In Times of Danger, Humans Can Perform Superhuman Feats – How Does It Happen? 5 Points to Consider

Living in a School

If I were to take five people and ask them to run forward in an open field, maintaining a fixed distance of about half a meter from each other, and additionally, I asked them to occasionally turn right or left – all together, as one unit, without prior notice – how many do you think would collide, push each other, and fall one after the other? I assume all of them...

From here to the great marvel: schools of fish, composed of an enormous number of fish, from dozens, through hundreds and thousands to millions of fish – and they all move without colliding with each other!

The main and most prominent characteristic of a school of fish is the synchronization between its members – each fish adjusts its swimming speed and direction to those of the rest of the school. They swim at a constant pace, parallel, in the same direction, maintaining a certain distance between them, in perfect coordination, moving harmoniously without collisions!

(Photo: shutterstock)

One of the main advantages of living in a school is the ability to deceive and confuse predators. Most predators identify their prey by shape, movement, and color. The ability of the school to change shape and color as a single unit confuses the enemy. A predator approaching the school is met with a display of color and shape changes of the large body. One moment it's bright and silvery, the next – dark and menacing. This behavior conceals the shape of the individual fish, giving it the appearance of a large and threatening fish.

In these schools, fixed behavior also appears: when one fish senses an approaching predator, its movement is immediately transmitted throughout the school – they develop a kind of agreed-upon sign language, whose correct recognition is the basis for shared fate in such cases.

Amazing, what causes fish to gather? And how do they swim in such perfect order? What about their ability to communicate and act as a single entity? The pattern of school gathering and their ability to evade together in coordinated movements reveals the guiding hand of the great conductor!

Wonder Box the Size of a Pea

It is the size of a medium pea, weighs less than half a gram, and yet it is considered one of the most complex and important organs in the human body!

Meet the pituitary gland, connected to a brain part called the "hypothalamus".

Many systems in the wondrous machine called the human body are controlled by hormones. You can decide to bite an apple, but you cannot decide to grow. You can decide not to blink, but you cannot control the calcium level in your blood. These instructions are not received by you. They are overseen by an incredibly sophisticated system of chemical messengers called "hormones." Hormones are secreted from production centers called "glands." There are six main gland systems in the body, and most of them are orchestrated by the pituitary gland.This gland is the conductor responsible for all bodily functions, and the most efficient in the world.

Take, for example, the topic of human body growth. When a baby is born, they start to grow. Their growth rate is more or less constant, except for a sudden acceleration during adolescence, after which there is a complete halt. Every construction site needs a foreman to ensure the workers function in coordination, and so it is with building the human body. The growth rate of a child is controlled by a growth hormone called 'somatotropin' produced in the anterior part of the pituitary gland. This hormone regulates the growth rate of almost all tissues and bones in the human body.

(Photo: shutterstock)

What would happen if there was no perfect coordination in the growth rate of different organs? Imagine for yourself...

One of the important roles of the pituitary gland is to control the activity of all other glands in the body, thereby ensuring an appropriate level of hormonal activity. For example, in the summer months we sweat more, which causes a decrease in the water content of the blood. The pituitary gland notices the drop and reacts immediately: it produces a hormone called vasopressin, which is quickly sent through the bloodstream to the kidneys, instructing the tiny filtering units within to increase the amount of water they draw from the urine.

In times of danger, humans are capable of performing seemingly superhuman tasks. What happens is that the brain sends a signal to the pituitary gland, which dispatches a special hormone – adrenocorticotropic – to the adrenal glands (located above the kidneys) to spur them into emergency action. Adrenaline flows into the bloodstream, causing the liver to release its sugar reserves, supplying immediate energy to the body. The heart increases its activity, the digestive system stops working, blood clotting speed increases – preparing for possible injury – thus enabling a person to run faster, jump higher, and hit harder than they thought they could.

Think about it: a pea-sized marvel box producing at least eight essential hormones for our existence, efficiently conducting countless processes within the body and turning them into one great symphony, the symphony of life.

Thus, having recognized the body's hormonal conductor, we have no choice but to burst into a song of praise and thanks to the amazing and greatest maestro of all, who created and orchestrates the entire creation...

Why Do We Sleep?

Why did Hashem create us with a need to sleep? What's the benefit of it? After all, sleep is a limiting thing! Why do we spend at least a third of our lives in seemingly unnecessary activity that leaves behind only a handful of fleeting memories?!

