[Avodah] Why four?

[Micha Berger]

On Fri, Jun 29, 2012 at 11:46:46AM -0700, Harvey Benton wrote:
: please explain the other fascinations eg, 3, 5, etc, 
: and what does 6 mean???

A peirush to Echad Mi Yodeiah would make a very deep hashkafah book.

3 is the human condition. Picture the cartoon representation of a battle
between the yeitzer hara and the yeitzer hatov. The conflicted person
has a little angel on one shoulder, and a little devil on the other.
All three -- devil, angel, and head in between -- bear the same face.

People live in a world of dialectic: body vs soul, yh"r vs yh"t, etc...
Add the person caught between the conflict and you have Id, Ego,
Superego; Child, Adult, Parent; or lehavdil Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah.
Depending one which conflict you focus on as primary.

Maggid revolves around explaining three mitzvos (pesach, matzah, maror),
and 4 stages of redemption.

If three is man, four is Hashem's impact on man. Beyond three.

Sheloshah avos, the doers.
Arba imahos, the responders.

Chamishah chumeshei Torah. I don't know. Not enough mitzvos involve fives
for me to have a theory.

Shishah siderei mishnah. Halakhah pesuqah is divided into the "dimensions"
of olam hazeh. Thus, as the Maharal put it (Gevuros H' 46), a cube has
6 sides. 3 dimensions, each of which has 2 directions.

6 -- the physical world.

7 -- the holiness inherent in the world. And thus Shabbos and Shemittah
are the completion of creation by not constructing any new physical thing.

Eight is Shemini Atzeres. Beyond this world, even its inherent potential
for holiness to creating new holiness. The Jewish Mission. Shemonah yemei
milah.

Etc...

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             None of us will leave this place alive.
micha at aishdas.org        All that is left to us is
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