O my heart, turn round, and seek thy God within thee. It is enough for thee to reveal thyself as one of the vain fellows. Turn behind thee, for there is still hope now. Thou shalt again dwell in tents as in the days of the solemn feast, settled in a pleasant place. Fear God, and keep His commandments which are enjoined upon thee. If thou seekest Him, God will be gracious unto thee; it is from Him that thy fruit is found, the fruit which He gives according to thy deeds. Perform good deeds while thy mind is at ease, thy body fresh, and thy constitution, not lacking the right proportion, abides under the shadow of good health. It is within thy power to lift up the curtain, so that the cloud may be consumed. Look upon thy weapons wherewith thou doest thy work, thy quiver and thy bow; the strength and the blood of the body are thy rod and thy staff; in them lies the stability of thy fortune; thou shalt find them when thou seekest them; none among them is perverse or crooked.
O my heart, be strong and of good courage while the freshness of youth yet lasts: the tree of knowledge is yet in its greenness, its leaves are not scattered, and the twin-leaf is not divided; before old age strips me of the coat of youth, and sets me naked and bare: before ‘the one that departeth and cometh not back’[[221]] will be taken away from me; while the cord that fell unto me in pleasantness is not yet loosed, and before the golden bowl is broken; before the pure pieces of gold are changed, and before the wheel which turns about in the world by the command of the Almighty on high is broken. Then shall follow days of terror, during which the half-dead and feeble will not die for a month or for some years. But it shall happen one day that we shall awake and see that we were like unto them that dream.
O my heart, if not now, when shall I seek rest for me? Shall I do it in the days of hoary hair, when the strength fails? The branch of all mortals shall wither; even the tender and delicate shall be dried up and wither when they grow old; their skin shall shrivel. Will God create a new thing in me, that I may have youth after I have grown old? Behold, I was formed out of clay; nature fashioned me small in my dimensions; I have the face of a man, not the face of an eagle that renews its youth at the time of old age. Moreover, I am of contrite spirit; to my disadvantage, I was different from the young men my companions. In my youth, without old age and without mature years, I almost grew old and became grey. My strength was enfeebled as that of a woman. My senses grew weak, my thoughts became deranged, and yet I was not advanced in years. My face was wrinkled before my time, and my skin was dried up, so that it became like furrows. My head which, while in its freshness, was as the most fine gold, and upon which brown hair was grown, has white branches now, because hoariness, snowing in its midst, is scattered over it. In the prime of my life, while still in its full strength, my hair was plucked and torn out, and was moved out of its place. Shall my stature, which was like a palm-tree, and my back, which was straighter than a hedge, now be bowed down as a rush, so that none can raise it? My locks, which were curly and intertwined, fall out and are scattered. The tresses of my head, which were desirable as gold, and the hair thereof which was like purple, has become scanty, and through its departure has left breaches. What shall I do when God arises to seek my iniquity; for behold, my sins shall surely be found.
XXXVI. LEVI B. GERSHON
[Philosopher, biblical commentator, mathematician, and physician. He is commonly called Gersonides, and is also known as Leon of Bagnols. He was born at Bagnols in 1288, and died in 1344. He was exceedingly versatile, and displayed keen originality in all branches. His best known works are his commentaries and his philosophic book Milhamot ha-Shem (Battles of the Lord).]
The Difficulties in Investigating the Problem Whether the Universe Is Created or Eternal[[222]]
It behooves us first of all to point out the great difficulty of this investigation, as this will lead us to some extent to make the investigation into this problem more complete. For by being aware of the difficulty of a problem, we are guided to the way which leads us to the attainment of the truth thereof.
The fact that the philosophers who have hitherto investigated it greatly differ from one another in their opinions concerning it points to its difficulty; for this proves that arguments may be derived from the nature of existing things, wherewith each of the conflicting views can be either established or refuted. And it is very difficult to investigate a problem with such a peculiarity.
What undoubtedly points to the great difficulty inherent in this enquiry is the fact that we have to investigate whether all existing things were created by God, who is blessed, after a period of non-existence, or were never created at all. Now it is manifest that if we desire to fathom one of the attributes of an object, by the way of speculative investigation, whether that object possesses that attribute or not, it is first of all necessary that we should know the essence of the object and its attributes. For it is only through them that we may attain to that which we seek to know. It is thus evident that one who desires to investigate this problem thoroughly must first of all know the essence and attributes of the thing under examination as far as it is possible for man to perceive. This would necessitate that a man desirous of thoroughly investigating this subject should know the nature and the attributes of all existing things, so that he may be able to explain whether there is among them a thing or an attribute which would lead us to the conclusion that the universe was not created; or whether there is among them a thing or an attribute which would lead us to the conclusion that the universe was created; or whether there is not among them a thing or an attribute from which it could be concluded either that the universe was created, or that it was not created. The matter being so, a man, to whom the knowledge of one of the existing things or of the attributes thereof, so far as a human being can possibly know, is inaccessible, is unable to make as thorough an investigation of this problem as is humanly possible. Now it is evident that to obtain as thorough a knowledge of all existing things and of their attributes as is humanly possible is extremely difficult.
What makes this investigation more difficult is the fact that the investigator must necessarily have some knowledge of the First Cause as far as it is possible. For this enquiry leads him to investigate whether God, who is blessed, could possibly have existed at first without this world, which He afterwards brought into existence and created, or it is necessary that the world should have always existed with Him. It is, however, evident from the preceding argument itself that it is necessary for a man, desirous of making this investigation as perfect as possible, to know of the essence of God, who is blessed, all that can be attained, so that he may be able to decide accurately whether God, who is blessed, can possibly be active at one time, and cease to be active at another time, or whether this is impossible. This greatly adds to the difficulty of this investigation, since our knowledge of the essence of the First Cause is necessarily slight, as has become manifest from the preceding.