Hi –
Hope you’re having a great day!
Jews all over the world just celebrated Purim.
And we read the Book of Esther, the Megillah.
There’s something very strange about the Book.
It doesn’t mention G-d. Not even once.
Because the Megillah talks about a different kind of miracle.
No splitting of the sea like Passover.
Just some little things that seemed like a series of coincidences.
Things just “happened” to work out and the Jews were saved.
So G-d’s name is left out of this book of the Bible.
The Megillah challenges us to look a little deeper.
To find the hand of G-d where others would miss it.
Even when He is just pulling the strings.
… Which brings me to my finger that got caught in a door recently!
Thank G-d, it’s healing nicely. And I went from a bandage to a band aide.
And this experience got me thinking about how a cut heals.
(In this case, how a huge gash heals.)
Here’s the basic story.
Why do we bleed when we get a cut?
Because the injury tears tiny blood vessels that live right under the skin.
Your body “wants” to stop the bleeding so what does it do?
The platelets in your blood come to the rescue.
(One drop of blood has 250,000 platelets!)
At the site of the wound, the platelets stick together like glue.
We call this clotting.
And it works like a plug to keep blood from leaking out.
A scab, a dried clot, “happens” to form a crust over the wound to protect the area.
Under the scab the body “decides” to have new cells multiply to repair the wound.
But germs may have gotten into the wound and there’s danger of infection.
No problem!
The body “sends” infection fighting white blood cells to the “rescue”.
And they destroy the germs!
(One drop of blood has 10,000 white blood cells!)
Meanwhile, a new layer of skin is forming under the scab.
And when the new skin is ready, the scab falls off!
… I have to admit.
It’s not the splitting of the sea!
But the holiday of Purim reminds us.
It’s a pretty amazing miracle!
All the best,
Rabbi Moshe Katz
Director
ChicagoTorah Network
2832W. Touhy Avenue
Chicago,IL60645
P 773. 761. 0400 ext. 201
F 773. 761. 9262