Sha'ar HaEmunah VeYesod HaChasidut, Entrance to the Gate of Beit Yaakov 5

סותר דעת הפילוסוף שאמר שהמניעה לא תשתנה, ודבריו הם היפוך דעת תורה. On the Possible and the Impossible
Based upon the discussion above – that the intellect itself is created, and thus, ultimately mutable – the author argues against the philosophical viewpoint that certain miracles are beyond even God’s capability, such as the simultaneous occurrence of contradictory events, or logical impossibilities (1 + 1 = 3, for instance). For, according to R. Gershon Hanokh, God could easily restructure the human mind to grasp that which now seems illogical. An examples for this, he cites several miracles that occurred in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. At the moment the miracle occurred, reality – and the human mind – became open to the possibility of opposite phenomena occurring simultaneously. However, he does offer a caveat. This shift in perception only occurs from human perspective. From God’s point of view, there is no distinction between the miraculous and the natural, between the state before and the state after creation, or between finitude and infinity; creation is and always has been nullified within God. The various Divine names used to relate to God, as well as the permanent and logical appearance of creation, exist only from our perspective, to provide us with the means with which to serve God. Only to human perception is there a “before” and “after” to creation, a shift from potential to actual. A view of how the world is managed by God, “from above to below,” is by and large hidden from man’s understanding. Only the rare and sensitive prophetic soul among us can have a vision of this magnitude.

ובזה נסתר דיעה הנזכרת בתשובת הרשב"א (הנקרא אלף רנ"ה) בסי' תמ"ח מה שכתב אבוניט אברהם הוא, הפילוסוף ר' ידעי' ב"ר אברהם בדרשי להליץ על ארץ פרובינציה המתעסקים בלימוד חכמות חיצונות, וכתב שם, בענין האמונה בה' הנמנע בסתם יחלק לשני חלקים, שיאמין שהשי"ת יכול לשנות הטבע בדרך נס לפי שעה כמו קריעת ים סוף, אבל ישיב אח"כ לכמו שהיה, שנתן הקב"ה לטבע כח קיים, אך שהש"י הוא למעלה מן הטבע ויכול לשנותה וכו'. והחלק השני הנמנע אשר נבין מניעתו אפילו בחוק הש"י ושלא יתואר האל ביכולת לשנותו, מפני שנבין לטבע הוא חלק מהמציאות בשום צד. וכתב עוד שם, והיותר מפורסם ממנו הנמנע תחלה לקבוץ שני הפכים בנושא אחד בזמן אחד מצד אחד, וכל שכן שני הסותרים, שהענין בם יותר מבואר הנמנע מההפכים והוא החיוב והשלילות, משל בסותרים כאמרנו ראובן שהוא רוכב בלתי רוכב יחד בנקודה אחת נרמזת מהזמן, או כותב ולא כותב יחד, כי הסותרים בשום פנים לא יתקבצו ועל כן יחלקו האמת והשקר תמיד, והמשל בהפכים כאמרנו בהמצא מספר שיהיה זוג ונפרד יחד, או כאמרנו בהמצאת זמן עבר ועתיד יחד מצד אחד, ואיך כי העבר שלא נשאר חלק ממנו שלא נפסד והעתיד הוא שלא התחיל חלק ממנו להתחדש, ואיך ימצא יום שיקרא תמול ומחר יחד שלא על שתי הבחינות, זה בוודאי מאמר סותר עצמו והוא מבואר המניעה שלא תשתנה עד כאן דבריו. ובאמת כל דבריו הם היפוך דעת התורה, שזה הוא מן הנמנע שיהיו שני הפכים בנושא אחד: The understanding that God can make the impossible possible goes against the view mentioned in the responsa of Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet (known as the Rashba, Spain, 1235-1310) §1255:448.²⁴⁹In 1305, the Rashba took a stand on the issue of secular studies by issuing a ban on the study of philosophy for those under the age of 25; although he specifically excluded the works of the Rambam from the ban. The philosopher R. Yedaya Ben Avraham asked the Rashba to instruct the secular philosophers of Provence. There the philosopher wrote that one must divide the belief of God’s ability to do the impossible into two sections. One is the belief that God can temporarily change nature through miracles such as the splitting of the Sea of Reeds. Yet after a period of time, God will restore nature back to its previous state. God gave nature