Been Here All Along

The child locks her mother out of the home - with the only key on the kitchen table. when the mother overcomes her panic she is able to couch her daughter and instruct her how to open the door with the key.

Mother never felt so vulnerable in her life.

The Kabbalists were troubled by this. The Arizal taught that in order for G-d to create the world he first had to create a "vacuum and empty space" by "moving his light to the side", and only then, after the world is created, can the human being draw the infinite light back into the "vacuum and empty space". Now, if we are the child who through our divine service we "draw" G-d into this world, then does that not mean that G-d is weak? Isn't the Kabbalah's only acceptable definition of G-d is that he is complete - "Shleimut" - and there can be nothing incomplete about him?

So we need to scrap that parable and think about this one instead:

Mother and daughter are both home. Daughter does not realize that mother is home (or she does not recognize this person to be her mother). Mother is therefore locked out, not of the home but, of her daughter's perception. When the daughter discovers the mother and brings her into her own perception she did not affect any change in her mother, because, objectively, mother has been here all along. The "vacuum and empty space" created by G-d, should not be taken literally. G-d's conceals his infinite light so that in our perception there is a "vacuum and empty space". 

So open your heart and mind and allow the divine presence into your world. But remember: He has been here all along.

(While learning Likutey Torah Parshas Balak)

Masada

Yesterday, on Shabbat, I read a book about the Chabad Chasisidim in Russia under Soviet rule. Stories about great men and woman who were exiled or killed in waves of persecution in the late twenties late thirties and again in the late forties. I personally know many of their children, grandchildren and relatives. 

This morning my friend sent me an email about his thoughts on visiting Masada. I replied: 

"When I read your email this morning I thought to myself that Soviet Russia was the Chabad Masada. And, like the original Masada, it forces me to ask myself what would I risk my like for?" 

The Red Cow

All you need to know for your spiritual life lies in this one law.

The opening words of the law of the red cow, who's ashes were mixed with water and sprinkled to purify the ritually impure, are: “This is the decree of the Torah”. Meaning that this law captures the essence if all the Torah wants to teach. We therefore do not have the luxury to skip this portion and move on to the more exciting parts of the Torah. If it's the “the” decree of the Torah, then we must figure out the message of this law to us living in the twenty first century when we have no Holy Temple and no physical red cow.

All you need to know for your spiritual life lies in this one law.

The purifying waters have two ingredients that are opposites:the ashes which are produced by fire and water. In essence the law is telling us that our approach to spirituality must contain of the opposing extremes of fire - the gravity defying passion and yearning to escape the confines of the physical reality. And water – the downward flow, the “return” from the yearning to the world, imbuing the physical existence with spirituality.

Conventional wisdom teaches that to be spiritual one must escape to the Himalaya and abandon the challenges of materialism that present themselves in every day life.

“Not true!” cries the red cow, you must have the water that nourishes all life on earth. If you want to connect G-d you must find him on this earth. Yet, just as important, you must have the other essential ingredient: the ashes produced by fire. Because in order for your “bowl of water”, your material life, to become holy and not swallow up your spirit – you must mix the ashes in to the water, balancing the extremes, for only by yearning to escape the confines of the earth can we imbue are life on earth with meaning.  

Children

Why should we have more children?
The answer I have recently been giving, is that there is every reason not to and that is the strongest argument for.
So certainly it says it in the Torah, Pru u'Rvu. But why does the Torah say that?
And asking the question in light of a world population boom, the Torah's words are timeless not only for the olden days when there weren't that many people around.
Simply put it is a Mitzvah for Yidden (interesting that the mitzva is basically only two children but they have to have children. In light of statistics we know that on average one needs to have 2.1 children for society to stay the same. And taking into account having grandchildren, takes care of the concern for the point 1 for cases of infant mortality etc. But that still isn't multiplying that's just treading water?).
We need more Yidden and not just in context of the holocaust. And not just because we give charity at higher percentage and therefore it is better for the world if there are more Yidden.
But especially because Yidden doing Mitzvos will make it a better world for them. Through Ruchnius and through them seeing how one should live their lives. And certainly then this imperative is incumbent especially on frum Yidden and especially Chassidim and especially Shluchim where we can live a life of self-sacrifice as a lesson for all to see.

Discussion Starter

A question, to get a good discussion started, is gold I have found.
One I have used is, If G-d would destroy the universe, how would he do it?
It ends up being an eyeopening conversation on creation.

Do you have any others that you love?

