by Rabbi Yair Hoffman
The Chovos HaL’vavos in his Shaar Habechinah states that looking at the wonders of the world and seeing the incredible intricacy of them all is, in fact, an obligation. He writes that the unity of Hashem and can be demonstrated by examining of the wisdom in the Universe that Hashem made. He writes that it is the most direct way to a true realization of Hashem’s existence.
He further writes that the benefits Hashem bestows upon His creatures are all-embracing, as Dovid HaMelech says, “Tov Hashem laKol” (Tehilim 145:9), nevertheless, the majority of mankind are too blind to recognize these benefits or comprehend them, and they do not think things over – One reason that he mentions is that there is a lack within us of good midos – particularly hakaras hatov.
Having just survived a widow-maker heart attack, I had the opportunity to reflect upon the incredible Niflaos HaBorei that lies within us – the heart. It is a pump more powerful than all others and yet is only the size of a human fist. Miraculously, it pumps some 2000 gallons a day! Imagine a room 20 feet long ten feet high and ten feet wide. That’s 2000 gallons.
The rhythm is the same constantly and is relentless, beating approximately 100,000 times each day. And if not for the oily cholent, the kishka, the potato kugel, and the salt, and the sugar – it would function without major issues. Lev Tahor bara li elokim can perhaps also be understood in this manner.
Hashem further created a highly sophisticated and intricate network of roadways or vessels that extends over 60,000 miles. That is from New York City to California some 20 times. This remarkable organ, a masterpiece of Divine engineering, is the center of our life. It diligently distributes oxygen and essential nutrients through the blood to every cell within the body. Ki יaDam hu haNefesh (Dvarim 12:23).
This circulation of life-sustaining blood is orchestrated by the heart’s intricate structure. The organ as designed by the Borei Olam is composed of robust layers of muscle, meticulously arranged to ensure optimal performance. The pericardium, a delicate outer layer, encases the heart, while the endocardium lines its inner chambers.
Within the heart lie four distinct chambers: two atria and two ventricles. The atria act as receiving points for incoming blood, while the ventricles, the powerhouses of the heart, propel the blood outward. An ingenious system of valves, including the tricuspid, mitral, pulmonary, and aortic valves, governs the flow of blood, ensuring its unidirectional movement.
The pumping cycle of the heart is a Divine symphony of coordinated actions. Oxygen-depleted blood returns to the heart, entering the right atrium and flowing into the right ventricle. From there, it is propelled to the lungs through the pulmonary arteries, where it undergoes revitalization through the intake of fresh oxygen. The oxygen-rich blood then returns to the heart, entering the left atrium and flowing into the left ventricle. The left ventricle, the heart’s most powerful chamber, then pumps the rejuvenated blood throughout the body via the aorta, completing the cycle.
This intricate process, a testament to the genius of its design, repeats with every heartbeat, an astonishing 100,000 times per day, 40 million times per year, and up to 3 billion times over an average lifetime.
The heart’s resilience and unwavering dedication to its task are awe-inspiring, a testament to Hashem’s wisdom as pointed out by the Chovos HaLevavos.
The circulatory system, an expansive network of veins, arteries, and capillaries, stands as a marvel of interconnectedness, a testament to the intricate planning that underpins its design. Spanning over 60,000 miles throughout the body, this vast network serves as the lifeline for every cell, delivering vital oxygen and nutrients and removing waste products. At the heart of this intricate system lies the heart itself, the driving force that Hashem placed in our bodies that ensures the continuous flow of life-sustaining blood.
The author can be reached at [email protected]/ My Tehillim name is Yair Nissan Ben Sara
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2 Responses
Rudolf Steiner, whose teachings led to anthroposophical medicine, biodynamic farming, and the Waldorf school, said that the heart is a seven-sided regular form that sits in an imaginary box in the chest. “Regular” means that all seven sides are identical. Plato described five platonic solids, and Steiner said there was a sixth one. He also said that the heart is not a pump.
This claim was vindicated by Frank Chester, who figured out how to design a seven-sided regular form. This sixth platonic solid is now called the chestahedron, and it fits perfectly inside a cube at an angle of 36 degrees off center to the left, the exact same angle that the heart sits in the chest. When submerged in water and spun, two counter-rotating vortices are formed. Recent scientific studies have shown that these two vortices facilitate the closing of the valves. And when the vortices don’t form properly, blood clots will appear.
The man who unfolded a thousand hearts, Paco Torrent Guasp, discovered that the heart is a single muscular band folded over itself in a spiraling pattern. The heart itself is a vortex of tissue. It is not a pump, it is a vortex machine.
For centuries it was believed that matter can only exist in three states. Such as water, which can exist as liquid, ice, and vapor. Human cells are seventy percent water but most of this water is not in any of these three states. We have recently learned that with water, there is a fourth state. This fourth state is called the plasma state, gel phase, exclusion zone or structured water. And this is what pushes your blood through the entire cardiovascular system.
search: ‘the mysterious human heart’ or some of these ideas.
As wonderful as the fully healthy, functioning heart is, Hashem has some more miracles in store for us if the heart fails because of blockages in the arteries that cause portions of the heart muscle to die, from lack of essential blood flow, especially in the main pumping section to the body, the left ventricle.
In a diseased, failing heart, the healthy parts can sprout new vessels and feed the diseased parts, and help provide the heart with the needed blood flow to the endocardium, the lining of the inside of the heart and it’s valves.
Some people with very serious heart failure have had as much benefit from these sprouting vessels as from stents and other means to increase blood flow to the heart’s tissues. These very small vessels, however, are not for use to replace the damaged vessels that lead into and out of the heart but they nourish the heart’s tissue.
I think that is a wonderful miracle that Hashem has made to help people continue after a heart attack (or heart attacks) have damaged their heart.