Torah Ohr Daf 50 - Speech vs. Thought

Detailed Daf Overview - Project Likkutei Torah

With Rabbi Baruch Epstein from Chicago, IL

www.projectlikkuteitorah.com

To understand the meaning of the two descents of Yaakov and the two ascents of BN”Y, and how this plays out in Kedusha itself, we need to understand the following.

Sh’mo Hagadol= Shem Havayeh. This name describes the process through which Ein Sof manifests itself in/through all of reality. A mashal for understanding this would be the way words originate in and express one’s thoughts, which are in turn rooted in one’s emotions and one’s ideas. Although the words “leave” the person through the act of speech, they still convey the person’s very self; his thoughts, emotions, and even his ideas.

On the one hand, we say creation is the product of Hashem’s Chochma (Wisdom). On the other, we say it is the product of Hashem’s Dibbur (Speech). The way Ein Sof expresses itself in Chochmah, before being invested into even the highest worlds, is called Yisroel (li rosh). The way it invests itself in the worlds (through Malchus=Aretz=Dibbur) is called Yaakov (yud akev), the way Chochma expresses itself in creation. The first level of this investment of Chochmah occurs in the higher, hidden worlds. This is the first descent of Yaakov mentioned in Parshas Vayigash.

In Galus we do not experience Hashem as the true basis of reality; we perceive reality as being distinct from Hashem. This is what Paroh meant when he said “I do not know Hashem”: I do not know of the way Hashem exists beyond Nature. This level of Nature stems from the level of Speech mentioned above. However, just as we are capable of forming new ways of expressing ourselves in language (through our mind), so too Moshe, who is from the level of Chochma, was able to cause a shift in the nature of reality through his miracles.

In order to achieve any kind of revelation, there must first be a stage of concealment, and the two are always commensurate. Thus, the revelation of (the Torah of) Moshiach requires that we experience a deeper and longer Galus than even Mitzrayim. But, the revelation will be that much greater, from a level that makes Havayeh look like Elokim (this is the real level of Shem Hagadol).

Q: if the descent of Yaakov into Mitzrayim causes/reflects the descent of Ein Sof into the hidden and revealed worlds, if it is part of the process of creation, then in what way can it be described as Galus?
A1: Galus=Sleep=The closing of one’s eyes. The fact that we cannot perceive the effects of our Torah and Mitzvot (although their effect is perceived by Hashem) is the primary quality of Galus. (Perceptual Galus)
A2: The level which is now animating the world is not that of pure Chochma Ilaah (Yisroel), but the way it passes through a Tzimtzum (Binei Yisroel/Yaakov). This is what causes the world to seem separate from Hashem; if Chochma itself were invested in the world, Hashems presence would be obvious and would change the natural order. (The root of Perceptual Galus in Seder Hishtalshelus)

· Yisroel (Sabah)=Li Rosh= NeHI d’Chochma (which becomes Mochin d’ZA)

· Yisroel (Zutah)= Z”A/Machshavah/Middos

· B’nei Yirsroel= Hamshachas Z”A b’Malchus/Dibbur (Yaakov)

Concepts

1. Speech (otherness/plurality ) vs. Thought (selfhood/unity).

2. The unity of Speech and Thought.

3. Galus is less a change in reality than a change in our perception of it.(ososeinu lo ra’inu).

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