Man As A Microcosm

 

 

This is the path of worship that we must follow: never to lose faith in God, no matter how bad things may become; rather, to cling to Him, call upon Him, and await His deliverance, to remember that all of life’s low points are only for the sake of our eternal perfection.

 

Ups and downs are not just the lot of man, they are a fundamental principle in the universe.  Man is a microcosm and whatever exists in creation, exists in him as well (Koheles Rabbah 1:9; Avos d’Rabbi Nosson 31).

 

Rebbe Nachman writes:

 

“It is written, ‘Back and front You formed me’ (Tehillim 139: 5).  This is the concept of Order and Disorder. ‘Front’ is the aspect of Order; ‘Back’ is disorder. ‘Back and front You formed me’ implies that this principle is part of the very formation of man.  Sometimes things go his way, and sometimes not.  At times God shows him favor, other times He hides His face.  Sometimes things go according to the person’s will, and sometimes against it.  A person’s feelings also undergo constant changes from joy to depression and back again.  These changes occur in every person according to his way.  There are those whose highs and lows are from one extreme to the other. ‘They go up to heaven, they descend to the depths’ (Tehillim 107:26)” (Likutey Moharan II: 82).

 

This process of creation exists in the cycle of light and darkness: day and night; summer and winter.  It is present in the very landscape of the earth: mountains and valleys, hills and plains.  Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz points out that even physical elements, such as water, experience their own ups and downs (Midrash Pinchas 7).

 

All this reflects the amazing way God directs His world, both in the cosmos and in the life of each individual.  Everything is arranged according to His understanding, and He weighs and measures everything with utmost precision.

 

(Perhaps one reason for this process is to prevent us from becoming arrogant.  We can always remember, even when we are on a high level, that it is in God’s hands to “throw the haughty down to the earth, and lift up the lowly to the heights.”)

 

 

(Used with permission from the author. From the book "In all my Ways" Keren Ohr Publications)