 Previous |
 Enlarge |
 Next |
PREVIOUSLY:
Hispaalus - Awakening or lit. Excitement of the Emotions can only be brought about by Hisbonenus.
Hisbonenus is essentially the idea of looking intensely into the depths of a topic and going over it a lot until one understands it clearly with all its parts in particular detail - in other words, intensive repetitive analytic study.
For there are three things in every intellectual concept in Binah: the depth, length and width.
And this is what's called Iyun (deep study into something) that he goes over the conceived thing and looks into it very much which is the slowing down -the opposite of going over a subject fast.
At first glance this Iyun is what is called the deep concentration of the mind in the language of the world (Haamokas HaDaas), but it is not so since the concentration of the mind is just a vessel to come to the depths of the thing actually (as it is). That is, the contemplative or meditative concentration is only a vessel to get to the depth of a subject. Whereas the Iyun of Binah, that is, intensive analytical explanatory study is the vessel to the actual subject itself.
And higher than this is the level of Daas/Concentration called a Ma'amik (deep delver) who reaches higher than even the wisdom itself. Even though the Chochmah is in the aspect of being the actual Ein (nothing) (non-apprehended ethereal source) of the concept before it came to be include in the depth of the point of the Musag of Binah (the idea as it is intellectually grasped by understanding). Like a spring in regards to a river as stated above. But the aspect of going deep into the root of the idea, the root of this (aspect) reaches into the root which brings forth the flowing of the spring of Chochmah etc. and is called the depths of Chochmah or the hidden places of Chochmah.
For in the same way that there is a depth and a length and a width in Binah (Understanding) as stated above, so too there is a depth and a length and a width in the spring of Chochmah (wisdom) which is called the Ein (nothing). And the depth of the spring, that is, the beginning of the root of its origins in its depth from whence its flowing spreads upwards until it breaks through and comes out drop by drop as it reveals itself from its hiding and its total hidenness, that (depth of Chochmah) is its total depth below like the springs of the abyss (the hidden reservoirs of great waters that are hidden deep in the earth from whence the outer spring flows) which burst open (at the time of the Flood). For the earth is full of tunnels and channels etc. in the veins (of the earth) which have a primary depth. And this is what is written "and the Chochmah comes into existence from the Ein (nothingness)". That is from the hidenness of the Chochmah which is called the depth of Chochmah.
And Now Chapter 1.11
Now for a complete explanation of the dimension of Chochmah:
The faculty of Chochmah is the power of bringing forth a new idea (in other words creativity), which comes out into one's conscious like a flash of lightning, etc., as is known. Also, the source from whence the idea is hewn in the hiddenness of its depth is its true essence and most inner point, as was explained previously in regards to the depth of the understanding of Binah. Meaning that, just as the depth of Binah is the essence of the Binah and the width and length some out from it; so too, with Chochmah, its depth is its essence and its width and length come out from it. Only that the depth of Binah is only the depth of the understanding of Binah which is tangibly perceived as the understanding of something with a revealed concrete explanation. For, the depth of the explanation of the understanding is only termed the ‘nothingness’ of the ‘something’ of the explanation. Meaning that the depth of an explanation is an abstract and intangible inner truth in relation to the details of the verbal explanation. However the depth of Binah is not comparable to the ‘nothing’ of Chochmah as it is before it comes to be within the reach of understanding at all, not even the depth of it (of Binah) which is its distilled essence - i.e., not even the depth of Binah can grasp the depth of Chochmah at all.
However, this is only true about the normal depth of Binah, but the depth of the understanding of Binah, that is called the 50th gate of Binah can reach into the depth of the Chochmah itself; for even though it comes out from the abstract ‘nothingness’ of Chochmah to be a concrete understanding in the way of the ‘something’ of Binah. (As it is stated "a wellspring will flow forth from the house of the Holy of Holies; in the beginning it will be narrow like the horns of a grasshopper and it will then widen into the expanses of a river etc." Indicating how Chochmah becomes transformed from a tiny seminal drop of an idea in the Chochmah into a broad understanding in Binah, and so too with other similar quotes that have similar implications.) Still. the source of this depth of Binah (the 50th gate) reaches all the way up to the aforementioned depth of Chochmah. This is what we see tangibly - that anyone who delves solely into the depth of the explanation of Binah, will succeed to bring out from the source and root of the idea as it is in Chochmah enabling one to bring out novel ideas from the light of Chochmah into the understanding of Binah. This is the way that most, if not all, discoveries and inventions are made - by studying the previous knowledge and explanations of the subject and then, by doing so, one will be able to come up with new ideas. This is so even when the discovery seemed to have come suddenly and unexpectedly, as if of its own accord, like when the apple fell on Newton’s head (whether the story actually occurred is debatable, but it still illustrates the point), or like when Archimedes was asked by the king to find a way of determining if the craftsmen that the king had recently hired to construct a golden throne for him had cheated him by pocketing some of the gold and then replacing it with a cheaper one. This problem puzzled Archimedes until he went to take a bath and upon observing how when he entered the bath the water rose, he jumped up and ran out of the bath, through the streets, naked yelling that famous word - Eureka! Eureka! - (I have it! I have it!); for he realized that he could measure the volume of the throne by submerging it in water and measuring how much water it displaced. Still, even in cases such as these, the discovery came specifically from intense analysis and learning; for, both of these men had studied physics and all of the natural laws of science thoroughly before making the discovery, and this is why they were able to make the discovery and not any man of the street. Even though apples had been falling and people had been taking baths for thousands of years, still since they did the Eeyun-analysis of Binah, therefore, these events triggered a reaction in their minds, which assembled their previously gained knowledge into the right place - a holistic picture, giving them a new insight into what they had studied. This is because specifically the analysis of Binah opens and awakens the creative power of Chochmah, and one can only have an intuitive insight by learning about it first. So that just as it is obvious that the ones who make discoveries in physics are the ones who studied about physics and the ones who make the new advancements in computers are the ones who studied all about computers, learning specifically all of the old explanations and about how the old systems work; and they definitely didn’t just meditate in a cave. Think about it this way: would you go to a doctor for an extremely delicate procedure who never learnt about medicine, never made a dissection or learnt anatomy, but claims to have learnt how to do the procedure spontaneously, through deep concentration? If it is obvious that one can’t study for a trig final or learn how to be a mechanic, doctor, or computer technician by concentrating on nothing then how much more obvious should it be that the Kabbalah, which is the inner secrets of the universe and is an all encompassing truth that includes within it all other disciplines and sciences, can not be grasped merely by breathing deeply or any other concentration techniques.
And this (level of Daas/concentration) is what is called Ma’amik (lit. deepener), meaning that he activates the depth of Chochmah and Binah for this process of delving affects the depth of Chochmah and Binah, activating them and bringing them into revelation.
Previous |
Enlarge |
Next |