an enduring existence, yet God is above nature and has the ability to change it. The second section concerns the impossible. Here we must understand the nature of its impossibility even in terms of God’s own conduct,²⁵⁰“אפילו בחוק ה” and we should not ascribe to God the ability to change it. This is because nature is a part of [God’s] existence, to a certain degree. He further wrote, and this concept is well known, concerning the impossibility of two opposites existing in one subject at the same time. This is all the more apparent with two contradictions, for the contradictions themselves provide a clear illustration of the impossibility that anything could be happening and not happening at the same time. For example, if we say that Reuven is riding on a horse and not riding on a horse at one time and place. Or if we say that he is writing and simultaneously not writing. Contradictory events cannot happen at one time and in one place. In this way truth and falsehood will always be clearly divided. The example of opposites in the realm of number would be saying that a number is both odd and even. In the realm of time, it would be saying that a point in time is both past and future. How could it be, since the past is entirely lost, and the future has not yet begun. How could you have the same exact day which is simultaneously called yesterday and tomorrow? This is clearly a contradictory statement, and illustrates how the impossible remains impossible and can never be the possible.²⁵¹Meaning, even for God. Such is the contention of the philosopher, that it is impossible for two opposites to be simultaneously true; yet, this is opposite the view of the Torah.

ובאמת מצינו במס' מגילה (דף י:) דבר זה מסורת בידינו מאבותינו מקום ארון אינו מן המדה. וכן אבות (פרק ה משנה ז) עומדים צפופים ומשתחווים רוחים, שזה הוא מן הנמנעות ההפכיים, שיכנס גשם בגשם ולא יתבטל אחד מהם. אכן המאמין בה' שגם ההשגה והשכל הם ג"כ מחודשים ומסודרים ומעורכים ברצון הש"י, לא יחוש מלהבין ולהשכיל ולהאמין דברי חכמים כהווייתן, שבמקום המקדש שנאמר בו (דברי הימים ב ז׳:ט״ז) והיו עיני ולבי שם כל הימים, שם האיר הש"י למעלה מן הסדר שהטביע בעולם, ולמעלה מן הסדר שסדר דעת האדם משכלו וידיעתו, וכל הנכנס למקום המקדש בקדושה ובטהרה היה רואה זאת גם בעיני בשר, והבין זאת בדעתו ושכלו, ששם הראה הקב"ה נסים נגלים והושגו בהשגת האדם. ובהשתחויה שבמקדש, שהיה בעת שהיו שומעים את השם הנכבד והנורא מפורש יוצא מפי כהן גדול בקדושה ובטהרה, ואז האיר הש"י את עיני כל ישראל והשיגו למעלה מכל סדר מערכת הבריאה וידיעתם, והבינו שאין זה ענין מהופך שיעמדו צפופים וישתחו רווחים, שבאמת לא היה הנס שם שתתרחב העזרה כדאיתא במס' עירובין (קנד.) וחולין (פג:) ובכורות (יז:) ובכמה דוכתי שלא היה יכול להתוסף על העזרה, משום שנאמר (ד"ה א' כח) הכל בכתב מיד ה' עלי השכיל, והנס הזה שיתקבצו ההפכים מבלי התבטלות אחד מפני אחד, הוא באמת שני הפכים בנושא אחד, ורק שבשעת ההשתחויה היו יודעים ידיעה גמורה וחלוטה, כמו שאנו יודעים שזה הוא ענין שני הפכים בנושא אחד, כן השיגו אז שאינם הפכים כלל: The Talmud records (Megillah, 10b) the tradition received from our forefathers that it was impossible to measure the space in the Holy of Holies, as from the measurements given, the Holy Ark would not have taken up any space.²⁵²The passage in the Gemara (Megillah, 10b) reads: Rabbi Levi further said: We have a tradition from our ancestors that the ark took up no space. It has been taught to the same effect: “The ark which Moshe made had around it an empty space of ten cubits on every side.” Now, it is written (Melakhim, 6:20), “And in front of the Sanctuary was twenty cubits in length and twenty cubits in breadth,” and it is also written after that (verses 24-25) that the wing of the one cherub was ten cubits and the wing of the other cherub was ten cubits. Where then was the ark itself? We must therefore conclude that it stood by a miracle without occupying any