Sunday, August 14, 2011

“Super Worldly Light” p: 51


AyinBase with R' Paltiel p: 51 8/14/11 Sunday 14 MenachemAv 5771

Page 51 – about middle of the page (line starts: hay, hay...)  

The Rebbe says that the souls of Israel draw down the inner light. Something angels cannot accomplish. He says if not for the souls there is absolutely nothing that would elicit the ohr atzmi/essential light.

We said that essence does not become a source for anything. It does not know of anything except itself – not due to narrow mindedness, but because, it itself is everything.

Even the light as it is an aspect of revelation of the essence (ie without its own presence), nevertheless it is in truth not on the level of the essence itself.



Where is the 'revelation of essence'? In the first day of creation, there was light, and no luminary! This light represented the G-dly truth in the world. This light did not have the limits of light as we know it. With this light Adam, could see from one end of the world to the other. Objects did not block it and no luminary was needed. This is an essential light. It states, the essence of this creation is a G-dly presence.

This light is there because the essence is there. Thus one may think that this light is not taking the essence outside of itself, nevertheless in truth, this light is incomparable to the essence itself.

What is so great about light? What is so great about sight? Gemara says, light and dark are work of the righteous and the wicked. Light is a fine phenomenon. In our world it makes not sense. We have objects that exist and take up room. But now you can stand across the room and see an object! Without touching it you know it is there! It is more real than touch!

When we open our eyes and see, we see more than we think. We see each object in a surrounding context. We see the context first. The context is not tangible. This is our daily experience. Our soul is very deep. And we see truth all the time, but we don't understand the truth we are experiencing. In one instant we see a vast panorama. How? Is it not cumulative knowledge? No, we see the truth behind the space. We observe the limitlessness of truth.

In sight we see way beyond the visible. We see the truth behind it. When we observe an object, we see it is true. We see it not as it affects us but how it is true. Sight corresponds to sechel/mind. Sechel distinguishes human beings. We observe things from a truth perspective. This is where we come in contact with G-dliness. Something that is 'true unto itself'.

The point is that sight is telling you the truth of something, not just the presence, which is experienced by touch. This is why light relates to the deeds of the righteous. In darkness you can only know objects by means of their tangibility. The wicked, here doesn't mean evil, it means taking the world for what it is, and dealing just in the worldly context, and it is unlimited.

The statement that, 'G-dliness is truth', is just a revelation of G-dliness. It is not the essence. 

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