THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: A CHASSIDIC PERSPECTIVE

What do the study of Rambam, Tanya classes on the radio, and worldwide Chanuka Menorah lightings via satellite hookup all have in common? And what lesson can we learn from them as far as the impact we have on the world, even from the privacy of our own homes? Read on and discover what the Rebbe has to say on the matter… 

It isn’t pleasant to admit, but for many years, I found learning Rambam hard and there were times that I was lax in fulfilling the Rebbe’s horaa. This was unlike Chitas where I was usually able to relate to the content. I would just “daven up” Rambam; I would say the words with practically no concentration on what I was saying except here and there when I found a mitzva interesting.

Now and then I would wonder what the point was in saying the Rambam like that; maybe it would be better not to say it at all. What kept me going though was the fact that this was the Rebbe’s horaa, and when the Rebbe gives the order, you do it, even if you don’t fully understand it or want to do it.

When the moreh shiur (learning schedule) of the Rambam in the old edition was finished, it took me time to get hold of a new edition of the Rambam with a current chart. It’s embarrassing to say so but I enjoyed the break. When it comes down to it, it’s not that I don’t want to do it, but at least I had an excuse.

This went on for a few months until I saw a sicha of the Rebbe on a video which changed my entire perspective on the matter. I gained a deep and fascinating insight which I want to share with you.

In the sicha, said in Iyar 5745/1985 in connection to a Siyum HaRambam, the Rebbe spoke about the movement of a child’s lips when he sincerely learns Rambam, without the ambition of one day becoming a posek. He only wants to understand the Rambam to the best of his ability. The Rambam takes pleasure from this in Gan Eden, for the child is learning his teachings, as it says in the Gemara, “his lips move in the grave.” In the Rebbe’s words:

“ … The one learning is outside Eretz Yisroel and the Rambam is in Eretz Yisroel, in Teveria, but when he learns the Rambam, wherever he is, the din is a law in the revealed Torah that the aspect of the Rambam’s lips – and the simple meaning is that the Rambam’s physical lips – move in the grave. Consequently, a change occurs and there is movement in the air, for when the lips move, a change takes place in the air surrounding the lips and this change affects all the air in the world.

“In nature – when a change takes place in one part of the atmosphere – the nature that Hashem created is such that when a change occurs in a solid, like a rock, no other change takes place in another rock somewhere else. However, Hashem created the atmosphere in such a way that when the air is moved somewhere, that movement spreads until the ends of the world. This is not miraculous but the way Hashem created nature, and so, his lips moving in the grave, the lips of the Rambam, have an effect on the atmosphere of the entire world.

“And who caused this? A little child who learned one Halacha in the Rambam.”

WHAT A PUFF OF AIR CAN ACCOMPLISH

We always knew that the influence of the letters of the Torah is apparent and has an effect on the entire world, and every word of Torah that a Jew says here affects the other end of the world, and even in supernal worlds, but we didn’t understand quite how it worked (not that we fully understand it now, but it’s something more…).

We thought of it more mystically in terms of the supernatural power of the Torah, but it was really interesting to understand so plainly that the movement of the lips causes the air here to move and this movement has an effect on the ends of the world. 

This phenomenon has been given a scientific explanation as follows. Dr. Edward Lorenz was an American mathematician and meteorologist. It was in the early 1960’s that he entered numbers into his computer in an attempt to predict the weather, and when he tried entering the numbers again, he decided that he would shorten the process and would only enter the three numbers after the decimal point, instead of five. He assumed that this would not significantly change anything. To his great surprise, the new numbers drastically changed the forecast. He concluded that small differences in the starting point could trigger vast and often unsuspected results. These observations ultimately led him to formulate what became known as the Butterfly Effect, a term that grew out of an academic paper he presented in 1972 entitled “Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?”

At first, the scientific community negated his theory which seemed illogical, but with time, his chaos theory became accepted and even deeply entrenched, and not only in the scientific community. It eventually impacted not just the field of mathematics but virtually every branch of science – biological, physical and social. It is one of three scientific revolutions of the 20^th century (which are the theories of relativity, quantum mechanics and chaos theory).

The Butterfly Effect later came to be applied to matters other than scientific ones such as politics, philosophy, economics, etc. 

On Yud Shevat 5725/1965 the Rebbe said:

“Every person has an impact on his surroundings just as the Rebbe, my father-in-law, once said, that the philosophers say that when a person blows in a room within a room, this affects the temperature at the North Pole … for the entire world is in a unified state. And so, when a change takes place in a certain part of the world, there must be a change throughout the world.”

Without getting into the question about how to regard all the technological gadgets that are providing our generation with mighty challenges – a topic that is preoccupying our educators and rabbanim – for it’s not my place to express an opinion or take a position, let us see what we can learn from them. Through all these marvels, we see how the world is one energy field, a global village; everything is connected and any small action has a big effect on surroundings near and far, even very far.

