Transcript

Let's go back to the Hakdama to the Chovos Halevavos. Amar hamechaber:

ברוך השם אלוקי ישראל אשר לא יאוס עניין האחד האמיתי.

Let's examine what Chovos Halevavos has in mind with that phrase inyan ha'echad ha'amiti. The Rambam writes in perek aleph of hilchos yesodei hatorah:

אלוק זה אחד הוא אינו לא שניים ולא יתר על שניים אלא אחד שאין כייחודו אחד מן האחדים הנמצאים בעולם.

We use the description of echad in a variety of contexts. There's one pen on the desk, right? There's one large desk in the room, right? We use echad in many contexts. Says the Rambam, but when we say echad about Hashem, we mean echad in an absolutely unique sense.

שאין כייחודו אחד מן האחדים הנמצאים בעולם. לא אחד כמין שהוא כולל אחדים הרבה.

Let's say in, right, so scientists have classifications of different species. You have species, you have genus, so you can have a certain species of ich veis of dog, but there are many then instances of that one species. So it's one, but it's not one in an absolute sense.

לא כאחד כמין שהוא כולל אחדים הרבה ולא אחד כגוף שהוא נחלק למחלקות ולקצוות.

So, right, you can say about any physical object, about the human body or any physical object, that it's one. So that is true, but on the other hand, it can also be subdivided. You can then break it down into trillions of cells. You can break any guf which is one, it's not one in an absolute sense. אלא ייחוד שאין ייחוד אחר כמותו בעולם. So when we say one about Hakadosh Baruch Hu, it means in an absolute and absolutely unique sense. So that's what it means: אשר לא יאוס עניין האחד האמיתי. That echad in its absolute sense, because again, what one, when you think about, you know, one, the only one. Echad ha'amiti is only, can only be predicated of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Every other echad is not really echad in a complete or absolute sense. Hakadmon bimtziouso: there's no beginning to Hashem's existence, right? You can't measure it in time. There's no beginning to Hashem's existence. Hammasmid tovaso: his tovah is, he constantly is perpetuating his tovah. The next three phrases or clauses:

אשר ברא כל הנמצאות לאות על אחדותו ויצר יצירות לעד על גבורתו והחל חדשות להעיד על חכמתו וגודל טובו. כדכתיב דור לדור ישבח מעשיך וגבורותיך יגידו. יודוך השם כל מעשיך וחסידיך יברכוכה כבוד מלכותך יאמרו וגבורתך ידברו להודיע לבני האדם גבורותיו וכבוד הדר מלכותו.

The way this should be understood, no being, not just human beings, angelic beings as well, no being can understand and thereby assign reasons for why Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world. The only understanding we can have of Hakadosh Baruch Hu is through the world. So that precludes understanding why He created the world. He created the world because He wanted to, lema'an retzono. We can't say anything beyond that. So what does the Chovot Halevavot mean here, אשר ברא כל הנמצאות לאות על אחדותו? So I think the meforshim say in Parshat Bereishit, right, so how does it go?

ויעש אלוקים את שני המאורות הגדולים לממשלת היום ואת המאור הקטן לממשלת הלילה ואת הכוכבים ויתן אותם אלוקים ברקיע השמים להאיר על הארץ והיו לאותות ולמועדים ולימים ולשנים.

I think I garbled things a little bit there, but so there too you have the lamed, right? But what the lamed means is, it's not explaining the reason, it's explaining the function, right? That Hakadosh Baruch Hu created, the function of the sun is leha'ir al ha'aretz. It doesn't address any ultimate questions of why, that's the function of the sun. The sun is leha'ir al ha'aretz and based upon the sun and the moon, that's how we lemo'adim u'leshanim, that's how our calendar is determined, the lunar months and the solar years. So yitachen that the way this should be translated is, אשר ברא כל הנמצאות as in vehayu l'otot and they serve as ot al achduto. vayetza yetzurav and they serve as ed al gevurato and hechel chadashot and they serve, they function as edut al chochmato. And the emet is that when lekhora that havana is then corroborated with the prooftext,

דור לדור ישבח מעשיך וגבורתך יגידו, יודוך השם כל מעשיך וחסידיך יברכוכה.

So those psukim don't prove, right, these psukim from Tehillim L'David don't prove what the reason for the beriah is, but it describes the function and effect of the beriah that they serve as a source of shvach in that way. Was that the reason? The passuk doesn't say that was the reason, the passuk is describing what it is. והגדולה שבטובות אשר הטיב בהם הבורא לעבדיו המדברים and so medabrim, domem, tzomeach, chai, medaber, that fourfold classification: inanimate, vegetative life, animal life, and human life. Medabrim, again, what we're used to it just meaning speech, but it also means logic, it refers to sechel as well. There seems to be a little bit of a questionable assumption that when people speak, it reflects logic, but we'll let that slide for the moment.

והגדולה שבטובות אשר הטיב בהם הבורא לעבדיו המדברים אחרי המציאו אותם על תכונת הכרה שבהן גמורה והבנתם שלמה היא החכמה אשר היא חיי רוחם ונר שכלם והמביאה אותם אל רצונו האלוקי והמצלה אותם מקצפו בעולם הזה ובעולם הבא כאשר אמר הכתוב כי ה' יתן חכמה מפיו דעת ותבונה ואמר אליהו אכן רוח היא באנוש ונשמת שדי תבינם ודניאל אמר יהב חכמתא לחכימין ומנדעא לידעי בינה ואמר הכתוב אני ה' אלקיך מלמדך להועיל מדריכך בדרך תלך.

Could be that this parallels the Rambam says that, again, coming back to Parshas Bereishis, that tzelem Elokim, that the tzelem Elokim of a person is the intellectual capacity that a person has. That's why the Rambam says that tzelem Elokim, a person's not born with tzelem Elokim, he's born with a potential for tzelem Elokim. If a person doesn't exercise that capacity, then he doesn't actualize his tzelem Elokim. If a person doesn't utilize that capacity for yedias Hashem, for avodas Hashem, so then he remains, and the Rambam says it so let's not censor him, he remains an animal with an unrealized potential of tzelem Elokim. So yitachen that the Chovos HaLevavos also, again he doesn't, he's not relating to the passuk of ויברא אלוקים את האדם בצלמו, but in singling out that this is the gedola she-be-tovos, so that does suggest that that is the defining human characteristic, the defining human endowment, which is what the Rambam is saying also in his explanation of tzelem Elokim. Okay, he goes on to then give us a definition of the three parts of chochmah. I'm not sure if we'll discuss that tomorrow or if we're going to, if we'll skip to Ach Hachochmah shetzarich. We may skip a couple of paragraphs. I'm not sure. But either way, you should see it. Whether we'll discuss them, I'm not sure. But we'll stop there.