[Avodah] More on Yaakov, sheep and the rods

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, Nov 30, 2017 at 12:20:44PM -0500, Alexander Seinfeld via Avodah wrote:
: Why not just interpret this as an example of phenotypic plasticity,
: meaning the genetic potential is there in every generation, and the
: environmental factors stimulate its expression?
: 
: As everyone who had genetics 101 will realize, if you eliminate 100%
: of the phenotype, and breed the remainder you will still get some of
: that phenotype in the next generation with recessive genes. So it always
: bothered me why was all the hokus pokus by Yaakov necessary....

I would learn from this incident in Bereishis that one is obligated to
do whatever hishtadlus is possible by the best understanding of teva
available to you. And not to worry about what the current theory may
get replaced by.

Along similar lines:

R Avigdor Miller taught that since HQBH is Rofei kol basar, medicine
doesn't actually heal. The role of doctors and medicine is to prevent
Hashem's cure from requiring a neis nigleh. And, he explains, this is
why people actually survived despite medical theories involving 4 humours
and bloodletting, or whatnot. Any accepted theory is equally usable.

I don't buy into this, because if true, medicine would never need to
advance, in fact, accepted medical theory would never be disproved.
Still, I find the idea intriguing.

It fits the notion, which might be the Ramban's (depending on how you
fit multiple comments together) and is definitely REED's that teva
is not a real "thing", but the patterns Hashem uses to hide His Action
behind. It's all neis nistar, really

Now, if one were to apply the same idea to parnasah, one could explain
the purpose of Yaakov's efforts. And even if RAvigdorM's theory is hard to
see as how teva works for the rest of us, it's easier to apply to someone
who is as neis-worthy, including neis-nistar-worthy, as Yaaqov avinu.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             You want to know how to paint a perfect
micha at aishdas.org        painting?  It's easy.
http://www.aishdas.org   Make yourself perfect and then just paint
Fax: (270) 514-1507      naturally.              -Robert Pirsig