Living Earth - Wherein we discuss the Torah’s attitude towards the physical planet, and celestial bodies in general
Have you seen the movie Avatar? Wow, what an amazing idea to think the planet itself was sort of “alive” and could communicate with all the animals! Love it. But how original was it, really? Don’t most native cultures, from the Aboriginal Australian to the Native American to all of Africa and more, in fact, I would guess probably to most of humanity, with ease, assume the idea that the earth is somehow alive. The movie’s special effects were great, granted, but perhaps pale in comparison to a real Shaman’s visions.
That Earth is alive, awake, alert and enthusiastic, and that all of the rest of the stars and planets are as well, has always been the view of Torah.
Let’s see how Rambam (Maimonides) puts it succinctly:
All the Stars and Spheres possess a soul, knowledge, and intellect1. They are alive and stand in recognition of the One who spoke and [thus brought] the world into being.
According to their size and level, each one praises and glorifies their Creator as the Angels do.
Just as they are aware of the Holy One, blessed be He, they are also aware of themselves and of the Angels which surpass them. The knowledge of the Stars and the Spheres is less than the knowledge of the Angels, but greater than that of Men.
They are self aware, as well as being aware of God, the Angels, and one should assume they are aware of people too I think, at least as far as Earth is concerned. Especially as Rambam says their knowledge is greater than our own! I realise the idea that this hunk of rock we call home is actually alive, or that any planet or star is - stretches the imagination a bit. When I first really thought about this Rambam I literally jumped out of my chair and went to “Google” “planets speak praise song etc…” finding a page wherein NASA2 recorded one of the moons of Jupiter and translated it into musical notes. Now perhaps it is too much to say that NASA’s recording is what the Rambam is speaking of. Perhaps indeed, but still I got the shivers.
What if Mother Earth fights back with tsunamis, tornadoes and earthquakes…? Of course we can’t really know what the earth is thinking. Still, for me, imagining that the Earth is Aware of what we do to Her is a clever standard for environmental policy. As Hillel phrased it: What you hate done to you - don’t do to others! And I don’t only refer to our draining Earth of Her oil, (whatever that is for Her normal functioning) but all the ways in which we abuse the planet and it’s other inhabitants for our own pleasure and greed. It’s enough already, don’t you think?
Now, I feel obligated to let you know that not all Torah authorities agree with Rambam that the planets and stars are alive, as some learn that the verses which describe the stars and such praising God are metaphoric. The verses only mean to say that we humans praise God because we are awestruck by the beauty and perfection of Creation. That it seems to say the stars themselves praise God is just poetic license.
But I find in my personal relationship with God, that imagining the world as alive helps me appreciate everything I do more. I don’t need to be a vampire or a wizard to feel magical. For if Mother Earth is alive, if the very universe is alive, then the idea that I can connect via my mind to internal powers beyond my fleshy body, let’s call them my soul, well, it doesn’t seem so abstract. It makes saying the words “who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to…” actually exciting to say.
To sum up: Our bodies are our connection to our planet, specifically the primary elements of earth, but also the physical cosmos as a whole. The level of sanctification we apply to our bodies enables us to interact with more consciousness of this.
1 If one looks there at the peirush on the Rambam, he suggests that Rambam’s source is comes from ancient astronomy, which would today of course be less relevant. But R. Yaakov Emden in Migdal Oz …. says rejects this view outright, calling the theory “a crooked spirit and imaginary things”. He says the Rambam’s source is from the verses themsevles. The language of the Rambam himself in Moreh Nevuuchiim … is clearly like R. Yaakov Emben.
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2 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/sounds/index-flash.html