Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Lessons in Tanya, chapter 23.
In our previous deep dives, we've journeyed through a truly profound and let's be honest, mind bending idea that from the Divine's ultimate perspective, nothing, absolutely nothing, is truly separate from its source. The very divine word that brings everything into existence doesn't detach or dissipate like our human words do. You know, when we speak, our words leave us. They're out there, kind of independent, separate. But the Divine word, the act of creation itself, it remains eternally, intrinsically connected to the divine, infinitely close and interwoven with its essence. It's only from our subjective, limited human viewpoint, shrouded by various concealments and reductions of divine influence, like looking at a dazzling light through multiple layers of frosted glass, that we perceive ourselves in the entire world as distinct, independent entities, as if we're operating on our own.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Yeah, that feeling of me being separate.
[00:00:57] Speaker A: Exactly. But chapter 23 promises to take us even further, connecting this deep philosophy directly to our everyday lives and actions. If that perceived separation is in fact just an illusion born of concealment, which.
[00:01:10] Speaker B: Is what we've been exploring, right, then.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: The logical conclusion must be that anything in which the divine will stands completely revealed must be utterly unified with the Divine.
[00:01:21] Speaker B: It makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Remove the concealment, reveal the unity.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: So today we're diving into exactly how this incredible principle applies to our engagement with sacred texts and the performance of commandments. It's about finding the actual mechanisms through which we, in our seemingly separate existence, can truly reconnect, fuse, and become one with the very source of all being.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: Exactly what we're really unpacking today isn't just theory. It's almost like a practical guide. How to achieve a true deep unity with the Divine's will and wisdom, and thereby with the divine being itself. Through dedicated engagement with both study and action, we're going to explore the specific profound mechanisms of connection that are available to every single one of us. And perhaps most importantly, recognize the different levels of closeness and identity we can attain. It truly redefines what it means to.
[00:02:11] Speaker A: Connect spiritually with that powerful premise in mind. How do we begin to unravel the mechanisms of this profound unity? Let's dive in.
[00:02:21] Speaker B: So let's quickly just reinforce the core idea we've established in previous discussions. Yeah. From the Divine's perspective, there is no true separation. None.
[00:02:29] Speaker A: Fundamentally, no.
[00:02:30] Speaker B: The entirety of existence, from the smallest atom to the grandest galaxy, is continually brought into being by the divine Word. And unlike a human word that once spoken, becomes Separate from the speaker.
[00:02:41] Speaker A: Right is out there on its own.
[00:02:43] Speaker B: The Divine Word remains eternally connected to its source. It's not a detached utterance. It's an ongoing internal expression of the divine essence itself.
Think of it like the very thought within your mind. It's intrinsically you. Even as you formulate it, it hasn't left you.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: It's still part of your consciousness. The Divine Word is precisely like that.
So this means that if we as created beings, experience ourselves as independent self, separate entities, it's not because we are fundamentally distinct from our Creator, that's the key point.
[00:03:16] Speaker B: It's not fundamental separation.
[00:03:17] Speaker A: It's because the boundless divine life force that sustains our very existence reaches us through countless reductions and concealments.
Imagine a blazing sun radiating light and warmth.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: Okay?
[00:03:30] Speaker A: If you place a series of dense opaque screens in front of it, each with a tiny pinhole, the light that finally filters through to you will be greatly diminished, filtered, and appear far less intense than its actual source.
[00:03:42] Speaker B: Like dialing it way, way down.
[00:03:44] Speaker A: Exactly. These reductions and concealments are precisely like those screens. They obscure the direct, inner, ultimate aspect of the Divine's will, often referred to as the divine countenance, meaning the internal, unadulterated divine presence, a face to face, as it were. Right.
This pervasive concealment is what fosters our illusion of independence, making us feel as if we're operating on our own steam, when in truth, we are completely, utterly dependent on that continuous, hidden divine flow for every single moment of our existence.
[00:04:17] Speaker B: We just don't perceive it directly.
[00:04:19] Speaker A: Most of the time we don't. And this hidden flow leads us to a crucial logical consequence.
[00:04:24] Speaker B: Right? The flip side of the coin.
[00:04:26] Speaker A: If the sensation of separation is only a result of concealment, then it stands to reason that anything where the divine will is not concealed, where it stands revealed in its essence, essence, must be completely nullified before the Divine and absolutely one with the Divine. It's like removing all those frosted glass panes. The light doesn't just get brighter, it is the light in its unadulterated intensity.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: It'S identity, not just proximity. And this fundamental principle is what sets the stage for our entire understanding of the role of sacred texts and the performance of commandments in our lives. They are precisely those rare precious areas where the divine will is revealed without concealment, and therefore where profound, unbreakable unity can be attained.
[00:05:07] Speaker A: So that's where the connection happens.
Tic tag 1.2. Introducing the commandments as channels of Divine will.
That foundational understanding of ultimate unity is compelling but for many of us, the big question is, okay, how does this play out in our concrete daily lives and actions? Where do we begin to experience this connection? It's not just abstract philosophy, right?
[00:05:30] Speaker B: Not at all. It has to manifest practically. And ancient mystical texts offer direct answers. The Zohar, a foundational work of mysticism, declares profoundly that the Torah and the divine are entirely one, which is just.
[00:05:43] Speaker A: An astonishing statement in itself.
[00:05:45] Speaker B: It really is. And then the Tikkune Zohar, another classic commentary, adds an equally powerful image. The 248 commandments are the 248 organs of the Divine King.
[00:05:54] Speaker A: Okay, let's really lean into that analogy of organs, because it feels key to understanding this particular level of connection.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: It is. It's very illustrative.
