Being and Not Being

He made His world of contradictions, opposites that combine as one.

At their nexus, a world is formed: Neither can exist without the other, all function together as a single whole.

Being and not being,
infinity and finitude,
light and darkness,
form and matter,
quantity and quality,
giving and withholding.
the whole and the fragment
the community and the individual
miracle and nature.

They are mere modalities—He Himself is none of them. He mixes and matches them at whim.

Paradox is our window upon the Unknowable.

Likkutei Sichot, vol. 22, p. 50. Pinchas 5734:1. Mishpatim 5736:2.

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From the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory; words and condensation by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman. Subscribe and get your dose daily. To order Rabbi Freeman’s latest book, Wisdom to Heal the Earth, click here.

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Wisdom to Heal the Earth is a revolutionary new look at Tikun Olam based on the teachings of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory.

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YY Israel January 2, 2017

Re: Peter from Brooklyn Please look at the sources mentioned in the article. I'm sure he placed them there for a purpose.

All truth and goodness originates from Torah. Even whatever part of some philosophy or other which happens to be true, really that truth comes from Torah.

The Rebbe's works mentioned in the source themselves emphasize the origin of all these ideas in the Torah itself.

That being said, certainly one cannot really conclude that it is "through the eyes of [name of philosophy]--Tao or whatnot".

And even if you want to go as far as to claim that it is "Tao (etc) through the eyes of Torah", from the above-mentioned comments that too is not totally accurate (But certainly an improvement). Reply

Tim January 2, 2017

G-ds great gifts You are an amazing writer. May He keep blessing your hands. Reply

jim dallas January 2, 2017

i'll think on it not sure about all this duality Reply

D Eischen Minneapolis October 23, 2015

Not only needing to add in a difference between things, in many ways opposite attract? Reply

Peter Brooklyn October 23, 2015

Torah through the lens of Lao Tse, Tao te Ching, with a touch of Advaita Vedanta (or Yoga), namely the principle of "Lila". Tzvi, you are a definite Taoist with shades of Alan Watts, whom I am sure you must've read assiduously. Great post as always Tzvi! Reply

EZRA HOUSE New York October 23, 2015

Opposites are necessary for there to be knowledge.
You can't know good except by contrast to evil.
Likewise all opposites.
Meaning is rooted in contrast.
It started with Adam and Eve who were not satisfied with bliss and no contrast. They wanted awareness like G-D which they found by taking from the tree of good and evil.
It has made our world more interesting but unfortunately we have to live with evil until the Messianic redemption.
Ezra House
Riverdale NY Reply

Julie Durham, UK September 13, 2011

Thankyou Rabbi Freeman One might also add:-
The mundane and the Sacred.
Is there a difference? Only the free will can choose through faith and devotion to bind the two.

Quality and quantity work in this way too. If you feel riches are about quantity then you will worship material things (idols) but if you hold the true value of each small thing as the generosity of G_d then the quality is priceless. In this place greed does not stand a chance and the mudane is immediately sacred.

In the words of Dogan the Zen teacher of the 12th centuary - "When the opposites arise you have almost lost the way to salvation". Reply

Anonymous w September 13, 2011

love it Great bottom line :

Paradox is our window to the Unknowable.

A major paradox is how can G-d be All Compassionate when such tragedies occur in our world. I guess it falls under ' light and darkness '. Tough paradox to swallow. I guess another modality is Divine Plan versus Free Choice which may fall under ' giving and withholding '. And these two bring up the greatest paradoxical question of all : Does the Unknowable exist or does the Unknowable not exist ?

I go with the former/window. It remains a paradox though. Reply

Mark Ottawa, Ontario, Canada September 13, 2011

... too much confusion - the hour is getting late Form is not the opposite of matter; the latter is contained in and by the former.

Quantity is not the opposite of quality.

And neither relate to paradox.

Confusion is often caused by getting too fancy and esoteric in describing aspects of life's absurdities. Perhaps better left as awe without thought. Reply

Anonymous Seabrook, Texas September 13, 2011

Paradox Simply a thought for the day. A Paradox is the highwire we walk between the two sides of hothingness that is everything. A Dilemma is our need to make a choice between equally joral or ethical (right or wrong) alternatives. Reply

Carmen September 13, 2011

My only doubt is that... "He mixes them and matches them at whim"

I don't think it is done at whim but at an unknowable plan.

He would not put such so difficult and sometimes so painful paradoxes in our lives just for a caprice.

To think so could be very painful in certain moments since in certain moments only the faith in His goodness and in the wiseness of His plans can sustain us. Reply

José Flávio Nogueira Guimarães Belo Horizonte, MG/Brazil September 13, 2011

Amazing meditation! I'm just amazed and astounded before such complexity! I know nothing; I understand nothing. I wonder whether knowledge is really capable of helping us since making sense out of things is such a difficult task. May G'd give us a pinch of understanding on how things work indeed. May HaShem enlighten us. Deconstruction is at work at me right now. May G'd build up something brand new and solid then. Reply

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