Everything is not in the Torah
 
Moshe Ben-Chaim
 
Reader: I had just asked you the question about dinosaurs existence and you gave a great answer but there was one thing in your answer that I didn't understand so well and I was wondering if you can go further into what you meant by it so there are no misunderstandings here. You said "The Torah does not contain every bit of information in the world." Well it says in the first midrash in Genesis that "God looked at the Torah and created the world." Now if I know what I am talking about I believe that everything that exist has to be in the Torah, you may not be able to point it out and it may not be clear, has to have purpose demanded by Hashem and if it is not in the Torah then it hasn't, doesn't, and never will exist. So I was just wondering what you meant by what you had said before.
 
 
Mesora: What I mean is that the Torah is not meant to have every bit of information. It is a book which contains ideals for the perfection for man. Therefore, it won't have discussions about why certain birds have blue feathers, and why certain rocks are softer than others. On the surface, that information doesn't help man in his perfection. However, once man perfects his thinking, and becomes wise, he may be fortunate enough to see some of these wondrous creatures and elements as having a purpose for man. But the Chumash doesn't contain this information in specific. The Gemara says that the birds are so many and different so that man will praise God for His works.
 
The medrash you quoted could simply mean that the world and the Torah reflect each other. "God looked at the Torah and created the world" means that He made the world based on what man requires for his Torah adherence and perfection - just like He created the Earth for this same purpose. So the medrash is trying to equate the world and the Torah, that the Earth's existence is only so man can follow the Torah. Just as a blueprint for the house and the house itself have the same design, so also the Torah and the Earth have the same design, or purpose. God looked at the what man needs for his perfection - the Torah - and then created the world in line with this objective. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
God made earth in a way where man's basic needs are readily found; air which is most essential is everywhere. Water is less essential, but still plentiful - both are free as man cannot exist without either. Food is less needed than water, so it is more scarce. But these elements are only placed on Earth for the sake of man having his physical needs taken care of in order that he is now rendered fit for a life of Torah study. The physical is only a means for the intellectual life.
Therefore, the way I would explain this medrash is, "God looked at the Torah to see what man needs for an intellectual life, then created the Earth for that purpose."
 
The medrash you quoted in no way suggests that every bit of information is in the Torah. It doesn't even suggest that the Torah is a resource for knowledge, even though it is. That's not the point this medrash is aiming at. This medrash's purpose is to teach what God's considerations were when making earth. "What should the Earth include?" God's answer, "it should include only that which assists man's goal of Torah study". God may have been able to make the Earth with bread ready made in the ground, or metal which never rusts. But as a Rabbi explained, the curse of the Earth in Genesis of "thorns and thistles will sprout" means that God purposely redesigned the Earth to be imperfect physically. The reason, since Adam and Eve sinned by overindulgence in the physical world, God created inherent problems with the physical so man should be frustrated with physical pursuits and redirect his energies to the intellectual areas. Had man been satisfied completely with the physical, he would never leave it, thereby, not involving himself in God's goals for man, Torah study.
 
See the "Daily Song" article for elucidation on these points.


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