Many times when we talk about spirituality our tone of voice/thought is that we are talking about something not quite real. In fact, of course, the spiritual realm is actually much more real than anything physical. Residing in a physical world, but living up to the reality of its spiritual foundation is arguably the main nisayon (test) that we face. However, I think that those of us living in the so-called atomic age have an easier time than previous generations.
While in grad school, I worked in a radiation lab. Radiation is an interesting phenomenon. It cannot be experienced directly by any of our senses. Even the famous and frightening chatter of a geiger counter is not a direct experience; it is an amplification of the submicroscopic havoc wrought in the aftermath of radiation passing through a carefully fabricated detection tool. The radiation itself is long gone by the time we hear anything. If you knew nothing of radiation and had walked into my lab, you would have thought we were a bit nuts. Piles of lead bricks in front of tiny enclosures, glove boxes for little test tubes, and yellow warning tape marking off... nothing. But you know we are scientists and so you believe us about radiation. Good thing, because radiation is real and can cause real damage; even lethal damage. In fact, it can inflict damage that kills slowly and even affects future generations.
So those of use living in the atomic age have no excuse for not treating the spiritual reality with the respect it deserves. Baruch HaShem for our Sages who have decorated our world with barriers and warning tape to protect us from our own ignorance and lack of sensitivity to all things spiritual.
While in grad school, I worked in a radiation lab. Radiation is an interesting phenomenon. It cannot be experienced directly by any of our senses. Even the famous and frightening chatter of a geiger counter is not a direct experience; it is an amplification of the submicroscopic havoc wrought in the aftermath of radiation passing through a carefully fabricated detection tool. The radiation itself is long gone by the time we hear anything. If you knew nothing of radiation and had walked into my lab, you would have thought we were a bit nuts. Piles of lead bricks in front of tiny enclosures, glove boxes for little test tubes, and yellow warning tape marking off... nothing. But you know we are scientists and so you believe us about radiation. Good thing, because radiation is real and can cause real damage; even lethal damage. In fact, it can inflict damage that kills slowly and even affects future generations.
So those of use living in the atomic age have no excuse for not treating the spiritual reality with the respect it deserves. Baruch HaShem for our Sages who have decorated our world with barriers and warning tape to protect us from our own ignorance and lack of sensitivity to all things spiritual.
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