is sitting next to his daughter, while she naps, thinking about the permutations of Jewish thought. Heres the gist of the preliminary musings rolling around in his mind: Barookh Espinoza (henceforth Spinoza) adopted a sort of Pantheism, and was subsequently declared a heretic by the Jewish community. However, with the rise of Chasidic thought, perhaps some of Spinozas views need to be reconsidered (at least as far as their standing in normative Judaism is concerned). The Babylonian Talmood, in Chageegah 15a, declares a certain sage, named Eleesha` ben Abooyah, to be an apostate, because he had declared shtai rashiot, i.e. there are two authorities (in heaven). However, the same Talmood, in Berakhot 61a, declares that the first human was a multipersonal being (containing two persons who were later separated from one another), and the Zohar, in Parshat Peenchas 219B, declares that God and the Shekheena (which is itself an aspect of God) are partners in the creation of the soul. Therefore, depending on how one might interpret the notion of the first human being made in the image of God, it may be possible that, just as is the case with Spinozas views, perhaps some of the views of Eleesha` ben Abooyahs need to be reconsidered (as far as their standing in normative Judaism is concerned).
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 16:32:29 +0000
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