“Knowledge” p:13

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel Tuesday 1 Nissan 5773 

Page 13

4th line of the page – (line begins: 'shekalul...') For text, click: Here.

We are saying something real knows itself.

We are looking at the differences/similarities between ohr and atzilus.

Ohr speaks of the essence not the emanation. It has to do with the presence. Atzilus means something similar, but light is deeper than atzilus. Atzilus means an external recognition. Ohr means something more essential.

Knowing itself is synonymous with being an essence.

Human knowledge and animal instinct are worlds apart. Totally dissimilar.

When an animal sees, it sees from the perspective of tangibility.

This is why the scarecrow is effective.

The animal does not know what it is looking at. In contrast the human being: when he touches something he surmises what it looks like and what it is about...

This is to illustrate how knowledge refers to the significance or the reality. This is where 'knowing' applies. When we see a clock haning on the wall, we see not a clock, but a 'lived in dwelling'.

The tangible aspect does not lend itself to knowing. Knowledge is attracted only to something that has significance. It can only relate to the significance of things. This is the meaning of 'will/ratzon is the foundation of sechel/mind'. This is because the soul is Godly and it looks beyond the physical to the meaningful. This is why there is sechel/mind. It is the functional element of ratzon/will.

So we say, if something has an essence element, this reflects in 'knowing itself'. Knowledge is not self consciousness.

The primary will of the human being is to be himself. What does it mean? Hopefully he is a human being. It means that his being is of enormous significance, Godly significance. This is truth beyond his own presence. And this is his true want. And essence/atzmi, means that it is true in-and-of-itself. This is truth iself, not due to some circumstance.

And it has no existence, only significance. It only has meaning. Essence only has that which is worth knowing! It does not have anything else. And this is something that we have no capability of identifying with our sechel/mind.