Torah and Secular Knowledge
The Light of Torah
Despite the fact that Torah is divided into many levels, even the “lowest” level of Torah possesses a G-dly light that is untarnished and unfiltered by anything in this world.
Our sages declare that even a ritually unclean person, who would not be allowed to pray because he would consequently sully the words of prayer, can study Torah, because the words of Torah are likened to fire which can never become contaminated.
Torah — which means guidance or direction — is either derived from or associated with the word “ohr” - “light.” In Aramaic, the word for Torah is Ohraita, which when broken into two parts, “ohr” and “aita,” reads, “The introduction of light.”
The Book of Proverbs states this connection between Torah and light explicitly: “For a mitzvah is a candle and Torah is light.” Torah illuminates our souls, our bodies, our way of living. Our potential is manifest by the study of Torah, because like light, Torah has the capacity to reveal things that were previously hidden.
While other areas of knowledge — science, art, music, philosophy - might lead a person to the realization that there is a G-d and make one’s life more G-dly, the knowledge itself is not inherently pure and holy. All of these disciplines, to be sure, are G-d’s creations, and are, therefore, by definition G-dly.
However, like everything else in creation, G-d deliberately obscured His own light when creating these areas of knowledge.
Indeed, nature itself is a manifestation of G-d, but it is a manifestation of G-d as He is concealed, as we have discussed. Similarly, the study of nature (science) and other disciplines that are based on logic are all part of G- d’s deliberate concealment of His own power.
G-d created existence in such a way that His presence is concealed. By being concealed He thereby gives us the opportunity to uncover the true nature of existence, which is G-dly.
Uncovering the G-dly Energy within Creation through Science and Torah
How do we uncover the inherent G-dly force within all of creation?
The answer, again, is through Torah. Because the Torah that we learn remains in its pure Divine state, it has the capacity to illuminate and reveal all that is hidden.
Science is a prime example of a worldly discipline that, despite its essential G-dly nature, is nevertheless not G-dly in its overt state.
On the one hand, science has been used by some to prove G-d’s existence. Many a scientist has, as a result of his research, developed a sense of awe and reverence for the Creator. We do hear, from time to time, a surgeon speak of how he feels that the hands of G-d have assisted him in his incredibly delicate work.
Unfortunately, a more common experience is science employed in the assault against G-d, Torah and religion. The same data that has been used by some to prove G-d’s existence has been used by others to deny it.
This paradox attests to the neutral nature of science. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then perceiving divinity in creation is certainly a subjective matter.
The study of nature does not objectify the existence of a Creator. However, when one masters the Torah and then returns to nature, he is able to uncover its G-dly character. Then he sees the divinity within nature.
Imagine someone receiving a letter from a loved one thousands of miles away. The letter gives the recipient warm feelings. However, there is nothing about the letter that captures the essence of the person who wrote it: it’s not his voice, appearance, touch, taste or smell. It’s just ink on paper that happened to be written by the loved one. The letter, no matter how beautiful and warm, is no substitute for the loved one himself.
In fact, the more the recipient reads the letter, the more he or she longs to be close to the loved one - a circumstance that would remove the need for letters all together.
Now imagine if that same person were to get so caught up in the emotion evoked by the letter that he failed to do anything to get closer to the loved one. Even more foolish would be someone who, when visited by the loved one, ignored the person because he was so engrossed in the letter …
When we feel G-d’s presence in nature, or in literature, science and other secular disciplines, it is indeed a beautiful and meaningful experience. It is not, however, a substitute for the real thing — studying Torah, which is G- d’s direct way of communicating with us. Indeed, in mystical literature, learning Torah is described as G-d’s way of embracing us. True, when we are distant from G-d, we can be brought closer to an awareness of Him by marveling at nature, for example. But this is hardly a substitute for the original.
Secular knowledge is no more than a letter from G-d. If we were not in exile, [The concepts of exile and redemption will not be understood by most secular readers in a casual reference without explanation.] we would never be content with just a letter. If we can have G-d visit us in person, why look for Him in a letter? It is only because of the exile and state of confusion that we are in that makes us feel content with the substitute and not even desire the real thing.
Marveling Nature, a Sin?
We can now appreciate what our sages say in Ethics of the Fathers (Chapter 3 Mishnah 7): “He who studies Torah while on the road and interrupts his study to remark — ‘How beautiful is this tree! How beautiful is this plowed field!’ — scripture considers as if guilty of a mortal sin.” It is hard to imagine what sin there could be in marveling at G-d’s nature.
When, however, we reflect on the fact that Torah study puts one in direct contact with G-d, we can appreciate the insult one hurls at G-d by interrupting that face to face communication and embrace to look for G-d in His creation.
To be sure, G-d can be found in every place in every situation. Everything is evocative of G-d. But Torah is the one place of which G-d said: this is where I want you to find me.
On the humorous side of things, there is a cute story told of a Hebrew School teacher who was trying to discover to what degree parents were educating their children about G-d. The teacher asked the kids to identify symbols in their homes that related to G-d.
One child pointed to the Mezuzah on the door posts; another to the prayer book and so on. One kid could not think of anything. When the teacher pressed the child to find one expression of G-d in the home; at least one object that was associated with G-d, the child finally blurted out: “the bathroom scale.”
“The bathroom scale,” the teacher asked incredulously!
“Yes,” the child continued. “Whenever my mother would go on the scale, I would hear her cry out, `Oh my G-d’”!
You can even find G-d in the bathroom scale!
While G-d can be found in everything; His most intimate revelation to us is through Torah.
From the book Safe Kabbalah, Part Two: The Fourth Dimension by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
