We are called by the name Man (Adam) by virtue of our intellect and wisdom. It is impossible to separate intellect from the concept of Man. Without intellect, the concept of Man does not exist, since knowledge is what defines Man. Because of this, we possess a will and desire to know everything. Therefore, Man and intellect are one and inseparable. In this light, Rebbe Nachman writes in Likutey Moharan 62: "The truth is that it is a great mitzvah to sharpen the intellect in order to understand perfectly and completely what God has limited to the human mind." It is important to pay attention to exactly what Rebbe Nachman expresses in his golden language. He writes, "...what God has limited to the human mind." This means that man's intellect is limited. The obligation upon man to sharpen his intellect is only according to his ability, i.e., his measure and limit. He should not attempt to reach beyond this limit. If he does, it will result in what is called "breaking of the vessels." The idea of "breaking of the vessels" means destruction and collapse. The mind of man is like a vessel made to receive the light of the intellect in measure. But if we go beyond the measure, this vessel, the mind, comes to a breaking point, collapses and is ruined. It then loses the ability to receive anything more.
Therefore, everyone must estimate the receptive capacity of his intellect and guard it without exceeding his limit. Even though it is given to everyone to estimate for himself his own limit, how good and pleasant it would be if we had general guidance from an expert knowledgeable in the scope and limits of this field. If we did, it would make our longing and searching for enlightenment easier since the danger would be removed, and the process made more orderly and given to success. In fact, Rebbe Nachman has set out before us the path on how to increase and broaden the intellect, as well as how to guard it from any damage. With his divine wisdom, deep understanding and expertise in every philosophical path, he concludes that we must divide our philosophical study into two types: 1) Investigations that possess no danger at all; 2) Investigations where it is impossible to escape from the inherent dangers.
The first category we can enter, since it will bear the fruit of broadening and increasing our intellect. In other words, every question has a correct answer and each investigation can be fully concluded. However, it is forbidden to enter the second category, because the human mind does not have the ability to resolve any of the difficulties. The more we delve, the more confused we become, because this category's very essence is made up of contradictions and opposites. Any solutions we reach will be the opposite of truth and what is correct. Rebbe Nachman bases his decisive conclusion on the teachings of the Kabbalah from the book of Genesis, where it speaks of the Creation and its root. He says that when it became God's will to create the world, there was no "place" for it, since everything was Ain Sof, God's Infinite Being. Even the place where we are now standing, was then only Ain Sof. Therefore, it was His will to constrict His light to the "sides" and through this constriction He created a "Vacated Space." Inside of this space, He created the entire Creation. The Vacated Space was absolutely necessary for the creation of the world because without it, there would have been no place to create anything.
Presently, the constriction of the Vacated Space is impossible to understand. We will only be able to comprehend it in the future when the human mind will greatly expand. For the time being, there is no way to understand it, because it contains two opposites, Yesh and Ayin, "somethingness" and "nothingness." On one hand, we are saying that God constricted His essence to the sides to make the Vacated Space. Without it, there would have been no "place" to create the world, since God is without limit. So the Vacated Space is the Ayin, "nothingness." Yet on the other hand, the truth is that even this Vacated Space contains His Godliness since nothing can exist without God's life force. This is the Yesh, "somethingness." Thus, we have before us three issues: 1) The Ain Sof; 2) The preparation for the Creation; 3) The Creation.
We exist in this lowly physical world, which is also the center of Creation. When we begin to investigate and search for the true path, we encounter many problems and doubts. These difficulties are divided into two categories; 1) Problems which come from the Creation itself; 2) Problems which originate from the Vacated Space that preceded Creation, i.e., the preparation for the Creation.
In the first category, we need to know that God made everything in the Creation through His spoken word, the "Ten Utterances." These Ten Divine Utterances, through which the world was created, are made up of the twenty-seven [Hebrew] letters of the Torah and their various combinations. However, the second category, which involved the act of constriction that formed the Vacated Space preceding Creation, was not made through letters at all. It came into existence through Divine will alone.
Now it should be easier to understand that when we are searching for the way to connect ourselves to God, Who is without limit, by necessity we pass through the Creation as well as the Vacated Space in order to draw Him to us. In the course of our journey, we inevitably meet up with problems and doubts. However, we must understand and examine the source of our difficulties in order to ascertain into which of the two categories they belong. If it is an issue rooted in the first category of the Creation, which came into being through God's spoken word, made up of the twenty-seven [Hebrew] letters, then it is clear that an answer exists which is accessible to the human intellect. It can be solved through discussions, explanations and words made up of letters, and there is absolutely no danger in these types of investigations. On the contrary, they are worthwhile to enter and going deeply into them will be fruitful by increasing our intellectual understanding. In so doing, we are then able to teach and clarify the way for others.
This is not the case with the second category. When we engage in overly fine introspection and subtle inquiries which are rooted in the Vacated Space, where there are no letters, then problems and doubts will always remain without any solution whatsoever. This is because there are no letters or words to answer them. Therefore, we must be very careful about entering and investigating these kinds of problems and doubts. Those who do, remain submerged and sunk in a sea of doubt without hope for rescue. All of their conclusions are negative, since they are the opposite of true existence, upon which the first category is based. Since the entire essence of the Vacated Space itself is built on two irreconcilable opposites, Yesh and Ayin, "somethingness" and "nothingness," any question that originates from there is irreconcilable and no words exist in Creation to answer it.
One who is careful and goes down the first path, expands his intellect properly. He is protected from all damage and his mind is healthy. He is then called Adam - the true Man. Rebbe Nachman, whose way is never to leave us stranded in confusion, has also concerned himself here to save those sunk in the second, forbidden path. He shows us a miraculous way to be rescued by revealing to us the awesome power hidden in music. He concludes his words in Likutey Moharan 62 by telling us that through the power of the music of the True Tzaddik, who is in the category of Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses, it is possible to extract even those caught in the sea of doubt that comes form the Vacated Space. I concluded my [previous radio] talk with one of these melodies that is attributed to Rebbe Nachman, who is the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu. Understandably, there is much more to explain on these topics and perhaps, God willing, we can explain further at another opportunity. Shalom.
Translated from a discourse by Reb Gedaliah Aharon Kenig, zt"l, on the ramifications of philosophical investigation broadcast in 1979 on WBAI Radio in New York. He was in the States promoting the teachings of Rebbe Nachman and the rebuilding of Tsfat. In the previous photo: Reb Gedaliah Aharon Kenig, seated on right and Rav Yaakov Klein (Executive Director of Nachal Novea Mekor Chochma) during the live broadcast in New York.
[TZADDIK Magazine archives, Chanukah 5760 / 1999]
What a fabulous dvar Torah... thank you.
Posted by: rivkah | Friday, December 04, 2009 at 11:41 PM