בס״ד

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

How to achieve the supernatural

"And Hannah said in her heart" (Sam. I 1:13). This means (that He wanted) {that she wanted} to do something supernatural, and she did not want to pray verbally. "For with the word of Hashem were the Heavens created" (Psalms 33:6), and so too the nether worlds, and when we want to do something in opposition to the worlds {another version: not according to the nature of the world}, one must do this thing in thought. For there, all is entirely a single unity, [as in the Talmudic story of R. Chanina ben Dosa, who said] (Ta'anis 25a) "He who commanded the oil and it burned, will command the vinegar and it [too] will burn." [I.e. on the level of Thought, this is consistent, though not on the level of Speech and words, constrained by logic.] Therefore [regarding Hannah] "he did not hear her voice, but her lips moved" (Sam. I 1:13), because she wanted to bring this [level of Thought] to this [physical] world {another version: to understand this in thought}. [Hence] the lips [nevertheless moved], which are the last of the five speech-producing organs [corresponding to the Five Worlds, the last of which corresponds to the physical world].
~ The Maggid of Mezeritch (the successor of the Baal Shem Tov), Ohr Torah, Rimzei Torah, Pesukim M'Lukatim #285
When constrained to operate within logic, only certain things are possible, and ideas beyond this do not even occur to the imagination. While logic has certain advantages, it must not be the sole guide for life. (This is aside from the fact that logic requires input to produce output, while imagination is not limited in this way.) To reach into the Infinite, we must strive to reach beyond the confines of logic. 

Of course, we may employ logic after finding inspiration, and logic may even constitute the majority of one's time and efforts to achieve this dream. But despite this, logic must follow inspiration, rather than lead.

May you all be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet New Year!

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