The Clash of Civilizations

In a classic maamar (Pachad Yitzchok, Chanukah 9), Rav Yitzchok Hutner explores the differences between these two realms. Science, beginning with the Greeks, is the exploration of the world in a static state. By contrast, the science of Torah is the study of a world in a state of becoming, of movement to an ideal. That is why, writes the Ramban in Milchemes Hashem, there can never be a perfect proof in Torah, comparable to proofs in geometry. Because the subject of Torah is the world in a state of flux, conclusive proofs are impossible; the subject matter is ever changing.

More, that study, talmud Torah, itself brings about a transformation in the subject of inquiry. As Chazal say, there is no mitzvah in the Torah that does not carry within it the power of techiyas hameisim — revivification of the dead. Techiyas hameisim represents the end of the natural order and the final revelation of Hashem, Who became hidden through the sin of Adam. “Machatzti” — I obscured Myself within Creation through death; “v’ani erapei” — and one day I will cause that barrier to be removed and bring an end to death (Devarim 32:39).

The difference between the two forms of inquiry is indicated by the respective covenants between Hashem and mankind and between Hashem and the Jewish People. The symbol of Hashem’s promise after the Flood to never again destroy all mankind is the rainbow. The rainbow already existed in nature. Hashem merely pointed to the rainbow, in the shape of an inverted bow, as a symbol of His promise to leave the world in a static state, with the seasons duly following one another.

The covenant of Avraham Avinu, however, involves the deliberate alteration of the human body from its natural state. Unlike the rainbow, bris milah is “unnatural.” In addition, we are active participants in the bris; we cut our own flesh. The symbol does not remain external to us — something to which our attention is directed.