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‘And Hashem said to Avraham go for yourself…’ (12:11). Avraham was clearly on a very high level, that he received prophecy from Hashem, how did this come about? He grew up in a generation rampant with idolatry and his father ran an idol store. He was completely surrounded by idol worship, no one ever spoke G-D so how did he discover and have a relationship with Him?
The Rambam (Avodah Zarah 1:3) explains that ever since Avraham was a young child, he was mesmerized at the incredible world and used to contemplate this day and night. He would ask how does the universe go round, who is moving it? It can’t just go around by itself? Through asking these questions and contemplating, Avraham came to the realization that the world had to have a G-D and his idol worshipping peers were completely mistaken. This eventually brought Hashem to reveal Himself to him, and the Jewish nation was formed. We were chosen to be Hashem’s emissaries on this earth all in the merit of our ancestor Avraham who appreciated the world’s incredible natural beauty. We should strive to follow in his legacy and be awed by the stunning natural world around us. We could ask ourselves the same questions as Avraham. Look at the beautiful hills, the luscious green grass, the attractive flowers, the wonders of the human body etc. Hashem truly created such a magnificent world!
The Rambam (Yesodei Hatorah 2:2) writes that this approach is the ideal way for us to come to love and fear Hashem, ‘how does one come to love and fear Hashem? When one contemplates His handywork and His phenomenal creations he will observe wisdom which has no bounds, immediately he will love and praise Him with such intense longing…’
One might think appreciating the incredible world is just a nice practice, yet the Chovos Halevavos teaches that this is actually an obligation. He cites numerous sources from scripture and Chazal to support this. He then goes into great detail about the extent of the obligation, and what it is incumbent upon us to contemplate. For example, the wonders of the human body; the gift of eyesight, hearing, freedom of movement, digestion, blood circulation etc The miracle of food production and how every species obtains all the sustenance they need. The incredible benefits we gain from the sun; an abundance of light and energy. The fascinating phenomena of childbirth, memory, ability to talk, write etc. These are just a few of the examples quoted in Shaar Bechina, regarding our obligation to contemplate on Hashem’s spectacular phenomena. He writes that ‘the most direct way to obtain a clear understanding of Hashem’s presence, is by examining the wisdom in Hashem’s creations. May we be zocheh to follow in Avraham’s footsteps, and appreciate Hashem’s spectacular world.
A girl with little Jewish background was on vacation to Hawaii with her family. She observed the powerful movements of the waves and how they constantly crashed on the seashore. This led her to the realization that the natural world is so profound and there is so much that she didn’t understand and took for granted, encouraging her to resolve to pay more attention to the beautiful world here. During a hike with her family, she witnessed some pretty bamboo shoots whose bark was elegantly covered in gold and green vertical stripes. She wondered if someone had painted these, but when looking above her doubt was resolved. She saw these shoots tower above them, over fifty feet high with the elegant stripes running all the way to the top. ‘G-D has quite a paintbrush’ she expressed with bewilderment. Observing these incredible natural phenomena cleared all the doubts she had been feeling about G-D and led her to a very deep belief that the world had to have a Creator. When she returned home, she resolved to study more about Judaism, eventually becoming a fully observant Jew; all due to observing the beautiful natural world. Adapted from Like water on a rock (Artscroll) p.26.
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