Now, before we finish our talk and we walk outside into the night to practice up on these ideas, one more example of the night demonstrations. Because not only the sun and the moon but all the star worlds are also meoros. יםƒבָכֹוּכַה ̇∆‡¿ו – and also the stars (Bereishis 1:16). The trillions of stars are also osos, demonstrations. What are they for?
So, it could be that the scientists and the astronomers have their ideas. I imagine they publish long papers in their scientific journals and they pontificate about the various functions of the stars. Very good. It could even be they’re right. But whatever they say, even if it’s something true, you have to know that it’s secondary to the function of l’osos.
What type of sign, what type of spiritual lesson are we expected to learn from the stars?
Almost Infinity
And the answer is that, among other things, it's for the purpose of letting us know the vastness of Hashem, His infinite greatness. So many star worlds! There are billions and billions and billions and billions and billions of stars. If I would sit here all evening and say the word billions over again, I wouldn’t be finished. That's how many there are actually.
It’s so much space! You know the scientists say that there's no end to space. It’s not true because everything in gashmiyus has an end, but it's almost endless.
If you started out in a space shuttle before you were bar mitzvah and you wanted to go to that star over there, before you get to the star you'll have a long white beard. You'll be an old, old man. That's how long it will take and you're not even halfway there yet. Some of the places are so far away that your great-great-great-grandchild will not reach it yet even though your shuttle is traveling at the speed of light. You hear that? That's how far away it is.
Making Space
Now, space, you have to know, is a briah. It’s not a vacancy; it’s a creation. Why did Hashem do that? Why did He give us an almost endless remote world to look at? With a naked eye you could see the Milky Way where there are billions of stars. And the telescopes open up new vistas.
Why so much? Hashem could have made a little world. He could have boxed us in, confined us in a small space and we could have lived quite comfortably. Hakadosh Baruch Hu as an Engineer is able to do everything. He could have air conditioned the space perfectly. Who needs the endless star worlds?
Prophetic Advice
And the answer is we need it. Because more than anything in this world we need a Torah mind and we acquire that mind by looking up into the sky and thinking! That’s what the Navi Yeshaya told us. ם∆יכ≈ינ≈ﬠ םֹרוָמּו‡ׂ¿̆ – Lift up your eyes on high,ּו‡¿רּו – and see, הּ∆ל≈‡ ‡ָרָּב יƒמ – Who made these (Yeshaya 40:26). Because from the greatness of space you get somewhat of an idea of the greatness of the One Who made it. That’s the purpose of space, so that you should raise up your eyes and say, “Look how far that is! How could it be, a creation that goes on almost forever?!”
It’s only because there is a Creator even greater than that. Greater than endless?! Yes, the purpose of the stars is to make you see the vastness and the remoteness of space and think how great is Hakadosh Baruch Hu as a Creator of this tremendous universe which seems to have no end. The stunning vastness of the star worlds give us an inkling, a mashehu, of Hashem’s greatness.
Old Fashioned Torah
Now, I know that when some people hear this they think what kind of talk is that, old-fashioned talk. It is old-fashioned. It’s from the beginning of the world, because that's why Hashem made these luminaries; to be signs, to teach us how to think.
And don't say that's superfluous, that you know it anyhow. “I need the sun and the star worlds for that? I know all about it.” You don't know it. You never spent even five minutes thinking about the greatness of Hashem. It means you’re ignoring the purpose of the world. The world was constructed for one purpose and let us get it clear in our minds because there is no other purpose – and that is to make a man a more perfect being. We are here in this life to become better, to create for ourselves a Torah mind. And for that, the navi said, םֹרוָמּו‡ׂ¿̆ ם∆יכ≈ינ≈ﬠ – “Lift up your eyes on high and look.” Se’u means always; you should never stop.
Coming Back to Reality
Now we have to understand this may seem all exaggerated. Rainbows and moons and star worlds, it's just something to talk about in an idle evening – you come here, you hear the lecture but then you walk out and go back to the realities of life and forget about it. After all, we’re all frum Jews and we have to practice mitzvos and we have to learn Torah, and such things like the secrets of the rainbow and the sun and moon are not something that you have to dwell on.
The answer is it's a big error. Don't think that by getting back to practicalities you're really doing what the Torah requires of you. You're just dodging one of the main obligations of a Jew, and that is to learn from what your eyes see; to live up to our great responsibility of learning the lessons from the secrets of the universe.
Have A Wonderful Shabbos
