- Eighth Verse Part 1 -
-8-
Original Hebrew:
לאחר שהעריכו את עצמם ברחבת הודם, הוא והיא
יהוה הוא-אשר-הוה שחים כך בשכלם:
בינה הוגה אי-הויה
אך חוכמה מתנגד
אך בינה מעירה לחוכמה
שאם הוא מתנגד הוא מניח
על כן חוכמה מודה
Transliteration:
Leaĥar šehe‘eriķu et ‘Aşmam beroĥbat Hodam, Hu veHi
YHWH HU-AŠER-HOWE saĥim kaķ beSIĶLAM:
Bina hoga i-HAWAYA
aķ Ĥoķma mitnaged
aķ Bina me‘ira le Ĥoķma
še im Hu mitnaged, Hu meniaĥ
‘al ken Ĥoķma mode
English Translation:
After having appreciated Themselves in the Extent of Their Glory, the Two Halves of
THE-ONE-WHO-IS hold this Dialogue in Their REASON:
Intelligence conceives non-BEING
but Wisdom is opposed to it
but Intelligence points out to Wisdom
that if He opposes it, He supposes it
which Wisdom admits
Commentary:
In the Eighth Step (Scorpio), He and She, the Divine Couple, after having contemplated the fullness of Their Glory displayed in Their Creation, enter into a Dialogue, that of the envisaging of the idea of non-Being; She in Her Intelligence, He in His Wisdom.
"Intelligence conceives non-Being..." This move of Intelligence is part of the Quest for Knowledge in which, in this Step, He and She, BEING, envisage Their "contrary", "non-Being". The idea of non-Being, which departs from the Principle in that it negates BEING, is based on an absolute Concept in BEING, that of the Void. The Unmanifested State of BEING is "Void", in that no Attribute or Form is distinguished in Him; simultaneously, He is Full, since He contains Everything, Undifferentiated. In HIM, "Void" and "Full" are One. The idea of non-Being is based on the concept of "Void" separated from the "Full", that is to say an "absolute void", nothingness...
She-Who-Is, in Her Intelligence, envisages that idea, and He-Who-Is, in His Wisdom, opposes it, pointing out that "non-Being is not". Although this Remark is true, it does not suffice to resolve the idea of non-Being, which Intelligence points out: "if He (Wisdom) opposes it, He supposes it".
This Dialogue and its implication are all Perfection, like all the Steps of the Eternal Book, for the envisaging of the idea of non-Being by Intelligence does not suppose any imperfection on Her part, but emphasizes Her Power of Conception and, beyond, the Humility of BEING Who can even "question Himself". Besides, the fact that the Opposition of Wisdom is not the Resolution is not a sign of failure; this Opposition is in itself the first Answer to express, and even though it does not immediately communicate the Resolution, it nevertheless bears its Seed.
Following "which Wisdom admits", the Problem, under its various fundamental aspects and implications, is considered by the Holy Spirit, the BREATH present in Themselves Who is also Their Inner Dimension as LAW, the innate Logic of the Principle, "guiding" Them through Their Experience of Their Story, of Their Eternal Book. This consideration is for Him instantaneous.
The fact that the BREATH, and not He and She as Manifested BEING, initiates the Process of Resolution, puts in evidence the Principle of simultaneous Unity and Diversity. In His Essence, BEING is ONE, "Simple" and "not compound". When He manifests Himself, while remaining ONE, He assumes Diversity, and this Diversity is the Game of His Unity.
The Holy Spirit considers the Problem and Its Resolution. To say "non-Being is not" supposes some reality to this idea, concedes to it a domain of definition, the one of BEING being to be, and the one of non-Being being not to be. Now a domain of definition is a mental place. The efficient Resolution lies therefore in the proclamation of the UNITY of BEING in all Places, spatial or mental, thus leaving no room whatsoever for a "non-Being". The whole Extent of the Manifestation, World Above and World Below, must therefore resound with this Proclamation:
Everything, in the World Above
as in the World Below,
manifests the Most Complete Unity!
But for this Sentence to be pronounced, the Problem must pass Below, to be posed there as Above, by virtue of the Principle of Unity to which it bears witness. Once the Resolution is accomplished Below, once Unity is proclaimed, its Testimony will be given to the Father and Mother Above Who will then pronounce the Sentence of Resolution.