Snow. In its beauty there is mystery. In its cover there is warmth. In its solidity there is space. It came down fast and furious last week, and no matter how educated we may claim to be, no matter how articulate, the only comment anyone could make was, "Wow! It's so beautiful," as we looked out to see the our snow-covered hills in the foreground with the snow-bare coastal plain behind it.
Two weeks ago, in preparation for Tu Beshvat, Rav Daniel read to us from Rav Kook's Book on the Talmud Tractate Berachot (blessings). There, Rav Kook stated three things that return us to our ability to focus, namely, a beautiful sound, a beautiful sight, and a beautiful smell. There are also three things that expand one's mind: a beautiful house, a beautiful woman, and beautiful possessions. What's with all this beauty? Well, speaking of beauty, there's a blessing we say upon seeing a beautiful person: "Blessed are you Hashem our G-d, ruler of the world, because the world is like this" (because the world is Kacha). That's a rather vague blessing for a beauty that's supposed to expand our mind.
This word kacha isn't commonly found in the canon of Jewish Texts, but in Megillat Esther, read on Purim, the word appears three times. Purim (just 48 shopping days left) will soon be upon us. When we read the Megillah, we celebrate G-d's hidden presence. In Esther's story there is no splitting sea, nor swarming locusts, nor falling manna, instead it's the story of our triumph of faith in G-d while living in the natural world with all its natural laws. That's the aspect of beauty Rav Kook was talking about. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. There is not logic to beauty, no objective truth, it just is. It's kacha. Experiencing beauty takes us to a new place, a place independent of what's meant to be, or what makes sense. Rav Kook knew that appreciating beauty and being in tune with the natural world brings one to a place of joy. The problem is, we've taken ourselves out of the natural world. We've built cities of concrete, created pollution, and cut down forests. Returning to beauty is the way to return to our true selves.
The trick is to recognize the natural world as a part of us, not as an entity completely outside of ourselves, detached from humanity. The Torah tells us in Parshat Shoftim, "Kee HaAdam Eytz HaSadeh" (Because the man is a tree in the field). We're such a part of the natural world that we're to see ourselves even in the trees. Man (adam) was created from earth (adamah) and lives out his life there. Call it what you will - symbiosis, bio-botanic rhythm, the circle of life - the important thing is to feel this connection. When life sends you lemons, make lemonade. When life sends you snow, make a connection to the beauty in adam.