[Avodah] Four Worlds or Five

[Micha Berger]

On Sun, Nov 21, 2010 at 12:03:13PM +0100, Arie Folger wrote (on the oddly
named thread "Contents of Avodah on Atifas Talis (Yishmealim) and the Gra"
-- who is going to look under C for something on atifah?):
: * Prayer, as explained in Zohar Vayetse, is compared to the ladder of
: Ya'aqov, which had four rungs (actually, the Ari teaches it had five
: rungs, but the fifth is almost always totally hidden from absolutely
: everyone, very seldom being perceivable on any level - and I am
: simplifying here)....

It's not clear what the Ari held. Depends on the Ramac's shitah in Peri
Eitz Chaim vs the Mahari Serug's on the Reshimu -- the imprint of the
Or Ein Sof left behind after tzimtzum.

Given the notion that "histaqeil be'oraisa ubarei alma" and that the
osios of the Torah were primordially broken up as sheimos of HQBH, there
is real credance to the Mahari Serug's notion that the alef-beis is the
Reshimu that logically precedes the four olamos.

This then is the Olam haLevush, a step in creation before Adam Qadmon,
which the Mahari Serug discusses and the Ramaq does not. And notably
the Leshem differentiates between shitas haTzimtzum and the Gra's derekh
(shitas haMarchivim) as involving the Gra's belief in Olam haLevush.

Thus the 5th, hidden rung on the ladder was apparently less hidden on
the Gra's system of thought.

I would assume the 5 verse version of Shalom Aleikhem vs 4 verses is
also based in this machloqes.

(Someone who sees R' Meir Treibitz, perhaps RDE, can let him know
someone out there actually listens to his shiurim. I have ideas in
here from four different series.)

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Mussar is like oil put in water,
micha at aishdas.org        eventually it will rise to the top.
http://www.aishdas.org                    - Rav Yisrael Salanter
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