The Wondrous Gift

The pasuk says in Tehillim perek 19 " השמים מספרים כבוד קל ומעשי ידיו מגיד הרקיע – David HaMelech is telling us that he looked at the creations in the world in amazement, seeing the greatness of Hashem in them. Studies have shown that the entire earth in which we live upon is 1.3 million times smaller than the Sun and there are stars in outer space that are big enough to contain 9.3 billion suns inside of them. The vastness is mind boggling. Astronomers estimate that there are two trillion galaxies just in the observable universe and all of the stars, planets and galaxies that we can see make up just 4% of the entire Universe. Which means there's another 96% which we can't see, detect or even comprehend. One of the reasons Hashem made the world like this is for us to realize His greatness. Somebody could become a believer in Hashem just by observing His creations. Rav Shach once went to visit someone in the hospital. At that time, the Rabbi himself was in his 90's and the hospital staff accorded him great honor. One of the top doctors there escorted the Rabbi out of the hospital when he left and Rav Shach turned to him and asked what kind of car he drove. The doctor answered, "A Mercedes." Rav Shach then asked when he bought the car, to which the doctor replied, six months before that. Rav Shach asked further, why he needed a new car and what was wrong with his previous one. The doctor said, "Rabbi, I did have a Mercedes before as well, but they are always updating and making the car better." Rav Shach then said, "We see from here, even the best cars on the market always have more room to improve in." "Yes," replied the doctor. Rav Shach then said, "I know you're an expert cardiologist. What do you think about doing something to the heart to improve it? Can you think of something in the heart that needs improving upon and fix it? Maybe one of the chambers is too small or maybe one of the lobes is too far to the left?" The doctor said, "No, the heart is perfect and doesn't need any improvements." Rav Shach then said, "Please tell me, who can make something so perfect that never needs improving upon?" The doctor replied, "Only G-d." And they both smiled. The brain is perfect, the eyes are perfect, every body part is perfect because they are the makings of Hashem. After David HaMelech wrote seven pesukim in that mizmor about the world, he switched gears and started speaking about the Torah saying, " תורת ה' תמימה משיבת נפש ", and he continued with more pesukim . Rabbi Zamir Cohen explained as follows: From a person observing the world and the creations of Hashem, we can come to emunah, but we'll still be left with a lot of questions regarding how and why things came into being. For that, Hashem gave us the ultimate gift, the Torah which is תמימה – complete – and has the answers to all of those questions. And that brings a person peace of mind – משיבת נפש . When a person has clarity, he feels at ease. For millennia, philosophers and laymen have been trying to figure out the purpose of the world. How did the world start? How did man start? Is there life after death? All of these questions and more have perplexed the minds of mankind for all of history. But we have all of the answers right in front of us, children in kindergarten know how the world started and know how Adam was created. We know our purpose, we know there is Olam Haba. Having clarity gives us peace of mind. As we begin once again reading the Torah from Bereshit, let us appreciate this wondrous gift that Hashem has shared with us.