space. In other words, if the wings of the golden cherubs, positioned to the right and left of the ark, each took up ten cubits, then, theoretically, there was no place left for the ark to stand between them. Similarly, the Mishnah records that, “on the Day of Atonement the crowd in Holy Temple was so packed together that it would normally have been impossible to move, yet when it came time to fall prostrate on the ground, everyone had enough room.” ²⁵³When the High Priest would pronounce God’s ineffable name in the Holy of Holies of the Temple on Yom Kippur, the crowd, which had been standing so tightly packed that people could barely move, would fall down on their faces, hands and feet spread out on the ground; yet not one of the worshipers touched any other surrounding him. This is a physical impossibility. One body cannot enter the space of anther body without one of them being negated.²⁵⁴Since the area of the Temple courtyard did not expand, as mentioned below, the people on the ground had to be occupying each others space, normally considered impossible. Yet indeed, for one who believes in God and believes that even understanding and the power of the intellect are also created entities that God can renew and arrange according to His desire, then there is no problem in understanding and believing the words of the Sages as they are written. Of the place of the Holy Temple it is written (Divrei HaYamim 2, 7:16), “My eyes and heart shall be there at all times.” God illuminated the place of the Holy Temple with an illumination that is above all orders of the natural world, and above the ability of the human mind to comprehend. All who entered the Holy Temple in a holy and pure state would perceive this even through human eyes. He would understand with his mind and intellectual power on a level which is beyond the capacity of perception for someone anywhere else in the world. The Holy Temple was a place where God revealed miracles and made them perceptible to the mortal mind. When the Israelites fell prostrate in the Holy Temple, which was the moment when they heard the Name of God being pronounced by the High Priest in a state of sanctity and purity, God sent them an awesome illumination, and they understood on a level beyond all orders of creation and the capacity of human understanding. At this moment they understood that there is no contradiction between standing jam-packed in a crowd unable to move anywhere, and being able to freely fall to the ground with arms and legs spread out, yet not coming into contact with the people around you.²⁵⁵In other words, not only did a miracle occur in the Temple, when the congregation prostrated themselves on the ground, the consciousness of the people there itself expanded, so that they were able to cognitively grasp why such a thing is possible. The space of the courtyard of the Holy Temple was not miraculously expanded, for we have many sources in the Talmud²⁵⁶The author lists BT Eruvin, 154a, Chulin 83b, and Berachot 17b as sources, though those folios do not seem to relate to this discussion. which teach us that it was not permitted to expand the area of the Azara. This is based on the verse (Divrei HaYamim 1, 28:19), “And this, said David, is written by the hand of God who instructed me, even all the works of this pattern.” With this miracle, where two contradictory opposites could join together in one place without negating each other, two opposites could truly join together in one subject. At the moment when they fell prostrate, they knew this with complete and certain knowledge. Just as we understand according to normative human knowledge that two contradictory opposites cannot exist at the same time, so did they understand at that moment that they were not opposites at all.

