Last week I heard a radio interview with Dr. Kelsey Johnson, an astrophysicist at the University of Virginia. She was talking about what motivated her to keep probing and researching things that we have not, up until this point in time, been able to wrap our minds around. She did not get into religion, although G-d did come up in the discussion. I suspect, although I could not ascertain, that she is not an atheist. She said something to the effect of this. To our current knowledge, we are the only beings in the universe who are aware of their place in the universe and are aware of what they know and do not yet know. As such we must remain curious and seek to learn and discover as much as we are able. She left G-d out of the equation in that conversation, but a person of faith would come to realize that the more we learn about the universe, the more we appreciate about the Creator.
As I heard her words, it reminded me of a conversation between another scientist who was probing the cosmos, NASA’s Dr. Velvl Greene, and the Rebbe. Dr. Greene was part of the Mars Project. As he became more involved in Judaism and started to live a more observant lifestyle, he was told by some, that searching for intelligent life on other planets was a conflict with the Torah. He brought this dilemma to the Rebbe who assured him the opposite was the case. The Rebbe declared, “You should look for life on Mars, and you should keep looking for life on Mars. If you don’t find it, then keep looking elsewhere, and do not stop looking, because to sit here in this world and say there is no life elsewhere is to put a limit around what G-d can do. And nobody can do that!”
In Psalms there are two verses that are often quoted as the impetus for humans observing “Niflaot Ha’boreh” – the Wonders of the Creator. One is from Psalm 92:6, “How great are Your works, O L-rd.” The other is from Psalm 104:24, “How manifold are Your works, O L-rd!” When we encounter the diversity of species of plans and animals, on land and in the oceans, one declares “How manifold are Your works, O L-rd.” When we learn more about the intricacies of the human body, the profundity of the genome system, the value of every element within every cell, we declare “How manifold are Your works, O L-rd.”
When we become aware of the vastness of the universe, discovering more and more about the cosmos, appreciating how much we don’t know or understand, we declare “How great are Your works, O L-rd.” The more advanced one’s awareness is in the sciences of physics, biology, and astronomy, the more profound one’s sense of humility ought to be before the greatness of the Creator.
What King David is telling us with these two verses is that the universe is our telescope to the Creator. Our discoveries and the awareness that we develop should leave us in awe at the great power of the Creator. This notion should leave us thirsting for more and more.
If this is true about the physical universe, how much more so when we think about the spiritual cosmos and the limitless levels of Divine Manifestation. If this is true about the body, how much more so about the intricacies of the soul. Developing greater awareness in these areas should certainly awaken a sense of awe, leading us to declare, “How great are Your works, O L-rd” and “How manifold are Your works, O L-rd!”
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin