Divine Wisdom Versus Profane Wisdom

 

 

The main goal in life is to transform our intellect into a faithful expression of the Divine wisdom that is the source of our soul. (The Talmud states: “When Shlomo (Solomon) married the daughter of Pharaoh, the angel Gavriel descended and stuck a reed in the ocean. A reef formed around it, and on it was built the great city of Rome” <Sanhedrin 21a>. Thus, to Rebbe Nachman, Pharaoh’s daughter symbolized the external wisdom of the nations.) This means filling our minds with genuine knowledge – with knowledge of Torah and with a true understanding of Godliness. But in order to do this, we must protect our intellect from “external wisdom”, known as “Pharaoh’s daughter”, for profane, manmade wisdom can interfere with our ability to acquire the holy, Divine wisdom.

 

But when we fill our minds with Torah, and all our thoughts and feelings are permeated by faith and an awareness of God, we reach a state of wholeness and perfection, and we come close to our spiritual source. Torah can do this for us because it is a direct expression of God’s wisdom. In the words of the Zohar: “Torah emerges from the Divine wisdom” (Zohar 2:85a. see also Rabbeinu Bachaya at the beginning of his commentary on the Torah). This is the deeper meaning of the verse: “The Torah of God is whole, it restores the soul…” (Tehillim 19:8) – for Torah restores the soul to its supernal Source.

 

 

Our Sages (See chapter 9) have taught: “Study the Torah out of love, and eventually the honor (hakavod) will come.” But why do we need this honor? Certainly, the goal in life is to serve God out of love and fear, and not for personal gain. We have to try to come close to God and to return to our spiritual source because that is what God wants – not because we will receive honor. What, then, is the meaning of this strange guarantee?

 

The answer is that the word “honor” (kavod) can refer to the soul itself. (See Archei HaKinuyim by the author of Seder HaDorot) For example, when Dovid Hamelech (King David) said: “Urah kevodi – Awake, my honor…” (Tehillim 57:9), he was really speaking to his own soul (Radak and Metzudot on this verse). Thus the Sages are telling us that if we study the Torah out of love, we will receive a larger portion of our own souls. For the human soul is immensely great, and when a person is born, only a small portion of the soul actually resides within the body (See the beginning of Sha’ar HaGilgulim). But as we perfect ourselves and attach ourselves to God, additional levels of the soul can be revealed within us (See Nefesh Hachaim, sha’ar 1, ch.5, in the note s.v. “The essence of man”).

 

In fact, the very essence of the soul is not revealed even in the greatest Tzaddikim. Even after they have revealed the levels of nefesh, ruach, neshamah, chayah, and yechidah, the essence of their soul remains united with its Source, far above the world: and from that hidden essence, all the revealed levels of the soul receive life and energy. But through studying the Torah out of love, even an ordinary person can draw down the revealed levels of the soul into the body.

 

This Kabbalistic interpretation of our Sages’ words is actually not very different from the literal meaning: “Study Torah out of love, and eventually you will attain honor.” For the true worth of a person is measured by the greatness of his soul and mind, and in the way they are revealed in his conduct towards God, towards man, and towards himself. These are the qualities that will ultimately bring us honor in God’s eyes, and even in the eyes of other people. Greatness of the soul is the true source of honor; hence the two interpretations are just describing different aspects of the same thing.

 

 

This idea that we can acquire a greater soul than the one we were born with is related to Rebbe Nachman’s explanation of what transpired when the prophet Eliyahu (Elijah) went up to heaven in a fiery chariot. Just before Eliyahu left the world, he invited his disciple, Elisha, to make a final request. Elisha responded, “May a double portion of your spirit rest upon me.” Eliyahu then told him: “You have asked for a difficult thing. But if you see me taken from you, it will be so…” (II Melachim 2:9-10).

 

Elisha requested that his own soul should become twice as great as that of his teacher, Eliyahu. He also asked for “a double portion of your spirit” – that the additional portion of soul should come from Eliyahu’s soul. But how was it possible for Eliyahu to give more to his disciple than he had for himself?

 

Rebbe Nachman explains that the soul of a Tzaddik – indeed, of every person – is very great. Only a small portion of the soul is manifest below, while a much greater part is hidden above. That is what the Torah hints at when it repeats a Tzaddik’s name: “Noach, Noach” (Bereishit 6:9), “Avraham (Abraham), Avraham” (ibid. 22:11), “Yaakov (Jacob), Yaakov” (ibid 46:2) and “Moshe (Moses), Moshe” (Shemot 3:4). For there is a “Noach above” and a “Noach below”, a soul above and a soul below (Zohar 1:59b, Tosefta).

 

And so Eliyahu told his disciple: “If you see me taken from you, then it will be so…” For just before a Tzaddik leaves the world, the upper part of his soul descends to join the lower part. When that happens, the lower part of his soul becomes absorbed in the upper part, like a small flame being absorbed in a tremendous fire, and together, the two parts of his soul return to higher worlds.

 

The upper part of the soul is so powerful that when it comes down to this world, it affects other people as well. Everyone who is in the presence of the Tzaddik receives a revelation of its spiritual light. But the students and disciples of the Tzaddik are affected in a much more profound way. Since they have a deep spiritual connection to the Tzaddik, the upper soul that comes down is, in a sense, their own soul. Hence it can unite with them and become a part of their own souls. And since it is not yet time for the students to leave the world, this aspect of the Tzaddik’s soul will stay with them, even as they continue to live in the world. Thus it is possible for the lower soul of the student to become twice as great as the lower soul that the Tzaddik had during his lifetime. For the soul above is much, much greater than the soul below (Likutey Moharan I:66).

 

So too, when we study Torah out of love, “eventually the honor will come.” For by serving God with love, we draw down a revelation of spiritual light from the essence of our soul, and this can fill our minds with an understanding of God and with the wisdom of God.

 

To be continued…

 

 

(Excerpt from The Scent of Gan Eden, by Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter, Keren Ohr Publications. Used with author’s permission.)