Shemini: G-d's Watchful Eye
Our Torah portion Shemini describes the birds that are not kosher for eating (only for Jews), and one of them is the osprey (the fish hawk). The sages said that it's a bird that catches fish from the sea. It dives deep down and grabs fish to eat.
The Babylonian Talmud tells us that Rabbi Yochanan, when he saw an osprey, would say, "Your judgments are a great abyss." This means that G-d's decisions are so deep, like the ocean's bottom. G-d even decides which fish in the sea will be caught and die. So, for Rabbi Yochanan, the osprey showed how G-d watches over everything in the universe, even the small fish at the bottom of the sea.
The hasidic master Baal Shem Tov used this idea to explain that everything that happens in the world is because G-d makes it happen. It's not just big events with people; it's also everything that grows. He decides every little detail about them. This story of the osprey catching a fish shows that even something as simple as a bird getting its food is because G-d decided which fish it would catch.
The Baal Shem Tov taught that G-d controls every tiny thing and every movement in the world. Even when a leaf falls off a tree, He, Blessed Be He, directs exactly when and where it will fall and how it will roll. The world seems to us like it runs on its own, following the rules of nature. Just like something underwater is still there but hidden from view, nature hides G-d's control, making it seem like things happen by themselves.
The osprey reminds us that if we want to see Divine Providence, we need to "draw" things out of this "sea" of nature. We need to take away nature's mask and find the divine control behind it. It teaches us to look deeper than what we see on the surface of things, beyond the cover of nature. We need to look inside and realize that even things that seem like accidents or just natural events are actually guided by G-d's plan.
Right now, the physical world hides and makes it hard to see Divine Providence. But in the future, when the world is truly and completely redeemed, this truth will be clear to everyone, as it says, "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Source: Likutei Sichos Volume 7, Page 54. Isaiah 40:5.
Brought by Rabbi Moshe Bernstein the author of the books:
Light Onto the Torah Portions
Insights on the Torah portions for Noahides.
Stories of Faith for Noahides
Inspiring Stories for Noahides from the Righteous of all Generations
Thank you! I had to read over and over again. To fully absorb the teachings of this article.
'..nature hides G-d's control, making it seem like things happen by themselves.
..We need to take away nature's mask and find the divine control behind it.'