[00:06:02] Speaker A: Think about your own body.
Every single organ, your eyes, your ears, your hands, your feet, serves as a unique repository for a particular faculty of your soul vested within it. Your eye, for example, is the physical instrument through which your faculty of sight expresses itself. Your ear is the channel for hearing.
[00:06:21] Speaker B: Right? The faculty uses the organ.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: And you don't consciously issue a command to your eye to see or to your ear to hear. These faculties are intrinsically connected to and expressed through through those organs almost automatically.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: It's seamless, integrated.
[00:06:35] Speaker A: In a remarkably similar vein, every single commandment is understood to be a distinct channel and repository for a specific aspect of the divine will, a precise manifestation of that will that is clothed and vested within that particular act. It's not just a general directive from above.
[00:06:50] Speaker B: No, it's much more specific than that.
[00:06:52] Speaker A: It's a specific, localized expression of divine desire.
[00:06:55] Speaker B: That's a crucial distinction. While all commandments generally reflect the divine's overarching will and purpose, each individual commandment expresses a unique, specific aspect of this will.
For instance, the divine will concerning compassion might manifest in the commandment to give to charity.
[00:07:15] Speaker A: Okay?
[00:07:15] Speaker B: The act of giving becomes a direct channel for that specific divine desire. Similarly, the divine will concerning justice might manifest in the commandment to judge fairly, where the act of impartial judgment is the conduit. Each act is a unique conduit for a particular facet of the Divine's infinite desire and purpose for existence.
[00:07:35] Speaker A: And this is where the puzzle pieces truly begin to click into place or maybe raise more questions. If these commandments were described as mere organs of the divine King, which is.
[00:07:43] Speaker B: Already a very high level, does that.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: Imply they are not one with the Divine in the truest sense, but merely joined to it? Like a hand is joined to a body, an organ, while an Integral part of a body and serving the soul's purpose still, you know, a distinct entity from the soul itself.
[00:07:58] Speaker B: Right. It serves the soul, but it isn't the soul.
[00:08:01] Speaker A: So this raises a crucial question about the different levels of unity. Is this organ level the pinnacle of connection, or is there a deeper, more intrinsic unity available to us? This distinction feels vital as we explore how we can connect and just how profoundly.
[00:08:17] Speaker B: Absolutely, yeah. We need to understand these different qualities of connection.
[00:08:21] Speaker A: So if these commandments are the organs of the Divine, and we're talking about profound unity, it might still seem counterintuitive for many of us. How are these seemingly specific actions, like giving charity, observing a particular ritual, or even simple acts of kindness, truly the Divine's innermost will?
[00:08:39] Speaker B: Yeah, it feels like a jump, doesn't it?
[00:08:41] Speaker A: It seems almost too specific, too mundane perhaps, to think that the entire universe, with all its vastness and complexity, exists for such particular acts. Can you help us connect the dots here?
[00:08:51] Speaker B: This is truly a profound concep, and it goes to the very purpose of creation. The core argument is that the commandments constitute the Divine's innermost will and true ultimate desire.
[00:09:01] Speaker A: The ultimate desire?
[00:09:02] Speaker B: Yes. This will is, as the texts explain, clothed within all upper and lower worlds, giving them their very life and sustenance. To understand this, we need to think about desires in layers, not just as a single flat intention.
[00:09:17] Speaker A: Okay, layers of desire.
[00:09:18] Speaker B: Right. The entire cosmos. All worlds exist because of the Divine's will for them to exist. That's the first layer, the external will. This external will for existence brought them into being, allowing them to manifest and operate.
[00:09:32] Speaker A: Sure, that makes sense. Worlds need to exist first.
[00:09:35] Speaker B: However, this initial desire for worlds to exist is actually an external manifestation of a deeper underlying internal will. It's the means to an end, if you will.
[00:09:44] Speaker A: Ah, okay. Not the enigol itself.
[00:09:47] Speaker B: Exactly. That internal, true desire, the ultimate pleasure for the Divine, is for the commandments to be performed. Think about why would the Divine desire worlds to exist at all?
[00:09:56] Speaker A: Right? What's the point?
[00:09:57] Speaker B: The answer, according to this teaching, is because commandments require beings to perform them and objects or a setting to be performed with. You can't perform an act of giving charity if there's no physical world, no one in need, or no one to give.
[00:10:09] Speaker A: True. You need the context.
[00:10:11] Speaker B: You can't meditate on divine greatness if there's no brain or mind to do so.
The entire cosmic order, therefore, is ultimately created to serve as a vehicle, a stage, an elaborate setting for the performance of these commandments.
They are not an Afterthought, not an optional extra.
[00:10:28] Speaker A: They're the main event.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: They are the fundamental, innermost purpose of creation itself.
Tag tag. 2.2 the business trip analogy. To illustrate layers of desire, to really.
[00:10:40] Speaker A: Grasp these layers of desire, from the external to the innermost, let's use that classic analogy you mentioned, the business trip one.
[00:10:47] Speaker B: Yeah. It helps. Helps clarify.
[00:10:48] Speaker A: Imagine a person who travels abroad for a business trip. On the surface, if you ask them what they're doing, their immediate external desire is simply to travel. That's the act they're engaged in right now.
[00:10:58] Speaker B: Get on a plane, go somewhere.
[00:11:00] Speaker A: But if you probe a little deeper and ask them why they want to travel, their underlying motive, their more internal desire, is to reap profit from the business.
That potential profit is the driving force behind the journey itself, making the travel worthwhile.
[00:11:13] Speaker B: Travel serves the goal of profitability.