וזה נרמז בסוד שם המפורש שנזכר בירושלמי יומא (פ' שלישי הלכה ז) עשרה פעמים היה כהן גדול מזכירים את השם ביום, הקרובים היו נופלים על פניהם, והרחוקים היו אומרים ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, אלו ואלו לא היו זזים משם עד שהוא מתעלם מהם. שבשעת שמיעתם את שם המפורש, היה להם ידיעה והשגה הזאת, ואח"כ כשנעלם מהם, נסתר מהם וחזרו לסדר הטבע. אכן נשאר בהם רשימו, שזכרו שאז הבינו, וכמו שנבאר הענין בפ' יתרו בענין מתן תורה כשנאמר להם שובו לכם לאהליכם, וכן הכהן הגדול כשנכנס לבית קדש הקדשים בקדושה ובטהרה ובהכנת הלב, היה רואה מפורש שמקום הארון אינו מן המדה, והיה רואה גם בעיני בשר, שאז נזדכך כל גופו אף החומרי וראה ראיה גמורה וידע ידיעה ברורה והבין, גם בשכלו ודעתו, שאינו מן ההפכים מה שמקום ארון אינו מן המדה, וכדאיתא במדרש ובילקוט אחרי, וכל אדם לא יהיה באהל מועד אמרו עליו על פנחס כשהיה רוח הקודש שורה עליו היו פניו בוערים כלפידים. ובזהר חדש בראשית במדרש הנעלם (דף יח) (שהוא בדפוס ווארשא דף יט.) ותאנא כנגדם היה במקדש כשנכנס הכהן לפני ולפנים, דתניא א"ר אבא אמר רבי בשם רב הונא לפני ולפנים הוא דוגמתו של גן עדן וכשנכנס הכהן לשם נכנס בנשמה ולא בגוף. ובזה יובן מה שנזכר בזה"ק פנחס (ריז: ריח.) שנקרא הקב"ה באלו השמות והמדות קודם שנברא העולם על שם הבריאה שתברא, שזה הוא ממקום שהוגבל רצון הבריאה כמו שנתבאר למעלה: There is a hint as to the secret of the Shem haMefurash (the Explicit Name)²⁵⁷God’s ineffable name, the Tetragrammaton, was audibly pronounced in the Temple only on specific occasions, such as Yom Kippur. as mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud (Yoma, Chapter 3, Halakha 7), “The High Priest would pronounce the name ten times during the course of the day of Atonement. Those who were close would fall on their faces, and those who were far would say, ‘Baruch Shem Kavod Malkhuto Leolam Va’ed,’ – ‘Blessed is the name of His glorious Sovereignty forever and ever.’ Both the High Priest and the people would not move from their places until it was hidden from them.” At the moment when the people heard the Shem haMefurash, they possessed a knowledge and understanding that is beyond time, space, and the laws of nature, as explained in the previous chapter. Then, when the name was hidden from them, this level of consciousness was also hidden from them, and they returned to the normal level of human understanding, based upon the laws of nature. However, a residue of the experience remained, as they remembered how they once understood. This is akin to the way the Torah says, after the experience of receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, “now everyone shall go back to their tents.”²⁵⁸Meaning, after the prophetic experience of receiving the Torah at Sinai, where the people, “saw the voices” (Shemot 20:15) and surpassed the limits of human perception and consciousness, they had to “return to their tents”; that is, return back to normal human perception. Similarly, when the High Priest on the Day of Atonement would enter into the Holy of Holies, in a state of sanctity and purity, and with preparation of the heart, he would clearly understand how the Holy Ark did not take up any space. He would perceive this through human eyes. Since his very body reached such a level of purity, he could clearly see and understand that there is no logical contradiction in that the Holy Ark existed and yet did not take up any physical space. The Midrash and the Yalkut both interpret the verse (Vayikra, 16:17), “And no man shall be in the Tent of Appointed Meeting when he shall go in to the holy place to make atonement,” as meaning that a man did not go into the Holy of Holies, but rather an angel of the Lord of Hosts.²⁵⁹The Midrash inteprets the words of the verse, “no man shall be in the Tent of Appointed Meeting,” as including to the High Priest himself; yet it was he alone who was commanded to enter the sanctuary! The implication is that when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies, he was no longer a man, no longer a human being. The revelation of Divinity was so powerful that he was transformed into an angelic being. But this was precisly what allowed him to perceive the paradoxical nature of the ark of the covenant, which existed, yet took up no space. It was said of Pinchas, the grandson of Aharon HaKohen, that when the Holy Spirit would rest upon him, his face appeared to be burning in flames. It is recorded in the Zohar Hadash (Midrash Ne’elam, page 18), “When the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies… It is taught, Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi in the name of Rav, the innermost chamber (the Holy of Holies) is just like the Garden of Eden, and when the Cohen would enter, he would enter with his soul and not with his body.” This explains the passage in the Zohar (Parshat Pinhas, 117b-118a), which says that when God was called by his various names and attributes before the world was created, He was called with a view to the future and for the sake of the creation that was yet to be created. For with the creation of the world, the will of created beings would be limited, as explained above.

