Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
On a base level that is true. It’s somewhat subjective.
But is it really true?
Is there no objective beauty? Qualities, dimensions or places that represent objective beauty?
Of course there is. Picture a sunrise or
sunset, a baby at birth or closer to home —freshly blanketed snow first thing in the morning (maybe:)— and then there’s a blossoming garden. Images that universally evoke an appreciation for something greater and larger — a Divine glimpse.
King Solomon describes the world as a garden and 75 years ago — with accepting the leadership of the Chabad movement — the Rebbe quoted this verse as an opening salvo. The world as a garden. G-d’s garden.
Bear in mind it was 1951, the holocaust barely over, Jewish life decimated and morale incredibly low. No, he insisted — it’s a garden. A garden that requires much work. Requiring gardeners and tenders to cultivate, to be sure, but a garden at its core.
Fast forward 75 years. The world has had its ebbs and flows. The beauty has surfaced and at times receded never far from the surface. The gardeners have .. well, this requires a new paragraph.
You see, the gardeners are you and I. There has been herculean gardening that has been done since then, only to be handed over into our hands. As with everything — some gardeners work with more enthusiasm than others yet every gardener adds their special touch and is a vital part of creating and enhancing the beauty of G-d’s garden.
The true “beauty” of this world as a garden will be recognized at the time of Moshiach, the utopian age at which time we shall see the objective beauty of this world!
With best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Yehuda & Dina Kantor