Community Magazine October 2003

18 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE s ” xc Aside from expanding your comprehen- sion of what the Torah is, the information contained here will probably shatter many of the historical “facts” you were taught in school. Since the Torah predates history itself, every modern “discovery”, “break- through” and “innovation” could have been learned from the Torah thousands of years ago—and many were. To explain this prin- ciple in terms we can understand, consider the blueprint of a building. Thin blue lines trace every foot and nuance of space. From the precise dimensions of each wall, win- dow and door, to the number light switches in each room and their exact locations. Creating a blueprint is painstaking and deliberate work and it must be prepared with meticulous accuracy to insure proper construction of the structure. In this same way, every law of nature, medical advance- ment or scientific development that has ever surfaced or will ever be uncovered is included somewhere in the Torah. The Zohar says, “Hashem looked into the Torah and created the world.” While the Torah certainly gives us guidance on how to live our lives, it isn’t merely a law book. The Torah is the master-plan and blueprint of creation. We are holding the key to access all the secrets of the world. Just as the blue- prints of a building would be a useful docu- ment for visitors wishing to navigate the completed structure, the Torah is our guide- book for life on Earth. One who knows how to read and interpret this guide, can master great power and unlock life’s deepest mys- teries. Important and powerful men often consult the great Rabbis of the generation on questions about business, medicine, psy- chology, and relationships—why? Their expertise is Torah, not economics or medi- cine. But Torah is all-encompassing, one who has mastered this subject matter, is then privy to all others. There is however, one important difference between the scholastic knowledge learned through Torah study ver- sus the evolving body of information taught in academic institutions—that which is learned through Torah is the ultimate and absolute mistake-free truth. The Hazon Ish never went to medical school. His repeated ability to provide pre- cise medical advice however, amazed even the most elite doctors of his day. On one occasion, he provided a man with a detailed, hand-written diagram (this diagram is still in existence today), explaining the complex operation that this man must undergo to be cured. Although some of the medical experts at the time were still unclear on the manner to perform this procedure, the man’s doctor saw the brilliance of the Hazon Ish’s instruction. Post-surgery, the man was suf- fering from complications and so he asked the Hazon Ish why his advice hadn’t worked. The Hazon Ish replied, “The doctor did not perform the operation as I pre- scribed.” When the man approached his doctor, the doctor admitted to altering a part of the Hazon Ish’s instructions that clashed with his “knowledge” of medicine. Time and again, the truths of the Torah were “discovered” by academics and sci- entists. While every discovery is an affir- mation of the Torah’s authenticity as the M ost people are just plain wrong! Most people consider the Torah to be a combination history book and code of laws. They believe that Rabbis spend their days pouring through these intricate laws in the Gemarah so that the regulation in any possible case that arises, no matter how uncommon, can be accurately determined. This myopic view of what is undoubtedly the most profound body of knowledge ever conceived, ignores a very relevant function of the Torah: Hashem’s blueprint for creation of the universe. DEDICATED IN MEMORY OF JACK A”H & MARCELLE A”H SHASHO BY ELLIOT SHASHO