The Essence of Time
from Chapter 2
In Judaism, a new day begins when the stars come out. The idea is that we believe that after every darkness there is a light coming into the world. In the Counting of the Omer we emphasize the meaning of time. It says in the Jewish sources that the night is outside of the dimension of time. Torah is the story of the creation, it says, “Let there be night, let there be day.” On the other hand, the work of the night in the Holy Temple is connected to yesterday. There is a dispute in the Talmud whether the night is given for sleep or for learning Torah. When a person is beyond the dimension of time, he can do whatever he or she wants. You can want to sleep or you can want to learn. There is a story about the Rabbi of Sochotchov on how he once entered the study room at night and he saw students sleeping on the Talmud. He said to someone, “Look how holy they are. They don’t want to insult either of the schools of thought.”
The Difference between the Light of Day and the Light of Night
Even though the day begins in the evening, everything that is connected to the Holy Temple begins at the rise of the sun. Rabbi Leibale Eiger said that the night is open. Do not spend your night waiting for tomorrow. At night you have to live every moment. Because the night is so deep and exalted and it is beyond the limits of time. That is the reason that in the Jewish calendar time is being measured by the cycle of the moon. Because the ambition of the nation of Israel is to be beyond time. That is why we see romantic couples connecting in the light of the moon. Did you ever see a couple staring at the sun? The light of the moon is a different kind of light.
When you talk to people in daylight, you don’t feel how time flies by. But when you talk to someone at night, especially if you love them, every moment is so significant. And it goes also in the other direction. At night, if you don’t love them, we want to finish the conversation as quickly as possible.
Light without Borders
What happens to me on Seder Night?
The whole year I get used to the way my life is. On Seder night, the All-Mighty G-d intervenes and takes me out from this unholy pool of mud into my new enlightened life. I receive this great light without any restrictions, limitations, or contractions. This light goes right into my gut, through the Matzah that I eat. This light goes into the deepest part of my being, not only to my consciousness but into my bloodstream – my existence without it being constricted to my limitations. Because G-d is infinite and he can give me as much light as he wants, even if I cannot fully receive it. On Seder night G-d gives me light beyond my capacity of receiving.
I want to tell you about a Torah from the Holy Ba’al Shem Tov. There are two ways of talking to a baby. One can talk to a baby in baby ‘talk’ or you can talk to a baby as a human being. The truth is you can talk to a baby on a much deeper level than one can talk to an adult, because babies do not yet have limitations. A baby can receive the light without any restrictions. The Ba’al Shem Tov says that sometimes our learning of the Torah sounds like ‘baby talk.’ Meaning we teach people, “You need to wear a shirt in a certain way, or you need to wash your hands in a certain way.” Not that it is meaningless, it is super important, but it is still baby talk. Then there is the Torah which is the infinite light. On Seder night G-d talks to us, the babies, in a grown up conversation and a miracle happens and we get it. Even though we are still babies.
Sometimes there are things one cannot explain to adults but one can explain it to a little child in two seconds. One time, somebody called me in the middle of the night and he told me that he was about to commit suicide and he asked me for the name of the psychologist in our community. He was hoping that the psychologist could save his life. I said to him, “My dear friend, allow me to ask you, are you poor or rich?” To which he replied, “I am very poor.” I said to him, “The psychologist will charge one hundred dollars during the day. At night he will ask for more money. The psychologist will tell you, ‘Either wait until the morning to tell me you feel suicidal or pay me five hundred dollars now.’ “But I, my friend, I happen to be free now, and I am happy to speak with you for no charge. Please let me help you.” He answered, “I am a modern sophisticated person and you are a Rabbi, how could you help me?” I said to him, “I will give you the number of the psychologist, but please call me after to tell me how it went.” He called me back after a few minutes and said that, “From twelve am until three am it is five hundred dollars. From three a.m. to six a.m. it costs a thousand dollars.” This is not a joke, it is a true story. I tried again, “I really want to try and help you.” I said. To which he answered, ‘I never spoke to you, but I know who you are. You are a primitive Rabbi and I am a man of the world.’ “He did not want to talk to me and unfortunately, I never heard back from him in the end.”