The Creator of the World designed sleep for us because it is essential for maintaining the normal function of the brain, allowing our brain to rest and recover from the wear and tear that occur during wakefulness. Let me explain how:

Cognitive need: During the day, an awake person goes through many experiences and absorbs a wealth of information. To prevent the accumulation of unnecessary information in the brain, sleep helps purge useless data from memory. During sleep, the brain organizes thoughts, deletes unnecessary information, sorts important data into appropriate cells in the brain, like a storekeeper placing goods on the right shelves in a warehouse.

(Photo: shutterstock)

Emotional need: After a day filled with experiences and emotions, sleep helps a person relieve stress and tension through dreams, which release the emotional baggage accumulated during the day. Sleep provides mental relaxation, so a person wakes up refreshed, calm, and a new day unfolds for them.

Just imagine what would happen if we didn't sleep, and lived in continuous wakefulness without sleep? The excess information collected in the brain would be confusing, taking up unnecessary space. Simultaneously, sadness and pressure would accompany the person continuously without rest!

Consider: The break provided by sleep helps a person live a calmer and more peaceful life.

"Cigarettes Are Harmful to Health, But I Smoke"

We are all exposed to people who speak heresy, against the Torah, against Hashem. Sometimes they are even scientists, educated and intelligent people, and I ask myself: don't these people have any sense? How can they utter such heretical words?

A person might encounter these "educated" heretics and think they are at fault, perhaps the problem lies with them. Why?

Because any sensible person understands there is a Creator of the world. If so, they don't understand how others don't see reality correctly? How don't they conclude that only an entity with supreme intelligence and unlimited capability could create something so sophisticated?

How can there be such a gap? How can these educated individuals refuse to accept such a simple truth?

The Torah provides an answer to this question:

In describing the Plague of the Firstborn in Egypt, the Torah tells us: "Pharaoh arose at night, he and all his servants and all Egypt, and there was a great cry in Egypt" (Exodus 12:30). That means Pharaoh got out of bed in the middle of the night and ran through the streets looking for Moses. On reflection, this means that Pharaoh went to sleep that night! Is that logical?! Moses had warned him beforehand that all the firstborn in Egypt would die. All his ministers told him to send the Israelites because everything Moses said had come to pass, and so it would be with the Plague of the Firstborn. Pharaoh should have been anxious after nine plagues, not going to sleep! How, then, did he go to sleep that night?

But, for a person to do something with the truth, it's not enough for them to understand it logically. For the intellect to manifest in action, it must pass through the heart, but Pharaoh's heart was blocked. Then the intellect can't activate him at all! Why? Because the emotion, the heart, didn't allow the intellect to manifest!

Nowadays, it is common for many people to understand in their minds how they should behave, but they don't internalize it in their hearts, and thus don't change their behavior. For example, how many people do we know who understand that obesity harms their health, yet they continue eating junk food excessively? How many people do we know who understand that physical activity is essential to their functioning, yet they don't bother to exercise? How many people do we know who understand that smoking cigarettes is harmful to health, but they still smoke?...

This is what happens to those people. Such a person, even if you talk to them, they will say: "Indeed, there is an enigma to creation," but they will be unwilling to connect this to Hashem in any way, because their heart is blocked, as it is written in the Torah: "Pharaoh's heart was heavy, he refused to send them" (Exodus 7:14).

Usually, the motive for this is pride, as it is said, "Your heart was lifted up and you forgot Hashem your God" (Deuteronomy 8:14). They know the truth, but cannot admit in any way that there is a Creator of the world and change their habits. They are unwilling to be told what to do or to have their lives managed. The pride in their heart caused a blockage and does not allow the intellect to manifest...

The Whole Earth Is Full of His Glory

*The human whispered: "God, speak to me."
A songbird flew across the sky, but the human did not hear...​

The human shouted: "God, let me hear you!"
A mighty thunder rolled across the heavens, but the person did not listen.

The human looked around and said: "God, let me see you."
A star shone suddenly, but the human did not see.

The human screamed: "God, show me a miracle!!!"
New life was born, but the human did not notice.

In desperation, the human began to cry: "Please, touch me God, so I know you are here."
And God reached down from above and touched the human’s shoulder,

but the man brushed away the butterfly that landed on his shoulder...

The Creator of the World is always around us, in all those little things we tend to take for granted.

Don’t miss a blessing just because it’s not wrapped in the package you expect it to be.

Expect the unexpected.

The Creator of the World is near if you only know where to look for him...

*(The author of the poem is unknown. I only changed the last line...)