Pure Acting Intelligence

Yaakov Branfman and Akiva Tatz (Jewish Mysticism: Questions & Secrets) write:

Maimonidies explains that Talmud is a mind-grinding tool. The entire function of it is to grind, to sharpen, and to develop the mind to be so refined that we will be able to understand the questions and the answers. While we are learning, our intelligence is being shaped, refined, and trained in handling abstractions. It is being led towards the abstract parts of Torah. He writes in the Introduction to the Talmud that the purpose of all learning of Torah is to prepare the intelligence to be able to come close to “hasagas haBorei” (understanding the Creator). Some things are hidden because we are not prepared. They are too fine to be handled with the normal tools of our unprepared intelligence.

Somehow, in 1967, I innately knew this. I wrote about it as an adult in my description of the epiphany in the closet in 1967, writing:

The second instance where letting go by the mind was required was when coming down from kadmon consciousness, returning to a katnut state, and becoming recentered with the body. Again, the mind was tempted to retain within its borders all that it had been able to apprehend with kadmon consciousness. Again, letting go enabled the mind to safely cross the barrier which marked the transition between states of consciousness.

Why is it important to let go? I think that the act of letting go is the mechanism through which the Divine Will penetrates into and is enabled to itself act within the mundane physical world directly. It is not so much "going up", nor even all that one can apprehend there in that state (kadmon), that is important. Letting go releases the essential energy which drives unfolding of Divine Will into and within this lowest world. Also, holding on to great knowledge and bringing it down into the rational mind prior to preparation of the mind to receive it (shabbat consciousness) would have been catastrophic to an unprepared mind, which mine was, in 1967. This "letting go" of knowledge prior to its time represents rectification of the sin of the tree of knowlege.

There is a "knowing" for which we cannot prepare. This kind of knowing is associated with the mitzvah of the bird's nest. It's an essential mitzvah of the moment. One happens upon it. One is struck by it, entirely unprepared. Importantly, the mitzvah of the bird's nest can only be correctly performed when one is unprepared for it. As I wrote in the epiphany:

In 1967, I was six years old, entirely unprepared and unlearned. Yet, I let go. There was no time to think. There was nothing for me to understand in that time. There was only a promise and a question of trust. Yes or no?

Essential bitachon. An essential mitzvah. A mitzvah of the moment. No time to think. Only to react. That reaction comes from atzmut, the essence. As it must.

A mind must be prepared to acquire "knowable knowledge". But, there is a higher level of "essential knowledge" that the mind can never "acquire", but can only dance in wonder and awe with it. This latter paradoxical yet perfectly complete unknowable knowledge can never be "prepared for".

technorati tags: Torah Judaism Kabbalah Talmud Torah sitre Torah razei haTorah jewish mysticism mysticism eitz chaim tikun olam knowledge epiphany yechidah kadmon consciousness shabbat consciousness shabbat mitzvot acting intelligence bird's nest malchut of echad aliyah baalat teshuvah chozeret b'teshuvah hasagas haborei