If We Die in the End – What Do We Live For? 5 Points to Ponder

Body Exhibit

A few years ago, an exhibition opened at "MadaTech" in Haifa, using real human bodies to showcase the amazing and precise anatomical structure of the human body. The exhibition includes 20 authentic human body displays in their entirety, and over 130 individual internal organs, all preserved using a unique plastination technique.

In one of the specimens, only the blood vessels remain, with the rest of the body dismantled. This way, one can tangibly see the entire vascular system, an intricate network of incredible tubing. In another, only the muscles remain, with everything else dismantled. In a third, only the skeletal bones; in a fourth, the nervous system, and so on...

You see the images and you can't believe it.

If we take the blood vessels from our body and connect them end to end, their length would be approximately 100,000 kilometers! To give perspective, the circumference of the Earth is only about 40,000 kilometers. That means you could circle the Earth two and a half times with blood vessels! Can you grasp that? The vascular system stretched out within our small body spans an intricate network of tubes about 100,000 kilometers long, operating without malfunction, with each vessel "knowing" its place and role!

A single heartbeat sends blood through this 100,000-kilometer network, reaching every corner of the body – it's incomprehensible!

And these are only the blood vessels! We haven't yet discussed the system that controls all other body systems and coordinates between them - the nervous system, assisted by the endocrine system, responsible for regulating chemical processes in the body and coordinating actions, performing its role with the help of the blood and lymphatic systems. The visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory systems enable the creature's awareness of its environment and its orientation within it. The vocal and visual systems aid communication between individuals.

The digestive and respiratory systems are responsible for supplying the body's energy. The urinary and respiratory systems manage the excretion of toxins produced in the body. The immune system protects the body from harmful agents, the skeletal system supports movement and body stabilization, and the reproductive system ensures the survival of humankind.

The body's systems operate through groups of different organs within the body, sharing a common function. Each system has a central role in maintaining the human body. Among the various body systems, there is interdependence, with none able to function properly without the others, allowing for coordination that compensates and facilitates complex processes requiring more than one system.

All these wonderful systems are contained in a single small body, and everything is coordinated perfectly! Could such a marvelous thing happen on its own?

As it is said: "From my flesh shall I see God" (Job 19:26).

Baby Bottle Nipple

Breastfeeding provides the best nutrition for a baby – this is undisputed. However, sometimes the decision is made to bottle-feed the baby.

How do you choose the right bottle for a baby? It turns out this choice results from a complex set of considerations. The chosen bottle must meet the varied needs of both the baby and the mother.

For instance, it's important to choose a bottle with a wide mouth, allowing the baby to open their mouth properly over the bottle. Additionally, the nipple opening should be narrow, allowing flow in the required amount with no effort during bottle-feeding. There are other important parameters such as the type and size of the nipple.

(Photo: shutterstock)

Friends, all the best bottles available on the market have nipples that closely imitate the structure of a mother's nipple. However, these nipples are a poor imitation compared to the original. They don't suit all babies; they crack, degrade, and sometimes cause digestive issues.

Who is the manufacturer that all baby bottle companies strive to imitate and replicate (unsuccessfully)?...

The Hidden World

One of the fundamental questions is why did Hashem create the world in a way that allows humanity to err and ignore His existence? After all, if the Creator desires people to recognize His dominion, why did He not create the world without a system of screens and concealments? Wouldn't it make more sense to create a visible and clear world, making the truth evident to all?

However, Hashem created the world deliberately this way. World – from the root "to hide." He hid His presence and gave humans the choice to look at the world as a screen and decide that what they see is all there is, or to look beyond the screen and discover the Creator hiding behind it, the projector casting upon the screen. For what purpose?

Hashem wants humanity to discover Him through effort and contemplation. When a person makes an effort and ponders, reaching the conclusion that the world is too complex to have been created by chance, they take an active step towards connecting with the truth, thereby making their connection to the Creator much stronger.

The Creator has crafted a very precise level of concealment – not too apparent, not too hidden – allowing for fair choice, and Hashem expects individuals to arrive at the recognition of the truth through their choice. This is how the Creator governs His world – even when performing miracles, He still allows for a "natural touch," enabling people to mistake the event for a non-miraculous occurrence. Of course, sometimes the miracle is enormous, and the chance of error is minimal, and sometimes the miracle is "small," and the opportunity for error is greater...