אכן כל ההתחדשות והשמות וכנויים, הם רק מצד הבריאה, אבל מצד הבורא אין שום חילוק מקודם הבריאה לאחר הבריאה. וכמו שיסדו לנו אנשי כנסת הגדולה, אתה הוא ה' אלהינו עד שלא נברא העולם אתה הוא משנברא העולם. ואף שיש לומר שאחר שברא הש"י תפיסה זו והשגה זאת ורצה בה, אם כן גם לפי תפיסתנו איך נאמר אתה הוא עד שלא נברא העולם. הרי שיש חילוק, שקודם שנברא העולם היה הכל רק בכח ומשנברא העולם הוא בפועל: Indeed, all of the renewal, names, and appellations exist only from the perspective of the creation, yet from God’s point of view there is no difference between before creation and after creation. This is according to the blessing composed by the members of the Great Assembly,²⁶⁰This blessing is printed just before the sacrificial section in the beginning of the morning (Shaharit) service. The Great Assembly began with Ezra, with the return of the exiles from Babylon (c. 500 BCE), and included the last of the Prophets – Haggai, Zekharia, Malakhi, and Daniel. It lasted until the time of Shimon HaTzaddik (300-270 BCE). See introduction to the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides. “You are the Lord our God before You created the world, and You are the Lord our God after You created the world.” Yet we must add that since God created the nature of our understanding and its inability to perceive anything from the period before the world’s creation, how can we say, “God was this way before He created the world?” It must be clear to us that there is a difference. Before the world was created everything was in potential. After the world was created, this potential came into being.

אכן באמת זה החילוק בין למה שהוא בכח, בין למה שהוא בפועל מה שכבר נעשה, זה החילוק הוא רק מצדנו הנפעלים והנעשים, מה שחלק לנו הש"י השגה כזו, שמצדנו יש חילוק בין כח לפועל. לפי שכן סדר לנו הש"י והעריך אותנו, שבעשותינו אם ירצה האדם להוציא מן כחו לפעולתו צריך להיות דרך פעולה ועשייה וצריך לעבור דרך גבולים וזמן מקום. אבל מצד הבורא אין שום חילוק בין מה שהוא בכח למה שהוא בפועל. שהרי מצינו גם בפעולת אדם איתא (קידושין דף סב.) כל שבידו לאו כמחוסר מעשה דמי, אף שהוא ודאי מחוסר מעשה, אבל משום שבידו הוי כאינו מחוסר מעשה. וזה אין שום דמיון וערך להש"י, כי אין דמיון וערך כלל בידו של בשר ודם לבידו של הקב"ה. ולכן מצד הבריאה נדמה, שאם היה ברצון הש"י להקרא מלך, אז, היה כביכול בהכרח לברוא את העולם שאין מלך בלא עם. אבל באמת זה הוא דעת נברא, אבל מצד מלכות הש"י יש מלך בלא עם ומלך בטרם כל יציר נברא מאחר שהכל בידו: However, the distinction between that which is in potential and that which is in actuality exists only from our own perspective as created beings that have been set into action. God has programmed us, by and large, to see reality in this way. God created an order to the world. He made an arrangement whereby whenever anyone wants to do something in the world, that is, bring some potential into actuality, must do so through action, and must necessarily pass through the boundaries of time and space. Indeed, concerning the nature of man’s actions, the Talmud teaches us (Kiddushin, 62a), “Anything that a person is capable of doing is considered as if it is already done.” This is true even though we see that the action is not yet done, and is clearly incomplete. Since it is within his power to do, it is as if it is already complete. Yet this idea, which we apply to human beings, can in no way be transferred to God.²⁶¹Meaning, human beings must see things in terms of cause and effect, the movement from potential to actual. This applies equally to our understanding of God’s emanating the creation: we assume that there is a before and after. However, such an understanding is itself a created entity. From God’s perspective, there is no such a thing as before and after creation, of movement from potential to actual. The capabilities of man and their reality can in no way be compared to the capabilities of God and their reality. Therefore, from the point of view of the creation, it seems that if it was God’s wish to be King, then the only way He could have achieved this goal was to create a world over which He would rule, for there is no king without a people. Yet, this very notion is a created understanding. From the point of view of God’s Sovereignty, there really is a King without a people, who can reign before any of the creation was formed, since God is all-powerful.