הערה on עולם הבא (Corrected and Expanded)

Chazal teach us that the righteous experience rest in neither this world nor the next. While the concept of continual growth and קירבה are incredible, the עצלן within never allowed me to fully appreciate this idea, how could eternity be without rest, how could we strive for an existence of perpetual toil? I believe the question stemmed from my own קטנות. I would like to suggest the following מהלך: There are two components to our growth in life, our battle to be בוחר בטוב and the deep סיפוק which that בחירה produces. Our עבודה is constantly met with opposition, thus in order for us to grow, we must constantly overcome the desire to wave the white flag and become one of the המון עם. Rav Wholbe zt"l explains that the כח המשיכה is unique to mans יצר, we are pulled after our תאוות for the physical while our עבודה in the spiritual realm, despite the deep pleasure which ensues, posses no such pull (עיין עלי שור ח"ב שני היצרים ). Thus, so long as man lives, his growth is frought with difficulty, regardless of the lofty מדרגות he's reached (עיין חובות הלבבות שער עבודת הא-לקים). However,the nature of my question stemmed from an error in a most fundamental point. Our world is unique in that it contains both the physical and spiritual dimensions, two opposites which are miraculously able to coexist in one human body (עיין עלי שור ח"ב כחם של מעשים). Yet, it is that very element of physicality which creates friction when attempting to reach שלמות, while the סיפוק is a product of the spiritual dimension of man. It follows that in a reality which consists of the spiritual alone, the consequence of עבודה will be pure סיפוק, pure קירבת ד' יתברך. In the עולם האמת there is no physical גוף, thus there is no pull to be בוחר ברע, consequently our growth is without struggle. The Malbim, in his commentary on שיר השירים writes, that our difficulty in being משיג חכמה lies in the מחיצה which the גוף erects between our נשמה and the בורא עולם, yet if the soul were to exist independent of the body, everything would easily flow in.

Simplicity and Complexity Part 3

עיין דברים הנפלאים של Bilvavi in Simplicity Before and After Complexity

Simplicity and Complexity Part 2

What is desired of man given the reality in which he finds himself? How does one approach his own complexity? Should one simply ignore the philosophical dilemmas which have developed in his mind? Is there any purpose in delving into the depths of life and the myriad questions which accompany our journey through it? After all, we do have 13 principals of faith and we may rest assure that they are absolute truth, so why not forgo the complexity and concentrate solely on retaining our childhood simplicity, refusing to let it out of our grasp despite the expansion of the intellect? Yet, perhaps it would be more beneficial for man to divorce himself entirely from his simplistic mode of thought, letting go of the pure assumptions which he held so dear as a child, allowing his belief system to accept and internalize only that which has undergone the scrutiny of his newfound intellect.

I do not believe that either of these approaches to intellectual maturation is the appropriate one. As with anything and everything in life a balance need be found, a balance which allows for the truth of our simplicity to remain while granting the intellect permission to expand the implication of that truth, thereby deepening our understanding and ultimately our experience.

Simplicity and Complexity Part 1

Man is born with a natural belief in the Creator of the world. To a child, G-d's existence is pashut and he must be taught to deny that belief (עיין אבן שלמה קכא). I was once sitting at a shabbos table next to a little girl drinking a cup of soda, "Where did those bubbles come from?" I asked. "Who put them there?" "Hashem did" she responded. However, as the journey of life continues, experience becomes increasingly more complicated, leaving less room for simplicity. A child's innocence weans as he enters adulthood, and very often his perspectives on life do not remain in their original state of purity. My goal is not to delve into the influence that experience and psychology have on the belief system of man, but rather to discuss an approach to our עבודה given the reality of our experiential life cycle.