{"id":2025,"date":"2015-05-12T09:37:49","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T13:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ramchal.wordpress.com\/?p=2025"},"modified":"2015-05-12T09:37:49","modified_gmt":"2015-05-12T13:37:49","slug":"section-15-overall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/2015\/05\/12\/section-15-overall\/","title":{"rendered":"Section 15 overall"},"content":{"rendered":"

The section starts out by situating Radlah<\/em> in the continuum we\u2019ve been dealing with until now, saying, The realm in which all of the governance having to do with the conjunction of MaH<\/em> with BaN<\/em> <\/strong>we discussed in the previous section occurs is <\/strong>termed \u201cThe Unfathomable Beginning\u201d<\/strong> or Radlah<\/em>. And what happens there affects a great deal of the governance within the Partzufim<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We then get into the<\/em> major theme of this section — the absolutely inexplicable nature of Radlah<\/em>, offering that, While neither The Unfathomable Beginning nor its offshoots <\/strong>within the Partzufim<\/em> can be at all grasped or known <\/strong>because of various contradictions, it\u2019s nonetheless true that at times certain movements can be detected in the Partzufim<\/em> whose sources are unknown but which <\/strong>still and all actually derive from The Unfathomable Beginning. <\/strong>(Petach 85)<\/p>\n

Then we\u2019re introduced into variations of MaH<\/em> and BaN<\/em> that could have existed which still-and-all only occur in Radlah <\/em>with the remark that All the possible combinations of MaH<\/em> and BaN<\/em> did indeed occur <\/strong>in Radlah<\/em>, and the primary order of covert governance occurred thanks to those combinations. Now, there are other ways of combining <\/strong>MaH<\/em> and BaN<\/em> too, and both sorts exist <\/strong>within Radlah<\/em> because that\u2019s the way Partzufim<\/em> are combined, and because both produce particular qualities in Partzufim<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While again accentuating the inscrutableness of Radlah<\/em> it\u2019s pointed out that while It\u2019s important to know too that the way these combinations govern up above<\/strong> in Radlah<\/em> determines what happens in the Partzufim<\/em><\/strong> down below, in Atzilut<\/em>. It\u2019s just that this<\/strong>, i.e., which combination is governing at any point, simply can\u2019t be grasped or seen. Yet when variations in the Partzufim<\/em> come about in various states of being and when certain other changes suddenly take place in them, we know <\/strong>in hindsight that they derived from Radlah<\/em>, though <\/strong>in fact no one can see them for what they truly are. <\/strong>(Petach 86)<\/p>\n

The fact that the connection between the upper and lower realms is made possible by Radlah<\/em>, too, is pointed out here with the remark that Everything done or being done in the universe is subject to these connections<\/strong>, i.e., the various connections between MaH<\/em> and BaN<\/em>, for there is nothing <\/strong>here that<\/strong> is not rooted there <\/strong>in Radlah<\/em>, be it a repair or a flaw.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And everything <\/strong>in the worlds of Atzilut<\/em> and downward is governed in accordance with all these combinations as based on the actions of the lower creations. Likewise, everything is to be fixed in eternity <\/strong>in the great Day of Judgment in accordance with what has already been done, whether they\u2019re<\/strong>, i.e., whether those are actions are, identical, contradictory, or the opposite of each other.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As such, these combinations rule all of the time, and <\/strong>God\u2019s governance turns from one <\/strong>combination to the other in all instances, be they either identical, contradictory, or opposite, since <\/strong>God\u2019s governance functions in every aspect. In addition, the states of the Partzufim<\/em> shift <\/strong>from one to the other in the mode of “running and returning”.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We know this all to be true, nonetheless, that no one can understand or grasp anything other than what\u2019s revealed through the order and rules that are visible in the Partzufim<\/em>. But the source of the matter <\/strong>actually lies in these combinations <\/strong>in Radlah<\/em> which are not at all revealed or known. <\/strong>(Petach 87)<\/p>\n

The inscrutableness is underscored here as well with the remark that Radlah<\/em> is a single emission that <\/strong>nonetheless contains all the <\/strong>aforementioned combinations of MaH<\/em> and BaN<\/em>. Yet it\u2019s an emission that\u2019s impossible to grasp or understand. Looking at it leaves us with all sorts <\/strong>of often contradictions, because it doesn\u2019t seem able to contain all kinds of combinations but rather to be an emission that\u2019s <\/strong>simply impossible to fathom.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In truth, we can\u2019t see what\u2019s in it, because sometimes a certain combination seems to be there and at other times another one that may even be its opposite seems to.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thus even though we know it contains all the various combinations <\/strong>of MaH<\/em> and BaN<\/em> cited above, the emission itself exists in a way that\u2019s impossible to understand, since it first appears one way and then. So <\/strong>at bottom we <\/strong>really can\u2019t understand <\/strong>the rules of Divine governance <\/strong>on this level.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For if we were to try to follow something below<\/strong> this level, in Atzilut<\/em>, and try to follow its root in Radlah<\/em>, we \u201cwouldn\u2019t be able to find our arms and legs\u201d<\/strong>, i.e., we couldn\u2019t establish where we were standing, since we couldn\u2019t judge anything about it. For, first it looks like this and then it looks like that, making it utterly impossible to understand. That\u2019s <\/strong>in fact why it\u2019s called the \u201cUnfathomable<\/em> Beginning\u201d. <\/strong>(Petach<\/em> 88)<\/p>\n

Ramchal then differentiates Radlah from something seemingly similar to it with this final Petach, saying that, There\u2019s a difference between \u201cThe Dew of Bedolcha<\/em>\u201d — \u201cin which all colors can be seen” — and The Unfathomable Beginning. For while The Dew of Bedolcha<\/em> presents all of the colors together, the Unfathomable Beginning presents itself as one thing <\/strong>in one instance and then it instantaneously presents itself as its opposite. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In fact, though it stays in this transformative state in which an instances of \u201dyes\u201d and one of \u201cno\u201d<\/strong> i.e., one thing and its opposite, \u00a0appear at the same time, we simply can\u2019t grasp how both<\/strong> a \u201cyes\u201d and the \u201cno\u201d could exist <\/strong>at that same time. <\/strong>That is, we simply can\u2019t understand how it seems to be an instance of \u201cyes\u201d and then immediately afterwards it seems not to be that at all. <\/strong>(Petach<\/em> 89)<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll now go on to explain each Petach<\/em> in depth.<\/p>\n

(c) 2015 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
\nFeel 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":"

The section starts out by situating Radlah in the continuum we\u2019ve been dealing with until now, saying, The realm in which all of the governance having to do with the conjunction of MaH with BaN we discussed in the previous … 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":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kabbalah-jewish-thought-ramchal-torah-hashkafa"],"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\/2025","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=2025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ramchal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}