The other evening, at “Moshiach Seudah”, I had
the pleasure of hearing words from Rabbi Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin. He was
reluctant to offer a public delivery. Only after his esteemed brother in
law, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Rosenfeld, spoke followed by melodies and L'Chaims
did he finally open up and closed the holiday with some of the most meaningful
words I heard all holiday.
He explained that there are three dimensions in space. There's a line, which is one dimensional. Then there's a plane, which is two dimensional. Finally, there’s a cube, which is three dimensional.
Part of the condition of the “divine state of exile”, and its attendant darkness, is that human minds are also in exile. They experience difficulty seeing beyond their conditioned limits. This could be compared a one dimensional being groping to imagine what it's like to live in two dimensions. All he knows is movement along a line, variations on a repetitive back and forth. Imagining side to side movement is very challenging; perhaps a paradigm shift best groped for in academic abstractions. But, it doesn't end there. Then same can be said for a two dimensional being groping to grasp three-dimensional reality. It's just the next level of the exact same struggle.
Then Rabbi Shalom Rubashkin continued his address by recounting some of the conditions under which he observed Passover in prison. He explained that he had matzah, wine and no shortage of bitter herbs. Besides a child to ask the questions, everything technically necessary to properly observe the holiday was present. Yet for all his freedom to celebrate the holiday of freedom, he cannot compare a Passover in prison to one with family and community in Borough Park. The stark contrast can be compared to a one dimensional being going suddenly going two dimensional!
He explained that there are three dimensions in space. There's a line, which is one dimensional. Then there's a plane, which is two dimensional. Finally, there’s a cube, which is three dimensional.
Part of the condition of the “divine state of exile”, and its attendant darkness, is that human minds are also in exile. They experience difficulty seeing beyond their conditioned limits. This could be compared a one dimensional being groping to imagine what it's like to live in two dimensions. All he knows is movement along a line, variations on a repetitive back and forth. Imagining side to side movement is very challenging; perhaps a paradigm shift best groped for in academic abstractions. But, it doesn't end there. Then same can be said for a two dimensional being groping to grasp three-dimensional reality. It's just the next level of the exact same struggle.
Then Rabbi Shalom Rubashkin continued his address by recounting some of the conditions under which he observed Passover in prison. He explained that he had matzah, wine and no shortage of bitter herbs. Besides a child to ask the questions, everything technically necessary to properly observe the holiday was present. Yet for all his freedom to celebrate the holiday of freedom, he cannot compare a Passover in prison to one with family and community in Borough Park. The stark contrast can be compared to a one dimensional being going suddenly going two dimensional!
Someone who only had the experience of
Passover in prison cannot even begin to imagine what it's like to have it in
Borough Park. Similarly, people today are challenged imagining what Passover in
Jerusalem will be like after the Messiah arrives. We're like that two
dimensional being groping to grasp at the third dimension.
We imagine that what we already have is
utterly fantastic, a wow! But, that's only because of how the limitations of
exile have conditioned our thinking. However, if we accept that our mental
scope of vision has been narrowed by the darkness, then we can begin to open
ourselves to seek and yearn for more. Then our capacities to envision will
expand, expanding the scope our holy yearnings as well.
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Selected comments from the FaceBook version of the post:
ReplyDeleteSara:Beautiful, thank you for sharing.
Choni: With great pleasure! Thank you for enjoying! The world's in deep need for Jewish mysticism. It's the medicine for so many of the intellectual ills and the Zohar's guarantee that the Moshiach will arrive with compassion. A Kabbalist taught me that this means that whatever the painful birth pangs of Moshiach was supposed to teach us will be taught to us instead by the Zohar, Ari z"l and Chassidus.
Stacey: Very eloquent, Thank you!!!
Choni: With pleasure! I love sharing user friendly spiritual ideas culled from Jewish mystical thought. It's my belief that it helps the world.
Ayse: Planet Earth contains diverse peoples. The people need to understand the spiritual guidance—mystic May add to ambiguity
Choni: True Ayse without understanding there's almost no point to it at all. I am using the word "mystic" loosely. What I really mean is someone who has special knowledge of spiritual matters. Certain branches of Judaism are inclined to accept that the very redemption of humanity can be smoothed and aided by such knowledge spreading among wider populations; provided that it's graspable and user friendly. Obviously, this is a relative scale. What one population finds user friendly is not what another population would. So one presenting such ideas has to be sensitive to the audience. This way the ambiguity, you referred to, is either eliminated or at least significantly reduced.
Ayse: Choni Looks like we are able to get deeper. Words... I consider mysticism a personal ‘arrival’— subjective, transferable in a poetic way. Understandings are not equal while appreciation is possible...I am going back to sleep...Zzzzz
Choni: Jewish mysticism has an intellectual side too. It not just poetic outpourings. My Wife knows your culture a lot better than I do. So, I am not really sure if I have identified the correct cultural parallel. But think about the difference between the styles of Ibn Arabi and Rumi. Maybe, that helps. Supposedly [as I was told], one was philosophical and the other intuitively poetic.