[00:11:15] Speaker A: Now let's probe even deeper, to the very core. Why do they want profit? They want it for the things they will ultimately buy with that profit. Perhaps a comfortable home, enriching experiences, security for their family, or the ability to pursue a passion.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: The things that bring real pleasure and satisfaction.
[00:11:32] Speaker A: This is the ultimate innermost desire, the true object of their pleasure and deepest gratification. It's this deep ultimate desire that actually creates the desire for profit, which in turn leads to their desire to travel. The external action, traveling is entirely subservient to and fundamentally driven by the innermost desire. It's a chain of intention, all culminating in that deepest pleasure.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: A perfect illustration. And it applies similarly in the case of the worlds and the Commandments. The Divine's external will for the worlds to exist is fundamentally motivated by the desire for the true object of Divine pleasure, which are the commandments.
[00:12:08] Speaker A: The ultimate payoff, so to speak.
[00:12:11] Speaker B: Exactly. Thus, the commandments truly represent the Divine's innermost will, the ultimate purpose. And it is for their sake that the Divine gives life to all the worlds. This isn't merely a poetic idea. The very life and sustenance of all worlds are described as being dependent upon the performance of the commandments by beings in these lower worlds.
[00:12:30] Speaker A: Wow. So our actions here actually sustain existence according to this?
[00:12:35] Speaker B: Yes. This act of performance, by bringing the Divine's innermost will into being, draws down and sustains Divine life and sustenance into those worlds, actively animating and upholding their very existence. It's a continuous reciprocal flow where our actions here literally fuel existence, ensuring the cosmic engine keeps running.
[00:12:54] Speaker A: That puts a whole new weight on things.
[00:12:56] Speaker B: Okay, so we've established that commandments are the Divine's innermost will, and that the entire existence of the world hinges on their performance serving as the ultimate cosmic purpose. Building on that, the actual performance and fulfillment of these commandments are described as serving as the innermost garment for the innermost aspect of the Divine's will. What does that mean for our connection? An innermost garment. It's a powerful metaphor. An innermost garment implies something incredibly close, something that truly embodies and perfectly covers what it encloses.
[00:13:25] Speaker A: Like a perfect fit.
[00:13:26] Speaker B: Exactly. Imagine wearing a piece of clothing so perfectly tailored, so much a part of you, that it feels like a second skin. That's the level of intimacy implied here.
Through this performance of commandments, the light and life of the Divine will flow forth to be clothed within the world, animating them.
[00:13:43] Speaker A: Ah, so the action allows the life force to flow into the world.
[00:13:47] Speaker B: Precisely. This underscores that the worlds are animated precisely because they serve as a vehicle for the commandments. It's not a coincidence, it's a direct cause and effect relationship. The very reason the worlds exist and receive life is because they are meant to be the stage, the canvas for these divine acts to unfold. Our actions therefore literally complete the Divine's intention for creation, making the spiritual manifest.
[00:14:10] Speaker A: In the physical, bringing it down to earth. Literally.
Tech 3.2 the analogy of organs and.
[00:14:16] Speaker B: Total Surrender now let's revisit that powerful idea of the 248 commandments being the 248 organs of the Divine King.
[00:14:23] Speaker A: Right, the organ analogy.
[00:14:25] Speaker B: Again, it's not just a poetic phrase. It metaphorically signifies complete and utter surrender, an effortless alignment.
Think about the organs of your own human body again. They are completely surrendered to your soul and your will.
[00:14:38] Speaker A: True. My hand just does what I want it to.
[00:14:41] Speaker B: When you desire to stretch out your hand or your foot, they obey your will immediately, without any conscious command or delay whatsoever. There's no internal deliberation, no conscious instruction you send to your hand.
[00:14:54] Speaker A: No, it just moves.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: It just moves the very instant the thought or desire enters your mind. It's a beautiful, automatic and totally integrated surrender.
[00:15:03] Speaker A: Effortless.
[00:15:04] Speaker B: This automatic, effortless response is absolutely key to understanding this level of unity. It contrasts sharply with actions that might require conscious exertion, like forcing yourself to do something you dislike but know is logically necessary. Like dragging yourself to the gym or doing taxes.
[00:15:21] Speaker A: Yeah, there's definitely a command involved there, right?
[00:15:23] Speaker B: In those cases, there's an internal command from one part of your mind to another. Maybe a battle of wills. But with your physical organs, there's no Such command involved, it's an immediate spontaneous alignment with your deepest intrinsic desire. In the same way, the very life force animating the performance of a commandment is completely surrendered to the divine will closed within it.
[00:15:44] Speaker A: So the energy doing the action is surrendered.
[00:15:46] Speaker B: Yes, this life force of the commandment performance itself becomes, in relation to the divine will, truly like a body to a soul, a profound integrated unity where one serves the other spontaneously and completely, without resistance or separation.
[00:16:01] Speaker A: Body to soul unity. Okay, hashtag tag hack 3.3. The human soul's role and the two distinct levels of unity in action in.
[00:16:08] Speaker B: This intimate connection extends to our own souls. The external garment of the human divine soul, Specifically, its faculty of action, the.
[00:16:15] Speaker A: Part of us that does things exactly.
[00:16:18] Speaker B: That faculty clothes itself in the vitality of the commandment's performance.
Since this faculty of action functions outwardly in the physical world, it's considered an external garment compared to our inner faculties of thought and speech.
But even this external faculty, when engaged in a commandment, achieves a deep connection. It becomes like a body to a soul in relation to the divine will.
[00:16:40] Speaker A: So our doing part connects deeply.
[00:16:42] Speaker B: It becomes completely surrendered and united. And it goes even further, right down to the very physical organs involved in.
[00:16:48] Speaker A: The action, or actual hands, feet, mouth.
