Monthly Archives: December 2011

He adds a couple of things at the end of this Petach which have great significance to our understanding: the fact that all the worlds that come about afterwards are nothing but the radiance and shine of Adam Kadmon as we’ll see, and the idea that Adam Kadmon itself is more exalted than they and cannot be comprehended whereas the other worlds can be to one degree or another.

We’re going to be citing Ramchal’s Pitchei Chochma v’Da’at in our attempt to follow what happens here– or better yet, what the prophets and other exalted souls were able to envision about the process of creation (making the distinction that Ramchal has made a number of times already). Then we’ll touch on the “solution” to all this.

(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

———————————————————-

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

We’ll begin this part with a statement from Ari about the seemingly out-and-out anthropomorphisms we’ll be using to depict Adam Kadmon. “We must speak in (anthropomorphic) metaphors and images in order to ‘soothe the ear’” [1], i.e., to be able to cogently explain and illustrate things in an actually fully abstract realm.

That having been said we need to know that everything: “has two aspects: one is an expanding spiritual essence, and the other is the ‘vessels’ and ‘limbs’ into which this spiritual essence expands.” But we must realize also that “there are roots above for these aspects”, which is the actually the subject at hand.

Leading up to our investigations we’d put forward that Ari goes on to say that “there are four fundamental aspects to everything: sight, hearing, smell, and speech. These correspond to the four letters of God’s name (spoken of before” [2].

Now let’s see what Ramchal offers about this last point.

“In order for this order (i.e., Adam Kadmon) to be perfect,” he says, “it needs to be a complete Partzuf that’s comprised of (both) an interior and an exterior, which is related to the mystical notions of a body and a soul, or ‘lights’ and ‘receptacles’” (Iggerot Pitchei Chochma V’Da’at 3). Our discussion of that will comprise the essence of this next part.

Ramchal then says the following in Petach 32:

The “face” of Adam Kadmon was formulated to irradiate outward what was arranged within the “body” of Adam Kadmon and which thus function as its interior parts. It was in fact Adam Kadmon’s “senses” that irradiate outward.

In fact, four worlds emerged: those of “vision” which is embodied in Adam Kadmon’s “eyes”, “hearing” which is embodied in Adam Kadmon’s “ears”, “smell” which is embodied in Adam Kadmon’s “nose” and “speech” which is embodied in Adam Kadmon’s “mouth”. The “forehead” likewise emits radiance.

            We’ll now explore the significance of all this.

Notes:

[1]       See 3:4 and 6:6 above.

[2]       From The Tree of Life pp. 117-118 (with slight changes).

(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

———————————————————-

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

The final point Ramchal makes in his comments to Petach 31, which is rather esoteric, is the fact that the two orderings — that of God’s four-letter name and that of His appellations — differ in yet another way which comes into effect in certain details.

When a Sephira or Partzuf phenomenon is discussed in some detail with concentration on one or more of the elements, then that phenomenon is only brought about through its details, and not through an amalgam of ten whole Sephirot. But since every phenomenon has to be comprised of a full amalgam of ten Sephirot, the rest do figure in to be sure, but in the background, so to speak. It’s just that the phenomenon under discussion assumes the nature of the predominant detail. So, for example, an instance of a phenomenon rooted in the ס”ג  configuration can then turn around and express itself in the ע”ב  configuration or the מ”ה  or ב”ן  one since the phenomena change their configurations depending on the needs at the time. It’s important to realize, though, that they all ultimately fall under the rubric of God’s four-letter name, which never varies. (Factoring in this ability of the appellation-related phenomenon to assume different characteristics at different times will clear up a lot of apparent contradictions in Ari’s writings.)

(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

———————————————————-

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

The second major point Ramchal makes in his comments to Petach 31: the fact that these two orderings — that of God’s four-letter name and that of His appellations — differ in their layouts as well.

Because God’s governance sometimes functions within a full and manifest array of ten Sephirot; and it sometimes it functions primarily through one (with the others bolstering or completing that one), or another one (along with its others). The point is that the four-letter layout is always represented by a full array of ten Sephirot, which alludes to the fact that the revelation of God’s Yichud constitutes the full thrust of creation. And the appellation layout is always represented by the dominance of one Sephira or another.

(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

———————————————————-

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

Ramchal presents three major points in his comments to Petach 31 which we’ll paraphrase here (as they’re put rather obscurely in the original).

The first: the fact that there are multitudinous worlds in the trace environment alludes to the very many traits and related appellations that God exhibits in the universe; but the fact that the Tetragrammaton itself sits at the very core of Adam Kadmon which is itself the heart of the entire created universe and is in intimate contact with the line itself, alludes to the fact that God’s actual Being — not just His attributes — constitutes the very core of existence. And it’s the later, like the line itself, which governs the universe at bottom.

(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

———————————————————-

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

The final point about the structure of the letters of the Tetragrammaton is that they represent the Partzufim and more, as we’d already discussed at some length (see Petach 17; 3:1 and especially 5:5; also see R’ C. Vitale’s Sha’arei Kedusha 3:1). But here’s much more to be said about the significance of the Tetragrammaton as opposed to other Divine appellations, as we’ll see.

