Parashat Vayera 5783 — 11/12/2022
Beginning with Bereishit 5781 (17 October 2020) we embarked on a new format. We will be considering Rambam’s (Maimonides’) great philosophical work Moreh Nevukim (Guide for the Perplexed) in the light of the knowledge of Vedic Science as expounded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The individual essays will therefore not necessarily have anything to do with the weekly Torah portion, although certainly there will be plenty of references to the Torah, the rest of the Bible, and to the Rabbinic literature. For Bereishit we described the project. The next four parshiyyot, Noach through Chayei Sarah, laid out a foundational understanding of Vedic Science, to the degree I am capable of doing so. Beginning with Toledot we started examining Moreh Nevukim.
Bereishit 18:1-22:24
Rambam next turns his attention to the concept of eating (as we shall see, this includes drinking as well, just as in a fast where eating includes drinking):
To eat [’akhol]. The first meaning given to this word in the Hebrew language signifies the taking of food by living beings. This does not require an example. Subsequently the Hebrew language saw two notions in the action of eating. One of them was the destruction and disappearance of the thing eaten, I mean the corruption of its form that first takes place. The other notion is that of the growth of the living being due to the food he takes, the continuance of his life due to it, and the duration of the existence, as well as the good condition, of all the forces of his body, likewise due to it. In accordance with the one notion, the term eating is figuratively applied to all destruction and undoing and, in general, to all putting-off of a form. Thus: And the land of your enemies shall eat you up; A land that eateth up its inhabitants; Ye shall be eaten by the sword; Shall the sword eat; And the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and ate them up that were ln the uttermost part of the camp; He is a fire that eateth, which means that He destroys those who disobey Him as a fire destroys that which is in its power. This use of the word is frequent. In accordance with the last notion, the term eating is applied figuratively to knowledge, learning, and, in general, the intellectual apprehensions through which the permanence of the human form endures in the most perfect of states, just as the body endures through food in the finest of its states. Thus: Come ye, buy and eat; Hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good; It is not good to eat much honey, My son, eat thou honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to thy taste; so know thou wisdom to be unto thy soul. This use is also frequent in the speech of the Sages, I mean the designation of knowledge as eating. Thus: Come, eat fat meat at the house of Raba; They have also said: All eating and drinking referred to in this book signify wisdom exclusively, or, according to some copies, the Torah. Similarly they often designate knowledge as water. Thus: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye for water. Inasmuch as this use has become so frequent and widespread in the Hebrew language that it has become, as it were, the first meaning, the words meaning hunger and thirst are likewise employed to designate lack of knowledge and of apprehension. Thus: I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord; My soul thirsteth for Gd, for the living Gd. This use is frequent. Jonathan ben Uziel, peace be on him, translates the verse, With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation, by the words: With joy shall you receive a new teaching from the chosen of the righteous. Consider accordingly that he interprets the word water as being the knowledge that will be received in those days. And he takes the Hebrew word for wells – ma’yene – to be the equivalent of me‘eyne ha‘edah; I mean thereby the notables who are the men of knowledge. And he says: From the chosen of the righteous, as righteousness is true salvation. See accordingly how he interprets every word in this verse with a view to the notion of knowledge and learning. Understand this.
There is a lot to consider here, but to put it in 25 words or less (I know – “fewer”), eating is associated with food, which is nutrition for the body; by extension we can talk about intake of spiritual nourishment, which supports the soul.
Rambam identifies two parts of the process of eating:
- Destruction of the “food” (i.e. digestion)
- Incorporation of the “food” into the eater, which strengthens the eater’s structure
Now there are several processes here that physics can give us some insight into (after all, these are physical/chemical processes). First, let’s consider point 1, the destruction of the “food.” Food is typically highly structured, which means it is relatively low entropy. A system with low entropy will spontaneously move towards a state of greater entropy (Second Law of Thermodynamics), but in doing so it can do useful work – in other words, energy can be extracted from the food as it is degraded.