[00:16:51] Speaker B: Yes, the actual physical organs of the person performing the commandment also become a veritable vehicle or chariot for the divine will. During the act, think about your hand distributing charity to the poor, or your feet walking towards a sacred purpose. Or your mouth and tongue speaking words of sacred texts, or your brain reflecting on divine greatness and inspiring awe. When these physical organs are occupied with commandments, they are totally surrendered, like a chariot to the divine will. Clothed within those specific actions, they act entirely as instruments for a higher purpose.
[00:17:22] Speaker A: Okay, so this gives us two levels. Let's clarify those.
[00:17:25] Speaker B: Right? Two distinct ways we connect through actions. Think of it like this. There's the deeper fused connection, and then there's the serving subservient connection.
First, we have the body to soul unity. This higher unity is achieved by the divine soul's faculty of action.
Here, originally, separate entities, the spiritual faculty of the soul and the physical act, become one.
The spiritual permeates and adapts to the physical entirely, becoming an intrinsic profound unity.
[00:17:54] Speaker A: A deep fusion, like they merge together.
[00:17:56] Speaker B: It's like two separate pieces clicking perfectly into place to form a single integrated whole.
[00:18:01] Speaker A: Okay, that's level one. That's the other.
[00:18:03] Speaker B: The second level, the chariot unity, applies specifically to the physical organs themselves. While a chariot has no will of its own and is Completely subservient to its rider.
[00:18:13] Speaker A: It just goes where it's steered.
[00:18:14] Speaker B: It is not united with the rider in the same intrinsic way a body is united with a soul. The chariot remains a distinct entity, merely serving. It's a powerful connection of complete subservience and functionality, but not fusion of identity.
[00:18:30] Speaker A: So connected and serving, but still separate.
[00:18:33] Speaker B: Exactly. This distinction is crucial to appreciate the subtle yet profound differences in how we can connect on these levels.
[00:18:40] Speaker A: And this distinction leads us perfectly to that ancient teaching from the sages that the patriarchs are truly the divine chariot.
[00:18:49] Speaker B: Yes. This designation for the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is unique and incredibly significant.
While, as we've seen, any person's body becomes a chariot when performing a commandment, during that specific act, the patriarch's submission to the divine will was unparalleled in its power, scope and consistency. All their organs, all their faculties, all their actions were totally surrendered to the divine will throughout their entire lives, every single moment of every day, not just during specific acts.
[00:19:18] Speaker A: Wow. Constantly a chariot.
[00:19:20] Speaker B: They didn't just do commandments. Their very being was a continuous, living act of service and alignment.
[00:19:26] Speaker A: So their lives weren't just about doing good, but their very being was an embodiment of divine will. That's an extraordinary level of alignment, isn't it?
[00:19:33] Speaker B: It truly is. It challenges our very notion of what it means to be truly dedicated.
[00:19:38] Speaker A: And this stands in stark contrast to others like us, perhaps, whose organs become a chariot only during the act of a commandment and could potentially serve an opposite purpose at other times.
[00:19:48] Speaker B: Right. The potential for deviation is there for most.
[00:19:51] Speaker A: The patriarchs were a living, breathing, constant expression of the divine will, a model of sustained, unwavering connection for those of us who sometimes struggle to even, you know, get our body out of bed in the morning. Yeah. The patriarch set an incredibly high bar for total, lifelong surrender.
It highlights just how far this concept of a chariot can go.
[00:20:13] Speaker B: It shows the ideal, the ultimate potential of that connection.
[00:20:16] Speaker A: So we've explored these amazing levels of unity achievable through performing commandments from our soul's faculties becoming body to a soul for the divine will, to our physical organs acting as a chariot. These are already incredibly profound connections.
[00:20:31] Speaker B: Absolutely profound, yes.
[00:20:32] Speaker A: But now, for what feels like the deepest revelation of all, there is a third, even higher level of unity achieved uniquely through the study of sacred texts.
[00:20:41] Speaker B: Ah, yes. This is where it gets even more intimate.
[00:20:44] Speaker A: This isn't just another rung on the ladder, is it? It sounds like an entirely different dimension of connection, a qualitatively different Fusion.
[00:20:52] Speaker B: That's a good way to put it. Qualitatively different.
4.2. Perfect unity through thought and Speech in Sacred Study the core idea here is that the thought and meditation on the words of sacred texts, which occurs primarily in the brain, and the power of speech engaged in these words, which occurs in the mouth, these are considered the innermost garments of the divine soul.
[00:21:15] Speaker A: Innermost garments? Closer than the action garment?
[00:21:18] Speaker B: Exactly. As such, they are intrinsically closer to the soul itself, more intimate than the faculty of action, which is the external garment, as we just discussed. Because they are so internal, so intimately connected to the soul's very being. When they are engaged in sacred study, they, and especially the divine soul itself.
[00:21:36] Speaker A: When clothed in them, when we're thinking and speaking these words, they are fused.
[00:21:40] Speaker B: In perfect unity with the divine will. They're not merely a vehicle or a chariot for it. They become absolutely one, an identity.
[00:21:47] Speaker A: Perfect unity. That's a very strong term.
What does that truly mean in this context? How is it different from the body to soul unity we saw with action?
[00:21:56] Speaker B: Right. It's a crucial distinction. Perfect unity indicates that the two become absolutely one and same. There is no subtle distinction left. This is a higher level of unity than even the body to soul unity we discussed earlier.
[00:22:08] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:22:09] Speaker B: In body to soul unity, two separate identities are joined and function as one. But they still retain a subtle inherent distinction. Think of it like a master craftsman and their perfectly crafted tool.
