“Mind & Emotion; Endless Odyssey” p:55 AyinBase / Ayin Beis with  

R' Paltiel Friday 28 Adar I, 5774

Page 55

At lower third of page – (line begins: "ha-haskalah...”) For text, click: Here.

We are talking about chochmah and binah and how they are instrumental in creating midot/emotions.

We have said, making midot is not the creation of something disassociated from its cause. It is not a trained response. An emotion is indeed like a new creation.

Together chochmah and binah are like the parents of the midah/emotion. But principally the emotion is directly from the binah. Chochmah is like the distant source. Binah is the 'close source'.

Chochmah comes in the form of a point – 'the principal truth of it'.

Sechel goes to the truth and the source, even though it is sechel and has a structure... but it is so fine and transparent, it looks for the light...

so the Rebbe is saying the chochmah is a distant source, and binah is the 'hands on' influence. Midot will not yet be created from the nekudat ha-haskalah (the seminal point of understanding).

We don't easily identify the real understanding or the nekudah/point.

“Source, Far and Close” p:55

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel ThursdayNight 27 Adar I, 5774 

Page 55

At below midpoint of page – (line begins: "kuli, kmo al derech mashal...”) For text, click: Here.

We are into the principle of binah being the higher king... Binah is the beginning of 'world' and the process of creation begins from binah and not from chochmah. Chochmah is called the further source... Binah is the close source.

A far source is a kind of enabler or facilitator. The close source actually provides for the inspiration and content.

A source is imperative. Without it you have no thing...

Chochmah is like the open field providing unlimited space. The principle of the close source... is that the actual thing is initiated by this source...

A man can have mind and emotions and faculties, but if he doesn't have a home he is sorely lacking.

A human being should have no concerns of sustenance. He must be provided for by his Maker, who sent him into the world to do his mission.

This is what the mishnah says. Man is here to represent His Creator, not build himself up.

When a man has a home, it means he really a full fledged presence in the world. He's not just here, 'where his food it'. He has a set place from where he builds the world.

The home is like the distance source... the permission to speak regarding the community. But the 'close source' is the knowledge based on active participation with the community in the house and beyond.

It is an error to perceive things in the world as reactive. A car is not conceived at the time when the engine was made. It was in mind since humans came to the world and knew that the whole world belongs to them. It is based in the soul quality of the human being...

“Source” p:55

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel Thursday 27 Adar I, 5774 

Page 55

At below midpoint of page – (line begins: "lemalchus...”) For text, click: Here.

The flow from binah into malchus is representative of the flow of blessing/bracha.

Why is binah the beginning? That's because the principle starting point of hishtalshalus (the process of systematic creation) is from binah.

Above binah there is no systematic process... just infinity...

It is said that there are two sources. One close and one further away...

The principle of makor/source in general is: anything finite does not have a real basis for being. Infinity is reality. Finite things don't have in themselves a basis for being. They have to point to a source. I have a source that gives origin and meaning to my being...

Each house and tree stands on its own. But it gets real presence by being part of a wider reality. There is no basis for its existence except for this wider reality. It is a fallacy to say everything fights for its existence. If it fights it doesn't exist – doesn't have a real basis for its existence. The source goes all the way up to infinity.

The 'close source' is binah. It gives of itself to the midot/emotions. It gives inspiration.

The 'further source' is chochmah. It is more aloof.

Chochmah shows a broad view. Like space is much wider and aloof from the things that it contains.

“You Are Family” p:55

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel Wednesday 26 Adar I, 5774 

Page 55

At below midpoint of page – (line begins: "lemalchus...”) For text, click: Here.

The principle is that the Zohar identifies 2 worlds. A upper and lower kingdom.

What does Torah mean by 'king'? The wold thinks of a despot. But here with king the torah means the supreme presence of the Jewish people. The prophet bows to the king. The king is representative of something supreme.

The way we have become accustomed to think, despite all the learning we have done, we think of each entity in the world having to fight for its survival. There is not a sense of reality each to himself. But actually each person belongs here. He is more than an invited guest. He is a member of the family. Son of the king.

And where does each person get this right? From the king. From the king who is supreme. His greatness is such that he actually represents his greatness, not just remaining remote.

