[Avodah] RAYK and the end of chol

[Micha Berger]

On Tue, Apr 01, 2008 at 09:40:22AM +0300, Shoshana L. Boublil wrote:
:> I think that Yamit and Oslo posed such trouble for the DL community
:> specifically because it raised fundamental hashkafic issues. They defied
:> R' Kook's (admittedly more RZYK's) excpetations of the ge'ulah.
: 
: They didn't have the problem you project - that is R' Kook's paradigm is 
: where the community got it's strength, knowing that the road to Ge'ulah was 
: not one way towards Ge'ula, but rather like "dawn light coming through the 
: mountains, one moment you see it and another you don't" (to quote a 
: lecturer).

And yet RZYK's (indirect) talmidim were so convinced that the progression
would be monotonically toward the geulah that those of them living in
Gush Qatif couldn't believe it was theologically possible for them to
actually be evicted from their homes.

But to shift from anecdotal evidence of what was taught in the community
to a more authoritative source, see "Shir haMaalos miMamaqim", R' Yehudah
Amital, pg. 12. RYA deals with the Yom Kippur War and the theological
stance that there could be no losses.


...
: > I fail to see the gap implied by your "not at all" between my "accelerated
: > path to the ge'ulah" and your "a change has come". I think you're saying
: > that the change came and it's not a new "straighter" (to speak what little
: > I know of RAYK-speak) path to the ge'ulah? Isn't that what "reeishis
: > tzemichas ge'ulaseinu", declaring it "atchalta dege'ulasa", means?

: An "accelerated path" implies that things are getting faster and faster - 
: implying one direction...

That would be "accelerating", not accelerated. Neither word addresses
setbacks. But at least now I know what you were objecting to.
The metaphors of tzemitchah and ayelet hashachas do require embelishment
to support setbacks.

...
:>: Rav Kook's view of learning chol has nothing to do with Zionism. So, please
:>: don't mix the issues.

: I view Zionism as the political entity not the people who followed the 
: Zionistic view and came to Israel.

Here's the rashei peraqim of my view of RAYK's thought:

In the ideal, we would all realize that everything is Or Ein Sof, and
thus qodesh. However, olam hazeh can't support that. (This, to RAYK,
is the meaning of the rebellion of the aretz, in making an eitz oseh
peri rather than an eitz peri. The means, the tree, lack the "taste"
of the ends, the fruit.)

The geulah will come when this situation ends. When olam haba and olam
hazeh merge because we lose the illusion that there is such a thing as
chol, that the Or peers through from everything.

The process of geulah is slow, but that wall started evaporating
already. This is what motivated so many hearts to pursue Isms. They are
drawn to purpose, even though though it's not yet at the level where
they realize they are being drawn to the true purpose.

Someone who has problems with any part of humanity clearly is behind
the curve on seeing through the wall. Because if he could see the
Supernal Love, he would share it.

And thus, Zionism is part of that. The "secular" Zionist is acting out
of a draw to the ultimate purpose, even though they don't fullly see
the Or and only are aware of a short-cited, more politicized, version.

Thus, RAYK's RZ draws directly from his belief that there is no chol,
just as his belief that there are no true limudei chol does. It's all
one piece. (Tartei mashma -- both details that draw from one yesod in
RAYK's thought, and all of creation is Or, and thus of one piece.)

And in this model, there can be no setbacks, even illusory, of the
process of geulah. After all, the geulah is the *fall* of the grand
illusion called "chol".


(Or course, this isn't much more elaborate than summarizing RYBS with
the equation: Brisker tzvei dinim equals Kantian dialectic.)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             The Maharal of Prague created a golem, and
micha at aishdas.org        this was a great wonder. But it is much more
http://www.aishdas.org   wonderful to transform a corporeal person into a
Fax: (270) 514-1507      "mensch"!     -Rabbi Israel Salanter