Sefer HaChinuch brings the splitting of the Red Sea as an example. Undoubtedly, the miracle of splitting the sea was an impressive and extraordinary event, a miracle of immense proportions. Yet the Creator "left room" for those who wished to err. The Creator did not split the sea suddenly in an instant, rather – "Hashem caused the sea to go by a strong east wind all that night" (Exodus 14:21) – allowing for the possibility of interpreting it as a natural phenomenon of a strong wind that caused the sea to part... And indeed, the "technique" worked, and this is why the Egyptians entered the sea. Otherwise – if it had been clear to a hundred percent that it was a miracle – there would be no logical reason for the Egyptians to enter the sea after the Israelites (Ramban in his commentary on the Torah).

"Featherweight"

Feathers are the most distinguishing feature setting birds apart from other classes of animals.

There are several types of feathers, each serving a different purpose: Body feathers – used to cover the body, create a uniform and aerodynamic structure, and minimize friction to a negligible level; Down feathers – soft and fluffy feathers aiding in maintaining a constant body temperature due to their ability to insulate against external temperatures. They are found in chicks, many species of fledglings, and the neck of vultures; Ornamental feathers – unique feathers used for display and courtship, similar to peacock feathers.

Like the fur and hair of mammals, feathers enable birds to thermally insulate themselves from their external environment. They serve as insulation against both heat and cold, allowing them to maintain a constant body temperature.

(Photo: shutterstock)

The effective insulation provided by the feather covering, and the consequent maintenance of constant body warmth, enable birds a wide range of activity in both space and time. Birds inhabit diverse regions, from hot deserts to polar areas; from ocean expanses to mountain heights. Moreover, they are active by day and/or night, sometimes continuously. In comparison, a lizard is active on average only about 10% of the day, spending the rest of its time inactive. Its dependence on external heat sources and the changes in its body temperature limit its activity duration.

Additionally, each feather is attached to a nerve and controlled by muscle. The precise muscle control aids a bird in balancing in the air, navigating, and stopping as it slows down for landing.

Finally, feathers aid in flight due to their low weight, strength, flexibility, and the wing design they provide. A feather possesses incredible strength relative to its size and weight and is an exceptional engineering device; it's an engineered marvel combining excellent insulation with strength and lightness. It seems even modern technology has yet to find a competitor for this ingenious combination...

Why Did I Come to the World?

Why did I come into the world? When did you last ask yourself this question and have an answer, neither religious nor spiritual?

I searched and delved into this, looking for answers to this question.

"We came here to live!", someone answered me.

But if that's the goal, to live, why do we die? And if we die in the end, then why live?

Was the world created so you could eat and enjoy all the trivialities the world has to offer? Was the world created so that we could have an iPhone? Am I, the way I live now, justifying the purpose for which I was created?

In light of the fact that there is a spiritual entity within me – a soul – as long as my soul is within a physical body, I need to discover its purpose, to research, question and demand what its role is in this physical world.

If this worldly existence is the essence, why is there not even one material thing that a person can enjoy for a long time? Everything material at some point becomes tiresome. The more one consumes it, the faster one tires of it. A person who values money and accumulating wealth may strive for and even achieve his goal, but will soon find that he is not satisfied with what he has achieved, and will strive for more; and so on. Thus, at the peak of our success, we find ourselves less and less satisfied with life. Suddenly doubts and profound questions arise in a person, what is the purpose of life? Where did I come from, where am I going? What is the purpose of all this?

This world is essentially a training camp preparing and instructing our soul to cleave to Hashem. This world is not an end in itself, but a means to prepare us for the world to come. All the challenges, difficulties, and trials we encounter in our lifetimes – they are "hard boot camp conditions," meant to harden and strengthen us, preparing our soul for spiritual, elevated, and noble life, already in this temporary world, but mainly in the world to come, which is eternal.

By overcoming the challenges of this world, the soul, when reaching the world to come, can fulfill its ultimate purpose – to delight and enjoy at a supreme level that we cannot imagine.

When a person clarifies "what is their duty in their world," they arrive at the understanding that "man was created only to delight in Hashem and enjoy the radiance of His presence, which is the true pleasure and the greatest delight that can be found" (Mesilat Yesharim, Chapter 1). This is true pleasure, when man achieves things through his toil and pays for what he receives – this is true pleasure and complete satisfaction.