His name is called upon the people. He recognizes them all. He provides a dignity for everything.

The king reveals, of his glory, upon his subjects. This affects everything. How you walk, talk, sit, fight, - everything.

And here's where you can start to see the similarity between binah and malchus. Binah exposes the inner content of chochmah. And then there is malchus that exposes the content of all the other sphirot. And these are the higher king (binah) and the lower king (malchus).

And the flow from binah to malchus is blessing/bracha. This is revealing what has been provided for at a higher level.

Binah recognizes the content of chochmah/wisdom. It realizes 'there is a profound reality here'. A reality, in contrast to a concept. In this way binah represents kesser/crown, more than chochmah does. The beginning of the 'download' into actuality (presence in the world) is binah.

And this actualizing is representative of the 'First Presence'. Binah says to chochmah, “you see the truth, and I will bring it into presence”.

“Two Kings” p:55

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel Tuesday 25 Adar I, 5774 

Page 55

At about midpoint of page – (line begins: "kuli...”) For text, click: Here.

The principle of bracha/blessing is to reveal that which is already existing on a higher concealed level.

The upper king is binah, and the lower king is malchus.

On the one hand the king is above everything. On the other hand he provides for everything. What does the king do for a country? He's like a figure head. But he provides the full fledged sense of presence for this nation. This provides each individual citizen the value of reaching his full potential.

The individual is enhanced enormously, since true value is assigned to his qualities. What he accomplishes is further substantiated by being part of the king's domain.

Kingship covers these 2 aspects – complete supremacy, and contribution to the nation.

Binah is misunderstood. We think of it as the structured reality. Chochmah tends upwards to the crown. But binah draws its life from chochmah, and applies it here. So binah idenitifies all the things that chochmah provides for. Binah is thus called melech/king.

Malchus is the lower king. Taking from all the sephirot above it. Binah takes directly from chochmah and is called the higher king.

So the 'download' from binah to malchus is call bracha/blessing.

The higher king is 'how he is unto himself'. The lower king is 'how he is revealed to others'.

“Nothingness Persists” p:55

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel Monday 24 Adar I, 5774 

Page 55

At about a third from the top of page – (line begins: "kuli...”) For text, click: Here.

We have looked at 'non-presence' in malchut, in contrast to the world of briah (which is like the world of thought or the aquatic realm).

So is the principle of briah presnce or non-presence? In briah even though there are no 'stand alone' entities, the principle is 'presence'.

So briah has the element of novelty/hischadshut. There is no similarity to the state that preceded it.

So bracha/blessing brings down from the concealed world into the revealed world.

It does not 'create a new thing'. It reveals that which is already there. There has great significance – the point is not just that now it is revealed, but rather that it came out of concealment, which lends it a profound reality.

Speech has vitality from the earlier state of 'thought'.

So in this way the revealed level has a truth quality beyond, 'oh yeah, it is here and can stand'.

“The Soldier & The King” p:55

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel Sunday 23 Adar I, 5774 

Page 55

At 8th line from the top of page – (line begins: "she-hishavut...”) For text, click: Here.

The principle is that there is a First Being. He does not 'come into being'. So it does not have the parameters that define a being. It is not a 'being' that exists. But of course it exists. He is not, not existing. He cannot, but exist!

For us existence involves existing and not existing. We define things by their opposites. We have a tough time contemplating that yes, indeed space is a Godly creation.

Godliness is defined as 'absolute nothingness' (ein ve efes ha muchlat) and that is the real thing... the thing that cannot, not be! And this is the beginning of everything. And in this world, that we experience, although finite, is rooted in an unlimited source. This is its right to be. It is folly to think that the word has to 'fight to exist'.

He wants it. That's why the world is here.

This is chochmah/wisdom. The relating to the truth that I don't understand. It is a faculty and Godly gift. It is bitul. You don't seek to define it by your criteria. This is the beginning of all other faculties and definitions. And thus, all that comes later has this element of truth...

Everything that exists is not here due to its own power. It is provided for.

Each thing becomes a true presence that can be identified by its own parameters.

