Breshit Rabbah 1:3
“For You are great and do wonders” (Psalm 86:10). Rabbi Tanchum said, “with a ball, if it has a whole the size of a pin point, all the ruakh leaves it, while for a human, made with so many cavities and so many holes, the ruakh doesn’t leave them. Who can do that? ‘You, God, alone’ (Psalm 86:10).”
כִּי גָדוֹל אַתָּה וְעֹשֵׂה נִפְלָאוֹת, אָמַר רַבִּי תַּנְחוּם הַנּוֹד הַזֶּה אִם יִהְיֶה בּוֹ נֶקֶב כְּחֹד שֶׁל מַחַט, כָּל רוּחוֹ יוֹצֵא מִמֶּנּוּ, וְהָאָדָם עָשׂוּי מְחִלִּים מְחִלִּים, נְקָבִים נְקָבִים, וְאֵין רוּחוֹ יוֹצֵא מִמֶּנּוּ, מִי יַעֲשֶׂה כֵן (תהלים פו, י): אַתָּה אֱלֹהִים לְבַדֶּךָ.
The multiple levels of this teaching hinge on the ambiguity of the word ruakh and the possessive pronomial suffix וֹ. Ruakh means air or spirit (among other meanings). וֹ means his or His or its or Its. On one level, Rabbi Tanchum is pointing to a simple, physical wonder: A ball will deflate if it has wholes, but our bodies have holes and we don’t deflate! But also: We’re physically kind of a joke – full of holes and cavities, and yet, we have a divine spirit that doesn’t leave us!
I came across this teaching wondering about the b’rakhah (blessing) traditionally recited when coming out of the bathroom. That b’rakhah speaks of our many holes and cavities, too, and asserts that “if one of them should leak or one of them should clog, it would be impossible to continue existing for even one hour.” When I said the b’rakhah, I’ve been aware that the claim isn’t actually true for many of the holes and cavities. So I wondered if there were other ancient versions or teachings that clarified the matter or were more believable. There aren’t different versions that I’ve found, but I did find the above teaching. Maybe one could say this:
בא”י אמ”ה אשר עשה את האדם נקבים נקבים מחילים מחילים ואין רוחו יוצא ממנו. בא”י עושה נפלאות
How full of blessing you are, CREATING ONE, majesty of the universe, that made humans with so many holes and cavities, but the ruakh doesn’t leave us. You abound in blessing, Adonai, doing wonders.
