“Containment” p:12

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel Thursday 11 Adar 5773 

Page 12

Around the middle of the page – (line starts, 'velachen...') For text, click: Here.

We are looking at why He is called 'ohr ein sof' – light without end... as opposed to light without beginning...

And to examine this we are looking at the nature of 'light/ohr'. And to do this we contrast light with shefa/flow. Both ohr and shefah have an effect on the outside. These are 2 ways of influence.

They are different. Light does not carry the essence along with it, whereas shefa does carry an actual part of the source.

2 examples of shefa are the hand that throws the stone and the flowing river.

What is the emphasis of saying the hand can throw a stone so it flies, 'opposite to its nature'...?

A man can occupy his home without effort, but there is a limit. He cannot treat the Empire State Building as his personal dwelling.

A person's light spreads to the place that he can reach. Within the reality to which he can relate.

So the stone's flight, contrary to its nature, means this is within human perception. This is shefa: he uses some of his own strength to propel the stone.

This is a real flight only if intended in a certain direction.

And because a person has to 'put himself into the act of throwing' he cannot do another activity at the same time. He concentrates on the throwing and cannot, at the same time do something else.

The same is true with bestowing sechel/mind to the student. The master/mentor becomes defined by the hashpah/influence. This is because it is not effective if it come automatically. Rather he is preoccupied with the activity and is bound by it.

This is because in the mentorship is drawn the essence of his sechel/mind.

This influence is much more refined that the examples before, but it is called shefah and not ohr/light.