Now, the fact that we can only discern a muted version of God\u2019s message to us raises a very interesting point that Ramchal addresses here.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a principle that you must constantly bear in mind\u201d in order to understand both Kabbalah and God\u2019s intentions for us, he says, It is that \u201ceverything that occurs in any given place occurs in accordance with that place\u201d, i.e., that\u2019s to say that each occurrence accommodates the needs and realities of the environment in which it\u2019s active.<\/p>\n
\u2018To take an example from the subject at hand,\u201d he goes on to say, \u201cwhat\u2019s seen of the soul (i.e., of the soul\u2019s radiance) through the face is arranged in a way that\u2019s (best) suited to this phenomena; similarly, what\u2019s revealed through the apertures produced by the soul (as its passes through Adam Kadmon<\/em>\u2019s face) is arranged in an order that\u2019s best suited to this revelation\u201d. That\u2019s because \u201cthis is the (only) order it\u2019s possible for the creatures in the lower realms to apprehend\u201d what\u2019s going on in the upper realms. \u201cThis means that those in the lower realm see only the most external aspect of the measure established for the governance of the (lower) worlds\u201d.<\/p>\n That\u2019s to say that since the residents of the lower realms, ourselves, can only perceive lesser perceptions, that is then what they\u2019re exposed to. But doesn\u2019t that imply that we in the lower realms aren\u2019t privy to the truth of things; that we must settle for watered down truths?<\/p>\n Ramchal replies that despite our only being allowed to settle for the lower edges of reality, in the end though \u201cwhat they see is the truth of the matter according to the way it (really) is in depth\u201d since seeing a part of the hologram is tantamount to seeing the whole of it, so to speak. And so we say that \u201cthey were given a complete (enough) and sufficient picture to enable them to understand the matter to the extent they\u2019re able to\u201d which is good enough. He then draws this analogy.<\/p>\n \u201cThis can be compared to the case of a sage who wants to teach his wisdom to a student. If the student is unable to receive the full depth of this wisdom, the teacher gives him as much of a conception of it as the student can take in. The picture (that is thus presented) is faithful to (i.e., consistent with) the full depth of the sage’s wisdom, yet it\u2019s (presented in such a way that it\u2019s) concise and comprehensible to the student\u201d, so the gist of what the sage wanted to import manages to come through to the student.<\/p>\n At bottom his idea is that we\u2019re presented with as much of the truth as we can bear, and that\u2019s good enough under the circumstances. We\u2019re not lied to but rather addressed in terms that suit us best which we can thus ruminate about and draw deeper lessons from should we care to.<\/p>\n (c) 2012 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n ———————————————————-<\/p>\n AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n Rabbi Yaakov Feldman 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 on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Now, the fact that we can only discern a muted version of God\u2019s message to us raises a very interesting point that Ramchal addresses here. \u201cThere\u2019s a principle that you must constantly bear in mind\u201d in order to understand both … Continue reading