The tool is an extension of the craftsman's will and skill, functioning seamlessly. But it's still distinct from the craftsman. Still tool and craftsman, or a perfectly matched engine and car.
They work as one unit, but they are still distinct components.
An example of perfect unity, on the other hand, is the soul with its own inherent faculties. Your capacity for thought, your capacity for speech, your capacity for emotion. These are not separate entities joined to your soul.
[00:22:48] Speaker A: They are the soul.
[00:22:49] Speaker B: They are your soul expressing itself. They are one in the same. You cannot distinguish between your essence and these core faculties in the same way. When one engages in sacred study, the divine soul and its faculties of speech and thought become perfectly united with the divine will. They fuse. They become one. It's a true identity.
[00:23:08] Speaker A: Wow. Not just connected, but identified. Hashtag tag 4.3 the identity of divine Will and Sacred Wisdom.
[00:23:15] Speaker B: And the reason for this perfect unity is fundamental. The divine will is literally identical with the specific legal subject matter you think and speak about during study.
[00:23:24] Speaker A: So the content itself is the will?
[00:23:26] Speaker B: Yes. All these legal principles, all the rulings on what is permissible or not, whether a person is exempt or innocent.
Each of these isn't just a rule from the divine. It's a direct expression of the innermost divine will itself. For example, the Divine simply willed that a particular thing be deemed permissible, or that a person be found innocent in a certain situation.
Each of these rulings is not just a reflection of the divine will, but.
[00:23:49] Speaker A: A direct manifestation of it. Like hearing the Divine's own thought process?
[00:23:53] Speaker B: In a manner of speaking, yes. An aspect of the Divine's own thought process, as it were.
[00:23:58] Speaker A: So it's not merely a directive from the divine, but it is the Divine's will in its essence. That's a crucial distinction.
[00:24:05] Speaker B: Absolutely crucial. And this applies even more broadly, beyond specific legal principles, to all the letter combinations of the foundational sacred texts, like the Pentateuch prophets and the writings. These are all expressions of the Divine's will and wisdom.
[00:24:20] Speaker A: The very words and letters.
[00:24:22] Speaker B: Yes. And the text emphasizes that these are perfectly united with the infinite Divine being. Why?
Because the Divine is described as the knower, the knowledge and the subject.
[00:24:33] Speaker A: Known knower, knowledge, known all one.
[00:24:37] Speaker B: There's no separation, no distinction between the Divine's essence and its wisdom or knowledge. It's not something the Divine possesses or acquires. It is the Divine.
[00:24:45] Speaker A: Okay, I think I'm getting that. It's not an attribute, it's identity.
[00:24:48] Speaker B: Precisely. If the Divine is the knower and the knowledge itself, and also the object of that knowledge, then there's no way to separate divine wisdom from the Divine being. It's not an external attribute. It is the Divine's very self. Right. Therefore, when you study the sacred text, when you immerse your thought and speech in its words, you're not just learning about the Divine. You are becoming directly united with the divine will and wisdom, which are absolutely one with the infinite Divine being itself. This is the source of the perfect unity. You are in essence connecting to the Divine's very identity.
[00:25:24] Speaker A: Plugging right into the source code. Almost.
[00:25:26] Speaker B: Let's use the King's palace analogy again, but this time to vividly clarify the profound difference between performing commandments and studying sacred texts.
[00:25:34] Speaker A: Okay, the palace. I remember a king orders a magnificent palace built and provides a detailed, intricate blueprint, right?
[00:25:41] Speaker B: A blueprint that embodies his precise vision, his every desire for the structure.
[00:25:45] Speaker A: Now, when the king's servants carry out his wishes and build the palace, pouring concrete, laying bricks, raising walls, they are certainly united with his desire, as expressed in the completed palace. They are fulfilling his will, bringing his vision into physical reality.
[00:25:59] Speaker B: They achieve that body to soul unity. With his will through action.
[00:26:03] Speaker A: Their faculty of action achieves that body to soul unity, and their physical organs become a chariot for his will.
However, the palace walls themselves, the physical structure, do not represent the King's will and wisdom. In their essence, they are a result of his will, a physical manifestation, but not the will itself.
[00:26:23] Speaker B: They are the product of the will that's key.
[00:26:25] Speaker A: This is analogous to commandment performance.
You're bringing the divine will into physical reality through your actions.
[00:26:33] Speaker B: But consider the master architects who pore over and deeply study the King's blueprint.
[00:26:37] Speaker A: Ah, the one studying the plan itself.
[00:26:40] Speaker B: They are not merely building the palace. They are involved in the direct study and intellectual grasp of the King's will and wisdom. The blueprint is the King's will for the palace in its intellectual, conceptual form, before it manifests physically. It is his very thought and desire. Laid out in our context, the actual performance of the commandments, though dictated by the divine will, does not constitute that will. It brings that will into being.
However, the wisdom of the sacred texts is divine wisdom, and its legal rulings, its narratives, its insights, these are actually direct expressions of divine will.
[00:27:16] Speaker A: The blueprint itself.
[00:27:18] Speaker B: Exactly. Thus, when one speaks or thinks words from the sacred texts, when you immerse your consciousness in them, you attain the greatest possible level of union with the Divine, who is one with divine will and wisdom.
[00:27:31] Speaker A: So what does this all mean for us? This is what is meant by the profound.
The Torah and the divine are absolutely one. They are not merely organs of the King, as the commandments are described, which signifies a deeply integrated, yet still distinct connection.
[00:27:45] Speaker B: Right. Organs imply service, connection, but still some distinction.
[00:27:48] Speaker A: The unity achieved through commandments is like body and soul, where two separate entities are joined and function as one, but they remain distinct at their core. But the unity achieved through sacred study is the two becoming absolutely one. A fusion, an identity.