(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

———————————————————-

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

Ramchal then lays out the particulars of Adam Kadmon. He starts with this statement: “There’s one primary entity under whose auspices…  all other entities need to … function” in the trace environment, “and it’s the four-letter ordering of Yod, Heh, Vav, and Heh, which comprises the (gist of the) … mystical phenomenon of Adam Kadmon” [1].

As he put it in Petach 31, the first order adopted by the emanated light, i.e., the trace environment, that was to be established in the mystical configuration of ten Sephirot and to be arranged in the likeness of a human is termed Adam Kadmon. It always and forever follows the sequence of the four letters of the name Havayah, i.e., Heh, Vav, Yod, and Heh, a purposeful and reverent misspelled acronym of the Tetragrammaton actually spelled Yod, Heh, Vav, and Heh.

Thus, the trace environment was first filled in by Adam Kadmon with its ten Sephirot, and the four letters of the Tetragrammaton comprise the basic structure of the whole of Adam Kadmon and those Sephirot.

Ramchal then stresses the importance of Adam Kadmon’s component parts as a paradigm of the rest of creation with his remark at the conclusion of Petach 31 that it’s “the source of the idea of the various orders and rules of governance of the worlds falling under the order of these four letters”.

We’ll follow through on what he offers about this, but first let’s discuss the four letters of the Tetragrammaton for a bit.

The Kabbalists point out that when laid out linearly they form something of a (stick-figure) depiction of a human-form, thus of Adam Kadmon

                                                                                                                                          י        

ה

ו

ה

… with the י representing the “head”; the first ה representing the two “arms”; the ו representing the “torso”; and the second ה representing the “legs”.

We notice too, of course that there are two ה‘s; that the ו seems be an elongated version of the י which itself seems to be an elongated version of the “tip of the י” which will be discussed later; and that over all there are two elements here: a plastic, more adaptive one (the י) and a solid, more set one (the ה) [2].

Notes:

[1]       Iggerot Pitchei Chochma V’Da’at 3.

[2]       The plasticity and ability of the י to elongate may explain why it’s representative of the “male” or male organ, incidentally.

(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

———————————————————-

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

Not only is it true that a “world” is a system consisting of “a benefactor and a recipient” with all the ramifications we’ve indicated, but it’s likewise true that “every world exhibits various sorts of engarbments”, or instances in which one world steps into another one which thus surrounds it, and in which the inner one governs the outer one and acts as a soul to its body; each world has its own individual “makeup” despite the broad strokes we’ll be painting them all with; each has its own “couplings” between the various parts; and each has its own “ascents and descents” and other movements. It’s thus clear that each world is dynamic, unique realm with infinite numbers of interactions between its parts, as Ramchal offers in his comments there.

(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

———————————————————-

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

We’re going to be drawing upon Ramchal’s Iggerot Pitchei Chochma V’Da’at 3 most especially to explain this section.

As he lays it out there, in point of fact “there are an infinite number of worlds” in the trace environment that is our reality — not just the few esoteric ones we’ll be focusing on. And Ramchal says as much in his comments to Petach 31.

What he does offer at the latter site besides that at this point, though, is this arresting definition of a “world”, which we’ll consider here before we go on with the rest of this section.

Ramchal understands a “world” as a system consisting of “a benefactor (משפיע) and a recipient (מקבל)”. That’s to say that each facet of reality — each “world” — must consist of an environment in which two polar opposite entities can form a mutually beneficial relationship and produce vital results [1], much like an electric circuit which, despite or most especially because of its polar opposite elements, manages to generate power.

Nonetheless, the point remains that there are an infinite number of worlds in the trace environment, even though we’ll be focusing in on just a few by necessity.

Note:

[1]       We’re comparing the “benefactor” and “recipient” functions here to the reciprocally beneficial relationship of the “upper waters” of the heavens which are taken to be male and beneficent, and the “lower waters” of the earth which are taken to be female and receptive (see Breishit Rabbah 13:13; Zohar 1, 29b, etc.)

(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

———————————————————-

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.

Ramchal offers this warning in Iggerot Pitchei Chochma v’Da’at 2 which we’ll conclude this part with:

“After we come to know all the many teachings of R’ Chaim Vital (Ari’s redactor) we realize that we actually know nothing”, given all the many bewildering and seemingly contradictory or unfinished technical details that Ramchal had laid-out just before this. At bottom, he offers, “all we’ve done has been to accept them (at face value), and (to know) that we’d need to remember them, to say ‘thus and such (happened in the process)’ and to not respond (i.e., to not question the details)”.

There’s only one solution to rectify this condition, he goes on to say, and that is to at least make the system available. As such, “given that it’s surely impossible for one who doesn’t understand (the system) in broad terms to understand its (very, very many) particulars,” Ramchal proposes, “I will … explain (Ari’s system) in broad terms as best I can”, which will lighten the burden for us all.

We will follow that lead in this work, too, as we lay out the Kabbalistic system, so the reader won’t be overwhelmed by one esoteric detail after another.

(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

———————————————————-

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here at a discount.

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here at a discount as well.

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence” and “Ramchal”.