Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Technology as a Reflection of the Past

We're told of the miracle the night of the 10th plague (Rashi, Ex. 12:37), where the Jews managed, as a collective body, to abandon Egypt in haste - so hasty, in fact, that they traveled from Raamses to Sokkos, a journey of 3 full days, in the time it takes to cover the distance by an eagle; In practically "no time!"

Of course the very fact all Jews departed from one solitary city - that in itself was part of the miracle. After all, they had been spread out in the province of Goshen.

In Torah-like vernacular, the Jews experienced the miracle as a "leap across the way" - "קפיצת הדרך".

The very best proof that this miraculous phenomenon was a sign of the times, something that actually happened to our forefathers - in their times - is the fact that today too, in our own times, we too witness the miracle of swift transport across great distances at a time.

Because we live in a latter century, the miracle manifests under different conditions, but the miracle of modern-day transportation definitely has us experiencing this miracle daily, as a matter of fact.

Similarly, the best proof we have of former-day prophetic powers to "know" what is happening in distal quarters, referred to in Torah-like jargon as "רוח הקודש", is our own miracle of knowing what happens in far-off places, as we experience the technological marvels of TV, radio and internet streaming.

We may not be privy to to these "miracles" as such, in which case we suffer spiritual myopia. (אין בעל הנס מכיר בנסו)

Truth is, we're into the Era of Redemption and it is all crystalizing before our senses. It's just that it's about time for the "real thing" and, as they say, "enough with the signs!"

1 comment:

Yankev said...

See Letters From the Rebbe vol 2 (English), letter #54:

"...the present jet age and supersonic transportation should inspire the idea of time-saving in the spiritual realm. A distance that not so very long ago took days and weeks to cover, can now be spanned in a matter of hours, and a message that took as long to communicate can now be transmitted instantly.

"If this could be accomplished in the physical and material, surely the same should be true in the spiritual realm...to be satisfied with less in the realm of the spirit would be like arguing to a return to the era of the horse and buggy..."

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