The goal of creation is to represent the Creator. So this means that the creatures on the land (that stand on their own legs), do this more fully than the fish of the sea...

You stand because you perceive the Creator, the real world. The soldier at the front line is able to stand firm in the face of enemy fire... and return fire... and he is able to do this because he knows the king is behind him. He is not concerned about his own preservation... this is being a metziut.

There is novelty. This is creation. It has no precedent.

In the process of creation there are different levels. The first level is briah – and this is novel. The level below that, yetzirah is reveling what is contained in the world of briah, above it, and thus the term novelty/hischadshut does not apply here.

We have used thought and speech; or the aquatic realm and the land, as metaphors for the worlds of briah and yetzirah respectively.

Both the land and sea are God's creations. But this element of 'He created them' is expressed differently in each realm...

The king's soldier is null to the king's will, but he stands on his own feet. The novelty is that something is there that is not in any way a derivative of something prior.

“All that is on the land is preceded by what is in the sea” - the land and its creatures is a refinement of what is in the 'sea'. So from briah to yetzirah is not a full fledged novelty/hischadshut. This is like the way speech comes from thought that precedes it.

Speech is making ideas be expressed in vessels that are foreign to it...

In malchut de'atzilus (the source of creation), things are contained in a way of even greater non being (header hametziut). Just like thought precedes speech, so too briah precedes yetzirah. But malachut de'atzilus precedes all worlds, including briah and yetzirah.

In malchus all is included in total non-presence.

Malchus is the lowest of all the sphirot.

“Land & Sea” p:55

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel Friday 21 Adar I, 5774 

Page 55

At 4th line from the top of page – (line begins: "kuli...”) For text, click: Here.

We had been looking at sea creatures. The see has fish and other animals... but each creature does not stand on its own. The sea 'holds them up' – they are at one with the sea. The creatures have no sense of independence. This is the principle of the concealed world (alma de hiskasyah).

All that exists in the concealed world also exists in the revealed world (on dry land). The sea creatures are part of their environment. They are not yet independent creatures. They are identifiable entities, but are not yet independent...

On the land / the revealed world the creatures 'stand on their own legs' – the creature still needs food and air, but it has a level of independence, in contrast to the sea creatures.

Having independence is a phenomenal step. There is the orientation of being there because it is there. Self sustaining. The sea creatures have not reached this level.

The land creatures are novel, yet they pre-existed in the sea.

These 2 worlds are briah/concealed and yetsirah/formation/revealed.

Yetsirah/revealed world is not a real 'novelty/hischadshut' since it is preceded by the concealed world.

In the level of malchus things exist in a complete absense of presence (in contrast to the way things exist in the concealed and revealed worlds – as described above).

Malchus provides for everything, because it has a sense of reality. Everyone except the king needs and explanation for what he's doing and why he's there. Kingship/malchus is beyond supporting properties. Kingship is an essential light...

“The Greatest Accomplishment” p:54 - 55

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel ThursdayNight 20 Adar I, 5774 

Page 54

At 3^rd line from the end of page – (line begins: "kuli...”) For text, click: Here.

We are looking at the principle of bracha/blessing. And from there we discussed the concealed and the revealed worlds...

Concealed means invisible in its essence. The concealed world is 'not yet' a world. And the metaphor for these two worlds are thought and speech.

The beginning of creation is in the world of briah – this is the first presence...

What do we mean by the First Being, who was not preceded by anything...? He is not a being the consists of an identifiable presence. This called ein ve efes ha muchlat – absolute nothingness – He does not have to justify His presence – He is there by virtue of His own truth. There is no way we can conceptualize of this...

Our conception is limited to discovery – things that you come to conceptualize of at a certain point... limited to definitions...

He is beyond our conception.

What is the significance of Him being absolute nothingness? That He cannot, not be. So His being is not limited to positive/defined presence.

This indicates that Godliness is an absolute truth and beyond what we can conceptualize and not conceptualize. 'Does God exist?' is an invalid question. Behind you own doubt is your knowledge that He exists. You cannot conceptualize of Him not existing...

In the human soul, there is the principle of truth, that allows us to think of this: when we walk a path, we are walking on the entire earth, because you sense reality. Wherever we stand, we are on the entire globe.

