In the eyes of many, Chaos Theory with all of its subsidiaries is a sort of liberation theology. It has allowed thought pertaining to all matters of science, history, politics, economics, psychology, and mathematics (to name a few) to emerge from a relative dark age, one characterized by laws that kept the examiner and the examined imprisoned. Until the recent emergence of chaos theory, these sciences have unwillingly hindered the emergence of the clear face of reality, and therefore prevented the observer from having a truer relationship with that reality.
One of the appeals of chaos theory is that it seems to call theory itself into question. It implies that every system or organism has the capacity for self-organization. Therefore, any set of fixed rules by which to examine and interpret the world may be an imposition on the natural shape of that system or organism. This resonates deeply with a world that has seen enormous amounts of destruction within the human and natural realms despite brilliant progress in technology and the sciences. Despite the fact that the world has "progressed", the world is less predictable and less knowable. One cannot say progress is good, or helpful. One can say, however, that a theory that can help a person relate to the unpredictably changing world, is helpful.
Chaos theory emerged out of a need for Chaos theory. A way of being or thinking never manifests from thin air - it is almost inevitably born of suffering or pain. The previous way of thinking shows itself to be insufficient in dealing with contemporary suffering, so out of that vacuum, is born a new perception which liberates its adherents from the sufferings of the previous way. But in this sense, the new way is very much owing to the previous way, despite its ineptitudes and shortcomings. One might say that the Old Way was pregnant with the new way silent in its womb, that the period of suffering was the time of travail in birth, and that the Emergence is that birth.
In a sense, Chaos Theory was present, in utero, within the shortcomings of the old way, even when that old way was just conceived. It has only been awaiting articulation - which may take centuries. So often the end of suffering comes at the moment of the articulation of that suffering. Though forces of oppression may continue to exist externally, the experience of suffering is abated. For with articulation come relationship and community, and with them an end to the feeling of isolation. That isolation is the primary manifestation of suffering inflicted upon us by a faulty way of thinking that takes us out of relationship with the world while true clarity returns us to a shared world. With chaos theory comes the promise of coming closer to the world itself, and closer to each other. When the world and its inhabitants are seen as dynamic beings rarely if ever bound to the rules created to assess them, and they are freed from being expected to conform to those rules, then the possibility of truer relationship is possible.
In many ways, being bound to old forms of perception and expression while a new, as yet unarticulated way is gestating and yearning to grow, is tantamount to slavery. That new way is trapped - it absolutely cannot express itself - because the old words are insufficient. And it is often not given the time and space to develop a vocabulary for itself. But it has been slowly gestating within the shortcomings of the old way. The way it grows is in the negative - a growing angst, a more intense longing for freedom and expression.
Looking closer at the model of emergence from slavery will offer us valuable insights into the issues concerning the emergence of a new way - its relationship to the old, the dangers of emergence, and how it may best prepare itself for freedom. A perfect example of this is the emergence of Chaos Theory, for emerging from slavery is almost inevitably an emergence of chaos. The slave's life, miserable as it is, is predictable and therefore offers a modicum of comfort. The life of a free man is without rigid structure. A man must learn freedom and its language.
The Passover seder is a yearly experience of emergence from slavery. As is true with all Jewish holidays, Passover is not a commemoration of an event but a re-experiencing of historical currents that first became revealed in the form of that first event. The yearly Passover seder is celebrated with words and actions that are meant to express emergence from a slavery that has been accrued over the previous year. This is done through overlaying the yearly performance of liberation with the motifs of the original Exodus, the paradigmatic emergence. Jews believe that there is an energy of emergence available on this night more than any other night. Therefore, by creating a performance inspired by and infused with the themes of liberation and emergence, there is hope that one may be able to reach an articulation of that New Way which has been hidden inside for so long. An end to suffering is possible.
The Hebrew word for Passover is Pesach - literally, to "pass over" or "skip". According to Kabbalistic sources, Pesach is short for Peh Sach, which literally means "The speaking mouth." A great emphasis is placed on speaking throughout the Seder. One of the most important parts of the Seder is the section called Magid - "Telling". It is during that time that the telling over of various aspects of the Exodus saga occurs. This is specifically a fulfillment of the commandment "and you shall relate [these events] to your child on that day, saying 'It is because of this that G-d acted for me when I came forth from Egypt'" (Exodus 13:8). It is also during that time when the participants of the seder, by looking at their own lives through the lens of the Exodus story, may hope to find in themselves that which has not yet emerged. "Everyone must see themselves as if they, personally, went out from Egypt," says the Passover Hagaddah. This emergence, as we said, takes the form of articulation. "Speaking mouth" is exactly the experience of freedom. Riding this current of liberation, one feels that this is a special opportunity to become renewed. Though the past year's attempted uprisings may have been quelled by the dominant forces of inertia, one feels on this night that true emergence is not only possible, but a fact. It has already happened. On this night, words come quickly and effortlessly. It is as if a fog has lifted. The experience of common rebirth brings an air of compassion and camaraderie. Those gathered, in feeling released themselves, release each other as well.
