“Stones and Letters” p: 53

AyinBase with R' Paltiel p: 54 8/25/11 ThursdayNight 25 MenachemAv 5771

Page 54 – 8^th line – at the end of the line.  

A blessing is to break through obstacles, to bring something down 'worlds to worlds'.

As it descends, usually it would decrease in quality/quantity.

The the level of thought is not open to others. And can be such that it is not ready to be expressed to another.

Why would you think you could read someone's thoughts? We sit around the same table. The idea of a table came from someone's mind, yet it became completely universal. It can only be presented to another if it can be broken down into components. These components are called otiot/letters, which are elsewhere refered to as stones.

We can communicate by means of words, since we can reduce our thoughts to a neutral state call otiot/letters that can hence be communicated.

If you have a pain, it is more primary than otiot/letters. It is not 'neutral'.

What is the origin of an idea. In the the world it is taken for granted that all is due to 'experience'. And experience is essentially a negative experience. The striving to survive. And this is what we reject outright. We say all experience comes from a positive. G-d initiated the whole thing.

Thus the soul of the human being, which is a G-dly presence, has a positive impetus. It is eternal. It is not circumstantial. It is not responsive. All our ideas and sechel is rooted in that 'life' element. sechel/mind is a gilui/revelation of the soul. This is beyond thought. Higher than thought. The human is in a different category from the animal. A human can recognize a truth directly. What would the world be without the human being? Nothing. Of no significance. This is the import of the presence of the soul - one effect is that it give purpose to the world.

This soul level is at source, personal and not ready to be expressed to another! It cannot be communicated, no way!

To even present this to oneself is not possible. We cannot know the essence of sechel while living in the guf/body.

This how we think of sechel. This is called thought. Letters of thought means that sechel was dressed into something neutral. It is made up of parts. So why can we not read each others' thoughts? Thoughts are not soul. Thoughts are in a state of existence – a worldly presence – a tangible presence. You could say that thoughts are not known, since the thinker hides them. But this does not explain it. One is continually thinking. One is preoccupied with one's thoughts – there is internal speech. The soul is talking to the body. The rebbe explains that it cannot be known by another, since the letters are intangible – ruchni/spiritual.

We don't realize we are thinking with otiot/letters. We say, 'I'm thinking the idea!'

When it comes out as speech, it is already dampened. The light is reduced.

The letters of speech are at best convenient.

Nefesh is life itself. It is true to itself, 'cos that's the way I am!' but when it comes to expression, it goes from 'my understanding' to 'universal understanding'.