Monday, May 21, 2012

to infinity and beyond

Rav Dessler (Michtav m'Eliyahu vol II p.26) asks how a mattan Torah could be possible when Torah is infinite, aruka m'aretz midah, and the world by definition is finite.  The "tzimtzum" that was necessitated to create a physical world never applied to Torah, which preceded and transcends the creation.  How do you fit an infinite peg in a finite hole?

Rav Dessler answers that mattan Torah can only be understood as a nes, a miracle.  Hashem has no constraints on what he can do, and so if he wills an infinite Torah into a finite human mind, it will stick.  The goal of a person therefore must be to become a worthy vessel for Torah by deflating his ego and correcting his midos and hope that Hashem will award him Torah as a gift, as it is only through Hashem's grace that Torah can fully be absorbed.

I thought that perhaps one could answer the question a bit differently.  A person is composed of two parts -- chomer and tzurah, or, if you like other terms, nefesh and guf.  While part of the nefesh resides in the body and is bound by the constraints of a briya m'tzumtzemes, the rest of the nefesh remains connected "upstairs" to its source.  It therefore can transcend the physical world and its constraints.  An infinite Torah can be given to mankind because mankind, by virtue of having a neshoma, remains connected to the infinite as well.   
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7 comments:

  1. ba9:16 PM

    In defense of R' Dessler:

    Your explanation assumes that because the nefesh is connected to Hashem, it is infinite. This is not necessarily true: Just because something is connected to Hashem doesn't make it infinite. However, the Torah is by definition infinite: HKB"H ve'oraysa chad hu. (In other terms, HKB"H = Torah. HKB"H = infinite. Therefore, Torah = infinite.)

    But in defense of your explanation:

    Since the nefesh will last forever and never be destroyed, it is infinite in respect to time, and can therefore be called infinite.

    But in return to the defense:

    Hashem *could* possibly destroy the nefesh if it were His desire, if you could imagine that. And if it has the potential to be destroyed, it can't be infinite. On the other hand, Hashem couldn't possibly not exist; if He didn't exist, nothing else could (Yesodei HaTorah 1:2).

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  2. Chaim B.9:21 PM

    The nefesh is a cheilek Elo-ka and therefore is infinite like Hashem, as part of infinity is infinite as well.

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  3. Alex10:25 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Shmuel10:26 PM

    >> However, the Torah is by definition infinite: HKB"H ve'oraysa chad hu. (In other terms, HKB"H = Torah. HKB"H = infinite. Therefore, Torah = infinite.)

    But see that the Ramchal adds to that statement: "KBH, Oraysa, Yisrael - chad hu"

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    Replies
    1. ba10:39 PM

      That is interesting. Where does the Ramchal say this?

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    2. Shmuel3:50 PM

      Sefer Adir BaMarom, pg. 110

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  5. micha berger12:56 PM

    I like the Maharal's take (IIRC, Derekh Chaim on Avos 5:17) on eilu va'eilu, which requires believing that the full Torah can NOT fit in this universe, that each pesaq in this world is a "shadow" (my mashal) of a much richer and more complex truth.

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