This world is tailor made for one purpose: to enable the triumph of good over evil. I know... drama, drama, drama; but sometimes reality really is drama, drama, drama. If you prefer -- and, in fact, the traditional kabbalistic writings do prefer -- we can change the wording to "light infusing -- and thereby illuminating -- the darkness."
One may ask, "If HaShem wanted a world of good/light, why not just create that?" The question (usually asked by those who want to demonstrate how silly and naive it is to believe in a Creator) really has a very simple answer. HaShem didn't/doesn't want a world of good/light. What He wants (and what He has created) is a unique and purpose built world for each and every human being to wage his own uniquely crafted battle against evil, triumph, and thereby achieve immortality via his own bond with the Creator. Drama, drama, drama... and true.
We are critters (that is, a created being) and therefore cannot really understand the Creator. No matter how sophisticated the AI, Alexa and Siri can never really know their programmer. They will always be bounded by the limitations given them by their "creators"; and they won't even know it. We have two advantages over them. One, we know we are limited/bounded. Two, we know we can transcend that limitation by connecting with the Creator. That's what Torah and mitzvos are. Mitzvos are 613 channels of connection available to the critters to connect with their Creator, Torah is the lifeblood that runs through those channels.
So HaShem began the process of creation by creating physicality and spirituality. Physicality/darkness was infused with spirituality/light in stages, from inanimate matter, to matter that can grow, to matter that can grow and move, and then to matter that can grow and move and think/talk/aspire... and finally to the pinnacle of creation: Man, who is a perfect of amalgam of physicality infused with spirituality that is bound together by the Breath of the Eternal One. Thus the battle begins.
The process seems slow and arduous -- 70 or 80 years or more; but really barely an instant in eternity. It's a lot to pack into a lifetime, and the road is littered with traffic and obstacles. We Jews, however, were given an express lane: Shabbos. On Shabbos we get an extra infusion of spirituality that lifts us above the mundane and propels us forward. Even after Shabbos, the extra energy carries over to the week and gives us an advantage. As if that were not enough, we have the mitzvah of t'shuva that can transform our accidents into new and extended routes that we hadn't even considered. T'shuva any time is good, but, t'shuva before Shabbos gets the added boost of the נשמה יתרה/increased spirituality. That means that t'shuva done on erev Shabbos carries over and has an effect even on the ensuing week.
Really it's not dark vs. light... it is light illuminating the darkness; not body vs soul, but soul refining and elevating the body. Shabbos is an echo of Olam HaBah that magnifies our efforts -- especially t'shuva -- to make that process more efficient and effective.
One may ask, "If HaShem wanted a world of good/light, why not just create that?" The question (usually asked by those who want to demonstrate how silly and naive it is to believe in a Creator) really has a very simple answer. HaShem didn't/doesn't want a world of good/light. What He wants (and what He has created) is a unique and purpose built world for each and every human being to wage his own uniquely crafted battle against evil, triumph, and thereby achieve immortality via his own bond with the Creator. Drama, drama, drama... and true.
We are critters (that is, a created being) and therefore cannot really understand the Creator. No matter how sophisticated the AI, Alexa and Siri can never really know their programmer. They will always be bounded by the limitations given them by their "creators"; and they won't even know it. We have two advantages over them. One, we know we are limited/bounded. Two, we know we can transcend that limitation by connecting with the Creator. That's what Torah and mitzvos are. Mitzvos are 613 channels of connection available to the critters to connect with their Creator, Torah is the lifeblood that runs through those channels.
So HaShem began the process of creation by creating physicality and spirituality. Physicality/darkness was infused with spirituality/light in stages, from inanimate matter, to matter that can grow, to matter that can grow and move, and then to matter that can grow and move and think/talk/aspire... and finally to the pinnacle of creation: Man, who is a perfect of amalgam of physicality infused with spirituality that is bound together by the Breath of the Eternal One. Thus the battle begins.
The process seems slow and arduous -- 70 or 80 years or more; but really barely an instant in eternity. It's a lot to pack into a lifetime, and the road is littered with traffic and obstacles. We Jews, however, were given an express lane: Shabbos. On Shabbos we get an extra infusion of spirituality that lifts us above the mundane and propels us forward. Even after Shabbos, the extra energy carries over to the week and gives us an advantage. As if that were not enough, we have the mitzvah of t'shuva that can transform our accidents into new and extended routes that we hadn't even considered. T'shuva any time is good, but, t'shuva before Shabbos gets the added boost of the נשמה יתרה/increased spirituality. That means that t'shuva done on erev Shabbos carries over and has an effect even on the ensuing week.
Really it's not dark vs. light... it is light illuminating the darkness; not body vs soul, but soul refining and elevating the body. Shabbos is an echo of Olam HaBah that magnifies our efforts -- especially t'shuva -- to make that process more efficient and effective.
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