Parashat Korach 5783 — 06/24/2023
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.
Bamidbar 16:1-18:32
Before we go on with Rambam’s comments on nefesh, I want to return to the five levels of the soul that we mentioned last week. The five levels are (thanks to 5 Levels of the Soul – JewishPath.org):
- Nefesh (creature – the lower soul) relates to behavior and action. Nefesh is the particular name of the lowest in the five levels of soul described in Kabbalah, associated with physical vitality.
- Ru’ach (spirit) relates to the emotions. Ru’ach is the second of the five levels of soul, associated with the vitality of one’s emotional life.
- Neshamah (inner soul) relates to the mind and intelligence. The Neshamah is the breath of life that Gd Breathed into the first man; the third of the five levels of soul, associated with the vitality of intelligence.
- Chayah (living one) relates to the bridge between the first flash of conscious insight and its super-conscious origin. Experiencing awareness of Gd as continually creating the world.
- Yechidah (single one) relates to the ultimate unity of the soul in Gd, as manifest by pure faith, absolute devotion and the continuous readiness to sacrifice one’s life for Gd.
As we noted before, nefesh and ru’ach are quite distinct in this hierarchy, with nefesh being the lowest level of the soul (i.e. the closest to the material world) and ru’ach being one rung above nefesh. Rambam, however, gives many of the same definitions for both, as we noted last week. I think the reason behind this is that Torah is not a textbook of theoretical Kabbalah, and uses both terms in all the ways that Rambam delineates. Kabbalah is much more philosophical than Torah itself, in the sense that it has a desire and tendency to systematize and organize concepts into levels of structure, much the way we view the physical world through the lens of modern physics, which itself, as a part of the physical sciences, is an outgrowth of the Greek philosophical tradition. If, as we have surmised, Torah is Moshe Rabbeinu’s cognition of the internal structure of the transcendent, then it’s certainly possible that the hierarchy of concepts in philosophy and/or in Kabbalah is not sufficient to cover the complexity of that internal structure. Now Rambam, like Aristotle, is a great systematizer, and it will be interesting to see if he returns to this hierarchy. I might point out that the basic text of Kabbalah, the Zohar, did not come to light until about 100 years after Rambam, although it is held to date back to the first or second century of the Common Era, and Rambam was surely aware of Kabbalistic texts and teachings.
I want to take a look at the deepest / highest levels of the soul: chayah and yechidah. When we look carefully at the definitions given by JewishPath, we will see that there is a very subtle but significant distinction between them. First, chayah is the bridge between the first flash of conscious insight and its super-conscious origin. The “first flash of conscious insight” is the very faintest level of individual thought, just as it begins to rise from its “super-conscious origin,” which is, according the Vedic Science, Pure Consciousness. That is, Pure Consciousness is a flat, unbounded, unchanging field of consciousness, which rises in waves to give the appearance of a creation separate from itself. The very tiniest level of vibration, barely distinguishable from Pure Consciousness itself appears to be the level of chayah. I believe that in the Vedic literature it is called atman, which, like ru’ach, nefesh and neshamah, has the meaning of “breath” (think Atmo-sphere for example). Yogapedia.com defines it thus: Atman is a Sanskrit word, defined in simple terms as an individual’s inner self, spirit or soul. The concept of Atman as the true self is considered to be the first principle of Vedic philosophy, particularly according to the Vedanta tradition. [I will replace the word “Hindu” with “Vedic” throughout, as we are discussing the Vedic understanding of the structure of consciousness, and not anything specific to Hinduism. Most people do not make this distinction, and this has led, according to Maharishi, to a very confused situation.]
Yechidah: relates to the ultimate unity of the soul in Gd. On one level, this unity is Pure Consciousness, and is what we experience when we transcend the individuality entirely during TM. Pure Consciousness is totally silent – it just is. All threads of thought, feeling, intellect converge into Pure Consciousness, which is itself without any structure. This is the experience of Transcendental Consciousness, transcendental because it is beyond all the activity of creation. Vedic Science asserts that there is a further level of perception of the nature of Pure Consciousness that is available to human beings.
As we become more and more familiar with the experience of Pure Consciousness we begin to understand and experience that Pure Consciousness has a rich virtual, internal structure. In fact, we understand that all creation is nothing other than the virtual dynamics of Pure Consciousness. In this view of life, the wholeness of Pure Consciousness is primary, and the boundaries of creation are completely secondary, like shadows as Maharishi described it. The Vedic literature describes this all-pervading wholeness as Brahman, “the great.” And Vedanta tells us that Atman is Brahman – our individuality, in essence, is pure universality.
I think we can identify Brahman with Yechidah (from the root echad = “one”). The level of Yechidah is the level of universality, unity and wholeness. When Chayah rises to its highest level, it merges with the ultimate unity of Yechidah, and our individuality finds its fulfillment in the universal light of Gd’s wholeness.
Next week we’ll look at Rambam’s other definitions of nefesh as it is used in Torah, Gd willing.
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Commentary by Steve Sufian
Parashat Korach
Korach” means “baldness, ice, hail, frost”. By leading an insurrection against Gd-chosen, Moses, Korach showed baldness of spirit, iciness and frost of heart and a hail of deluded thought.
Parashat Korach reminds us that what is important in life is to live in harmony with Gd, not to worry much about our status relative to other humans – “to love Gd with all our heart, all our soul, all our might” and to “love our neighbor as ourself.”
Korach, Moses’ first cousin, along with 250 other leaders of the Children of Israel challenge Moses’ right to lead, claiming that all of Israel is holy and Moses should not place himself above everyone. They did not love Gd with all their heart, soul and might otherwise have felt Gd’s leadership flowing through Moses. They did not love their neighbor as their selves otherwise they would have been happy for Moses to be such an open person that Gd could flow through him.
Korach and the others forgot that Moses was selected by Gd, not by himself, to lead the Children of Israel out of slavery and into the Promised Land: They forgot that when the 10 Commandments were given out, all of the Children of Israel were frightened that they would die if they heard any more of Gd’s voice: they requested Him to give the rest of Torah to Moses – so they also placed Moses above them, more pure, more capable.
Moses pleads with the Levites to be grateful for what they have been given but they do not listen. Moses tells them (the Levites? No, just Korach – maybe, he gets swallowed up – and the 250) to bring their fire pans (the pans through which they make offerings) and we will see whose offerings Gd accepts. Gd tells Moses He will destroy the rebellious.
At the appointed time, Moses tells the people of Israel, paraphrasing. “We will see who Gd wishes to lead. If these people die a natural death, then they are right. If not, then Gd has appointed me to lead.”
The ground opens up and Korach, Datan and Aviram are swallowed up while 250 are consumed by fire.
Moses’s genuineness is confirmed.
We see a lot in Torah of complaining, sinning, Moses pleading for forgiveness for his neighbors, the Children of Israel. A lesson we can learn from Moses is to be open to Gd, to love our neighbor as ourself, to plead with others to be open also, and to plead with Gd that he forgive those who lack openness.
In such ways, little by little, person by person, we help to create a world in which harmony, respect, friendliness, love, contentment, fulfillment exist.
In this world, Torah is experienced not just as words in a book but as the living eternal reality of the liveliness of Gd, of One. We function not just as our individual selves but as Totality functioning through all.
And this world is the Real World – achievable soon. Let’s continue creating it and request that Gd bring it NOW!
Love and Love and Love,
Baruch HaShem.