Parashat Vayera 5782 — 10/23/2021
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.
Bereshit 18:1-22:24
I want to add some more observations to last week’s discussion, and then we will continue with Rambam’s introduction to the first part of the Guide. Recall that Jewish tradition severely restricts public teaching of “practical Kabbalah,” or techniques of exploring and utilizing subtler levels of creation, because of the personal and environmental dangers involved. There are a few other examples in Jewish thought that I think bear examining in the light of last week’s discussion.
There are a couple of seemingly contradictory teachings about Gd’s relationship with the righteous. On the one hand we are told that Gd judges the righteous more strictly than he does ordinary mortals. On the other hand, “the tzadik decrees and Gd fulfills.” How are we to understand these statements, let alone reconcile them?
A tzadik, according to Rambam, is one whose merits exceed his sins. A perfect tzadik is one who does not sin. Sin is action that is not in accord with the Will of Gd, and, since it is action that is against the power that runs the entire universe, it is something that causes strain and distortion in our bodies. Stress, strain and distortion are the physical correlates of sin. If the nervous system is distorted, our thoughts and actions get distorted and we are dragged into further sin, and further stress and strain. This is as described in Pirke Avot (4:2): “Mitzvah goreret mitzvah, aveirah goreret aveirah / a mitzvah brings another mitzvah, a sin brings another sin.” The purpose of the mitzvot is to break the vicious cycle of sin and strain, and to purify the nervous system so that our action becomes more and more in tune with Gd’s Will.
As we analyzed, the purer the nervous system gets, the more we can project thoughts from subtler, more powerful levels, and the less those thoughts get distorted on the way to the surface of consciousness and as they get projected into speech and action. If one is a perfect tzadik with a stress-free nervous system, then whatever we think is in accord with Gd’s Will and it easily and effortlessly manifests itself. It is as if Gd is doing all the work for us and we are just sitting back and watching it unfold of its own accord.
On the other hand, if there is still some small bit of stress and strain left in the nervous system, then thoughts are neither conceived nor projected in absolute purity. In such a case, since the thoughts are still quite powerful, even a small deviation in the aim can create a large deviation in the result. If you’re shooting an arrow 50 meters, a 1° deviation will miss the center of the target by about 87 cm (about 34” – remember that the next time you watch archery or try to shoot an apple off your child’s head!). If you’re shooting a rocket to the moon (a distance of about 250,000 miles) then a 1° deviation is about 4363 miles – about the radius of the earth! The point here is that the farther we’re going, the more exacting the standard we need to hold ourselves to.
The Hebrew word of “sin” is chet and has the basic meaning of “missing the mark.” It’s used in exactly that sense in archery, and in a derived sense as a mistaken action that contravenes Gd’s Will. Someone without sin never misses the mark in his or her action, because nothing blows their action off course. It is action based on fully expanded consciousness, the same Pure Consciousness that runs the universe and that is our own essential nature. So, the perfect tzadik decrees and, since the decree is Gd’s Will in any event, it appears as if Gd is fulfilling it. In less overtly religious terms, nature supports thoughts and actions that are in accord with all the laws of nature.
A “partial” tzadik on the other hand, may have very little distortion in his thoughts and actions, but since they are more powerful, any slight deviation may in fact produce great harm somewhere in the environment. Since the universe reacts to the action of the individual, what comes back may be more severe in the case of a very great person than someone on a more modest level of spiritual attainment. Again, in religious terms, Gd judges the righteous individual more strictly than the mediocre one, simply because his indiscretions are more consequential.
I might add that I’ve always been uncomfortable with this idea, as it seems on the surface to be a great disincentive to spiritual growth. If it’s going to subject me to such harsh scrutiny, who needs it?! In fact, many people do take this attitude. Spiritual growth can include some hard and/or painful work, as we come to grips with our finitude, our mortality, and our mistakes. As long as we are not at the goal of life, we are still making mistakes and paying the price. Some feel it is better to plod along, just getting by, taking the small pleasures life has to offer while keeping one’s head down and avoiding pitfalls. This is more like the life of a cow than a human being. As Bob Dylan put it, “He not busy being born is busy dying.” The trick is to grow in a balanced way, in which our ability to manifest our desires only grows to the extent that those desires are in accord with the laws of nature.
Whether such perfect balance is possible is open to question, but the Vedic technology that Maharishi developed, which doesn’t involve the individual’s intellect, seems to provide the most balance. Since it is completely natural – we step back, as it were, and let it happen – it stands the best chance of keeping our lives more and more in balance. The ability to manifest desires and the ability to act in accord with natural law are both governed by the level of stress in the nervous system. By allowing the body to remove that stress, both capabilities develop together; any slight imbalance caused by the advance of one part of the nervous system over the rest is swiftly redressed as the rest of the nervous system catches up.
Next week, Gd willing, we’ll return to Rambam’s text and discuss the nature of insight in the process of gaining knowledge.
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Commentary by Steve Sufian
Parashat Vayeira
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, 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 He Appear? As the Formless, or with Form?
The Parshah does not tell us nor does it yet 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! He 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 but only a taste.
This is an introduction to Vayeira on the level of meaning; we can also approach the parshah on the level of sound, whether we understand Hebrew or not.
Through the sound of Torah, we can have a taste of Oneness.
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 Parsha Vayeira read by Rabbi Michael Slavin, the regular reader at Chabad’s central Brooklyn synagogue:
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 from the standpoint of it 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 had the Experience. “Vayeira” means “appears.”
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 Himself, “Shall I reveal My purpose, to destroy Sodom?”, and thus Abraham does not yet experience total knowledge, which he would, 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.
Abraham has passed the 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!