Vayikra Rabbah, a fascinating collection of Midrashic interpretations on the Book of Leviticus, opens our eyes to this truth in a rather startling way.
Rabbi Levi kicks things off with a powerful verse from Isaiah 41:24: "Behold, you are from nothing [me’ayin] and your actions are for naught [me’afa]." It's a verse packed with meaning, and the Rabbis waste no time unpacking it.
What does it mean to be from "nothing"? Rabbi Levi interprets me'ayin as originating "from a putrid drop." A rather blunt way to describe conception, isn't it? And me’afa, "your actions are for naught"? He connects this to the "one hundred cries [pe’iyot]" a woman emits during childbirth. Ninety-nine, he says, are cries of near-death, and only one is a cry of life. Imagine that raw, visceral experience. Think about the thin line between existence and non-existence at the very beginning of our lives. It’s a pretty sobering thought.
Then there's this image: Even though a newborn emerges covered in… well, let’s just say the less glamorous aspects of birth, we embrace and celebrate that child, especially if it's a boy. It’s a striking contrast, isn't it? From "nothing," from a state of impurity, comes something so precious, so worthy of love.
But the interpretation doesn't stop there. Rabbi Berekhya offers another layer. He notes that in Greek, the word "hen" means "one." So, "Behold [hen], you are from nothing" can also mean that God sees Israel as "one nation for Me among the nations of the world.” A single, unified people chosen for a special purpose. And this "nothingness"? It echoes the verse in Isaiah 40:17: “All the nations are as nothing before Him.” It is an interesting paradox. Being "nothing" before God can also mean being singularly chosen by God.
And what about our actions being "for naught"? Rabbi Levi connects this to the pivotal moment at Sinai. Remember when the Israelites stood at the foot of the mountain and declared, "Everything that God has spoken we will perform and we will heed" (Exodus 24:7)? According to Rabbi Levi, all the good that God does for Israel is a direct result of that collective cry of commitment. That promise we made long ago still resonates.
But here’s where it gets really interesting. The passage circles back to Isaiah, "Abomination shall he choose among you." The Rabbis link this to the ultimate act of betrayal: the Golden Calf. "They crafted for themselves a molten calf" (Exodus 32:8). The very thing that represents idolatry, that ultimate "abomination," becomes the source of an offering to God. "From that abomination," the text implies, "bring an offering before Me, as it is stated: 'A bull or a sheep.'"
What's the message here? Perhaps it’s that even from our deepest failings, even from our moments of utter spiritual collapse, we can find a path back to God. Even the "nothingness" and the "abomination" can be transformed into something sacred. It's a powerful and challenging idea, isn't it?
It makes you wonder: What "nothingness" in your life might be a starting point? What "abomination" might be transformed into something meaningful? The rabbis invite us to ponder the messy, complex, and ultimately hopeful nature of existence itself. They challenge us to see the potential for redemption even in the darkest corners of our lives.