“Sight and Sound” p: 174

AyinBase with R' Paltiel Thursday19 Elul 5772   

Page 174 – 5^rd line from top of the page (line starts, 'na-aseah...') For text, see picture below.

We have been looking at the difference between the tzimzum and the parsa. The tzimzum is what facilitates a light that can deal with 'worlds'. The light of ohr ein sof is beyond world and by means of the tzimtzum it becomes appropriate for world.

The parsa deals with light from atzilus allowing it to be enclothed in the lower worlds of biyah.

Light after the tzimzum affects in an absent manner, but light after the parsa is enclothed. Hislabshut/enclothment means that the light interacts with the vessel/keili.

There is an advantage to this hislabshut, because you 'have the real thing – reality itself'. Think of the way the soul gives life to the body. The body is made to live by the soul. The soul is enclothed in the body and we say, 'the body is alive' – you have the real thing.

A human being has physical experience of spiritual knowledge. Contrast this to a computer, that might contain huge amounts of information, but has no life.

The way the parsa allows for enclothement of the light is that, like hearing, where the eardrum actually vibrates, affecting the stirrup and anvil and the experience of hearing results, the light becomes affected by and involved with the vessel/keili...

the vibration of the eardrum is physical. But the sound carries intonations that the ear per se cannot distinguish. The beauty and the recognition of voices is experienced internally. There are sounds that the human ear cannot hear.

The light is received by the parsa, and undergoes a transformation.

“Cause and Presence” p: 174

AyinBase with R' Paltiel Wednesday18 Elul 5772  

Page 174 – 5th line from top of the page (line starts, 'na-aseah...') For text, see picture below.

This is a new principle. We are looking at the effect of the tzimzum. It brought about the possibility of bringing about a light that is in proximity to 'world' – a light that has the element of process and structure – hamshacha. Before the tzimzum that kind of light did not exist.

In addition to this there was the 'chozer and ha-ier' – the light was removed and then returned... and the light was reduced so that the world could exist. If the light from before the tzimzum, would come, it would not allow for the existence of worlds. So it comes in a way of concealment, not behislabshut/investment. And this allows for the existence of worlds.

This is in contrast to the parsa/curtain. The tzimzum is a greater concealment than the parsa. The Rebbe explains that it means, that it is the same light/with an element of essence, but without hislabshut/investment, thus allowing for the existence of world. The parsa accounts for hislabshut of light.

There is an advantage to how the parsa allows for this investment of the light. The creation of the lower worlds (biyah) comes by means of this enclothement of the cause/mahus.

Everything has a presence and the cause for the presence. The cause contains the presence in a truer way, but it has it in a higher level where it is not expressed.

When you see someone walking, you know that they have an intention that caused him to walk, but the walking itself is just the movement of the legs... The intention is concealed.

Mahus is the real thing, not just the presence. A person's soul is really everywhere and this is the mehus of his walking...

the soul of man is everywhere at the same time. Then that truth expresses itself by chochmah and sechel.

In chochmah one senses the mahus of the nefesh. He senses, 'I can be there, not just because I can walk there, but because I relate to all places...'

So the parsa makes a separation, but it allows for the investment of the mahus – the light of atzilus in biyah. This is like the soul enclothed in a the body. This brings the body to life.

“Shadow and Light” p: 174

 AyinBase with R' Paltiel Tuesday17 Elul 5772  

Page 174 – 3^rd line from top of the page (line starts, 'key im...') For text, see picture below.

It was explained that the light that comes after the tzimzum still contains an element of the essence, since there is a process of 'return and illuminate', rather than a total concealment, so it has the element of essence. It is a total concealment in that there is no enclothement.

The light before the tzimzum is different. Due to its supremacy, it cannot come into 'world' in full investment...

Hislabshut/investment can be thought of as the way sunlight relates to the physical objects in the world. Relating to the object and deflecting off the object differently according to the color and surface.

Light is a constant emanation from its source. It does not have a basic presence. Thus hislabshut/investment for light is a kind of an anomaly – light seems to shine on gold and dirt equally. It seems aloof from the object – while retaining the purity of its source, yet still we see there is an element of hislabshut, which is made possible by the reduction of the light...

