Not just any hand, mind you, but the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He. Rabbi Ishmael, in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer (Chapter 48), unveils a fascinating idea: each finger on God's right hand is associated with a crucial moment of redemption and divine action in Jewish history.

It's a potent image, isn't it? Let's explore it.

First, we have the little finger. According to Rabbi Ishmael, God showed Noah how to build the ark using this very digit. Remember the verse, "And this is how thou shalt make it" (Gen. 6:15)? That "this," Rabbi Ishmael suggests, was pointed out by God's little finger, guiding Noah's hand in creating the vessel that would save humanity and the animals from the flood.

Then comes the second finger, the one next to the little finger. This finger, Rabbi Ishmael says, was used to smite the firstborn of the Egyptians. Remember the magicians' desperate cry to Pharaoh: "This is the finger of God!" (Ex. 8:19). How many plagues were inflicted by this divine finger? Ten, of course, each one a blow against Pharaoh's stubborn heart and a step towards freeing the Israelites.

Moving along, we arrive at the third finger. This is the finger that wrote the luchot (לוחות), the Tablets of the Law! The Torah tells us, "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him… tables of stone, written with the finger of God" (Ex. 31:18). Imagine the weight and significance of those words etched in stone by God's own hand. The very foundation of Jewish law, born from this divine digit.

The fourth finger, the one next to the thumb, is used for another act of guidance. With this finger, the Holy One showed Moses what the children of Israel should give for the redemption of their souls. We find this in Exodus 30:13: "This they shall give… half a shekel for an offering to the Lord." It wasn’t just about money; it was about communal responsibility and each individual's role in the collective covenant.

Finally, we reach the thumb and the entire hand. This, Rabbi Ishmael declares, will be used to smite the children of Esau and Ishmael in the future, for they are considered God's foes and enemies. This idea draws from Micah 5:9, "Let thine hand be lifted up above thine adversaries, and let all thine enemies be cut off." This is a powerful, and perhaps troubling, image of ultimate divine justice. It speaks to a future time of reckoning and the final triumph of good over evil.

So, what are we to make of this? Is it a literal depiction of God’s anatomy? Probably not. But it's a vivid and memorable way to understand God's active involvement in the world, from the smallest detail of ark construction to the grand sweep of history and redemption. It reminds us that even the seemingly smallest act, symbolized by the little finger, can have profound consequences. And it offers a powerful, if somewhat unsettling, vision of ultimate justice delivered by the full force of the divine hand.

Think about the power of your own hand, what you create, what you build, what you offer. Maybe, in our own small way, we too can use our hands to participate in acts of redemption and building a better world.