<b>And Isaac trembled exceedingly (Gen. 27:33).</b> Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: <i>The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them</i> (Prov. 20:12). Did the Holy One, blessed be He, fashion only the eye and the ear? Did He not form all of man’s organs? What is the meaning of the words <i>The hearing ear and the seeing eye</i>? You find that three of man’s organs fashioned by the Holy One, blessed be He, are under the control of man, and three are not under his control. Man controls the functioning of his hands, his mouth, and his feet. How is that? In the case of his hands, if he desires to, he may devote them to sacred purposes, such as building a sukkah, fashioning a lulav, a shofar, (or) fringes, or writing the (scriptural) portions which are deposited in phylacteries and mezuzahs. Conversely, if he so desires, he may steal, shed innocent blood, or attack travelers with his hands. Indeed, he can commit many transgressions with his hands. As to his mouth, if he desires, he can study the Torah, speak kindly, extol, praise, and pray unto the Holy One, blessed be He, and he can also sing psalms. Conversely, if he so desires, he can speak slanderously, blaspheme and revile the Lord, and swear falsely with his mouth. With regard to his feet, a man may choose to use them to go about in the performance of good deeds—to visit the sick, comfort the mourner, bury the dead, and to do other charitable deeds; but conversely, if he so desires, he can use them to transgress—to commit adultery, to murder, or to steal.
The organs not under a man’s control are his eyes, his ears, and his nose. And how is that? In the case of a man’s eyes, he may witness the performance of a sinful deed, behold a repulsive sight, or see a man or a figure of authority he would prefer not to meet as he walks through the marketplace. What alternative has he? He must see them even though it might be to his disadvantage. In regard to the ear, a man hears blasphemous or sacrilegious remarks, or other things he does not wish to hear. What can he do? He hears them even though he does not desire to. As for the nose, a man walking on a highway smells unclean cooking, idolatrous incense, or the filth in the street even though it is distasteful to him. What alternative has he? He smells it even though he does not wish to.
When the Holy One, blessed be He, wills it, even the organs under a man’s control may be taken out of his control. How do we know this? We know it from Moses, Balaam, Jonah, Jeremiah, and Jeroboam. Where do we learn this about Moses? R. Samuel the son of Nahman said: The Holy One, blessed be He, tried for seven days to persuade Moses from the midst of the burning bush, as is said: <i>Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh</i> (Exod. 3:11), but Moses replied: <i>O Lord, I am not a man of words, neither heretofore, nor since Thou hast spoken unto thy servant</i> (ibid. 4:10). This verse indicates that the Holy One, blessed be He, tried for seven days to persuade him to go to Pharaoh.<sup class="footnote-marker">12</sup><i class="footnote">Translated literally, Exod. 4:10 reads: <i>O Lord, I am not a man of words, also from yesterday, also from the day before yesterday, also since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant. Yesterday</i> and <i>the day before yesterday</i> indicate three days; the word <i>also</i> is repeated three times, implying three more days; and the day on which Moses asked God to send someone else is the seventh day.</i> He replied: <i>Send please, whomever you will send</i>. The Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked him, saying: Do you believe that your feet are under your control? Thereupon, Moses went to Pharaoh against his will. In the case of Jonah, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: <i>Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city</i> (Jonah 1:2). <i>But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord; and he went down to Joppa</i> (ibid., v. 3). Ultimately, He inflicted upon him all the terrors of the sea: The fish swallowed him, and he cried out to the Holy One, blessed be He, from the belly of the fish; and the hair of his head and beard fell out because of the heat within the fish’s belly. Finally, he went to Nineveh, even though he did not desire to do so.
In the case of Jeremiah, the Holy One, blessed be He, told him: <i>Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee</i> (Jer. 1:5). <i>Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child</i> (ibid., v. 6). The Holy One, blessed be He, thereupon responded: <i>Say not: “I am a child”; for to whomsoever I shall send thee, thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee, thou shalt speak</i> (ibid., v. 7); that is, against your will you will go, and against your will you will speak.
When the Holy One, blessed be He, desires it, even one’s hands are not under man’s control. When did this occur? At the time that the prophet Iddo visited Jeroboam the son of Nabat: <i>And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer. And he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said: “O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and men’s bones shall they burn upon thee”</i> (I Kings 13:1–2). Why is the word <i>altar</i> repeated in this verse? Because of the two altars, one at Beth-El and the other at Dan, at which golden calves were erected. <i>And men’s bones</i> is stated rather than “Jeroboam’s bones,” to emphasize that the prophet was respectful toward the government. Jeroboam said immediately: “This man is a fool.” Whereupon the prophet replied: <i>This is the sign … Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out</i> (ibid., v. 3). <i>And the altar was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given</i> (ibid., v. 5)
<i>And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-El, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying: “Lay hold on him.” And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to him</i> (ibid., v. 4). When Jeroboam brought offerings to the idols, his hand did not dry up, but when he stretched forth his hand against the prophet, it did dry up. From this fact, you learn that the Holy One, blessed be He, was more concerned about the honor of that righteous man than about His own honor. The prophet exclaimed: “Do you believe that your hand is under your control?” Thereupon the king beseeched the man of God: <i>Entreat now the favor of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me</i>, etc. (ibid., v. 6).
Similarly, one’s feet are not always within one’s control. There is a biblical verse that confirms this: <i>A man’s goings are of the Lord; how, then, can man look to his way?</i> (Prov. 20:24). Frequently, a man will depart upon a journey without knowing his ultimate destination; whether it will be for good or evil, for death or for life. Thus Elijah told the Arameans: <i>This is not the way, neither is this the city</i> (II Kings 6:19). The mouth likewise is not completely under man’s control. We learn this from the experience of Balaam and Isaac. Regarding Balaam, it is said: <i>Nevertheless, the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam, but the Lord thy God turned the curse unto a blessing</i> (Deut. 23:6). In reference to Isaac we find that when Esau entered, Isaac began to tremble and was on the verge of saying: “Cursed shall he be.” The Holy One, blessed be He, called out to him: What do you intend to do? Do you believe that your mouth is under your control? Thereupon he reconsidered and said: <i>Blessed shall he be</i>. Thus, it is said: <i>The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them</i> (Prov. 20:12).