Ramchal

There are a number of main points here we’ll be concentrating on. 1) The idea that everything will return to pure Elokut, and its sub-theme of all wrong turning to right, 2) the Mashal (symbol) and Nimshal (meaning) paradigm, 3) why we’re to study Kabbalah,  and 4) Ramchal’s reason for having written this book.

The first point is revolutionary and overarching, and it’s taken to be one of Ramchal’s greatest chiddushim (though the Leshem referred to the return to pure Elokut as well, as we’ll point out, as well as the Ba’al HaSulem). The Gra agrees with the idea of Mashal and Nimshal along with others as we’ll see. The reason’s for studying the Kabbalah as he does are unique to Ramchal (and the Leshem vehemently disagrees with him). And the final point simply comes down to the fact that Ramchal wanted to remove all anthropomorphisms from the Ari’s works (as did the Ba’al HaSulem, as is known).

We’ll start off with a longish discussion of the first point next, which will lead on to an analysis of the first section (i.e., the first four Petachim).

We’ll be dividing Klach Pitchei Chochma into the following sections, based on R’ Yoseph Spinner’s more work-able lay-out in his edition of Klach. I’d tried to break it down into larger chunks, based on R’ M. Shriki’s edition, but it’s too bulky that way.

1)        On the Revelation of God’s Yichud and His Beneficence (1-4)

2)        Sephirot (5-6)

3)        The images in which the Sephirot Appear (7-13)

4)        The Essential Elements of Sephirot and their Governance (14-17)

5)        The Letters and Names (18-23)

6)        The Tzimtzum and Kav (24-30)

7)        Adam Kadmon and its Offshoots (31-35)

8)        The World of Nikkudim (36-50)

9)        The First Three and Seven Lower (Sephirot) of Nikkudim(51-53)

10)      The 288 Sparks (54-58)

11)      The World of Tikkun (59-69)

12)      The Tikkun of Partzuf (70-73)

13)       Partzuf Attik (74-77)

14)      The Root of the Hidden Supervision (78-84)

15)      The Issue of Radla and Uncertainties about It (85-89)

16)     Partzuf Erech Anpin (90-95)

17)      The Connection between Atzilut and Adam Kadmon through Attik and Erech Anpin (96-100)

18)      The Tikkunim of Erech Anpin (101-109)

19)      Partzufim Abbah and Imma (110-114)

20)      Partzufim Zeir and Nukveh (115-118)

21)      Partzufim Zeir Anpin and B’eiahm (119-123)

22)      Da’at of Zeir Anpin and its Extent (124-126)

23)      Mochin of Zeir Anpin (127-130)

24)      The Worlds’ Ascents and Descents (131-133)

25)      The Tikkun of Nukveh and its Convergences (134-138)

And let it be noted that when we cite the main statement of each petach (either in the first instance or in each one to follow) we will offer it in bold print, and when we cite Ramchal’s own comments to each we’ll set it off in quotes and in italics.

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org

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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”.

As I’d said I would, I erased the earlier posts and am about to go on from here. First this, though.

I’d always blogged “finished” pieces — things I’d written after considered thought and without room for input from readers. But it’s different now. I’m going to be truly blogging on Klach Pitchei Chochma, which is to say, thinking on my feet, going step by step. Your welcomed to join along.

This will be heady stuff, to be sure, it won’t begin right off (since my son Aryeh will be marrying Rochie Ribiat this Thursday 5/27/10), and it will take a long while. But welcome aboard; your comments will be appreciated.

I’m going to be “erasing” the contents of this blog until now and starting all over again. I’ve done a lot of learning about Klach Pitchei Chochma in the interim and have decided to take a new approach.

To now I’ve used R’ Chaim Friedlander’s, R’ Yoseph Spinner’s, R’ Dovid Cohen’s (known as the Nazir and whose edition is brand new) and R’ Mordechai Shriki’s editions of the text (though the latter is also new and not quite as extensive as the others, surprisingly so considering R’ Shriki’s erudition). But I’ve come upon R’ Yoseph Avivi’s Zohar Ramchal in which he analyzes Ramchal’s thoughts, and have been struck by his insights. It had been out of print for years and has since been reissued.

To be sure, R’ Shriki had made many of the same points in his own groundbreaking Rechev Yisrael, which I read when it came out 12 or more years ago. Having read Avivi’s work I’d now need to go back to Shriki’s who sometimes argues with Avivi.

There are a number of central themes within Klach (and elsewhere in Ramchal’s writings which I’ll draw from as well) that one would have to take into account in order to offer an intelligent treatment of the work. They include Ramchal’s understandings of why we’re to study Kabbalah, his reasons for having written Klach, his idea that core Kabbalistic themes are actually metaphors (mashalim) whose referents (nimshalim) he sets out to present, the notion that everything will eventually reveal Godliness (Giloi HaYichud), and that all wrong and evil will be turned to right and goodness.

Catch you later.