“No Debate” p: 61

AyinBase with R' Paltiel Monday 16 Kislev 5772 

Page 61 at 6th line from the end of the page (line starts: ”ha-asiya...” ) See link (top right) for link to all pages of the text.

The real purification is accomplished only by essence.

By means of the purification the essence of the soul is revealed.

Essence is elusive. It cannot be grasped. You cannot pin it down. We recognize that there is such a thing, but that is the best we can do. It does not extend itself... it does not represent itself in anything except itself. There is no functional aspect of essence.

Just like in the metaphor of the presence of the host at the meal you are enjoying, there is no functional element. It exists in the the very reality itself. Thus in order for there to be revelation of essence of the soul, there has to be such a platform that is totally devoid of any opposition. It does not debate. Through its opposition the animal soul is instrumental in bringing forth the essence.

Thus it says in the Zohar, holiness corresponds to Israel specifically. This is because they are rooted in the essential holiness, and thus they are able to draw down and reveal His Essential Holiness.

Holiness implies 'remoteness'. This is not to say He is removed and not in our vicinity! We say He is present everywhere. We are saying He does not have worldly parameters. The essence has no way that it can be grasped. In the world things are grasped by their functionality. We say 'Kadosh! Holy!' because we relate to this level of His. We do our avodah/work due to this level of Him, not due to what we can experience in the world.

There is a tendency to capture all experience in the sechel/mind. They make a logical model – evolutionary psychological and thus they become severed from their soul reality. When Avraham Avinu went looking he was not saying, 'let me make sense of my own reality'... he started out knowing it cannot be understood... when you look at the world and it is perplexing... what is existence? You can go one of 2 ways... you can say it is not a mystery it is all worldly; within a worldly development; or you can say there is reality and it does not lend itself to be grasped, thus there is a Power that I cannot understand... this is Avraham's realization – 'there is a Master to this world and I want to relate to that...' and then the Master responded to him.

This is the principle of calling, Kadosh! Kadosh! Kadosh! Not to say He is removed, but to say this is the reality we live with in this world. We act in the world in keeping with the rules of Holiness.