[00:28:03] Speaker B: It's a critical difference.
[00:28:05] Speaker A: The crucial distinction here is that while performing a commandment is doing the Divine's will. Studying the sacred texts is engaging with the Divine's will and wisdom, directly becoming.
[00:28:15] Speaker B: Identified with it, merging with it, in.
[00:28:17] Speaker A: A sense, this perfect unity achieved through sacred study, where our very thought and speech fuse with the divine will. It's truly remarkable. The text explains that when a person occupies themselves with words from the sacred texts, the divine will, which, as we've established, is in perfect unity with the infinite divine being, stands completely revealed in the divine soul and its inner garments.
[00:28:42] Speaker B: Of thought and speech completely revealed.
[00:28:45] Speaker A: There is no obscuring concealment whatsoever.
[00:28:47] Speaker B: That's the ultimate key Remember our earlier discussion about concealment being the root of perceived separation, like those layers of frosted glass?
[00:28:54] Speaker A: Right. The veil here.
[00:28:55] Speaker B: In the very act of sacred study, that concealment is entirely lifted. When you study, when you meditate on the concepts and articulate the words, the divine will and wisdom contained within the sacred text come into full, unhindered expression within your soul and its faculties of thought and speech. No filter, nothing holding back the light, nothing diminishing its intensity. Because there is no such concealment during sacred study. The soul in these garments of thought and speech are also truly united with the infinite divine being at that moment.
This is a unity comparable to how the Divine's own speech and thought are united with its essence and being prior to their revelation into creation, before it.
[00:29:36] Speaker A: Even comes out into the world.
[00:29:37] Speaker B: Exactly. Before divine thought or speech is expressed into the worlds, it is fully contained within the divine essence. That's the level of unity we're talking about here. Separation only occurs when the divine countenance, that direct, unfiltered aspect of divine will, is concealed. But in sacred study, it's fully revealed.
[00:29:54] Speaker A: Mind blowing. Hashtag tag tag tag tag. Two Torah Studies Unity transcends even upper worlds.
[00:30:00] Speaker B: And here's where it truly gets mind bending. Almost paradoxical.
[00:30:03] Speaker A: Oh, I'm ready.
[00:30:04] Speaker B: I think this unity attained through sacred study, the unity of the divine soul and its faculties with the divine, is actually described as being more exalted and more powerful than the unity of the Divine's infinite light with even the highest, most spiritual upper worlds themselves.
[00:30:18] Speaker A: Wait, hold on. How can something that happens in our physical world within a human being be superior to spiritual realms that are supposedly closer to the divine? That seems upside down.
[00:30:29] Speaker B: It does seem counterintuitive, doesn't it? But this is a truly profound point, and it speaks to the unique power of sacred texts. The reason is that the divine will is actually manifest in a revealed, unconcealed form in the soul and its garments when they are engaged in sacred study, precisely because it is the sacred text itself.
[00:30:49] Speaker A: Okay? Because the concealment is lifted for us during study.
[00:30:52] Speaker B: Right now, all the supernal worlds, the highest spiritual realms, they receive their vitality from the light and life derived from the sacred texts. As it is written, you have made them all with wisdom.
This implies that divine wisdom, the sacred text, is the very source, the foundational blueprint of their life and existence.
[00:31:10] Speaker A: So the text is the source for the upper worlds.
[00:31:12] Speaker B: Thus, the sacred texts, as divine wisdom, transcend all these upper worlds. They must be above them, because they are their Source and their lifeblood. In fact, the sacred texts, as the Divine's will, are described as encompassing all the worlds.
[00:31:25] Speaker A: Encompassing? What does that mean exactly?
[00:31:27] Speaker B: It means they exist at a level that cannot fully become clothes within the worlds. Instead, they animate and illuminate them from a distance, from transcendent level, in an encompassing manner. Imagine a light so intensely brilliant that if it were to fully enter a room, the room would be instantly vaporized.
[00:31:46] Speaker A: Okay? Too intense to be contained.
[00:31:48] Speaker B: So it illuminates the room from outside, pervading it from afar without being contained within it. The supernal worlds can only bear a minute glow of this light clothed within them without being completely nullified.
Their main life force comes from this light animating them from the outside in a transcendent way.
[00:32:06] Speaker A: Okay, so they got the glow from a distance.
[00:32:08] Speaker B: And here's the astonishing part, the miracle of human connection. This very transcendent level, this encompassing light which is beyond the capacity of all.
[00:32:17] Speaker A: Worlds, the light that's too intense for.
[00:32:18] Speaker B: The higher realms is clothed in a truly revealed form in one's soul and one's soul garments. When engaged in sacred study, even though the person may not consciously see or fully experience its overwhelming intensity in our physical reality.
[00:32:32] Speaker A: Wow. So we contain something they can't.
[00:32:35] Speaker B: It's happening whether we feel the full spiritual blast or not.
[00:32:39] Speaker A: Wait. This inability to consciously feel its full intensity in our physical reality is precisely why we can endure such a unity. Is that right?
[00:32:49] Speaker B: That's exactly the implication.
[00:32:50] Speaker A: Think about it. Unlike the supernal world, where the divine presence is less obscured, they would be completely nullified, lose their identities entirely. If they experienced such a direct, revealed.
[00:33:02] Speaker B: Unity with the divine, they couldn't handle the direct influx.
[00:33:05] Speaker A: Our unique position in this lower world paradoxically allows us to contain something the higher worlds cannot. It's a profound, humbling, and empowering truth. Simultaneously, we, in our seemingly mundane existence, can access the most sublime levels of divine revelation.
