The Stuff We’re Made From

Human beings were formed from the dust of the earth. But do you know where that dust came from? The Torah gives two fascinating answers, and each reveals something amazing about human nature.

The first answer is that G-d made us from earth that He gathered from the four corners of the world. But why not make us out of earth from the Garden of Eden? After all, that’s where He breathed life into us.

To answer that, first we need to know something about vaccines.

You’d think if a person wanted to avoid a virus, the last thing they’d do is expose themselves to the virus itself. And yet, that’s exactly how traditional (non-mRNA) vaccines work. First a tiny amount of the disease is injected into a person. This enables our immune systems to learn how to recognize the virus. After that, the body learns how to develop anti-bodies to fight it.

G-d used that same wisdom when He created us. G-d knew that we were destined to leave the Garden of Eden and to go into exile. For us, this posed a great danger. How would we spiritually survive? Wouldn’t the exile kill us? We had no defenses against it!

Or, to put it more strongly, human beings are literally made out of forgiveness.

Therefore, G-d inoculated us against the exile before we encountered it. How?

By taking earth from the furthest reaches of the exile itself and placing it within us, so that our souls wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the darkness, and we’d learn to overcome it with light.

According to the second opinion, G-d formed us from earth taken from where the altar of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem would stand. This is the spot where we brought offerings to be granted forgiveness.

Do you understand?

That means we’re made from earth taken from the headquarters of forgiveness. Or, to put it more strongly, human beings are literally made out of forgiveness.

So, if you ever wonder about how compassionate G-d is, or how much He understands our humanity, just look to the stuff we’re made from.

Check out David Sacks’ Weekly Podcast, Spiritual Tools for An Outrageous World, at Torahonitunes.com