Today, more than ever before, we can grasp spiritual concepts and understand that there are dimensions to our lives that we cannot see and grasp, and yet we are sure of their existence. It is easy to understand how “an eye sees and an ear hears and all your actions are recorded in a book.” It is much easier today to understand how at Mattan Torah, Hashem’s voice was heard from one end of the world to the other.

THE WALLS OF A CHASSIDIC HOME

When the Tanya radio broadcast began in 5720, the Rebbe spoke a number of times about the phenomenon of the radio. In one of those sichos, the Rebbe once again mentioned what the Rebbe Rayatz said that when a person blows in Riga, it changes the atmosphere at the North Pole, and he connected this to the radio:

“We see that with man’s ordinary speech, the more it extends outward the weaker it gets and it also takes time until it reaches distant places, but with a radio, his speech immediately reaches anywhere, even the most distant place, and it is heard as loudly as at its source, and in such a way that there is no interference, and only speech that opposes Torah can serve as an obstacle.” 

The Rebbe went on to say:

“From the radio we learn that there is a power in nature that is not limited in place or time. In one moment the sound can reach every corner of the world, and consequently every Jew, at all ends of the world. We need to know that at every moment the word of Hashem can reach us.”

Three years later, on 15 Shevat 5723, the Rebbe spoke about the radio again and about recording the programs and the advantages in that, as well as their contribution to creating an atmosphere of holiness in the home, a holiness which brings blessings along with it:

“Yehi Ratzon that through Tanya recordings will be fulfilled what is written ‘to place blessings in your home,’ i.e. by bringing Tanya recordings into the home, the words of Chassidus will also reach the members of the household and even the house itself, that the walls of the house will be suffused with words of Chassidus and as the Gemara says, ‘The walls of a person’s house will testify about him.’ That is, the walls of the house will testify to the words of Chassidus that were absorbed in them.”

AN EXERCISE IN FREE WILL

Another lesson that the Rebbe learns from the radio is a profound principle in man’s approach to all optional activities in the world. This is particularly relevant at a time when the world is flooded with technological marvels in which good and bad are intermingled:

“Another lesson in this is that with a radio we see how a person has a choice. If he shuts it, he won’t hear what is happening in the world. This is also the inyan of bechira (choice) that a Jew is given as it says, ‘See, I have given before you life and good,’ and the opposite, and a person has the ability to choose. If he turns the knob, he will hear the word of Hashem, but he was also given the ability to use his free choice in a way that goes counter to the Will of Hashem, G-d forbid.”

The word is full of enticements and is rife with tests. It seems as though the closer we get to the perfection of the world, to bringing Moshiach, the more opportunities there are. However, they come along with many dangers. A Jew has a choice which is also a conferring of power, “and you shall choose life.” When a Jew uses the tools he has to further Torah and mitzvos, as he does so he is connecting those moments with eternity. More simply put, when a radio is used to hear Torah, those are not just passing moments but eternal moments. This is unlike negative choices whose impact is temporary. The Rebbe puts it like this:

“Even though there is the option of using the same item on which you can hear recordings of Tanya to hear something else, even something which opposes Chassidus, the Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya that when a Jew learns Torah or does a mitzva, this unification up above is eternal.”

The Rebbe concluded his talk about the advantages of a radio and the proper attitude toward it with an interesting insight. Someone who did not learn Chassidus, though, would have a hard time understanding it. The Rebbe spoke (18 Sivan 5720) about the Rebbe Maharash who lived royally so that even his cigarette case was made of gold. Once, when the Rebbe’s grandfather, R’ Meir Shlomo, who was mekushar to the Rebbe Maharash, returned from visiting him, he was asked why the Rebbe conducted himself in this way so that even something trivial like a cigarette box was gold.

Who asked him this? The Rebbe said parenthetically that the people who asked the question did not know Chassidus, because someone who learned Chassidus wouldn’t ask that question. The question ought to be, why does such a thing exist in the world and how can it be used to advance all matters of holiness.

To a Chassid, there is no contradiction between the physical world and the spiritual world. The question is only how to use the physical for the sake of the spiritual. Chassidus does not teach us to escape the world; Chassidus teaches how we can live within the world in a life of holiness and purity.

This is what the Rebbe’s grandfather answered, “Fool, who do you think gold was created for if not for tzaddikim?” 

Everything that was created in the world was created to serve the tzaddikim (“and Your nation are all tzaddikim”), and their function is to bring the light of k’dusha down into the world. If there is a creation in the world known as a radio, then its purpose is to bring the word of Hashem to every corner of the world, to spread holiness and purity on a broad scale. This is why a radio was created. Oh, but there are people who use it for negative purposes? Nu, that’s a problem, but it doesn’t take away from the point of its creation. On the contrary, using it properly is what leaves an eternal impression on the world. All the rest is fleeting.

