The Part, the Whole & the Essence

Each of these three things—space, time and consciousness—can be grasped from its outside or from its inside. Or at its essence.

At the surface, each place is its own place, each moment its own moment, each person his or her own individual.

Within, each place is a facet of all of space, each moment a snapshot of all time, each person another face to humanity. For the whole is reflected in each of its parts.

But there is also an essence to each thing, its essential life. At the essence there is no distinction between the whole and the part. When you touch the essence of a thing, you find there more than a reflection. You find this place is space, this moment is time, this person is humankind.

With our minds we can reach inside a thing. To reach its essence, that essence must speak to us of its own. This is the distinction between intellectual pursuit and Torah.