In human beings (and many other animals) this energy is stored in the cells as specific chemicals, and can be released through specific metabolic pathways that allow the cells to conduct their “business,” making proteins, dividing, contracting or relaxing, etc. This is the first way that the “food” is incorporated into the structure of the body. The other way is that the actual atoms or molecules in the food may be incorporated into the cells in some way.
After this processing is complete, the degraded food is excreted as waste products. Thus there is a flow of energy and material through the system. Structure, energy and material come in one end and a lower degree of structure emerges from the other end. The net result of this processing is the growth and evolution of the system. It is actually the flow of energy and material through the system that provides the conditions necessary for growth and evolution.
In 1977, Ilya Prigogine (as far as I know he’s no relation to Evgeny Prigozhin of the Wagner group) won the Nobel Prize for his work on “dissipative structures.” Dissipative structures are thermodynamic systems that are far from equilibrium, and therefore support large flows of energy and/or material through them. The Second Law of Thermodynamics only applies to closed systems; the systems we are discussing here are quite open. When the flow of energy and/or material through our open system reaches a certain point, the system makes a sudden transition of a more complex structure that allows it to dissipate more efficiently.
A simple example is the air above a hot plate. When the hot plate is turned off, the air above is quiescent. When it’s turned on, there’s a lot of heat put into the air from the bottom, and the air needs to dissipate the heat somehow. When the hot plate is turned on low heat, the heat can radiate through the air and dissipate fairly easily. When the hot plate is turned on high, however, radiation is too slow to dissipate the amount of heat pouring in. The lowest layers of air get hotter and hotter, until it becomes unstable. Any little fluctuation will cause the hot air to start rising, and it will rise until it starts to release some of its heat and cool off, and sinks back down again. This is called convection, and the bulk movement of the hot air to the cooler upper layers is a much more efficient way of dissipating the heat than the quiescent air. It is also a more complex and interesting structure.
The basic principle here is that a system that is far from equilibrium is one in which there are multiple, interconnected feedback loops (i.e. it is a non-linear system) and these feedback loops can amplify certain of the ever-present fluctuations in the system, thus making evolution inevitable. This applies to mechanical systems, chemical systems, biological systems (the fluctuations are mutation in this case), etc. And what is it that keeps a system far from equilibrium – it is food! That is, it is the flow of energy and material through the system – the heat of the hot plate or the delicious kale salad that you just managed to eat.
In the realm of consciousness, we find the same principles at work. As far as individual consciousness goes, we know the common expression that the mind is like a parachute – it only works when it’s open. A mind that is an open system, that has new thoughts, ideas, expression going through it, can grow and become broader and more effective in the material world. When we open the mind to Pure Consciousness, we nourish it from the infinite source of energy and intelligence, and its evolution is concomitantly greater and more comprehensive. Thus, the transcendent is the ultimate in “food,” as Rambam states: All eating and drinking referred to in this book signify wisdom exclusively, or, according to some copies, the Torah. Torah, in its essence, is structured in Pure Consciousness – it is the vibration of Pure Consciousness within itself. Torah study then is contacting the ultimate Torah with the mind. Torah is what nourishes the mind and lets us grow.
On the level of Consciousness itself, we have the quintessential non-linear system. Consciousness is conscious, and Pure Consciousness has only itself to be conscious of. Thus, a kind of “feedback loop” is set up within Consciousness itself. It is the vibration or cycling of Consciousness within itself, between the poles of Observer and Observed that then breaks down into the different levels of vibration that we perceive as the world around us. Consciousness, as it were, feeds on itself, without ever destroying itself, but constantly nourishes itself and evolves within itself, without ever actually undergoing any change. When we live this reality within ourselves, we have reached the highest state of human evolution.
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Commentary by Steve Sufian
Parashat Vayeira
Vayeira” means “and appeared”.
Genesis Chapter 18.
1. Now the Lrd appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, and he was sitting at the entrance of the tent while the day was hot.
2. And he lifted his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing beside him, and he saw and ran toward them from the entrance of the tent and he prostrated himself to the ground.
