This kinship of all creation and shared mission of serving God, each creature in its own way, is often compared to a cosmic song. As we recite during the Sabbath prayers, “The soul of every living being shall bless Your Name….All hearts shall revere You, and every innermost part shall sing to Your Name.”
Indeed, when the Talmud describes the mysteries of the Ma’aseh Merkavah (“Workings of the Chariot,” i.e. the mystical experience), it associates this prophetic wisdom with song. The sages relate how Rabbi Elazar ben Arach demonstrated his preparedness to engage in the study of these mysteries before his teacher, Rabbi Yochanan ( at which point the trees of the field were encompassed by heavenly fire and broke into song, echoing the verses of Psalm 148: “Praise God from the Earth, sea giants and all watery depths . . . mountains and hills, fruitful trees and all cedars . . . Praise God!”
If we listen closely, this song still may be heard. Rabbi Aryeh Levin, the “tzaddik of Jerusalem” (1885-1969), told how he once was walking in the fields with his mentor, Rav Avraham Yitzhak Kook. In the course of their Torah discussion, Rabbi Levin picked a flower. At this, Rav Kook remarked, “All my days I have been careful never to pluck a blade of grass or a flower needlessly, when it had the ability to grow or blossom. You know the teaching of our sages that not a single blade of grass grows here on Earth that does not have an angel above it, commanding it to grow. Every sprout and leaf says something meaningful, every stone whispers some hidden message in the silence – every creation sings its song.”
“These words of our great master,” Rabbi Levin concluded, “spoken from a pure and holy heart, engraved themselves deeply in my heart. From that day on, I began to feel a strong sense of compassion for all things.”
So may it be for us who hear this story today, and contemplate its perennial truth.