{"id":154,"date":"2010-11-24T07:07:34","date_gmt":"2010-11-24T11:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ramchal.wordpress.com\/?p=154"},"modified":"2010-11-24T07:07:34","modified_gmt":"2010-11-24T11:07:34","slug":"towards-a-definition-of-yichud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/2010\/11\/24\/towards-a-definition-of-yichud\/","title":{"rendered":"Towards a Definition of “Yichud”"},"content":{"rendered":"

God\u2019s\u00a0Yichud<\/em> is one of Ramchal\u2019s foremost themes [1], hence Klach<\/em> launches into a discussion of it from the first, where it speaks of it in terms of God\u2019s sovereignty and omnipotence [2]. But Ramchal really doesn\u2019t offer a definition of the term, which doesn\u2019t simply mean \u201cone\u201d as in its cognate term echad<\/em>. He does define Yichud<\/em> elsewhere in his writings, though.<\/p>\n

When challenged to define it in Da\u2019at Tevunot <\/em>with the query that doesn\u2019t \u201cYichud<\/em> (simply) refer to the fact that God alone is truly one?\u201d Ramchal offers that \u201cwhile that\u2019s true in broad terms\u201d even so the expression means a lot more [3]. \u201cIt isn\u2019t enough to say that God is unique in His being when we say He\u2019s \u2018one\u2019,\u201d he offers, \u201cwith the implication that only His existence is imperative [4], and that He\u2019s the only Creator [5]. We\u2019d also have to understand that He\u2019s the sovereign Ruler, that He alone holds absolute sway over everyone and everything else in creation, and that nothing and no one can thwart His actions or wishes — which is to say that His sovereignty is utterly supreme (i.e., \u201cone of a kind\u201d) [6].<\/p>\n

Not only is all that so, but it\u2019s likewise true that \u201cHe alone oversees everything personally, and (that) everything that comes about in the world only occurs because He wills it and brings it about rather than by happenstance, by (the laws of) nature, or by the (influence of the) constellations. Instead, He serves as the Judge (i.e., Ruler) of the world and everything therein, and directs everything that\u2019s done above and below to the very last measure\u201d [7]. Consider the ramifications of all that, if you will!<\/p>\n

But as we\u2019ll see, there\u2019s even more to be said about this.<\/p>\n

______________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Note:<\/p>\n

[1] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As R\u2019 Shriki puts it, \u201cevery single student of Ramchal\u2019s writings knows that one of\u00a0 the fundamental themes that occupied (him) practically his entire life was the issue of God\u2019s Yichud<\/em>\u201d (Rechev<\/em> Yisrael<\/em> p. 167).<\/p>\n

See Ramchal\u2019s opening comments to Petach<\/em> 1 that \u201cGod’s <\/em>Yichud is the foundation of (the Jewish) faith and the root of wisdom, so it must be explained first<\/em>\u201d. Also see Ma\u2019amar<\/em> HaVichuach<\/em> p. 45.<\/p>\n

[2] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He says that the implications of the term Yichud<\/em> is that \u201conly His will functions<\/strong>\u201d, that \u201cHe alone reigns<\/strong>\u201d (Petach<\/em> 1), that \u201cthere\u2019s no sphere of influence apart from Him<\/strong>\u201d (Petach<\/em> 2), and <\/strong>\u201cthat He has neither deterrents nor defects<\/strong>\u201d (Petach<\/em> 4). And he also adds quite mysteriously that God\u2019s Yichud<\/em> will revealed eventually (Petach<\/em> 4), whatever that means (see below).<\/p>\n

[3] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Da\u2019at<\/em> Tevunot<\/em> 35. Though he doesn\u2019t say as much, Ramchal is alluding to the way earlier commentators defined the term, including Rambam\u2019s statements in Hilchot<\/em> Yisodei<\/em> HaTorah<\/em> 1:1, 7, Ibn Pakudah\u2019s in Chovot<\/em> HaLevovot<\/em> 8:3 as well as in the \u201cInvocation\u201d at the end, and others.<\/p>\n

[4] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is, since nothing else could exist if He didn\u2019t, His existence is absolutely necessary, which is unique to Him. Everything else is dispensable. See Derech<\/em> Hashem<\/em> 1:1:3.<\/p>\n

[5] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See Derech<\/em> Hashem<\/em> 1:1:6.<\/p>\n

[6] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is, that His sovereignty is \u201cone of a kind\u201d that way, as in echad<\/em> and Yichud<\/em>. Da\u2019at<\/em> Tevunot<\/em> 35. Also see 40 there (p. 26) and 46 (p. 37).<\/p>\n

[7]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Da\u2019at<\/em> Tevunot<\/em> 36 (p. 16).<\/p>\n

(c) 2010 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":"

God\u2019s\u00a0Yichud is one of Ramchal\u2019s foremost themes [1], hence Klach launches into a discussion of it from the first, where it speaks of it in terms of God\u2019s sovereignty and omnipotence [2]. But Ramchal really doesn\u2019t offer a definition of … 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":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}