When Gd appears to us, as He does for some in our congregation, how will He appear? With a Form, or as The Formless, The Unbounded, All-Pervading, Omnipresent, All-Knowing, All-Powerful, All Loving, All Joyful? Or as a Mixture of Formless and Form?
Gd appears to Abram (not yet Abraham) as Abram sits in the doorway of his home; how does Gd appear? As the Formless, or with Form?
The Parshah does not tell us nor does it tell us that Gd spoke to Abram nor does it tell Abram’s reaction to Gd appearing: immediately after we are told that Gd appeared, we are told that Abram looked and saw three men. The men turn out to be angels, messengers of Gd, Expressions of Gd, so I read between the lines and take it that Gd appeared first as the Formless and instantly! Gd Appeared with Form, as the three angels.
When Abram was sitting at the entrance to his tent, he was the link between the inside – the Formless Unity – and the outside, the Formed Diversity.
This is definitely a taste of Teshuvah, return to Primordial Oneness.
Through the sound and the meaning of Torah, we too can have a taste of Teshuvah:
Although the meaning of Torah and its guidance for us in English translation may not be so easy to grasp, the sound of Torah can give us something of the feeling of the Torah as Gd, Totality, Oneness, vibrating within Gd.
Here is a recording of Parshah Va’eira read by Rabbi Michael Slavin, the regular reader at Chabad’s central Brooklyn synagogue, the one at which the Lubavitcher Rebbe, known for many cognitions, presided:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3481587/jewish/Vayeira-Audio-Recording.htm
In listening to this recording, I felt delight and joy, flowing sweetly, an inspiration to master Torah tropes and Hebrew so I, too, can read, feel, recite Torah and share the delight and joy of Torah with others.
I hope we will all have the opportunities to fulfill this wish.
Vayeira and Teshuvah
We are looking at Torah as a means to Teshuvah, return to the original state, the Primordial Oneness, Gd. From this standpoint, the series of stories of individuals and of the Jewish nation illustrate progress to Oneness and also actual experiences of Oneness. Noah, “who walked with Gd” and “Was perfect in his generations” seems to have the Experience.
“Vayeira” means “and He appeared.”
Different translations present the opening in different ways but one way (chabad.org) says, “Now the Lrd appeared to him in the plains of Mamre, and he was sitting at the entrance of the tent when the day was hot. And he lifted his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing beside him, and he saw and he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and he prostrated himself to the ground.”
Perhaps Gd’s purpose in appearing was to alert him to his three visitors; perhaps Gd continued to appear to him as he ran to greet his visitors. Perhaps this means that Abraham has fulfilled the command Gd gave him in the last parshah, “to walk before Me and be perfect”? This would mean he is permanently restored to Oneness.
Alas! This is not so. It seems to indicate that he is making progress but not yet restored because later in the parshah, Gd says to Gd “Shall I reveal My purpose, to destroy Sodom?”, and thus Abraham does not yet experience total knowledge, which he would have, had he experienced Full Awareness.
But Gd does reveal His purpose and provides an occasion for Abraham to show his kindness, his love for his fellow human, as he pleads with Gd to save Sodom, in which his nephew Lot is dwelling, for the sake of even ten righteous men (people).
Later Gd tests Abraham, speaking to him and telling him to bring his son as a burnt offering. Abraham does this and Gd, through an angel, stays his hand and tells him he will be blessed because of the purity of his faith, his descendants will be blessed and greatly numerous, and will inherit the lands of his enemies.
For Abraham to trust that the command comes from Gd and not from some demonic force, means that Abraham has enough experience of Gd to trust that following the command will be good for Isaac, How great it will be when we have such deep experience.
Abraham has passed a test and will be blessed (“varaich”) but we do not know if this is a Total Blessing, Total Return.
In the next parshah, Parshat Chayei Sarah, we do see some sign that Total Blessing is given and that Abraham has become perfect. Not only Abraham but also Sarah and Isaac, their son.
But let us not wait until next week to become perfect ourselves, to restore our self to Oneness.
Today is always the best day to be kind, innocent, simple, to serve Gd, to return to One and to share the return with everyone.
Baruch HaShem