Mitzvot and Mastery Over Nature

Then God said to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt saying: This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.                                  Exodus 12:1-2

Among the tremendous lessons of this, the first mitzva given to Israel as a nation, is that we were given mastery over nature. As we noted in a Dvar Torah for Hanukka, it is not the appearance of the new moon which determines the beginning of the Hebrew month, rather the proclamation by the Sanhedrin that the month has been sanctified. This mastery was endowed through the sanctity of mitzvot.

The above is an ideological, if you will, philosophical point. However, Rabbi Kook notes that our Sages taught that we have the power to actually change nature. The Talmud states:

Rabbi Hiyya, son of Ashi says, quoting Rav: all the non-fruit-bearing trees within the Land of Israel are destined to produce fruit. [Ketubot 112b]

Rabbi Kook elucidates the Talmudic comment thus: the ideal situation is for man to reach a harmonious fusion between matter and spirit. The spiritual dimension is provided by Torah and mitzvot. As humans progress spiritually, they necessarily influence the natural world. Thus, Rav says that when we reach the highest spiritual level the influence will be felt even on non-fruit-bearing trees.

In truth, the content of the Talmudic comment was already conveyed in Isaiah’s prophecy of the end of days:

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together and a little child shall lead them. [11:6]

The harmony mankind will achieve in the end of days will be reflected in the rest of creation, and there will no longer be beasts of prey.

Finally, Rabbi Kook explains why the Talmud specifies “the non-fruit-bearing trees within the Land of Israel.” Since, as stated, the spiritual aspect is endowed through Torah and mitzvot, the natural venue is the Land of Israel, which is the place from which Torah comes forth. [Isaiah 2:3; Micah 4:2]