Physical and Spiritual: 2

Model II - Dimensions

From trying to define the spiritual, we proceed to defining “ material”. What is the material? I submit that it is that which has dimensions and can therefore be measured in terms of space. Thus, a material object possesses space and has one, two or three dimensions. We can say that physical entities exist in three dimensions, whereas spiritual entities exist in more than three dimensions, beyond dimensions or within all dimensions (we’ll come back to this point later). If so, material items need not be three dimensional -a line is unidimensional, a picture or a photograph is two dimensional; however, they will exist within some dimensions of space whereas spiritual beings will not exist in space. To understand how physical beings might perceive spiritual beings, let us for a moment imagine what three dimensions might look to a two-dimensional being. We find that such a being can represent three dimensions even within his or her world, through foreshadowing, and the use of perspective. However, a full grasp of a three dimensional being will elude him.

Within two-dimensions, a truly three-dimensional object cannot be accurately represented. If you are living in a two-dimensional world you will misperceive a three-dimensional object because 99% of it isn’t being seen. For example, if the 3 dimensional giant jumps, from a two-dimensional perspective he disappears and simultaneously reappears in another place. To a two dimensional being, a miracle has just taken place, supernatural in the sense that it is above the two-dimensions.

We then have another model of spiritual – that which is beyond the three dimensions. This is an analogy for the ‘spiritual’ as higher dimensions (as inspired by Abbot’s Flatland). It is, of curse also inaccurate, for the spiritual is not merely another dimension of the physical world – it is both within the world and beyond it. The analogy does, however, enable us to understand how to view miracles and providence in general.

Since it is not possible for dimensional beings to fully understand how the spiritual manifests in this world, it is difficult for them to draw rigid lines between the natural and the supernatural. By using our inadequate tools, we can sense the spiritual sometimes, just as perspective and foreshadowing enables representation of three dimensions in two, but we can only have a limited vision; we are missing so much of the bigger picture. This is why we so often have a vague sense of unrelaity about spiritual experiences, aware that we touched something but frustrated at our inablity to define it clearly to to grasp its boundaries and manifestations.

This concept of the spiritual comes from R. Arye Kaplan’s discussion in his commentary to Sefer Yetzirah, 5:2.

Here lies the genesis of our problem. It is interesting that even within two-dimensions you can create an illusion of three–dimensions. The analogy to the spiritual would be that even in the material world something can appear to be spiritual, although in reality it is materialistic, and vice-versa.

Let us go a bit beyond the analogy. We said that in reality the spiritual is not merely above dimensions, it is both within the physical and beyond it at the same time. This is because it is not limited by dimensions at all. As such, spiritual things can be both within and beyond the world at the same time. For example the mathematical “point” is within this world even though it has no dimension. An infinite number of points makes up a line, a circle or a cube (we will discuss infinite and finite at another time), clearly within our world, but a “point” exists also unrelated to anything that exists in this world.  Another example is “Beauty”. So, “beauty” can be a property of a natural scene, a work of art, a piece of music- it is attached to something physical – but Beauty (the Idea) is not attached to anything physical. “Beauty” is both within physical objects and quite beyond them.

This discussion helps us understand the very basic concept: G-d is totally outside the dimensions of the physical world but at the same time He also fills this world in a mysterious way. The Zohar teaches this when it tells us that He is “memale kol almin v’soveiv kol almin (G-d fills and surrounds all worlds – within and without the world).

However a beautiful piece of art possesses Beauty; the spiritual rides the physical (merkava). We know this instinctively. What remains is to explain the greatest mystery of spiritual life – how the physical and spiritual can be so intimately connected.

How can the spiritual ride the physical; how is the spiritual connected to the physical? To approach this basic question, we need to understand what “close” means in the physical and spiritual world respectively. In the physical world it means to be close in space. In the spiritual world, to be close is to be similar, to be distant is to be dissimilar (R. Sholom DovBer of Lubavitch, Hemshech RSV, 51). Now, we can understand. For whatever reason, Hashem wanted to create a world in which spiritually “far” entities can be brought close in physical forms, through the spatial proximity of the physical objects that they “ride”. Thus, for an example, Hitler and Chofetz Chaim are very distant in the spiritual world but they could have theoretically shaken hands in the physical world, thereby bringing their spiritual manifestations close together as well. Analogy: two different three-dimensional people standing on a  two-dimensional plain with one foot next to each other are perceived in the two-dimensional world as being close even if in reality their bodies are far apart ; so too spiritually distant concepts/beings can “touch” through closeness in the physical world.

One more point: Things in the spiritual world are close because they are similar. But what are they similar to? Hashem, the Source! Morality means being as similar to G-d, the Giver as possible. For example, just as G-d gives light/life to everything, the giver of more light/life is more similar G-d (this is the difference between kli and kelipah; both are infused with light but the kelipah takes the light for itself while the kli channels the light for others – R. Ashlag in the introduction to his commentary on the Zohar). Our job as spiritual beings is to conduct Hashem’s light to others. That is only possible in this physical world, for in the spiritual world, we can only conduct the light to the very next station of closeness; we cannot, for example, give to a vessel that is too “far” or dissimilar to us. However, in the physical world we can transmit to spiritual entities that are very far from us in the spiritual sense because we can come “close” to them through the venue of physicality.