Experiencing Nefesh

By Yehuda Rapoport
The following is the result of some collaborative work I did with Rabbi Sacks on the phone. Rabbi Sacks said to me, "This should be viewed as the first step toward collating this years postings into a book. The objective is to create a book that would be able to initiate a reader into our method. This would free this web site to focus on applications resulting from independent learning as opposed to initiation into learning."

Table of Contents

A. Establishing a “Path”
B. First steps in discovering Kochos ha-Nefesh
C. The “Nefesh Screen” and Zoom-Control
D. Zoom-Control and The Cosmic and Social Environments
E. Radak-Zoom


A. Establishing a “Path”

In discussion with R. Rapoport, it became clear that underlying his questions, as well as the questions of R. Maroof, there lies a deeper desire for a training system in thought. In keeping with the analogy of Alfarabi, a training system would be similar to the art of boxing in which one trains following a well worn path of practising techniques moving stage by stage from novice to expert. Obviously, one cannot demand of a new art the same stability of path one would expect from one that has had the benefit of being tested on generations of students. Nonetheless, a fundamental breakthrough can now be achieved.


B. First steps in Rediscovering Kochos ha-Nefesh

As in every art, the key to training lies not in the rote doing of technique, but rather, as Bruce Lee puts it, in understanding technique."Understanding technique” means reflecting on how techniques enhance the nefesh’s natural ability to engage the world in attaining its ends. Enhancing the nefesh’s ability obviously presupposes a clear sense of the natural abilities – ie the kochos- by which the nefesh engages the world. Therefore the heart and soul of understanding technique lies in a metaphor or mashal of the kochos ha-nefesh from which the techniques can organically emerge.

Alfarabi speaks of an organic process in which the nefesh uses its kochos to distill universal principles or well-defined “dvarim” from descriptions that first arise in sensory experience of the particulars of our world. The techniques of logic develop this natural ability of nefesh to transition from description to definition. If you recall, the central impetus for "doing words with Radak" was my realization that contrary to Alfarabi’s depiction of kochos hanefesh, my own thought was disconnected from sensory experience. In this overly formal strategy there was no natural ability to derive principles from sensory experience. Obviously, in the absence of a first intuitive mashal of the kochos ha-nefesh, no training in technique can occur. It was here that the need to rediscover kochos ha-nefesh became apparent.
After all these years, it is now time for the next generation mashal of kochos hanefesh that can accomodate the full gamut of thought operations.


C. The “Nefesh Screen” and Zoom-Control

What I propose is a mashal of a “nefesh screen” to make the experience of kochos ha-nefesh conscious and communicable. Like a computer, the nefesh screen represents information coming from a variety of sources. What makes the computer and nefesh screen so useful is their power to manipulate representations. To experience this power of manipulating representations let us start with a tool - the zoom-control. By “zoom” I mean the control of magnification (as in a camera’s zoom lense). As many of you know this is one of the most potent Sechel tools on the nefesh screen. It is best thought of as an extension of google Earth.


D. Zoom-Control and The Cosmic and Social Environments

Picture a map of the universe, rather than just Earth, that can zoom in or out.

Zoom in galaxy by galaxy as in a planetarium show.

Zoom in noticing the wonderful, precise motion reflecting gravity in all bodies of the universe.
This "noticing" is a feeling, a sense that a universal law- Malchus shamayim - is the governing principle underlying the steady orbits of all parts of the universe. It will probably require some careful slowing down of the orbits to sense their regularity and orderliness. Yet we have seen this orderliness modeled many times in museums and planatarium shows. We react to this governing principle with an ahava feeling at the “good” in the sense of lawful order and harmony underlying the Creator’s Craft in all parts of the universe. At the intergalactic, galactic and planetary “zooms” the governing principle of Malchus shamayim is natural and easy to keep in focus.

Zoom in to the solar system and see it as an ecosystem sustaining life. Note that this ecosystem itself depends upon gravity.
If gravity did not move the Meoros hagedolim, there would not be night and day on aretz. There would be no evaporation of water and no rain. There would be no heat or growth of vegetation. No seasons. There would be no atmosphere or air without gravity. All of this causal focus is natural at all levels up to the planetary level of zoom. This causal focus corresponds to the basic account of G’s craft in creating planet Earth as the cradle of life in the “big picture” framework of the first perek of brayshees. Zoom control allows us to seek ohr as in “gravity” or “ecosystem”. This “seeking”, as mentioned, is done through feeling or internal dialogue as shown by my narration (notice the steady orbits, notice the ecosystem, notice the ecosystem’s need for gravity).

The theoretical sechel considers the images as exemplars that are useful to attaining more universal truth or Emes. Einstein and Newton, as we know, purposefully used the zoom control to create scenarios useful to the theoretical sechel’s quest to discover these universal truths of emes.

Zoom in to the level of man’s yishuv.
Once we go past the planetary level to the political-yishuv-level of zoom our causal focus of malchus shamayim begins to fade. At a certain stage of zoom we are no longer able to maintain our causal focus upon Earth as a planet, a part of the universe governed by malchus shamayim. At a certain point a new governing principle of social environment will kick in that dispels the causal focus.

Zoom in to see countries, cities and neighborhoods.
Notice skylines, city centers and institutions. These social sytstems are governed not by gravity but by visions of great men and historical cultural forces. As you pass Yankee stadium, think of Babe Ruth and the power of his bat.

Zoom past the ruins of the twin towers.
Think of the struggle beween the Christian and Islamic civilization.

Zoom past aiports and think of international travel, tourism and commerce.
As you approach your home an even more personal governing principle emerges. You see things in terms of your own personal desires. This framework is decidedly proprietary- my house, my street, my friends. As we zoom in closer we come to ourselves. We can see ourselves as if from a satellite doing things. We can also enter the most personal space of all- our own bodies and see the world through our eyes and feelings as we pursue our ends. We can also enter another person’s character and imagine their feelings and the world they see. At this point our focus shifts from seeing theoretical order as in gravity, to seeing ends or a good we personally wish to attain.

Zoom in and out until you feel the point of view where the organizing principle of animal possesion or malchus Adam ends and the organizing principle of malchus shamayim begins. Is it at the city level? The continent? The planet perhaps?


E. Radak-Zoom

If you recall, the stickman was a metaphor designed to facilitate thinking about scenarios man could be put in. The stickman could be pictured sitting, walking, loving or whatever word Radak gave. In essence, stickman was a tool limited to the zoom of personal space.
I will now show how zoom-control can be used to understand these same practical goods by rooting them in the everyday experience of giving a “speech”.

We all have experience getting ready for an important speech. We rehearse the speech beforehand. In our mind’s eye we zoom from our current actual place and transport to the hall where the speech will be. At times we take the point of view of the audience at other times we see ourselves speaking from the dais and listen carefully to ourselves. A really experienced speaker would have a whole repertoire of personalities to test his speech upon. He would “enter” their various mentalities, noting to himself how they would react. So and so would think this was illogical, so and so would feel that part is too harsh etc etc. We zoom in on people’s expressions and listen to or feel their reactions. We also zoom on ourselves. We watch ourselves listen to ourselves. We enter our own character and feel our feelings. We modify our speech to more effectively express our idea or impact the audience. This zoom ability does not end once the speech begins. We shift in and out of our bodies watching ourselves modifying our speech based on crowd reaction. In reality, this experience of zoom control is an exemplar of the kochos ha-nefesh that is experienced all the time more or less consciously.