It is related in several places in the Oral Torah [Masechta Gittin 56b, Midrash Tanchuma Acharei 4, Vayikra Rabba 20:5,22:3], that when Titus entered the Holy of Holies while conquering the second Beis HaMikdash, he took his sword and stabbed the paroches, the curtain hanging between the Holy of Holies and the Heichal, the latter containing the Shulchan, Menorah and Incense Altar. The sources document a miraculous response: blood dripped from the "wound".
"Titus HaRasha was blasphemous and disgraceful towards Heaven. What did he do? He took a Zonah into the Kodesh HaKodashim, spread a Sefer Torah and committed an Aveirah upon it. He then took a sword and sliced the Paroches. A miracle occurred, and blood bubbled forth, and he thought that he had killed G-d. In truth, he killed a dead person for the Shekhina has already left the Temple ." (Gittin 56b)
See explanations here and here:
The image that this story sets in front of us is that of the vessels (kelim) of the Beis HaMikdash that are "alive" and can be damaged not only on a simple physical level but also on a spiritual level. This is expounded upon in depth by Shem MiShmuel [Toldos 5673,5675. Vayetze 5678, Terumah 5672]. Talmud explains that in truth, when Titus entered at the destruction of the Second Temple , the lifeforce, aka Shechinah had already departed and he stabbed a "dead" structure. During the First Temple as discussed in the above source, the Torah study "healed" the vessels such that they could not develop such holes through which the energy can go to the Other Side.
On a literal level, we understand that skin that can heal itself is a wonder from HaShem in the biological realm. That the fabric of the Paroches behaved like a living structure appears less miraculous today as scientists have worked to imitate living tissues, and synthetics materials that can imitate human skin have been synthesized; this branch of polymer science is called biomimetics (see also here).
Like the paroches in the First Temple where the physical damage by the Nebuchadnetzer et al. was not total and irreparable and was healed by the energy of learning Torah, so can materials made of some newly designed polymers be "healed" by the thermal or UV energy of sunlight.
For those who are interested, here are some links on the scientific aspects of these new polymers.
http://www.pcimag.com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000577467
http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/545287
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6619/is_6_65/ai_n31977407/?tag=content;col1 http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-201494505.html
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We need to continue to learn Torah and see the wonders of HaShem in the world to merit the Temple's rebuilding.
http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2009/03/a-polymer-that-can-fix-its-own-scratches.ars
Posted by: Chaim Gershon | July 29, 2009 at 03:22 PM