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Previously:
Two levels of Binah: Binah and Tvunah.
Tvunah is the extension of the light of Binah as a result of the proper absorption of the concept in the brain to bring it to expression into different things in many different ways
Examples of the ‘separate things’ into which Tvunah can extend:
(a) analogies to explain the understanding of Binah to someone else
(b) a decision or ruling based on the understanding of Binah, as in a legal decision and
(c) a practical use for the understanding of Binah,
(d)The man of Tvunah can bring to light the Midos (emotions) from the Midos of Binah,
Yisroel Sabah and Tvunah are the Middos of Chochmah and Binah as they are COMING OUT of Chochmah and Binah rather than how these middos were actually part of Chochmah and Binah themselves.
And Malchus (Kingdom) of Tvunah is the aspect of the intellect that comes into conscious thought . This is the level of thought that the intellect is enclothed within and it is the external vessel of intelligent thought,
Two aspects of thought come out of Malchus of Tvunah, one: the content of the thought and two: the division of the letters of thought
Tvunah is called "Ben U’Bas" (Son and Daughter i.e. the emotions) (The letters of Tvunah when rearranged are Ben U'Bas), as is known.
Tvunah also has three dimension: depth; length; and width.
The depth of Tvunah is the essence of the power of this Tvunah-insight into the particular understanding
The length of Tvunah is the concept’s descent into a separate matter, to advise with it or to perform many activities with it, etc..
The width of Tvunah is the extension of the Tvunah within the concept itself to widen the concept in one’s thoughts in many different ways and not only how it is itself.
Now, when we say that the level of Tvunah includes within itself Ben U’Bas (Son and Daughter), meaning that the Midos are born out specifically from Tvunah into revelation as a separate entity. For, from Binah itself there would not be the birth of the Midos, though it is called the ‘Mother of the Children,’ etc.
‘Ben U’Bas’ (son and daughter) are the two primary emotions of love and fear (i.e., a positive and a negative response, Chesed and Gevurah,
Tvunah is the downward extension of the light of Binah, into anything separate
It is also for this reason that the aspect of the intellect within the Midos (emotional attributes) comes from the level of Tvunah. This is comparable to the power of application to a matter separate from the idea itself, which is the central characteristic of Tvunah, as was mentioned previously).
And now Chapter 2.10
It is known, similarly, that there is a bent letter ‘Nun’ ( sort of like this" ]" ) and there is a straight letter ‘Nun’ (like a long line) for in the Hebrew alphabet there are five letters that have a variant form when placed at the end of a word (namely -Mem Nun Tzadi Pe Chof ). Now being that the letter Nun represents Binah, it follows that there are two aspects within Binah, corresponding to the bent and straight form of the letter Nun. So that the bent Nun is representative of the width of Binah, as is represented by its shape, which includes a width; and the straight Nun is representative of the length of Binah, its shape being long and not wide. In addition the full spelling (lit. filling, the concept of which will be explained later, but in short, just like if one where to point to the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and ask you what it is, you would explain that it is the letter Aleph; so that you added the letters ‘leph,’ in explanation of the letter itself; so too, in Kabbalah the letters of the name of a letter serve as explanation of what the letter is; so that, the explanation) of the name of the letter Nun is with a second, long Nun (i.e. a wide Nun a Vov and a long Nun - the letter Vov is used in Hebrew to mean "and"). This is not the case, however, with all the other letters; for, even the other letters that have a ‘long’ form, this form is not used in the spelling of their name, except in the case of the letter Nun. This is significant, for it represents that specifically in Binah the length is included within the width. This is also the case with Tvunah, which like Binah, has two Nuns, a bent and a straight one; and just like in Binah the straight one is included in the bent one, meaning that the length of Tvunah is included within its width.
However, the double Nun in the spelling of that which is called Hisbonenus), as in the verse "for my people do not contemplate, etc," is a reference to the level of the inner aspect of Binah, which is called Eeyun - to stand over a concept etc., the double Nun indicating that one should review a concept over and over until it is understood clearly, which is called Binah within Binah. This analysis being the intermediary between Binah and Tvunah, via the straight Nun, because of which it is called Hisbonenus, with a double Nun, one for the bent Nun and one for the straight Nun. This hints that the second aspect of Binah - Tvunah is awakened through the analysis of Binah itself, etc., and this is enough explanation for the discerning to understand the two levels of Binah and Tvunah.
In other words, there is a straight Nun hidden within the bent Nun of both Binah and Tvunah. This represents that the length of each of them is included and activated by their respective widths. Meaning that the ability to explain an idea simply and to apply it will come from gaining a broad knowledge of the subject and by learning as many of its details as possible.
Similarly, there is another relationship between Binah and Tvunah, represented by the two Nuns in the word Hisbonenus; indicating that one has to analyze a concept over and over in order to reach its depth; and then, when one has grasped the depth well by reviewing the idea many times, then this will activate the long Nun, awakening the power of Tvunah, so that he will then be able to bring the depth out into explanations and applications. For, specifically through this repetitive analysis will one absorb the concept well, which is the essence of the power of Tvunah. This is also an obvious thing, that by reviewing over a subject matter over and over, one absorbs it well and will be able to explain it and find applications for it. This is also because the power of Tvunah is actually rooted higher than the understanding of Binah itself, and so it is specifically when one delves into the Chochmah of an idea through the Eeyun of Binah that one will be able to properly absorb the depth of the idea and gain the power of Tvunah.
However, it is important to note that this is from up to down - e.g., once one already understands an idea and is trying to explain it simply. On the other hand, when one begins to learn the process is reversed, so that one learns the length and then from there proceeds to the width. In other words, one begins learning with simple explanations and then once one understands the basics of the concept, then one can build a more broad knowledge of all of the many details included in the idea. Each explanation, or length, adding a little more width to ones understanding, such as many thin lines that, when put side by side, make one wide one. So it is with the understanding of a concept, that the width is made up of and includes within itself many length of various explanations.
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The material in this series is copyrighted by Rabbi Yossi Markel