Perpetual Motion

In our parasha, after passing Avraham’s servant’s tests and matching his criteria perfectly, Rivka is found to be a suitable bride for Yitzhak. The Torah tells how Rivka rushes to assist Avraham’s servant and draws water for him as well as for his ten camels. The midrash expresses surprise at the servant’s astonishment at seeing Rivka draw the water. Indeed, one can argue that the astonishment comes not from her actions specifically, but from her behavior’s complete alignment with the conditions that he had uttered in his prayer. The midrash, however, chooses to suggest another possibility. The focus is not on the perfect alignment of Rivka’s actions to the servant’s test. Rather, the servant’s astonishment comes from something beyond God answering his prayers and actualizing his request:

                “’She descended to the well and she filled…’ – All of the [other] women would descend and fill [their jugs] from the well, but this one –  once the waters of the well saw her, they immediately rose” (Genesis Rabbah, Hayyei Sarah, 60).

                The fact that Rivka demonstrated kindness and good deeds is not enough to satisfy the midrash. The midrash presents Rivka as performing a miracle that leaves the confines of nature, as someone who does not need to exert physical force to cause water to rise up toward her. Rivka, with her supernatural font of energy, succeeds in causing movement without any effort on her part. The purpose of the midrash emphasizing Rivka’s supernatural strength is unclear. Is God’s direct intervention not enough as it is, that we need to bring superpowers into the story? Why does the midrash turn Rivka into a superhero who works miracles?

                Many disciplines are interested in exploring the question of whether man can really imitate God and create something from nothing. This question is found at the heart of the intellectual debate about whether or not it is possible to truly innovate and come up with ideas and concepts that have not already been thought of. In Rabbinic sources, the debate is about whether it is possible to come up with something new beyond what was said to Moshe at Sinai. The midrash in Leviticus Rabbah states that all of the Oral  Tradition, and any idea that a future student might think of, were already given to Moshe at Sinai (See Vayikra Rabba, Aharei Mot, 22). Obviously, “all were said to Moshe at Sinai” does not mean that Moshe literally studied the debates of the future Talmudic sages, or about electricity use on Shabbat.  The midrash means to say that the ideas were there, encapsulated within word of God, but in raw form; it is impossible to innovate something from nothing, but rather revealing what was not said until that point.

                When linguists describe language and discourse capabilities, they explain that humans have an ability to come up with phrases that have not been said prior to that time, and that this constitutes a form of innovation. Here, too, the assumption is that there is no innovation that forms something from nothing. The ideas and concepts are already present, and all that is left for a person to do is to put together words and phrases to offer a fresh perspective and to use words to describe and name phenomena.

Scientists throughout the generations have sought to crack the code of creating something from nothing. Discovering this secret would allow them to create a machine whose motion would be continual and uninterrupted, without any exertion of external energy. This machine, the “Perpetuum Mobile” (or Perpetual Motion Machine”) would give humanity the tools to grasp at eternity. In certain sense, the motivation to build such a machine comes from the desire to become like God (in addition to such a machine serving as a solution to the problem of finding energy sources, which would secure a bright future for humanity). The history of the attempts to invent a Perpetuum Mobile is fascinating. This dream joins other quests of humanity, such as the attempts at alchemy and the quest for eternal life. Behind these dreams is a position about man’s stance toward God and creation.

One might argue that the midrash describes Rivka in legendary terms, drawing water without exertion, to hint that Rivka “cracked the code” to the question of eternity – the ability to create something from nothing and to resemble a Divine messenger. It would make sense to say that the midrash which says that Rivka was three years old at the time comes to make the same point – emphasizing that it is not physical force that causes the water to rise, but an idea - a thought. This is what is special about Rivka: Her qualities rouse nature to come to her. Nobility of character and acceptance of the other, good-naturedness and the desire to give are the catalysts for the energy that enabled Rivka’s actions.  It is through this that God proffers a response to the servant of Avraham. Good deeds are not enough in and of themselves. They are supposed to flow from the Spring of Eternity, from the absolute Good.  

                We can identify similar mechanisms in the people who serve as “magnets” by the force of their personalities. They succeed in being active in the world and changing it; with their invisible magnetic force, they attract others wishing to partake of the goodness and bring them closer into their sphere of influence. We are accustomed to viewing these strengths as regular, natural ones. But they ensure that the force of being proactive exists in the world. Personality and character traits function as the Perpetuum Mobile, the force which people can draw upon to perform acts that transcend the time-space continuum, and which reverberate throughout the world for eternity.