Yes and No

The most basic division in the world is between yes and no, there and not there. Either something is or it isn't. One would think that, being perfect opposites, they are a mirror image of each other. Yes is everything positive, and no is everything negative. The difference, however, is more complicated than that. Yes is finite and limited. When something exists, it only exists here. No is infinite, unlimited. When it doesn't exist, it doesn't exist everywhere simultaneously. Yes is material. That which is has color, size, mass, and occupies space. No is spiritual, a conceptual construct. Lack does not exist in the material world. It is created in our minds by comparing the present circumstance to others. If there had never been more, it would not be seen as a lack.

Evil does not exist in the material world. That is because G-d is good and only creates good. That which appears to us as evil is really just a lack of good. It is just a big existential no. And a no is infinite. The good news is that if you add anything to a no, even the smallest amount, it becomes a yes.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a thought from the previous Rebbe.