Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Open Orthodoxy

לע"נ מרת חנה בת ר' יצחק יונה
ומרת חנה בת ר' מאיר זאב

People imagine that being open minded on one hand and being holy, pious and clinging to Hashem on the other, is a contradiction. But when someone gets to the elevated plateau of pure understanding of truth, it becomes clear that ONLY through open mindedness can a person intellectually cling to Hashem in a pure way. Through this clinging predicated on open mindedness, his recognition will elevate all of his will, his essential existence, middos and strivings. And the desire and G-dly pleasure will reveal themselves to him with great force, and his bracha will be an effective bracha, his curse will be an effective curse, his tfillos will bear fruits, as the pasuk says ותגזור אומר ויקם לך - from which Chazal derive that a Tzadik decrees and Hashem fulfills, and all of his ways will be filled with light. 

Says the Rav ztz"l:


על פי הדמיון החצוני, הכוזב, ידמה לאדם, שחופש הדעות והדבקות האלהית הם דברים סותרים זה את זה, אבל בהיות האדם מתעלה למרומי הזיכוך של הדעות הטהורות, יבא לידי ברור, שרק בחופש דעות גמור יבא לידי הדבקות האלהית השכלית המזוקקה. ומתוך הדבקות החפשית הזאת תתרומם הכרתו עד שתעלה עמה את כל רצונו. ועצמיות הוייתו, מדותיו ושאיפותיו. והחשק והתענוג האלהי יגלה עליו בעוזו, וברכתו תהיה ברכה, וקללתו קללה, ותפלתו תעשה פירות, ותגזר אמר ויקם לך, ועל דרכיך נגה אור.

[ג' קצ"ד] 


I understand as follows: Hashem's truth is vast and broad beyond imagination. By sealing oneself off from knowledge, one effectively seals himself off from parts of this truth. Narrow minded people are missing out on so much truth. 

This of course doesn't mean that every bit of nonsense people say, blog, tweet etc. etc. is true. Most of what is being said distances one from Hashem and doesn't bring one closer. But those who are sincere will find that with an open mind they can get so much closer to Divine truths.

This requires further elaboration because it is fraught with potential for error. ועוד חזון למועד בל"נ.