And yet, he does walk from place to place... and he does that as a specific person in a physical reality. 

So we have 3 levels. 1. is where the whole reality is everywhere at the same time – there is only one point at this level. Then from this one point comes a spread, and lastly an array of multiple places...

Something new (hischadshut) – is the change from the truth of nothingness into presence...

The world is a Godly creation. It did not develop in some random sequential manner. The world only appears to be worldly. The reality is Godly. And a constant miracle of existence... there is no worldly justification for the world to exit...!

And that's why we can stand at a wall and say we are standing before God. The world does not obstruct, the world is Godly. This is the significance of this learning.

The greatest accomplishment is when the truth the truth of the hidden world is recognized in the revealed world...

“Soul Expression” p:54

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel Thursday20 Adar I, 5774 

Page 54

At 6^th line from the end of page – (line begins: "metziut adayin...”) For text, click: Here.

The letters of thought prepare the way for letters of speech.

Sechel/mind is not based on a physical structure. It is a soul expression. This is true all the way down to the level of action. The hand can do nothing by itself.

The Rebbe is explaining the first material (chomer ha rishon) and the beginning of letters. Yesterday we explained the significance of 'first'. We said the 'I acknowledge' said on awakening, is the soul statement, even if there follows a recognition of the 'things that have to get done'. The first cognition is 'you are alive! Get up!'

Inside the text the Rebbe has been explaining that there are creations and creatures that are representative of the light that is there, rather than their own existence...

Speech is between two separate people. To communicate they have to find a common platform through which to communicate. In the world it needs to be a physical platform – letters (which are like stones) and language.

The letters say, 'I am here'. The message they carry come later. This is chayut/vitality dressed in the letters. 

In thought the letters are not a real presence. You sense the topic of thought (the sechel) directly.

You conceptualize the content of thought directly, a metaphor is used to communicate it.

The world of yetzirah is like the world of speech, where the letters are sensed by others. And the light they carry is limited/contracted, allowing it to be revealed.

The world is God's creation. There are no inherent limits. He gave it to human beings to develop.

So for speech the light is focussed and contracted. Like a home – it has dimensions that are fitting and it can be revealed.

The Rebbe spoke about Howard Hughes who had billions, but could not focus on what life really is... he did not live a day. He tried to live in infinity and found no home.

Light is what human being stands for. This is the soul element of the home. This light is limitless in essence since it is representative of the soul, but it limits itself to do its mission. You have a human mission, that is the light of the soul, and is connected to the limitless light. But here it is limited and can be expressed. 'I am here to do something, not just enjoy what's here' – this is the element of revelation.

“Soul Walking” p:54

AyinBase / Ayin Beis with R' Paltiel Wednesday19 Adar I, 5774 

Page 54

At about a third from the end of page – (line begins: "nikrah...”) For text, click: Here.

Atzilus is called a Godly world. This is contradictory – it is a world, yet Godly; it is Godly yet it is a world...!

Godly means the essential reality. A creation is not an essential reality. The Creator is essential – there is no question of 'where did He come from...?'

(Technical issue:  our recording software froze this morning and the recording was corrupted)

World means multiplicity – many things coming together. Yet atzilus remains a world, yet the Godly light shines there.

We are talking about the original material (chomer ha rishon). The principle of 'original/first': we are able to walk – in essence this is not created by our legs and feet. The feet and legs enable us to express our ability to walk. The principle of walking is movement – a soul quality. So the walking is based on his soul vitality, rather than his legs...

You are not limited to the place where you are. You have a truth that is 'everywhere' – above time and space... The first moment of this truth in revelation, is in the simple movement from place to place. So in that sense the movement is not physical, it is a revelation of something higher than physical movement – representative of the truth of his being.

So the Godliness that is behind it shines through.

The olam ha briah is called 'darkness', even though it is full of creations, they are all representative of this First Being... but they are hidden from revelation. It is full of Godly light...

By contrast the world of atzilus is no a creation at all...

Thought is letters, which contains the wisdom/chochmah. The chochmah is the light of the soul. It is there not because, 'you begin to know something', but due to the light of the soul itself.