Modern science has taught us that there is more to the physical world than we can see, but scientists were not always so knowledgeable. Take the case of Ignaz Semmelweiss, a German physician in the mid-19th century who noticed that patients seemed to contract deadly diseases after being examined by doctors who had handled cadavers. Semmelweiss insisted that medical interns wash their hands after performing autopsies. The result was an immediate sharp decline in fatal illnesses among their patients.
Semmelweiss’s colleagues, however, refused to accept his explanation for the transmission of disease. Medical science had yet to recognize the existence of germs too small for the eye to see, and doctors felt that diseases could be attributed to a variety of factors. Physicians took umbrage at the suggestion that they were somehow transferring diseases due to the failure to wash their hands, and Semmelweiss was ridiculed, lost his position, and was ultimately confined to an asylum, where he died. Years later, medical science recognized that Semmelweiss had actually been ahead of his time.
As Jews, we should be well aware of the fact that far more exists in the world than our physical eyes can see. The Ramban speaks of “the accursed Greek and his wicked students, who believe only in what their eyes see.” We must recognize that what is visible to us is only a tiny fraction of what actually exists—and just as the physical world itself contains many microscopic elements that we cannot observe, there is also a vast spiritual dimension that is beyond our ability to perceive.
Reproduced from Living Kiddush Hashem by Rabbi Shraga Freedman with permission of the copyright holders, ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