[00:33:22] Speaker B: It's an incredible paradox. Our limitation enables a greater connection in this specific way. Hashtag tag. Hashtag 5.3. The superiority of Torah study over all other commandments.
[00:33:31] Speaker A: This profound discussion of the exalted unity with the Divine, attained through sacred study, which is even greater than that accomplished by performing other commandments, explains why sacred study is so much loftier than all other commandments.
[00:33:44] Speaker B: Right? It places it at the pinnacle.
[00:33:46] Speaker A: This includes even prayer, which is incredibly powerful and affects unity within the supernal worlds, elevating them and connecting us through them. But sacred study, by engaging directly with the divine's wisdom and will, touches the very essence of divine identity.
[00:34:03] Speaker B: It's a more direct, more essential union.
[00:34:06] Speaker A: Now this raises a really interesting point that can sometimes lead to misconception. Traditional law dictates that someone whose primary occupation is not sacred study, meaning they're not a full time scholar, should interrupt their study for prayer at the designated times.
[00:34:20] Speaker B: Uh huh. A common ruling.
[00:34:22] Speaker A: At first glance, this might suggest that prayer inherently surpasses sacred study for them. Can you clarify this? Because it seems to contradict what we've just discussed about the unparalleled level of unity through study.
[00:34:34] Speaker B: That's a vital question, and it often causes confusion.
The Source clarifies that this is not because prayer is inherently superior to sacred study for that individual.
[00:34:43] Speaker A: Okay, so it's not about prayer being better.
[00:34:46] Speaker B: No.
Rather it's a practical and nuanced guidance. Someone whose main occupation is not sacred study is likely to pause and interrupt their studies anyway for various reasons throughout the day. Perhaps for work, family, or other obligations.
[00:35:00] Speaker A: Right. Life happens, breaks happen.
[00:35:03] Speaker B: The law simply directs that inevitable interruption to the designated time for prayer, ensuring that when the pause occurs, it's channeled for a sacred and necessary purpose. The obligation to pray arises automatically once that interruption happens.
[00:35:16] Speaker A: So it's about optimizing the pause.
[00:35:17] Speaker B: Exactly. It's about optimizing an inevitable pause, ensuring that even a break from study serves a spiritual function, and guiding that person to fulfill a communal obligation. Rather than suggesting a hierarchy of importance for someone deeply and consistently engaged in study. For those for whom sacred study is their primary occupation, the preference flips because their study itself is their continuous highest form of connection.
[00:35:43] Speaker A: Makes sense. It's about the context of the person's life.
[00:35:46] Speaker B: So this profound understanding, this intricate mapping of spiritual connection, has a very practical and deeply personal application.
[00:35:53] Speaker A: It's not just theory, not at all.
[00:35:55] Speaker B: From this understanding, a thinking person can actively draw upon themselves a sense of great awe as they engage in the study of sacred texts. This isn't just an abstract concept. It's a feeling, a deep internal experience you can cultivate and access. It's a recognition of the sheer magnitude of what is occurring.
[00:36:12] Speaker A: So we can actually use this understanding to feel awe.
[00:36:16] Speaker B: That's absolutely right. The text encourages you, the listener, to actively consider and truly meditate on this truth. How your soul and its garments of thought and speech, which reside in your brain and mouth, are truly fused in perfect unity with the divine will and the infinite divine light that is manifesting within them during study.
[00:36:36] Speaker A: Really sit with that idea.
[00:36:38] Speaker B: Take a moment to sit with that idea. It's not Just metaphorical. It's presented as a profound, accessible spiritual reality. Consider the astonishing magnitude of this revelation, this infinite light, this direct expression of divine will manifesting in your sacred study is of such a lofty level that all upper and lower worlds are genuinely as nothing in comparison, as nothing.
[00:37:00] Speaker A: Zero.
[00:37:01] Speaker B: They are in fact as absolutely zero in his presence. They can only bear a minute glow of it, clothed within them without being completely nullified, without their very existence dissolving. Their main life force comes from this light animating them from the outside, as we discussed, in a transcendent, encompassing manner.
[00:37:16] Speaker A: Right, the encompassing light.
[00:37:17] Speaker B: So the direct, unhindered manifestation of this light within your study is truly beyond comprehension.
[00:37:22] Speaker A: Imagine that for a moment, the very same divine light that is completely beyond the capacity of all worlds, which animates and sustains them from a distance, is openly manifesting within your study, within your very own mind and mouth.
[00:37:36] Speaker B: It's right there in the act of learning.
[00:37:38] Speaker A: It's a natural, overflowing wellspring for profound awe. It's an awe that should arise simply from contemplating this incredible truth, from allowing your intellect to grasp its reality, even if you don't feel feel it with overwhelming conscious sensation.
[00:37:53] Speaker B: Right? It's a cognitive awe, an intellectual reverence, even before the emotional component kicks in. It's a spiritual truth, not just an emotional one.
Fear of the Divine as a result, and its nuances.
[00:38:06] Speaker A: His connection to awe brings us back to a relevant biblical verse often quoted. And the Divine commanded us to fulfill all these statutes in order to fear the Divine.
[00:38:15] Speaker B: Ah, yes, that's verse. It seems straightforward, but there's depth there.
[00:38:18] Speaker A: It does. At first glance, it might seem to suggest that performing commandments leads to fear, which might sound backwards if you think of fear as a prerequisite for observance.
[00:38:26] Speaker B: Right, like you need fear first to do the commandments.
[00:38:28] Speaker A: But the text clarifies that. This verse speaks of a higher level of awe, one that is achieved as a result of one's observance of the commandments, and even more so through deep sacred study, rather than being the prerequisite fear for performing them in the first place.
