Ayin Beis: Existence Unplugged

Jacob's Pillar ROSE AMONG THORNS Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 28, Vayishlach Yaakov 5673, Chapter 110 p. 213-214 Short Summary:  Long Summary: The point (nekudah) of malchus as it descends in biy"a, which on its own is concealed until its is raised and built up (the stone that Jacob  then turned into a pillar) -- in human service (avodah) -- can be explained in several ways: 1) The spar...

Jacob's Pillar ELEVATING MALCHUS Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 28, Vayishlach Yaakov 5673, Chapter 109 (2) p. 211-212 Short Summary:  Long Summary: Jacob built a monument (matzeivah) not a mound (gal). This signifies the building of containers to manifest the energy. Explanation: The Meorei Ohr writes that the stone is the "point" of malchus, and the building of the monument signifies lifting...

Jacob's Pillar ELEVATING MALCHUS Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 28, Vayishlach Yaakov 5673, Chapter 109 (2) p. 211-212 Short Summary:  Long Summary: Jacob built a monument (matzeivah) not a mound (gal). This signifies the building of containers to manifest the energy. Explanation: The Meorei Ohr writes that the stone is the "point" of malchus, and the building of the monument signifies lifting...

Jacob's Pillar THE STONE Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 28, Vayishlach Yaakov 5673, Chapter 109 (1) p. 211 Short Summary:  Long Summary: Jacob built a monument (matzeivah) not a mound (gal). This signifies the building of containers to manifest the energy. Explanation: The Meorei Ohr writes that the stone is the "point" of malchus, and the building of the monument signifies lifting malchus upr...

The Pillar and the Mound: To Reveal or Conceal (2) CONCEALING THE DIVINE: Jacob vs. Laban Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 28, Vayishlach Yaakov 5673, Chapter 108 (3) p. 210-211 Short Summary:  Long Summary: After witnessing Jacob's great success in tending to and refining his sheep, and all the spiritual wealth that he amassed, Laban realized the power of Jacob (baal ha'tikkun) to transform the...

The Pillar and the Mound: To Reveal or Conceal (2) LABAN'S MOUND Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 28, Vayishlach Yaakov 5673, Chapter 108 (2) p. 209-210 Short Summary:  Long Summary: On a personal level, Laban represent crass material pleasures, which oppose and resist the divine. More specifically, inner physical desires (taavos -- pnimi), and the lust for honor and recognition (makif), which t...

The Pillar and the Mound: To Reveal or Conceal (2) ALTER EGOS Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 28, Vayishlach Yaakov 5673, Chapter 108 (1) p. 208-209 Short Summary:  Long Summary: There are parallel worlds: Everything in holiness has a profane counterpart (zeh l'eumas zeh). So too with the ten sefirot: Just as there are ten sefirot in holiness -- the sefirot of atzilus, as well as those of biy"a...

[Now begins a discussion, which spans 7 chapters, that applies the difference of containers (attached and transparent revealers) and garments (detached cloaking concealers), to explain the story of Jacob and Laban. Namely, Jacob raising the stone as a pillar and Laban making from the stones a mound, with Jacob reflecting the level of atzilus, where the containers -- like luminescent stones -- are...

The Pillar and the Mound: To Reveal or Conceal (1) JACOB AND LABAN: THE COSMIC PICTURE Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 27, V'Ha'Even Ha'Zos 5673, Chapter 107 (1) p. 205-207 Short Summary:  Long Summary: The containers of atzilus are called sefirot because they are transparent channels of the light. This includes even the containers of malchut of atzilus: Though malchut is the lowest level of at...

Sefirah: Brightness Containers and Garments (3) CLARITY AND CLOAKS  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 27, V'Ha'Even Ha'Zos 5673, Chapter 106 p. 204-205 Short Summary:  Long Summary: The containers of atzilus are called sefirot because they are transparent channels of the light. This includes even the containers of malchut of atzilus: Though malchut is the lowest level of atzilus and the prim...

Containers and Garments (2) FACULTIES AND EXPRESSION  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 27, V'Ha'Even Ha'Zos 5673, Chapter 105 p. 202-203 Short Summary:  Long Summary: Similar to these two levels of garments on the bodily level, concealing ones (the garments that cover the body) and revealing ones (the body itself), there are also two levels of garments on the soul level: 1) The faculties an...

