{"id":26,"date":"2011-02-03T16:48:42","date_gmt":"2011-02-03T16:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/talesfromthezohar.wordpress.com\/?p=26"},"modified":"2011-02-03T16:48:42","modified_gmt":"2011-02-03T16:48:42","slug":"4-layer-upon-layer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/2011\/02\/03\/4-layer-upon-layer\/","title":{"rendered":"4. Layer Upon Layer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Book of Radiance: Tales from the Zohar<\/em><\/p>\n

By Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

4. LAYER UPON LAYER<\/p>\n

How rich and effulgent with spices it must have been, the garden that King Solomon used to meander about and gather roses from (see Song of Songs<\/em> 6:2). And one can only imagine how copious in texture and color his nut-garden must have been, too (see Ibid<\/em>. 6:11). In any event, the Zohar tells us that one day Solomon \u201cset out to penetrate the depths of the nut \u2026 so he took hold of one by its shell and began to contemplate its different layers\u201d right there in the garden. He came to realize that \u201cjust as the nut itself is surrounded by many shells, so too is the world, with shells both above and below. For, from the beginning of the mystery of the Heavenly Point (all the way up, all the way) down to the lowest of degrees, each thing is subsumed in every other thing, and each serves as a shell to the other\u201d (Zohar 1, 19b).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s to say that Solomon came to understand that each and every thing is encased in something else, which is encased in yet some other thing; and that the whole functions as a sort of puzzle within a puzzle which we often can\u2019t solve. For, most of us stumble about and soldier-on doing what we must, never quite sure what\u2019s overhead and what\u2019s within.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re told for example that though he was a prophet and privy to all sorts of revelations, Ezekiel saw \u201ca tempest coming from the north, (along with) a huge cloud and a flaming fire with a brightness over-covering it; and from its midst was like the color of the Chashmal<\/em> (an untranslatable term) from the midst of the fire\u201d (Ezekiel 1:4), one within the other. The Kabbalists tell us that that\u2019s an esoteric depiction of the layers of our being, but at the time Ezekiel was so thunderstruck by the complexity of it all that he didn\u2019t quite grasp what he\u2019d seen for the moment.<\/p>\n

Well, touching on this same theme (and we\u2019ll see exactly how so later on), the Zohar presents us with a tale in which it\u2019s recorded that Rabbi Yehudah was walking with Rabbi Abba when Rabbi Yehudah asked the following: \u201cIf G-d knew that Adam was destined to sin in His presence (by eating from the Tree of Knowledge) and that G-d would sentence him to death, then why did G-d (bother to) create Him?\u201d (Zohar 3, 159 a-b). Good point!<\/p>\n

Thinking Rabbi Yehudah had tread upon ground he shouldn\u2019t have (understand that Rabbi Yehudah was a younger disciple at that point), Rabbi Abba rebuked him and said, \u201cWhat need do you have to know the ways and decrees of your Master?\u201d After all, he went on, \u201cYou can question what you\u2019re permitted to question\u2026\u201d, but \u201cyou can\u2019t question G-d\u2019s ways and the supernal secrets that He has hidden away!\u201d<\/p>\n

But apparently that didn\u2019t sit quite right with Rabbi Yehudah. In point of fact, he wasn\u2019t the only sage to have wished to have the Great Curtains of Heaven opened for him but couldn\u2019t. After all, none other than Moshe once asked G-d to grant him insight into His governance of the world but he received only an arcane answer (Menachot<\/em> 29b).<\/p>\n

It only stands to reason that Rabbi Abba would have been reticent to disclose a secret to him, though; for weren\u2019t we warned that \u201cthe secret things belong to G-d our L-rd\u201d (Deuteronomy 29:29) and not us? And isn\u2019t it said in Sefer Yetzirah<\/em> that when it comes to certain things that we\u2019re to \u201cstop (our) mouth from speaking and (our) heart from thinking\u201d about them, and that if our heart \u201cruns\u201d there because we want to delve into it, that we\u2019re to \u201creturn to the place\u201d — the subject at hand — only intermittently and warily (1:8)?<\/p>\n

And haven\u2019t we also been cautioned not to \u201cseek things that are too hard for you (to decipher), and not (to) search for things that are hidden (from you), and (only) to think about things you have been permitted to; (for) you have no business with secret things\u201d (Chaggiga<\/em> 13a)? Nonetheless, sometimes the soul yearns to know and the heart can\u2019t live without insight, and that was apparently true of Rabbi Yehudah.<\/p>\n

