The Secret of Divine Wisdom: Turning 'Yesh' (Existence) into 'Ayin' (Nothingness)

Class No. 32 | Class 1 - (Continued from No. 31) Friday morning, Parashas Matos, 23 Tammuz 5755

Hashem, who is infinite, created the world specifically through tzimtzum (constriction) and turning the 'Yesh' (something/existence) into 'Ayin' (nothingness), while creating a chalal panui (empty space). The foundation of Judaism and a person's spiritual work, as Moshe Rabbeinu teaches, is to walk in this path: to nullify one's sense of self, to become 'Ayin', and to live in absolute humility.

On the verse "In the beginning God created," Yonatan ben Uziel translates: "With wisdom." The question arises: What is this wisdom? Does Hashem need wisdom to create the world?

The answer is that the Divine wisdom was the ability to turn the 'Yesh' into 'Ayin'. Hashem is infinite, "the whole earth is full of His glory," and He is entirely infinite existence. The difficulty, so to speak, of the Infinite is to create limited things. Therefore, the great wisdom of Hashem was that He nullified Himself, made Himself into "absolute nothingness," and created an empty space.

Within this empty space, room was left so that we could see Godliness. Since we are located within that empty space, we do not see anything in it tangibly, and because of this, there are so many heretics in the world.

Judging Favorably from Within the Empty Space

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov says in Torah 62 that one must judge even heretics favorably. Why? Because they truly do not see anything. Hashem, who was infinite, made an empty space, and now the heretic sees nothing.

So what can be expected of him? He doesn't see! You merited to see, but he did not merit it, and therefore you must have pity on him and judge him favorably here on earth. How will they judge him in Heaven? That is an entirely different calculation, but our task is to judge favorably.

A story is told of a girl who studied in a "Bais Yaakov" school and thoughts of heresy entered her mind. She decided to conduct an experiment and said: "I will eat now on Yom Kippur. If the ceiling falls—it is a sign that there is a God." She ate, and the ceiling did not fall. She remained with a clear conscience, certain that she had proven her claim.

However, a month after she got married, her husband drowned in the sea. Then she realized that everything is from Hashem, and she published an article in a secular newspaper in which she called upon everyone to do teshuvah (repentance). Hashem has time. He runs the world with immense patience, slowly but surely. He is not in a rush to punish immediately, but rather waits for a person.

The Torah is Our Certificate

A similar incident occurred with a heretic who was arguing in an inn and demanded to see open miracles. A boy arrived there with a certificate from school which stated that he was "excellent in singing and playing music." The heretic demanded that the boy sing to prove it, but the boy refused.

When the boy's father arrived, the heretic asked him: "Why don't you let him sing? I want to hear if he is truly excellent!" The father answered him: "Do you not believe his certificate? It is explicitly written here that he is excellent!"

So too regarding faith in Hashem. The Torah has already been written for thousands of years, and six hundred thousand children of Israel stood at Mount Sinai and saw the thunder and lightning. The Torah is our certificate, and all the nations acknowledge the truth of the Torah of Israel. Hashem does not need to make thunder and lightning or earthquakes anew every single day for every person who asks for proofs.

The Foundation of Judaism: Making Oneself into 'Ayin'

The tzaddik of Ruzhin, the "Irin Kadishin," reveals a tremendous novel insight here that is the foundation of all Judaism. A person thinks that serving Hashem means attaining more and more spiritual levels: to be a greater scholar, to pray better, to be holier.

But the truth is the exact opposite. All the wisdom of Hashem was to turn His existence into 'Ayin'. One who is infinite can create infinite worlds and souls, but the true wisdom is to turn oneself into 'Ayin'.

And this is the entire spiritual work of a person in the world: to make himself into 'Ayin' anew every single day. Not to seek to be a 'Yesh' (an entity)—a tzaddik, holy, or a scholar—but to turn himself into 'Ayin'. Consequently, out of the 'Ayin', he will merit to be holy, pure, and a true Torah scholar.

Moshe Rabbeinu Versus Nadav and Avihu

This was the work of Moshe Rabbeinu, and this was the mistake of Nadav and Avihu. Moshe Rabbeinu built the Mishkan (Tabernacle), and when he finished, he said to himself: "I was altogether just a foreman, a contractor, or a simple carpenter. I finished my work, I received my wages, and I can go."

When Hashem called him: "Moshe, Moshe," he thought that perhaps another child named Moshe was born whom Hashem was calling. After all, there were eighty thousand young men named Aharon at the time, and perhaps there were also many children named Moshe who had already merited prophecy.

"All the work of Moshe Rabbeinu was always: Who am I? What am I? Why on earth would they call me? I went up to Heaven? Any person can go up to Heaven. Hashem spoke with me? Hashem also spoke with Bilaam."

In contrast, Nadav and Avihu thought: "Hashem is probably calling us. We are the chosen ones, we need to bring down fire from Heaven." They were great tzaddikim, but their mistake was thinking that serving Hashem means ascending from level to level out of a feeling of self-importance and greatness.

The Secret of the Broken Heart and Dancing in a Circle

A story is told of a certain chassid who drew close to a great Rebbe. That Rebbe elevated him every day to higher and higher spiritual levels. The chassid prayed with dveikus (deep devotion), learned with diligence, but still felt a void and emptiness in his heart. He realized that he was missing something true.

He went to search for other tzaddikim, until he met a tzaddik who made him feel the exact opposite. By this tzaddik, every day he felt lower, more broken-hearted, and worse than the day before. Specifically then, he realized that he had reached the ultimate truth. He felt that he was worse than everyone else, and this is exactly the correct spiritual work—the breaking of the vessels and the broken heart.

This is the secret of dancing in a circle. When dancing in a circle, one does not know who is first and who is last. A person might think he is the first, but the truth is he must think he is the last of everyone.

"I enter the circle, we spin, dance, and sing, and I am the very last one here. And the one behind me—he is the first! I am the end of the end of the Jewish people."

When a person comes to the congregation, to the yeshiva, or to a minyan, he must feel that he is the lowest and the last of everyone. Only one who constricts his soul and turns himself into 'Ayin' has a vessel ready to receive abundance from Him, may He be blessed, and he will merit true renewal.

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