[00:38:43] Speaker B: So there's fira before and fear awe after.
[00:38:45] Speaker A: Exactly this higher awe is a profound humility before the infinite, a sense of nullification in the face of such revealed divine presence, the kind that comes from study.
[00:38:56] Speaker B: This distinction is further clarified by two other well known sayings from the sages.
If there is no wisdom, there is no fear refers to this greater awe, this profound sense of nullification.
This elevated awe can be reached only through sacred study, where wisdom here primarily represents the deep engagement with sacred texts and divine truths. This higher awe isn't something you start with. It's something you earn and cultivate through deep intellectual and spiritual immersion.
[00:39:24] Speaker A: So wisdom study leads to the higher awe. Got it.
[00:39:27] Speaker B: Conversely, if there is no fear, there is no wisdom.
[00:39:29] Speaker A: The other way around refers to the.
[00:39:31] Speaker B: Lower level of fear, a basic reverence, respect, or even apprehension. This basic fear or awe is indeed a prerequisite for beginning sacred study, a foundational acknowledgment of the divine's greatness. You need that basic respect to even open the book.
[00:39:46] Speaker A: Okay, so basic fear allows study, and study leads to higher awe.
[00:39:50] Speaker B: Precisely. The study of sacred texts is thus called a gateway to the courtyard for this higher level of awe, meaning it's the primary means to access and cultivate that profound, elevated sense of awe and spiritual humility.
[00:40:03] Speaker A: The study opens the door to deeper reverence. Hashtag tag 6.3 accessibility for all in practice.
[00:40:09] Speaker B: Now, it's important to add a crucial nuance here, especially for anyone listening who might feel overwhelmed or inadequate by these lofty descriptions of awe and unity.
[00:40:17] Speaker A: Yeah, this is pretty intense stuff.
[00:40:19] Speaker B: It is. The text acknowledges directly that not every mind can sustain such a profound level of awe, or even a minute part of it. This isn't a judgment. It's simply recognizing that souls have different roots, different spiritual origins, and therefore different capacities for conscious spiritual experience.
[00:40:34] Speaker A: So it's okay if you don't feel it intensely.
[00:40:37] Speaker B: For some, this intense internal sensation might be too overwhelming or simply not their primary mode of connection. They might not feel that fusion or encompassing light, even when it's happening at a superconscious level.
[00:40:49] Speaker A: So for someone who might feel frustrated by this thinking, am I missing out or am I not spiritual enough if I don't feel this profound awe? What's the crucial message here? Is the feeling of awe the ultimate goal, or is there something more fundamental at play that remains accessible to everyone?
[00:41:08] Speaker B: That's a vital question, and it brings us to a profound, compassionate takeaway. The crucial takeaway is even for one whose mind cannot bear this specific high level of awe. This lack of conscious sensation should not deter them from the actual performance of the sacred texts and commandments.
[00:41:24] Speaker A: The doing is still key.
[00:41:25] Speaker B: The performance itself remains paramount. The unity exists, whether you consciously feel it or not. It's like the earth spinning. You don't feel it, but it's happening constantly, and your very existence depends on it.
[00:41:36] Speaker A: Good analogy.
[00:41:37] Speaker B: The connection, the fusion, the becoming one with a divine will through study and action.
This is a spiritual reality, not merely a subjective experience.
The very act of engaging is what creates the connection, regardless of the level of conscious feeling it evokes. The unity is achieved through the deed and the intellectual immersion.
[00:41:57] Speaker A: So keep studying, keep doing. Even if the fireworks aren't going off inside.
[00:42:01] Speaker B: Exactly.
The connection is real, regardless of the feeling.
[00:42:05] Speaker A: Hegoutro what an incredible deep dive into Lessons in Tanya, chapter 23.
We've journeyed from understanding the fundamental unity of existence, the radical idea that from the divine's perspective, nothing is truly separate, to appreciating how both the active performance of commandments and, even more profoundly, the intellectual and spiritual engagement with sacred texts can bridge the perceived gap between us and the divine.
[00:42:28] Speaker B: It's been quite a journey, hasn't it?
[00:42:30] Speaker A: We've seen how actions create a powerful connection, but study allows for an astonishing fusion of identity.
[00:42:36] Speaker B: What's truly fascinating here is how the altar Rabba meticulously shows us that while all commandments connect us, the very act of engaging with the divine's wisdom and sacred study allows for a direct, revealed, and truly perfect unity, a connection so powerful it transcends even the highest spiritual worlds.
[00:42:55] Speaker A: Yeah, that part is still sinking in.
[00:42:58] Speaker B: It's a precise mapping of spiritual ascent, showing that our minds and mouths, when immersed in sacred wisdom, become a literal vessel for the divine presence in a way that surpasses other forms of connection. It's an invitation to a deeper relationship with reality itself.
[00:43:14] Speaker A: So what does this all mean for you, listening in? It means that when you engage with the sacred texts, you're not just learning, you're stepping into a realm of direct revelation, achieving a unity so profound it's said to be beyond the capacity of even the loftiest spiritual planes.
[00:43:28] Speaker B: It really elevates the act of study.
[00:43:30] Speaker A: It truly challenges our everyday assumptions about what's possible in our spiritual lives. It raises an important question for you to ponder.
How might consciously approaching your learning and your actions with this understanding deepen your experience? And what new levels of profound connection might that unlock in your own life?
[00:43:49] Speaker B: Something to really think about.
[00:43:50] Speaker A: Thank you for joining us for this deep dive into Lessons in Tanya, chapter 23.
We hope this is giving you a powerful new perspective to chew on and integrate into your understanding of yourself and the world.