THE PURPOSE OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS

In 5719, a doctor from a university in Florida wrote to the Rebbe that his son had started keeping mitzvos and this frightened him. “Where are our children heading … Did the Creator mean for religion to remain trapped in the past? Will we have to ride on camels while others fly in the air, thus stopping the clock?”

The Rebbe responded by saying that the way the son had chosen would lead him to true happiness. At the end of the letter, the Rebbe addressed his concern about the halt of progress:

“One who believes in the Creator, with literal belief and not as an abstract feeling or thinking that after the Creator created the world He retired to the seventh heaven and does not take an interest anymore, at all, in His handiwork; rather, that He creates and guides the fate of the world on a constant basis, and consequently, that of every single individual, must also recognize that no human advancement, scientific or otherwise, is possible without the Knowledge and Will of G-d. Nor is any such advancement excluded from His domain. Every advance must be used for the true benefit of the world and of humanity in particular.

However, man has free will and he can use this or that advancement for good or bad. In any case, to use your example, surely the fact that man can fly in the air does not require every person to be a pilot or aviation engineer. It is just that nowadays, a person has greater means of achieving the true and ultimate good, something that even modern progress must serve. There is no greater danger to humanity than separating technological and scientific advancement from true morality and humanitarianism, which are based on G-dly authority; as to our great and deep sorrow, this was proven by what were called the most advanced nations of the world (from a scientific respect), whose scientific and technological advancement were matched only by their decadence …” (from the book Moreh L’Dor Navuch, vol. 2, letter 170).

This was underscored in 5752 at the international Menorah lighting via satellite. The Rebbe said then:

“All the scientific discoveries that were innovated and discovered in recent years have the purpose to increase the glory of G-d through using them for matters of holiness and Torah and mitzvos.”

The Rebbe said that with the satellite, it was possible to see the lighting of the Menorah simultaneously in several places around the world, and not only Jews but also gentiles could see it.

From the satellite we learn, said the Rebbe, how every Jew, even a small child, has the power to light up the entire world through a small action, until the entire world is illuminated not only for Jews but also for the nations of the world.

The practical lesson from this for us is the knowledge and understanding that every small action a Jew does, even one that he does in his private home, has an effect and illuminates the entire world. In order for this not to be hard for us to grasp, Hashem revealed the satellite to the world as well as other secrets through which heaven and earth can be connected and Jews throughout the world can be connected.

These tools do not only connect Jews but also help them, for we see that by means of the satellite it is possible to transfer money from one bank to another bank at the other end of the world, which helps Jews materially.

This is actually one of the purposes of the satellite. Through this tool there is an increase in the unification of all of humanity, whether through aiding one another or by increasing in matters of justice.

THE POWER OF A SMALL ACTION

The following is a story that I heard from R’ Chezky Lifshitz, shliach in Nepal. It exemplifies the Butterfly Effect, the ramifications of every small deed that we do:

Every few months, we have Jewish workshops for the many tourists in the area. Unfortunately, we also meet Jewish monks; if that wasn’t enough, they are often Israelis who were searching for spirituality and meaning in life and ended up in Buddhist monasteries.

One time, one of these monks came to a workshop. He was Israeli, a former kibbutznik, who chose to leave a Jewish environment and live the ascetic life of a monk.

After the four day workshop in which he became acquainted with Jewish spirituality, he got ready to return to the monastery. Yet he had been inspired and he agreed to make a hachlata. Since it was before Chanuka, I suggested that he light a Menorah. At first he declined and said he wasn’t religious so what was the point in doing that, etc. But in the end he was convinced and committed to lighting the Menorah. I gave him a Menorah and candles and explained what to do. 

A year later, I met him again and he told me what happened. “When I lit the Menorah, another Israeli in the monastery came over to me and exclaimed, ‘What happened to you? Are you nuts? A Menorah? Here? What has come over you?’

“I told him why I was lighting a Menorah and we spoke about it at length. Something within him softened and he decided to join me in the lighting. Thanks to the Menorah, he began asking himself some questions about his Jewish identity. He came to the conclusion that he hardly knew anything about Judaism. He decided to take a break from the monastery and to go back home and check things out. He intended on returning to the monastery afterward, but after a few months I got an email from him, in which he informed me that he had started learning in a yeshiva and he would never be returning to the monastery.”

We see from here, said R’ Lifshitz, how a small act of a Jew, who lit a tiny flame, could effect such an enormous change. And what kind of Jew was this? Not a Chassid who understood the deeper significance of lighting the Menorah, but someone deep in klipa in a place that was dark and impure, and yet his small action caused another Jew to change from one extreme to another and do t’shuva.