mills in man: to wit, man’s spleen;
Pits in the world and a pit in man: to wit, man’s navel;
Flowing waters in the world and flowing waters in man: to wit, man’s blood;
Trees in the world and trees in man: to wit, man’s bones;
Hills in the world and hills in man: to wit, man’s buttocks;
Pestle and mortar in the world and pestle and mortar in man: to wit, man’s joints;
Horses in the world and horses in man: to wit, man’s legs;
The angel of death in the world and the angel of death in man: to wit, man’s heels;
Mountains and valleys in the world and mountains and valleys in man: erect, he is like a mountain; recumbent, he is like a valley.
Thus thou dost learn that whatever the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, He created in man.
The Legends of the Jews — Ginzburg
With ten Sayings God created the world, although a single Saying would have sufficed. God desired to make known how severe is the punishment to be meted out to the wicked, who destroy a world created with as many as ten Sayings, and how goodly the reward destined for the righteous, who preserve a world created with as many as ten Sayings.
The world was made for man, though he was the last–comer among its creatures. This was design. He was to find all things ready for him. God was the host who prepared dainty dishes, set the table, and then led His guest to his seat At the same time man’s late appearance on earth is to convey an admonition to humility: Let him beware of being proud, lest he invite the retort that the gnat is older than he.
The superiority of man to the other creatures is apparent in the very manner of his creation, altogether differmt from theirs. He is the only one who was created by the hand of God: The rest sprang from the word of God. The body of man is a microcosm, the whole world in miniature, and the world in turn is a reflex of man. The hair upon his head corresponds to the woods of the earth, his tears to a river, his mouth to the ocean. Also, the world resembles the ball of his eye: the ocean that encircles the earth is like unto the white of the eye, the dry land is the iris, Jerusalem the pupil, and the Temple the image mirrored in the pupil of the eye.
But man is more than a mere image of this world. He unites both heavenly and earthly qualities within himself. In four he resembles the angels, in four the beasts. His power of speech, his discriminating intellect, his upright walk, the glance of his eye — they all make an angel of him. But, on the other hand, he eats and drinks, secretes the waste matter in his body, propagtes his kind, and dies, like the beast of the field. Therefore God said before the creation of man: “The celestials are not propagated, but they are immortal; the beings on earth are propagated, but they die. I will create man to be the union of the two, so that when, he sins, when he behaves like a beast, death shall overtak him; but if he refrains from sin, he shall live forever.” God now bade all beings in heaven and on earth contribute to the creation of man, and He Himself took part in it. Thus they all will love man, and if he should sin, they will be interested in his preservation.
We were asked to write our own brachot for our bodies, with the option to share them in Wednesday’s class....
Posted August 6, 2002 11:00 AM
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