But Rabbi Abba continued to discourage him. \u201cWho can know and grasp G-d\u2019s hidden thoughts?\u201d he remonstrated him. \u201cCommon people (like us) haven\u2019t permission to speak of concealed things\u201d; only people like \u201cthe Holy Luminary\u201d, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochei do, not us, he went on to say.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless it seems that something had him change his mind. We don\u2019t know what did it — whether Rabbi Abba suddenly came to see that the younger Rabbi could be trusted with the secret; whether the mention of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochei evoked his presence, and Rabbi Shimon himself allowed Rabbi Abba to go on, or something else — but Rabbi Abba suddenly went on to reveal the following to Rabbi Yehudah and to us as well, his onlookers. It\u2019s based on the famous verse, \u201cAnd G-d created man in His image, in the image of G-d did He create him\u201d (Genesis 1:27) and it too speaks about our inner and outer layers, and of how interlaced they are.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Holy One, blessed be He, is hidden in the midst of three worlds\u201d, he said quite curiously. \u201cThe first one is very lofty, it\u2019s the most secret of them all\u2026 and it\u2019s only known to Him, as He\u2019s concealed in it. The second, which is connected to the first, is the one in which G-d can be known \u2026. And the third, which is the lowest, is the world in which\u2026 the angels dwell, and where G-d Himself is (both) there and not there.\u201d That means to say that \u201cwhile He\u2019s there now\u201d to be sure, \u201cHe nonetheless leaves it once you start to reflect upon and grasp Him\u201d and He escapes your grip.<\/p>\n

Thus, if you want to find G-d you\u2019d need to pass through three separate layers, one deeper than the next: first, past how He presents Himself in this world, where He\u2019s knowable to us on some levels but not on others; second, past how He is when He dwells up high where He\u2019s knowable to sages and prophets; and third, deep within the highest level, where He\u2019s only known to Himself. The point is that all three levels are intertwined, to be sure, but finding G-d anywhere along the line is still and all a challenge.<\/p>\n

Now, man, who is created in G-d\u2019s image as we\u2019d learned, is like that too; and this is Rabbi Abba\u2019s point as well. For, man also occupies three \u201cworlds\u201d, if you will. The first is the one in which he is at once both \u201cthere and not there\u201d — that\u2019s his physical existence, where he\u2019s most manifest but where he doesn\u2019t really belong at bottom. His \u201csecond world\u201d which is \u201cconnected to the supernal worlds, is man\u2019s (experience of the) \u2026 Garden of Eden\u201d after he passes through this world. And his \u201cthird world\u201d which is \u201csupernal, mysterious, concealed, and hidden\u201d is also \u201cincomprehensible\u201d, because it\u2019s even beyond The Garden of Eden.<\/p>\n

His point here is to illustrate that \u201call (below) is as it is above\u201d, in that we too have our inner and outer realms, which are also intertwined. Thus, if you want to understand man<\/em> you\u2019d also need to pass through three separate layers, one deeper than the next: first, past how he presents himself in this world; second, past how he is when he dwells in the Garden of Eden after his passing; and third, deep within his being, where man\u2019s essence is \u201csupernal, mysterious, concealed, hidden\u201d and \u201cincomprehensible\u201d. For uncovering one\u2019s own makeup is also a challenge, since we too are comprised of layer upon layer of being over-covering our essence.<\/p>\n

Having touched upon the Afterlife, and bringing the conversation back to where it had started (when Rabbi Yehudah asked why man must die), Rabbi Abba then makes the point that just as we were created in G-d\u2019s image and thus are comprised of various layers of being, we\u2019re likewise worthy of \u201ca supernal inheritance\u201d from our Father, immortality. For man \u201cwill never be annihilated but will enjoy (residence in) goodly, supernal, and precious worlds\u201d after death, he assures us. In other words, Rabbi Abba is telling Rabbi Yehudah that though death is inevitable and daunting, it\u2019s nevertheless purposeful and beneficial.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019re to \u201crejoice when the righteous depart from this world\u201d rather than mourn. For the truth be known, \u201chad man not sinned, he would never have tasted death\u201d; but since he did, we must all \u201ctaste death before (we) enter the other worlds\u201d we\u2019d cited above. And on some level life and death are intertwined, too; as everything lies within everything else like shells upon shells.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a>
\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 Book of Radiance: Tales from the Zohar By Rabbi Yaakov Feldman 4. LAYER UPON LAYER How rich and effulgent with spices it must have been, the garden that King Solomon used to meander about and gather roses from (see … 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-26","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\/p7iqmS-q","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}