The Jewish Way of Seeing (The Horeb Project 15)
Rabbi Hirsch on Enhancing and Expanding How We Look at Things
The Horeb Project is a paragraph-by-paragraph reading of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch’s masterpiece Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances (1837).
Today’s study:
Section 1: Toroth: Fundamental Principles Relating to Mental and Spiritual Preparation for Life
Chapter 4: The World Around
Epigraph:
…And that ye go not about after your own heart and after your own eyes, after which ye use to go astray. Numbers 15:39
Paragraph 15
In today’s portion of Horeb—chapter 4, paragraph 15—we continue to explore Rabbi Hirsch’s thoughts on how we, as Jews, should engage with the world around us.
We see and understand the world around us through our minds and eyes, but if we depend only on these to form conclusions and make decisions, we’ll be in trouble. Something more is needed, and for Jews, that something is Torah knowledge.
You will recall that the previous paragraph discusses this argument concerning rational understanding, and today’s paragraph focuses on the eye. Here is the start of paragraph 15:
As for your physical eye, which sees only material things and can discern only bodies, if you follow its tracks in its observation of the world, it never beholds a unity. To it, the world is only a mass of individuals, each living for itself, pursuing its own enjoyment. You cannot discern the law which governs them all and which they all obey, even in their self-seeking, and which summons them to something higher.
As usual, the Rabbi’s argument compresses a lot into it. However, the main idea is that our natural human faculties, like physical sight, provide a fragmented and self-focused view of the world. Torah knowledge is essential to apprehend unity, morality, and higher purpose, guarding against idolatry and self-serving existence.
We can explore Rabbi Hirsch’s insights in greater depth, but even a tiny amount of knowledge about the human eye instills a proper sense of awe.
To illustrate this, and with gratitude to ophthalmologist Allison Babiuch, MD, here are 20 Fascinating Facts About Eyes:
The six muscles in each of your eyes move faster than any other muscles in your body. Your brain uses these zippy muscles to control eye movement through three cranial nerves.
Your eyes grow along with the rest of your body during childhood. They get considerably larger in your first two years of life and then experience another growth spurt during puberty. Eyes typically reach full size in early adulthood.
Human eyes typically end up about 24 millimeters (mm) wide. (That’s slightly less than an inch for those more familiar with the Imperial system of measurement.)
For comparison’s sake, the largest eyes among land animals belong to the ostrich and are about 50 mm (or 2 inches) in diameter. The largest eyes at sea belong to the giant squid and are about the size of a dinner plate.
When the lenses in your eyes focus an image on your retina, it’s upside down and backward. Your brain reorients and right-sizes the image for you while “developing” what you see.
Seven million photoreceptor cone cells in your retina bring you the world in living color. Your brain can interpret an estimated 10 million different colors, too. (No wonder why we have so many paint options!)
Despite being able to see so many different colors, cone cells only detect three — red, green and blue. Your brain combines signals from that trio to show you a full rainbow of hues.
Color blindness occurs when certain color-detecting cones are missing. Around 300 million people around the world have some form of color blindness. Men and people assigned male at birth (AMAB) are more likely to be color blind.
Your retina is also home to more than 100 million photoreceptor rods that help you see in dark and dim conditions. Rods are extremely sensitive and respond to even a few photons of light
Photoreceptor rods don’t assist with color vision but they do help you see up to 500 different shades of gray.
Babies are born with blurred vision that gradually improves during their first few months in the world. It takes about four months for an infant to fully see colors and distant objects.
Ever notice how a baby’s eyes might suddenly cross or even seem out of synch? These unusual movements are common as a newborn’s vision develops and they learn how to focus.
Tears are less common at the beginning and the end of life. Newborns don’t start producing tears until they’re between 1 and 3 months old. The older you get, the fewer tears you produce.
The color of your eyes is as unique as your fingerprints, with no two people sharing the same hue. Shades of brown are the most common color. Variations of green are the rarest.
Eye color doesn’t typically change after your first year of life. If it does switch, it could be a sign of an issue that deserves attention from an eye doctor.
Need another reason to stop smoking cigarettes? Smoking and secondhand smoke increase your risk for cataracts, macular degeneration and other issues that could cost you your vision.
Having two eyes helps with depth perception. Your brain computes distances by comparing the distinct images from each eye.
A vision change may signal the emergence of larger health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure or various inflammatory diseases.
Sunglasses aren’t just an expression of style. They’re a way to keep your eyes healthy by blocking harmful ultraviolet (UV) sunlight that can harm your vision over time. Your risk of sun-related damage is higher if your eyes are lighter in color, too.
Blinking is a basic reflex to protect your eyes. On average, adults blink about 14 to 17 times a minute. That adds up to between 13,440 and 16,320 blinks a day if you’re awake for 16 hours.
The human eye is a functional marvel, yet as Rabbi Hirsch reminds us, its ability to perceive has inherent limitations. Natural vision captures fragments of what exists in the world and requires reason and knowledge to be fully effective.
For Jews, this is where the Torah transforms fragmented perception into an understanding of unity, morality, and purpose. Where the physical eye sees material objects and individual entities, the Torah illuminates their connections. Where human sight observes independence, the Torah clarifies the interdependence of all things. And where visual information excludes moral principles and unifying physical laws, the Torah enables comprehensive interpretations of all we see, infusing daily occurrences with purpose, sanctity, and a place within Jewish services.
Judaism, as Rabbi Hirsch teaches, calls us to engage with the world fully—not to reject it, but to live within it with purpose and sanctity. The Torah does not ask us to dismiss what we see with our physical eyes—a hamburger, a sunrise, or even a heated argument—but to see these moments as part of the divine tapestry. We are not meant to judge or react immediately to what is visible but to approach the world with humility and openness, knowing that its more profound interconnections unfold through the lens provided by the Torah.
The world is where we are meant to be, where we are needed, and where we can make a difference—not by retreating or rushing to conclusions but by bringing the Torah’s guidance into everything we encounter.