Comments on: Thing or Person http://blog.thefoundationstone.org/2009/11/14/thing-or-person/ Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from The Foundation Stone Blog Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:25:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Michael http://blog.thefoundationstone.org/2009/11/14/thing-or-person/comment-page-1/#comment-3673 Michael Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:40:14 +0000 http://blog.thefoundationstone.org/?p=1477#comment-3673 Thank you for writing this story. Eventhough I usually never remember stories, it is one of the stories that stayed crystal clear in my mind. Interestingly, another story that stayed in my mind, was the story of David Hamelech sitting with the fetus in his hand and crying together with the mother... I guess that at that moment David Hamelech was next to you to help you. I would like to suggest a possible answer to your question: The fact that our minds are not constantly focused on the reality of life ( = Olam Haba, a world where God is revealed) , we look only at this world with human eyes and not as our eyes being the windows of the soul. But sometimes touching/experiencing the extremes of life, "death" in this case , is a door for seeing as a soul and not as a body. Then you can see the human/beauty and not the "thing". I assume this is the explanation of the Gemara (and the Pirkey Avos) telling you to say Shema or remembering that you will die to escape the Yetzer Hara. It brings you back to reality that you are a soul and following the Yetzer Hara "Pass nicht " ! It is maybe for this reason that Abraham and Yitzchak were two extremes, Abraham was extreme Chesed ,Yitzchak extreme Gevura, it was the only way to bring in the world a soul who can see with eyes of EMET which Yaakov represents. So even though we are suppose to live a life of middle(Rambam), of stability like Yaakov, we need sometimes to reconnect to the 2 extremes (Abraham and Ytzchak) to refocus on what is truly valuable: Avraham teaching us the power of Chesed, of life , of potential, of growth, and Ytzchak teaching us the power of Gevura, of death, of the limitations we have, of time, of physical space, but also of Hashem's Din, Power and Infinity beyond our grasp and of Olam Haba. May we be Zoche to have always in front of us Life and Death so that can be called Bney Israel(children of the middle, Israel = Yashar El, children of Yaakov) and appreciate the Tiferes/beauty/harmony of this world and never see things as things but as Divine beauty. Thank you for writing this story. Eventhough I usually never remember stories, it is one of the stories that stayed crystal clear in my mind. Interestingly, another story that stayed in my mind, was the story of David Hamelech sitting with the fetus in his hand and crying together with the mother… I guess that at that moment David Hamelech was next to you to help you.

I would like to suggest a possible answer to your question: The fact that our minds are not constantly focused on the reality of life ( = Olam Haba, a world where God is revealed) , we look only at this world with human eyes and not as our eyes being the windows of the soul. But sometimes touching/experiencing the extremes of life, “death” in this case , is a door for seeing as a soul and not as a body. Then you can see the human/beauty and not the “thing”.
I assume this is the explanation of the Gemara (and the Pirkey Avos) telling you to say Shema or remembering that you will die to escape the Yetzer Hara. It brings you back to reality that you are a soul and following the Yetzer Hara “Pass nicht ” !

It is maybe for this reason that Abraham and Yitzchak were two extremes, Abraham was extreme Chesed ,Yitzchak extreme Gevura, it was the only way to bring in the world a soul who can see with eyes of EMET which Yaakov represents.
So even though we are suppose to live a life of middle(Rambam), of stability like Yaakov, we need sometimes to reconnect to the 2 extremes (Abraham and Ytzchak) to refocus on what is truly valuable: Avraham teaching us the power of Chesed, of life , of potential, of growth, and Ytzchak teaching us the power of Gevura, of death, of the limitations we have, of time, of physical space, but also of Hashem’s Din, Power and Infinity beyond our grasp and of Olam Haba.

May we be Zoche to have always in front of us Life and Death so that can be called Bney Israel(children of the middle, Israel = Yashar El, children of Yaakov) and appreciate the Tiferes/beauty/harmony of this world and never see things as things but as Divine beauty.

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