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According to the Sages , “no thought can grasp in Him (G-d) at all.” Not only are we unable to see G-d physically, we can’t even envision Him in our mind’s eye. As a result the possibility arises for someone to say “G-d does not exist” or “show me a proof that there is a G-d.”
The Torah presents us with a list of four animals that possess unique characteristics. Three of them, the camel, the shafan, the arneves, chew their cud but they don’t have split hooves. The other one, the pig, has split hooves but does not chew its cud. Chewing cud and split hooves are the two distinguishing features or signs an animal must possess to be considered Kosher. Because these four animals are the only animals in all of Creation that have only one of these characteristics or signs and no others have been found in the thousands of years since the Torah was given, this list has become known as a proof for the existence of G-d and thus the Divine origin of the Torah.
For a believer, the Torah is the word of G-d and no further proof is required. If the Torah says there are only four one-signed animals, then it makes no difference if a fifth one-signed animal has never been found because it’s a thing that will be shown to be true in the future. And even if some creature is found that in any way could be called the fifth one signed animal, a believer will either say it is a member of the same species as one of the other four, or that the Torah’s method of animal classification is not knowable by scientists. He will further argue that a non-believer has another agenda for refusing to accept the Torah as being of Divine origin, that all of his science is mere fantasy, and that even if he were shown a conclusive proof he would still argue otherwise.
Concerning the Torah’s list of four animals with one kosher sign, Rabbi Akiva says: “Was Moses a trapper or a hunter? This is a refutation of someone who says the Torah is not from Heaven.” The implication is that only G-d, the Creator of all animals, could know that the camel, shafan, arneves, and pig are the only animals in existence with one sign therefore Moses was Divinely inspired. The question is: how can anything refute someone whose determination to not believe overrides any possible argument?
Perhaps this dilemma can be resolved as follows: the belief system of a non-believer on the level of “someone who says the Torah is not from Heaven” is, in its essence and as stated above, based on the fact that G-d is invisible. In other words, he’ll believe it when he sees it. Now since what makes the Torah the Torah is that every word in it comes from G-d, and since the list of four one-signed animals can only be found in the Torah, it follows that someone who says the Torah is not from Heaven is also saying that this list is not from Heaven – that this list is the invention of a man. Having already caused him to reject the Torah as the word of G-d telling him that there are four and only four one-signed animals in existence, how much more so should his seeing-is-believing-based-belief-system cause him to reject the words of a man. “Was Moses a hunter or a trapper?” he might say. “Why should I believe this? No man could have known this back then! There may or there may not be only four!” Therefore, although he is not eliminating the possibility of there being only four one-signed animals in existence, neither is he eliminating believing in the possibility of the existence of a fifth one-signed animal which, being invisible like G-d, the King of the Universe, refutes the foundation of his reason in that he now believes in something he can’t see.
In conclusion, Webster’s Dictionary defines “proof” as “evidence that convinces the mind and produces belief.” The evidence here is the indisputable physical existence of the camel, shafan, arneves, and pig. Although a non-believer may still say that he is not convinced, it has, nevertheless, been demonstrated above how his conjecture “the Torah is not from Heaven” does produce the possibility of a belief contrary to the basis of his own reason. Corroborated by the fact that no fifth one-signed animal complying with the Torah’s unfathomed method of classification has been found since the Torah was given, it is not altogether unreasonable to call the Torah’s list of four animals with one Kosher sign not just a logical proof, but rather a Divinely logical proof that encompasses the sciences of mathematics (set theory), zoology (four animals), and psychology (refuted perception), without infringing on a man’s sphere of freedom. If he were to think into the wondrousness of this a little deeper, he might even realize that it is G-d Himself who is refuting him. Not only that but when he discovers that the list appears again in the fifth book of the Torah, Devarim (Deuteronomy), which Moses wrote himself without G-d dictating it to him, he will also realize he is being refuted by a man. What greater refutation can there be than that! He is still free to believe or not believe in G-d. But then again, is he?
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