Chapter 4
However, even these levels of faith that are permeated with an awareness of Hashem, like “milk and honey,” are still not on the level of “the ‘אָּרֶַׁץ-earth/faith’ will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem,” which we will experience in the Time to Come, when our faith in Hashem as He is “Soveiv Kol Almin-encompasses all worlds” will be experienced in a way that we can actually know and feel it.
Whereas, the levels of faith described as “milk and honey” are still in the category of belief.
Through reciting the Shema with the accompanying contemplations, we can bring our faith in the Truth of Hashem to the point that it develops our emotions, like milk develops a baby, and we have true enjoyment in our faith in Hashem, like we enjoy the sweetness of honey.
However, since we do not fully understand or grasp this belief in Hashem, it does not fully permeate our consciousness and become as tangible to us as our physical existence. We become conscious of our belief and bring it into our hearts and actions, but it still remains beyond our understanding.
When Moshiach comes, there will be a revelation of Hashem that will be so great that we will perceive and grasp the Truth of Hashem (that He encompasses all worlds), the same way that we perceive physicality nowadays.
The idea is as follows: We see that the world is conducted according to the laws of nature, which are derived from Hashem’s Presence, as He is “Memalei Kol Almin-permeates all worlds,” on which level “there is a time for everything.” (Koheles 8:6)
For, at the beginning of history, “the Snake” injected “spiritual filth” into “Chavah” i.e. Kneses Yisrael, the source of the Jewish souls. But, at the time of the Giving of the Torah, this “spiritual filth” was removed. But, afterward, by the Sin of the Golden Calf, this "spiritual filth" returned. However, afterward, in the era of Yehoshua, the nation served Hashem. But, in the days of the “Judges,” they did not serve Hashem properly.
In the Parshah of Bereishis, the Torah describes the first man and woman, Adam and Chavah. Chavah was tricked by a “snake” to eat from the “Tree of Knowledge,” and she then fed this forbidden fruit to her husband. This brought the possibility of death to all of humankind. This “snake” was an embodiment of the forces of unholiness. In addition to causing her to sin by eating from the “Tree of Knowledge,” he also managed to transmit some of his own unholy nature into Chavah, the mother of all humanity, thereby causing “spiritual filth” to become part of the nature of all of her descendants. However, when the Jewish People received the Torah at Mount Sinai, they were cleansed of this “spiritual filth” derived from the “snake,” and returned to the level of Adam and Chavah before their sin. However, when the Jewish People sinned with the incident of the Golden Calf, this “spiritual filth” became mixed into their nature once again. See Talmud Bavli, Shabbos, 146a, and Or HaChaim on Devarim 33:3.
In the days of King David and King Shlomo, the nation was on a high spiritual level. But then, Yaravam ben Nevat caused the nation to sin. So too, in every generation, things change according to the circumstances. Even in the days of the Tannaim (Sages of the Mishnah) and Amoraim, (Sages of the Gemorah) each time period was different from every other. Times were constantly changing throughout history.
This is because all of these events happened in a world conducted by Hashem’s Presence, which is “Memalei Kol Almin.” In this world, things are arranged like a body: There is a head, arms, legs, and other limbs, each one different from the other, and each limb functioning differently. Also, sometimes one of the limbs is in pain or is weak, etc., or other similar changes that can happen to different body parts.
A body is generally one entity, but, since it is made of different parts working together, a person has many different aspects, and even in each particular body part, there can be many different facets. Similarly, since each time and place is created differently by Hashem, there are always differences between one place and another, and between one era and another. The possibility for so many differences comes from the level of how Hashem is “Memalei Kol Almin” according to the various limitations of the created beings.
So too, in each person specifically: Sometimes, a person falls into thoughts, words, or deeds that are not good, and sometimes he will be struck with sudden thoughts of Teshuvah and good deeds, since “there is a time for everything,” and “one nation (animal soul) will fight against the other nation (Divine soul)” (Bereishis 25:23), meaning that “when one rises up the other one automatically falls,” and “Tzor (capitol city of Eisav) only became established through the destruction of Yerushalayim.” (Rashi on verse ibid.)
Therefore, a person should not become dejected when he sees that sometimes he falls spiritually, since this is the cycle in which Hashem made time, with the ability for things to change. One can also return from his improper conduct and change his path from bad to good.
This entire system of changes applies on the level of worlds that are energized by “Memalei Kol Almin.”
However, in order for the level of how Hashem is “Soveiv Kol Almin-Transcendent” to be revealed, in a way that we can consciously understand and feel, we need to “remove the bad from our midst.” (Devarim 13:6)
This will happen in the Time to Come, when the prophecy will be fulfilled, “And I, Hashem, will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth.” (Zecharya 13:2)
This is not the case in the time after the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, since even in the time of the first Beis Hamikdash there were false prophets, and in the time of the second Beis Hamikdash there was baseless hatred. This is the counterpart of the type of belief in Hashem that transcends the limits of logic.
This intense experience of how Hashem is “Soveiv Kol Almin” is not directly accessible during the time of Exile, due to the unholiness of the world, which blocks out our ability to perceive this high level. In fact, even in the time of the Beis Hamikdash, many people did not access this level, due to the corresponding unholiness that was prevalent then.
The idea is that just as on the Side of Holiness there is a belief in Hashem that transcends logic, so too, at that time there were some Jews who held false beliefs in idolatry that were not based on logic, and these false beliefs were the “unholy counterpart” to the true superrational belief in Hashem.
Now, in the time of the first Beis Hamikdash, when the Side of Holiness was very strong, there was a revelation of the Divine Presence resulting from the presence of the Aron and its covering (the Kapores).
So too, in the “unholy counterpart,” there was great power given to the Side of Unholiness from people’s sins, and there was a strong attraction to matters opposed to the belief in Hashem.
For example, there were women who worshipped an idol called “Tammuz.” (Yechezkal 8:14) They also said about another idol they worshipped, “From the time that we stopped burning incense to the ‘Queen of Heaven’ (an idol) we began lacking in what we need...” (Yirmiah 44:18).
Similarly, there were false prophets. Believeing in false prophets is also a form of false belief, since one comes to believe in false prophetic messages that Hashem never said. (see Yirmiah 27:14)
This is not this case in the time of the Second Beis Hamikdash. Since “five things were missing” the Divine Revelation was less, and therefore, the corresponding forces of unholiness were also less powerful. Rather than the blatantly unholy belief in idolatry of the First Bayis, the Second Beis Hamikdash saw the prevalence of false beliefs regarding material matters, where people believed in gossipers and thereby came to hate their fellow Jew. This hatred was entirely baseless, since, in fact, his friend never even wronged him.
This is also a form of false/unholy belief, since if one were not to believe...