Gaming V

Movies began when people realized you can make a bunch of still pictures. You then change them rapidly and that makes it look like the thing is moving. At first the changing was slow so it looked different than something actually moving. As time goes on they're making it faster and faster which makes it look very smooth and real. It's called the refresh rate. Which means the amount of times the screen erases the old picture and loads the new picture in a second. That's what 60Hz, 120Hz and so on means. Which would mean 60 or 120 times per
second.

Do we have a refresh rate? And if yes, how many times per second?

Gaming IV

Our previous post leads to something I find mind boggling. How many programmers, programming, testing, betas etc. does it take to make one app because each picture is its own 'creation' and every little detail has to be programmed into each little part.

Now Hashem is making everything happen at every moment. So when I pick up a rock it's not me picking it up I just do the motions Hashem's making it go up. And He's doing that with everything! Talking about enormous! 


What is mind boggling is that He never messes up! Just think what it takes to make one iPhone and an iPhone is not even alive! And not even a fraction of the 'programming' that goes into even one insect! And to think about how many insects are in my yard alone! And then multiply that with yards, neighborhoods, cities, countries, species etc. etc.! And no ant ever had a leg disappear because He wasn't paying attention for a second! Or your fingers start seeing because there's been a glitch. Everything is so predictable!
And when you think about how He's doing each and everything that's happening everywhere, it's mind blowing.

When I play computer games there's always glitches. Like playing Subway Surfer your guy hits a wall, doesn't die. He's like running in one place. The cop chasing him but not catching him. Cause he's also running in one place. You realize your guy ain't dying so you move out of the way and the game continues. Mamash nimnah hanimnaos! Or there's a part of the screen with nothing. The picture is missing, so you have just emptiness (for a screen that would just be the black screen).

So when was the last time you where walking down the street and there was a part of existence just not there because there was a glitch and Hashem just missed that part?

It's just amazing how nothing ever goes wrong. There is never a glitch. Like even miracles, you might say, manipulate the system but don't fail it. 

Gaming III

On a computer there's no cause and effect. In the 'real' world when you turn a knob that, in turn, turns a wheel, which moves something else and makes the thing happen. On a computer when you turn the knob it's not even turning. It's just still pictures moving so fast it seems to be moving. So there's actually no relation between the wheel being in spot A and then afterwards in spot B. Every position is a completely new 'creation'. Which that in turn doesn't turn anything else. It sends a message to the program that when I do this make that happen.

This is why a computer games takes up a tremendous amount of memory because each scene has to be completely recreated. So if a picture takes up so many kilobytes on your computer, you then need a picture for each scenario that can possibly happen in the game. So for instance each inch you drive in a car game has to be   completely new picture and not only that but each position of the car and of any other car in the game has to be another picture. And if there are multiple options your able to do then each option has to be programmed into each picture. Now that's a lot of pictures and programming. That's also why you need so much testing for any program because the amount of possibilities for glitches are enormous.

If you think about it, the amount of programming to just move screens and click on an app on a touch screen is a lot. And then all the programming in an iPhone is mind boggling. And it's all because when I move my finger along the screen it doesn't cause anything on the screen. It is sending messages to the program which then makes a new picture and so on.

In the 'real' world when I pick up a stone does my hand pick up stones or is it Hashem doing it and only making it  seem like I'm picking up the stone?

Gaming II

Everything in the world is made up of a mixture of good and bad. It's up to us to choose the good and discard the bad. We do this by understanding that the good in everything is life and the bad is death.  Because life comes from Hashem, therefore everything connected to Hashem is life and that which is not connected is the opposite. So when we eat the food for a G-dly purpose we've chosen life. As in "U'vacharta BaChayim...".

Let's look at how we can better understand this through computer games: When we play a computer game we build and destroy worlds. We then turn it off and there's nothing left. Death. That's the story of life when one chooses only the mundane. It's gone like all the worlds, personalities and anything else one has built in that game.

Do we exist?

Do we really exist? Chassidus is all about this question. Over time they say we've lost very important analogies for Chassidus. Like the king for example. We don't have kings we can compare to. But maybe we've gotten a few more. One seems to be, of all things, the video/gaming/internet world.

But first Chassidus concepts, it seems, should not be complicated. They should be simple. If the idea is not simple then one probably doesn't understand it and therefore cannot be effected in a life changing way. So one way to understand something simply, is to find where we already know the concept regarding something else.

Is Super Mario real? Does he exist?

No he doesn't! But of course he exists, everyone knows Super Mario. I didn't make him up!

But he only exists in our minds. He's what we call a completely made up character. And that's why if your child asks you is Super Mario real you say no!

So do we exist?