The Egypt that the Israelites left is called in Hebrew Mitzrayim, etymologically related to the word Mitzarim, which means "straits" or "narrow places". It is described by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov as being a place where miracles are impossible, and the laws of nature preside. The results of every action are completely predictable. The mere hope for miracles is founded on the assumption that the laws of nature, though sometimes accurate, are not an adequate assessment of the realm of the possible. And by living as if the laws of nature are the truth, one does not properly relate to the One Who created nature, and therefore transcends it. The proper relationship to the One, writes Rebbe Nachman, is through emunah, loosely translated as "belief". Acting as if one knows what will happen based on one's familiarity with the laws of nature precludes the possibility of a new shape, or a new law, from emerging. One who relates through belief recognizes that, not only does he not know what will happen in the future; really, he does not know what is happening right now. He recognizes that his assessment of the world and its rules is not accurate. He knows that his spectrum of perception occupies an extremely small space in the realm of reality, much the same way visible light occupies a limited space in the spectrum of all light. Though one must use one's faculties to perceive the world, a believer will make his decisions and form his opinions based on the knowledge that, despite what he sees, he knows practically nothing.
Liberation from slavery is an experience of chaos, for it is the emergence from the world of the predictable into the world of the unpredictable. There is a period of time when the old is released and the new is not yet recognizable. One who is comfortable in chaos is familiar with this state. He knows that, for the new shape to emerge, for the situation's own principles of self-organization to gain control, there must be a full release from the old. Any inhibitions - fears, prejudices, need for control - will prevent him from perceiving what is emerging around him and through him. Any rules of perception which he forces upon the people or world around him will hold him back from a true face-to-face encounter. With patience, the new Law, uniquely inherent in each self-organizing system, will emerge by its own power, at its own pace.
The people of Israel, as they left Egypt, were praised for their courage in facing the unknown, as is written in Jeremiah 2:2, "I remember in thy favor the devotion of thy youth, thy love as a bride, when thou didst go after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown." But they lacked the patience to humbly receive the New Order. "If only we had died at the hand of G-d back in Egypt. There we had meat and bread to fulfillment…" G-d was trying to bring them into a new way of relationship, a covenant based on belief and trust, which are expressions of freedom. He wants the courage Israel displayed in the moment of leaving to be the foundation of the new relationship. When there is no bread, it is an opportunity to allow a new relationship to bread, and to the Giver of the bread, to emerge. The feeling of expecting bread to appear immediately, and resenting the one Who Has It But Does Not Give It, is indicative of the old way of thinking. In the new way, the chaotic way, each moment of friction with reality is seen as a moment to release orthodox adherence to the old laws, and to consider the possibility that the old laws themselves are causing that friction, not the reality that they are created to perceive. With this will come a renewal of the old laws, reformed to better suit the reality that they are meant to perceive.
What, then, is the best way to position oneself toward the emerging chaos? One might think that he should let go of everything he perceives, of all the laws to which he adheres, in order to fully receive the new way. The Passover Seder presents a different model. The very word Seder means, literally, "order", for the very order of sacraments in the Passover celebration is of utmost importance. There is first the benediction over wine, then the washing of the hands without uttering a blessing, the eating of the fresh greens dipped in salt water, splitting of the middle matzoh (unleavened bread), the telling of the Passover story, etc. Not only is each of these actions essential to the seder and wrought with meaning, the order in which they occur is essential to their meaning. Mystically, as indicated in the writings of R' Yitzhak Luria (The Ari), each of these actions is an essential stage in the mind's progress from slavery toward freedom. The Sages who formulated the seder obviously saw order as essential to the healthy emergence of this process.
Kabbalistically, however, this order is a unique order, "different from all other nights." R' Yitzhak Luria's writings offer extremely complicated descriptions of the stages of the mind's evolution that occur when we come into contact with the Divine Presence on this night. His writings provide a person with a map in order to fully experience the currents available at this time. And, according to his writings, the currents of this night bear a shape that is not present any other time of year. Ordinarily, consciousness develops through a process from Katnut to Gadlut - from a state of constricted consciousness, or narrow-mindedness to an expanded consciousness, or broad-mindedness. Usually a person who is emerging has been experiencing reality in a narrow way. That is to say, they are caught in a limited, or relatively linear, way of looking at the world. Usually, expanded consciousness is characterized as having come out of small-mindedness. It is described as "leaving from" and not "going toward". The articulation of the expanded consciousness might feature words like "when I used to" or "back when I was…" These indicate that the person's perceptual framework, though seen in a new light, has not really been entirely renewed. The person has not left, per se, but rather "moved up in the world." The new is articulated in the terms of the old. On Passover, however, in a unique manifestation of Divine Providence, Gadlut precedes Katnut, meaning, an entirely new way of perceiving is experienced which does not reflect upon the context from which it emerges. It does not express itself in terms of the old - rather, a new language is born, a language of freedom. On Pesach night, G-d "passes over" the intermediate levels, and takes us immediately to a place of gadlut - broad-mindedness. From this vantage point, we are reborn as a people.
The acting out of Passover through the seder is ripe with images of rebirth. The emphasis on articulation, particularly the children asking questions and the parents answering, gives hope of a continual rebirth. Deeper questions demand deeper answers. So, too, as Chaos emerges, humanity will loosen its grip, and to allow the wondrous shapes of the future to emerge.
Rav Gavriel Goldfeder
|
Rav Gavriel Goldfeder is one of the first semicha recipients of the yeshiva. A graduate of Drew University in Religious Studies, he came to Bat Ayin after stints in other yeshivot and found a spiritual and intellectual home. Here he met his wife, Ketriellah, who was a student in our short-lived Women's Yeshiva. Upon graduation, Gavriel took the position of rabbi of the Aish Kodesh Congregation in Boulder, Colorado and together with Ketriellah and their growing family, they are busy creating (in Gavriel's words), "a community infused with Torah values, passion for learning and prayer, consideration of one another, and action, as well as deep celebration of the joys of life." |