Pure light from the sun would eliminate darkness, and it would not be world.

So too above the tzizum, the Rebbe is saying, that this light is too much for the world... 'World' requires a sense of presence and absence – light and shadow... 

We walk in the world, by covering the distance gradually, there's a process... without that, it is a jump/dilug, which is super-worldly.

This is to explain hislabshut - this is enclothement, the way that light is made appropriate to the world.  While we are at home in the whole world, we move in stages, with one foot forward and one trailing... connected to the place before. 

Only by concealment and absence, can there be a worldly reception for the G-dly light.

Just like a king, hidden in his palace affects his country. So there is presence of the king in an absent manner. When the king passes by everything stops.

The eye is a pure channel – it does not 'translate' the signal. The eye is transparent. But it is still a channel – we don't see all directions at once, and there is a slight filter... In thought or binah there is a 'translation' of what we see... The light is 'stepped down' into the vessels of the 'letters of thought'.

“You Don't Understand” p: 173-4

AyinBase with R' Paltiel Monday16 Elul 5772 

Page 173 – 3^rd line from end of the page (line starts, 'haray...') For text, see picture below.

Human beings may think they can understand the origin of existence. But this is a false idea. Yet the mind starts to think that no only will it understand what is given to us, but also to duplicate and verify it.

When your understanding is sharp you may think faith/emunah is no longer needed. But this is an error.

We talk about essence, but we should know it is something totally beyond our own understanding. It cannot be grasped and defined. The way to relate to essence is to recognize that we are not in 'no-man's-land'. Just as a king is hidden in his palace, yet his presence is everywhere – so too this world is not 'alone'.

If we think the world runs by itself, we sever ourselves from our own soul, intelligence and consciousness.

So the basis of all is to know, 'there is a First Being, and from His presence everything comes into being'. This is the basis of wisdom. This comes before thought.

Inside the text: we are saying that the light after the tzimzum/contraction has an element of essence within it.

In the world everything has to be found. But you have a primary knowledge that does not have to be searched for. You just need to be aware of it. In the world we are aware of things that change and bump us... if it doesn't change, we tend not to perceive it...

“Stand Up; Book of Matches”

p: 173 AyinBase with R' Paltiel Sunday15 Elul 5772  

Page 173 – lower third of the page (line starts, 'vezehu...') For text, see picture below.

The goal has been to give an understanding of how there can be a light and a spreading of light that has an element of the essence. We had the metaphor of a 'name' and looked at three levels. And then we went and looked at body, thought, and speech...

we went a step further to look at light before the tzimzum/contraction.

We relate to the One and the real unity. The Rambam says the basis of wisdom, before I even start thinking, is to know there is a Creator who perceives all.  

We have seen that the tzimzum/contraction, is not a total interruption of the light. The light that follows is continuous with the light that was before the concealment. The light before and after the tzimzum are different. Before there is no element of 'to draw forth' (hamshacha) which has to do with arriving in a place where it is not present. And before th tzimzum the light is all present. 

The light that is associated with world has the element of hamshacha – arriving by a process – being drawn down...

Yet still it is a light that is drawn down from a light that precedes the tzimzum/contraction, and is united with the light above.

What does it mean? If it comes via the tzimzum and a process, how are we saying it is from the light above? The concealment and illumination cycle is a process originated from above. And this makes a paramount difference. It is the ohr ein sof / infinite light that originates this light... He is there where you allow Him in...

think of your breathing. There is a worldly process and an expansion of the rib-cage. The bigger picture: we create a vacuum and the air enters. You breathe not due to your activity but because there is air. You just make space for it.

This is the difference between a Torah view and a world view. The world says that things struggle against each other. We see things as being created and provided for from above.

The Zohar says, in these times there will be a well spring of knowledge from above and from below. But the world wants to think that it is their own work that brings it about.

The principle of world is that there is no truth – everything is just based on a lacking. They say humans evolved by struggling for survival. We say you are a soul in a body. Soul has a G-dly element. The body lacks this aspect.