Sefirah: Transparent Illumination Containers and Garments (1) REVEALERS AND CONCEALERS  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 27, V'Ha'Even Ha'Zos 5673, Chapter 104 p. 200-201

Sefirah: Narrative Revealing the Infinite (5) PREPARING FOR SINAI  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 26, V'Eleh Toldos 5673, Chapter 103 (2) p. 198-200 Short Summary:  Long Summary: This explains the opening verse (of this discourse) V'Aleh Toldos:

Sefirah: Narrative Revealing the Infinite (5) SEEING THROUGH G-D'S EYES  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 26, V'Eleh Toldos 5673, Chapter 103 (1) p. 197-198 Short Summary:  Long Summary: The perspective from above pierces also the perspective from below. Two levels of bittul The ten sefirot reveal and tell the story -- 1) the containers reveal the energies. Together they reveal 2) the divin...

Sefirah: Narrative Revealing the Infinite (4) TWO PERSPECTIVES: FROM BELOW; FROM ABOVE  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 26, V'Eleh Toldos 5673, Chapter 102 p. 196-197 Short Summary:  Long Summary: The infinite distance of energy compared to its source is the level of the energy's bittul (subjugation) to the source. There is however a higher  level of bitul - true bitul - one that come...

Sefirah: Narrative Revealing the Infinite (3) PERCEIVING THE GRANDEUR  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 26, V'Eleh Toldos 5673, Chapter 101 p. 194-195 Short Summary:  Long Summary: Yet, even the inner dimension of binah is in the domain of comprehension . Direct awareness and indirect awareness through process of elimination. Knowledge by definition, knowledge by negation. Comprehension of...

Sefirah: Narrative Revealing the Infinite (2) BEYOND THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 26, V'Eleh Toldos 5673, Chapter 100 p. 193-194 Short Summary:  Long Summary: Similarly, the ten sefirot of atzilus reveal the divine infinite energy. We will understand this with the prayer "imbue our hearts with binah," to "understand one thing from another" (mayvin dovor m'toch d...

Sefirah: Narrative Revealing the Infinite (1) THE STORY HEAVENS TELL  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 26, V'Eleh Toldos 5673, Chapter 99 p. 191-192 Short Summary:  Long Summary: [After discussing how the ten sefirot of atzilus reveal/tell the story of the divine in the world, and also the concealed ten hidden sefirot -- the source and root of the defined structure --  he now goes on t...

Sefirah: Narrative Revealing the Hidden Sefirot (3) THE HIDDEN STORY  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 25, V'Avrohom Zokon 5673, Chapter 98 (1) p. 188-190

Sefirah: Narrative Revealing the Hidden Sefirot (3) THE HIDDEN STORY  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 25, V'Avrohom Zokon 5673, Chapter 98 (1) p. 188 Short Summary:  Long Summary: We are aware only of the existence (yediyas ha'mitziyus) of the power to conceive (koach ha'maskil), not its personality (mehus). In truth, we are aware only of the existence, not the personality, of spirituality...

Sefirah: Narrative Revealing the Hidden Sefirot (2) HIDDEN INTELLIGENCE  Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 25, V'Avrohom Zokon 5673, Chapter 97 p. 187-188 Short Summary:  Long Summary: We can understand this with explaining the idea of "hidden intelligence" (hasogah ne'elemes). Wisdom consists of two elements: Understanding 1) the details of a concept, 2) the central theory of the concept, w...

Sefirah: Narrative Revealing the Hidden Sefirot (1) BEHIND THE SCENES: Core, Hidden and Revealed Faculties Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 25, V'Avraham Zokon 5673, Chapter 96 p. 185-186 Short Summary: Long Summary: Yet, the meaning in R' Shem Tov's words -- that the sefirot tell the story of "hidden thoughts" -- is that the containers reveal not only the energies of atzilus, but also that the energ...

Sefirah: Narrative WHY DO WE NEED ATZILUS? Ayin Beis Volume 1, Discourse 25, V'Avraham Zaken 5673, Chapter 95 p. 183-185 Short Summary:  Long Summary: R' Shem Tov's words, that the sefirot tell and reveal the hidden thoughts is not simply referring to the containers revealing the energies, but that the general spheratic structure, of energies and containers, reveal the divine energy higher th...

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Ayin Beis Discourse ; Chapter 93