{"id":243,"date":"2013-02-25T15:11:11","date_gmt":"2013-02-25T15:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravashlag.wordpress.com\/?p=243"},"modified":"2013-02-25T15:11:11","modified_gmt":"2013-02-25T15:11:11","slug":"r-ashlags-introduction-to-the-zohar-ch-64","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ravashlag\/2013\/02\/25\/r-ashlags-introduction-to-the-zohar-ch-64\/","title":{"rendered":"R’ Ashlag’s “Introduction to the Zohar”: Ch. 64"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ashlag now turns to a rather arcane point in Talmudic casuistry. His point is that the idea that the earlier sages were less enlightened than the latter ones is problematic as far as <\/span>halacha<\/i> is concerned. For from a halachic perspective, the earlier authorities are deemed to have been wiser, and (most significantly) to have been more in tune with Heavenly truth by virtue of the fact that they were closer in time to the revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Ashlag agrees with the axiom that the earlier Talmudists were more enlightened than the latter, despite the apparent contradiction that presents us with, and he explains why in Kabbalistic terms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But don\u2019t then ask why it\u2019s prohibited to disagree with the early (Talmudic sages) when it comes to the revealed (aspect of the) Torah. \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Kabbalists speak of the \u201crevealed\u201d versus the \u201cconcealed\u201d aspects of the Torah, where \u201crevealed\u201d refers to the open-and-above-board and practical aspects of Torah like the meaning of the words involved in either Torah or Talmud as well as the halachic, moral, and inspirational implications of them; and the \u201cconcealed\u201d refers to their esoteric connotations.<\/p>\n

Now, if what we\u2019d learned is true, that the later sages merited the revelation of Kabbalah and the Zohar because they were greater than those of the earlier generations, then contemporary Talmudic sages should be able to argue with the decisions of the earlier Talmudists (when they\u2019re in fact categorically not allowed to), because the later sages are deemed to be greater than the earlier ones. But as Ashlag is about to point out, that argument is fallacious since the differences he\u2019d cited between the earlier and later sages don\u2019t hold true across the board.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 In fact, the opposite is true when it comes to reconciling the aspect (of Torah) touching on mitzvot. <\/b><\/p>\n

The Talmud itself and the subsequent halachic codes sometimes contradict each other, calling for a harmonizing of divergent halachic decisions. It\u2019s always true, though, that not only must later decisors be logically sound and rigorous, as well as consistent with the entire Talmudic gestalt<\/i> — they must also take the earlier decisors\u2019 opinions into consideration and acquiesce to them rather than defy them. Again, the idea is that that doesn\u2019t seem to be true; it appears that the opinions of later decisors would hold more weight than that of the earlier ones.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 But the earlier (Talmudic and halachic sages) were more flawless than the latter (ones, in fact). (And that\u2019s so) because when it comes to (actual, physical) actions… <\/b><\/p>\n

That is, when it comes to the \u201crevealed\u201d, practical aspect of the Torah, the opposite is true: the earlier sages were indeed greater than the later ones.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 … (the pattern is such that) the vessels of the sephirot<\/i> come into play (first) when it comes to the secrets of the Torah and the reasons for the mitzvot … <\/b><\/p>\n

That is, when it comes to the \u201cconcealed\u201d aspect of the Torah…<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 … (that is,) the sephirah<\/i> lights come into play first. For as you already know, there\u2019s a converse relationship between lights and vessels. <\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b>See 61:3.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So, when it comes to vessels…<\/b><\/p>\n

That is, when it comes to the more external, i.e. \u201crevealed\u201d aspect of the Torah…<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 … the more exalted of them grow first. Hence, the earlier (Talmudic and halachic sages) are more flawless than the latter (ones) when it comes to the practical aspect (of the Torah). <\/b><\/p>\n

So the latter must acquiesce to the former.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 But the opposite is true as far as the lights are concerned.<\/b><\/p>\n

That is, when it comes to the more internal, i.e. \u201cconcealed\u201d aspect of the Torah…<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 For their lower<\/i> lights appear first. And that\u2019s why the latter (Kabbalistic sages) are more flawless than the earlier (ones, despite their lesser over-all stature).<\/b><\/p>\n

(c) 2013 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\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":"

Ashlag now turns to a rather arcane point in Talmudic casuistry. His point is that the idea that the earlier sages were less enlightened than the latter ones is problematic as far as halacha is concerned. For from a halachic … 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-243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iqlA-3V","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ravashlag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ravashlag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ravashlag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ravashlag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ravashlag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ravashlag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ravashlag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ravashlag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/ravashlag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}