The osprey, a large type of hawk, is one of the non-kosher birds listed in this week's Torah portion, Shemini. The osprey, which lives on a diet of fish, is an expert fisherman, swooping down into the depths of the sea to catch its prey. 
The Talmud relates that Rabbi Yochanan considered the osprey an outstanding example of Divine Providence. Whenever he saw an osprey feeding he would recite the verse, "Your judgements are the greatest depths." G-d oversees and supervises His world even in the very depths of the sea. Rabbi Yochanan saw that the osprey is only an instrument for G-d's judgement, eating precisely those fish which G-d has decreed should be eaten.
Rabbi Yochanan's statement is similar in content to the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that everything that happens in the world is due to Divine Providence. G-d not only directs the steps of man, but oversees the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms, guiding every tiny detail of His world.
The Baal Shem Tov taught that every single phenomenon that occurs is determined by G-d, even the path of a falling leaf and the course it takes as the wind blows it about.
The example set by the osprey is also, therefore, not accidental, for it teaches us a lesson about how G-d oversees His creation. Although it often seems to us that the world operates only according to natural law, and it is sometimes difficult to detect the hand of G-d "behind the scenes," Chasidic philosophy offers us an unusual insight.
The Hebrew word for "nature" - "teva" - comes from the same root as the word meaning "drowned," or "sunken." Just as sunken treasure, hidden beneath the depths of the sea, continues to exist despite being invisible to the naked eye, so too, does nature obscure the true reality within. The laws of nature conceal the Divine Providence that directs every physical phenomenon, making it appear as if events just happen by themselves.
The osprey teaches us that if we want to uncover the truth which the laws of nature conceal, all we need do is dive beneath the surface to uncover the Divine Providence which is in control.
When we look beyond the obvious and contemplate these things, we come to the realization that there is no such thing as an accident. This fact will be made eminently clear after the coming of Moshiach, when the G-dliness hidden within the physical realm will be revealed and open for all to see.
Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
The Talmud relates that Rabbi Yochanan considered the osprey an outstanding example of Divine Providence. Whenever he saw an osprey feeding he would recite the verse, "Your judgements are the greatest depths." G-d oversees and supervises His world even in the very depths of the sea. Rabbi Yochanan saw that the osprey is only an instrument for G-d's judgement, eating precisely those fish which G-d has decreed should be eaten.Rabbi Yochanan's statement is similar in content to the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that everything that happens in the world is due to Divine Providence. G-d not only directs the steps of man, but oversees the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms, guiding every tiny detail of His world.
The Baal Shem Tov taught that every single phenomenon that occurs is determined by G-d, even the path of a falling leaf and the course it takes as the wind blows it about.
The example set by the osprey is also, therefore, not accidental, for it teaches us a lesson about how G-d oversees His creation. Although it often seems to us that the world operates only according to natural law, and it is sometimes difficult to detect the hand of G-d "behind the scenes," Chasidic philosophy offers us an unusual insight.
The Hebrew word for "nature" - "teva" - comes from the same root as the word meaning "drowned," or "sunken." Just as sunken treasure, hidden beneath the depths of the sea, continues to exist despite being invisible to the naked eye, so too, does nature obscure the true reality within. The laws of nature conceal the Divine Providence that directs every physical phenomenon, making it appear as if events just happen by themselves.
The osprey teaches us that if we want to uncover the truth which the laws of nature conceal, all we need do is dive beneath the surface to uncover the Divine Providence which is in control.
When we look beyond the obvious and contemplate these things, we come to the realization that there is no such thing as an accident. This fact will be made eminently clear after the coming of Moshiach, when the G-dliness hidden within the physical realm will be revealed and open for all to see.
Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
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