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The Derech Hashem Series

Shiur / Class #65

Enlightenment vs. Concealment & the Major Classes of Creation

Given
Saturday, July 15, 2017

Given by
Rabbi Mendel Kessin

https://torahthinking.podbean.com/mf/play/zuwiuy/Derech_Hashem_-_The_Way_of_God_-_65_-_Enlightenment_vs_Concealment_and_the_Major_Classes_of_Creation_-_Rav_Mendel_Kessin.mp3

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Synopsis is not necesarrily in Rabbi Kessin's own words

What is the source of good and evil?

The flow of divine energy

  • Good & evil are dependant on ha’orah and hester
  • Hashem always sends out a consistent amount of ha’orah. Our actions and intent determine how receptive we are to it and to what degree we are blocked from it.
  • In this way Hashem acts like a shadow
  • Each Jew is are assigned to a specific area where he is to enable the ha’orah to be received, thus being mesaken that area.
  • When hester is caused, the Satan and his minions fill the void and cause destruction.
  • The tragedy of Tisha B’Av is not just that we caused a major hester, but that we enabled the destructive forces to have more power to destroy.
  • The bais hamikdash was a place where there was no blockage

General classifications of entities in creation

  • The 2 major classifications are the physical and the spiritual
  • Hashem is neither physical nor spiritual. He Himself transcends both.
  • What He actually is us unknowable to us. We can only know Him as he manifests in creation and what His acts are within it.
  • The 7 elements of the physical realm
    • Space
    • Time
    • Matter
    • Energy
    • Life
    • Consciousness
    • Motion
  • No one really knows what these actually are
  • We don’t really know what the elements of the spiritual realm are

Life on other planets

  • The search for life on other planets is driven by the desire for an excuse not to have the responsibility that comes with belief in Hashem.
  • Even if intelligent life is found, it wouldn’t  be a contradiction to torah.
  • The fact that life started there at all should lead to belief in Hashem.
  • The brilliance that compels the belief in a creator is the complexity of creation as opposed to the design alone.

Glossary

  • Ha’orah – Enlightenment / Divine energy shining on something
  • Hester – Concealment
  • Mesaken – Fix
  • Tisha B’Av – Jewish day of mourning for the tragedies that befell Jewery throughout history, primarily focusing on the destruction of both temples.
  • Bais Hamikdosh – The holy temple

Previous in the Derech Hashem series:

3 Ways Hashem Interacts With The World

Next in the Derech Hashem series:

Regarding Comey

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Filed Under: Hashkofa & life

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The Derech Hashem Series

Shiur / Class #65

Enlightenment vs. Concealment & the Major Classes of Creation

Given
Saturday, July 15, 2017

Given by
Rabbi Mendel Kessin

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