[Avodah] Local, Non-Global or Global Flood

[Arie Folger]

RMB, explaining the Maharal's approach to miracles, wrote:
> Most of us live within a world in which the laws we call "teva"
> apply. R' Chanina ben Dosa, however, lived in a world where the
> laws of neis applied. In this world, oil and vinegar are equally
> flammable.... Rav Eliyahu Dessler elaborates on this principle [MmE I
> pp 304-312]. Mekubalim speak of four olamos, each of a higher level
> than the previous: asiyah (action), yetzirah (formation), beri'ah
> (creation) and atzilus (emanation)....

The only issue I have with the above is that the four kabbalistic worlds
are not actual places where one can live a physical life in. They are
higher planes, that are beyond the reaches of the material world, housing,
in a simplistic way, respectively, our experience of the spiritual,
the angels, the human soul, to culminate in atsilut (we'll ignore for a
moment any possible fifth world), where we encounter the united sefiros,
where G"d's unity is apparent.

So, while the Maharal may be talking about several planes of existence,
which is just fine, I cannot square that with the doctrine of the
four realms. If you want a better paradigm, you'll have to reach for
multidimentional geometry, quantum mechanics and astrophysics (I am not
sure why I added the last one, since I know too little about it to make
meaningful statements of this sort, but our esteemed list owner can
amply compensate for my ignorance).


[Email #2. -micha]

Of course, it is possible that the Maharal introduces the four realms
paradigm to explain his understanding of nissim. If so, could someone
explain to me how the Maharal squares the two notions?

Another two difficult points with the Maharal's approach - which I admit
finding very attractive - are:

* Did only people who live in the realm of the miraculous nature, die
in the Flood? If not, how did the others die, from the Flood, or they
just died? How did they experience the Flood, if they weren't on such
a high spiritual level?

* Should we be allowed to expect some, rare but extant, first person
accounts of people who have experienced the realm of nes, and who can
give us scientific accounts of those worlds?


I haven't studied the Maharal's theory in any meaningful depth, and
would appreciate some pointers to his actual writings.

Would it not be a better explanation to say that the realm of miracle
is a different realm of consciousness, but that realms of consciousness
are real, no less real than the physical world?

-- 
Arie Folger,
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