{"id":297,"date":"2015-01-26T11:22:47","date_gmt":"2015-01-26T19:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/derechhashem.wordpress.com\/?p=297"},"modified":"2017-11-19T15:55:58","modified_gmt":"2017-11-19T15:55:58","slug":"preview-of-152","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/2015\/01\/26\/preview-of-152\/","title":{"rendered":"Derech Hashem 1:5:2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Derech<\/em> Hashem<\/em> – The Way of G-d 1:5:2<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While we\u2019re readily aware of physical phenomena and their properties, we simply can\u2019t fathom spiritual ones all that well because they\u2019re out of our experience 1<\/sup>. All we can say about them is what we\u2019ve been taught by our tradition 2<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

One of the most important axioms we have about them, though, is that everything in the physical realm has its counterpart in the Transcendent Forces 3<\/sup> from which those physical phenomena devolved in the stages that G-d has ordained they must 4<\/sup>. Thus, the Transcendent Forces are the roots of all physical phenomena 5<\/sup> and physical phenomena are the offshoots and products of those Forces, and the two are bound to each other like links in a chain 6<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also been taught that everything that happens in this physical realm — both crucial and incidental — is under the rule of the other spiritual phenomenon, the angels 7<\/sup>. They allow for and maintain those events and bring about the sorts of innovations that G-d decrees 8<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/p>\n

1<\/sup> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We in modernity are privileged to know more and more about the physical realm each and every day right down to the genetic nub. Nonetheless it\u2019s imperative for us to realize that we\u2019ll never be able to examine and portray the properties and laws of the spiritual realm, too. Expecting to is like expecting to sight an idea under a microscope.<\/p>\n

See 1:1:5.<\/p>\n

2<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s to say that while spiritual phenomena can\u2019t be seen, touched, heard, etc. they can be \u201cknown\u201d and \u201cexperienced\u201d on a nonmaterial level by prophets and other holy individuals. And the \u201cdata\u201d gathered thereby can then be passed on to others.<\/p>\n

See 1:1:2 and Ma\u2019amar<\/em> HaIkkurim<\/em>, \u201cBeruchaniyim<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Kabbalists do speak of other means of discerning the spiritual that aren\u2019t stemmed in a tradition per se, such as revelations of Elijah the prophet and deeply intuitive readings of spiritual texts like the Zohar and the like.<\/p>\n

3<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See 1:5:1 as well as Zohar 1:156b, Ramban on Genesis 28:12, and Moreh<\/em> Nevuchim<\/em> 2:4.<\/p>\n

4<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The process described here is that of the connection of the highest reaches of heaven to the lowest reaches of earth and back by degrees. It functions as \u201ca ladder set up on the earth, the top of which reached to heaven: and (with) \u2026 angels of G-d ascending and descending on it.\u201d (Genesis 28:12).<\/p>\n

5<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s to say that the Transcendent Forces are the sublime and ethereal counterparts of every single entity and interaction on earth. They\u2019re sort of the nonmaterial germ and kernel of, and concept and notion behind everything we experience in this world.<\/p>\n

See 2:5:6 and 3:2:1. Notice that it\u2019s written in 4:6:13 that G-d\u2019s \u201cThrone\u201d is the source of all physical phenomena, but the seeming contradiction is explained by the fact that there are various levels of Transcendent Forces and Sephirot<\/em> and as such the exalted level known as the \u201cThrone\u201d is the superior one.<\/p>\n

6<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is, touch one and you\u2019ll automatically affect the other.<\/p>\n

See Klallei<\/em> Pitchei<\/em> Chochma<\/em> v\u2019Da\u2019at<\/em> 4.<\/p>\n

7<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hence, angels also play a vital role in the aforementioned link between the transcendent forces and the actual physical phenomena that result. In fact, angles can be said to be the intermediaries between the Forces and the material world.<\/p>\n

See 1:5:1 and Breishit Rabbah<\/em> 10:6, Zohar 1:34a. We\u2019re also taught that everyone has his or her guardian angel (Chagiga<\/em> 16a, Berachot<\/em> 60b).<\/p>\n

8<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See 1:5:10.<\/p>\n

(c) 2017 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n

———————————————————-<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman’s new annotated translation of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag\u2019s \u201cIntroduction to the Zohar\u201d is available as \u201cThe Kabbalah of Self\u201d on Kindle here<\/a>. His annotated translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> and his annotated translation of Rabbeinu Yonah\u2019s “The Gates of Repentance” is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes torah.org entitled \u201cSpiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d that can be subscribed to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Derech Hashem – The Way of G-d 1:5:2   While we\u2019re readily aware of physical phenomena and their properties, we simply can\u2019t fathom spiritual ones all that well because they\u2019re out of our experience 1. All we can say about … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,2,3,4,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hashkapha","category-jewish-thought","category-kabbalah","category-ramchal","category-torah","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iqof-4N","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":588,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions\/588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/derechhashem\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}