“Advantage of the Kiss” p: 66

AyinBase with R' Paltiel ThursdayNight 21 Adar II 5772  

Page 66 – 8 lines from the end of the page (line starts, 'gilui ha-atzmi...') For text, see link top right of the blog. Or for text right click here.

The kiss of the future will be the essential pleasure as it comes into the hidden essential wisdom.

Here is a somewhat novel approach: we base on concept that a kiss is an expression. Before the kiss is expressed and given, there is a unity between the given and the recipient. This is what elicits the kiss. They are united in essence at the outset. This is our question. Souls are right there in the essence. And in the future that will be their state. So what is the advantage of the kiss at that time?

It is novel that this is essential pleasure, but as it comes into essential wisdom. And what is the merit of that for souls that are rooted in essence? 

Pleasure in our world is seen as the absence of pain. Like some kind of add-on to the soul. The real topic of pleasure has nothing to do with the absence of pain. In our world we have pleasure/oneg from that which gives us pleasure – cake, music whatever. But real pleasure is truth that touches the soul, and that is not experience. It is available to us, but not the way we usually think. Animals do not possess this level of pleasure. Only the human has a perception of truth. And he has pleasure in knowing that truth.

The pleasure can come into chochmah/wisdom, and thoug it is the real pleasure, still it expressed itself in some kind of form. In chochmah he is aware what the tynug/pleasure is about. In the essence of the soul, it is truth in the most absolute truth, and the soul has pleasure in it, because of what it is. In chochmah there is already a form and thus pleasure in the truth. 

Essential pleasure has not form. There it does not express itself in any form, not even as 'absolute truth'. “This is reality as I experience it – finished!” 

Yet there is a certain advantage to the way the pleasure is sensed in chochmah, since it allows for 'grasping the issue'. The advantage is not of the level, since in essence the pleasure is higher. (32 min into the video).

The tangibility gives it a special advantage. 

What is 'tfisa/grasping' – the Alte Rebbe explains that sechel/mindful meditation allows two things to occur. One gets free of any other thought. One is engrossed in the topic. Then you see the reality of it. You are oblivious to all else and then you are fully aware of the details and ramifications of the concept. Another thing occurs – the sechel grasps this topic. This is called makif and mukav – this is a unique union that is not possible in the physical world. You are surrounded and you are taking it in. This is exclusive to sechel/mindful meditation.

The soul unto itself is 'into the pleasure'. When it comes down to chochmah/mind then there is this aspect of grasp and integration.

The G-dly soul makes a great effort to understand G-dliness through physicality and physical metaphors. This is for the benefit of the animal soul. 'see this? It has a G-dly ramification!' but then there is also the advantage whereby the G-dly soul also benefits. Here it understands G-dliness through earthly explanations and thus gets a tangible feel and grasp.

In the beginning there was light without a luminary. This has to do with the source – the world has a Creator.

This was a light that could not be obstructed. It had no shadows.

Then this light was removed. Hidden. A sun was created to give light.

The sun now represents a miraculous light. The sun is a camouflage. The light is really the same as during the first 6 days. Except now it is a light that 'the world can deal with' – it has shade, rays and worldly parameters... but yet it points to the light that has super-wordly qualities. This is like seeing G-dliness in a tangibile level. It is like seeing Him, in a more 'graspable' way than during the first 6 days of creation.

This is what the Rebbe is explaining. You can have G-dliness at a much higher level, but knowing what you have is a very special gift. And this gift is called neshikin/kisses. This is not just having it, but knowing what you have.

Before the father kisses his son, the son knows it, but doesn't have a grasp.

Elokus/G-dliness is an absolute truth. The soul knows this not as truth, but because, 'there is nothing else to know, it is infinity, but the soul doesn't know it is infinity'.

Then there is knowing it in a tangible way. This is a special gift.

In the future, not only will we have G-dliness revealed, but 'we will know what we have'.