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The Jewish Home | JUNE 9, 2022
Self-Mastery Academy
Two Stages of History: Seeing vs. Hearing by rabbi Shmuel reichman
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OctOber 29, 2015 | the Jewish Home
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here was a man who visited his friend in a far-off town once a year. When he arrived one year, he was shocked to find a towering tree in his friend’s backyard, standing well over sixty feet tall. Most puzzling, though, was the fact that just last year there had been no trace of such a tree, not as much as a small sapling. Perplexed, he asked his friend, “I was here just a year ago, and this tree wasn’t here. What happened? Did you plant a fully-grown tree in your yard?” His friend smiled and explained, “This is the Chinese bamboo tree, a very rare and unique tree. Once you plant it, you must water it every day and make sure it has adequate sunlight. If you miss even a single day, the seed will die. For five whole years, you must tend to the plant diligently, without seeing a single inch of growth for your efforts. But once you’ve cared for the seed for five years, the tree grows at an accelerated rate, expanding exponentially over the course of just a few months to a staggering height of over sixty feet.”
The man was shocked to hear this, and as he and his friend walked away, he began to ponder the meaning of this strange tree. He eventually asked out loud, “Does the tree take five months to grow? Or five years?”
Two Stages of History As we explained in the previous article, the spiritual concept of seeing is the idea of observing something as it is, i.e., in a completely static state, lacking any movement. When you see a picture, you grasp the entire image instantaneously. There’s no process of constructing or building the picture in your mind; everything is just there, at once, without any effort. The spiritual concept of hearing, in comparison, reflects a process; a movement through time; an evolutionary progression; one of effort, concentration, and organization of parts. The relationship between hearing and seeing also explains the difference between the two stages of Jewish history. The first stage lasted until the time of Chanukah; the second stage spans from
Chanukah until today. The first stage was a time of nevuah and miracles, a time of “seeing.” Hashem openly revealed Himself to the world and was clearly known to all. This is why a Navi was called a “chozeh,” a seer; it was at a time when all people, not only the Neviim, saw Hashem with absolute clarity. But right around the time of Purim and Chanukah, nevuah ended and the world fell into darkness. What was the meaning behind this transition? The first stage was a stage of seeing, where everything was clear and easy. Now, however, we live in a world of darkness, a world of hearing, where we need to choose to see past the surface, connect the pieces together and create that clarity ourselves. There were no open miracles on Purim; we had to connect the pieces together ourselves and see the miraculous within the natural to see Hashem within the world we live in. In the light, you can see; in the dark, all you can do is hear. You must pick up on every hint of clarity you receive, put the pieces together, and form the image in your
mind while still walking in darkness. When you see something, you experience it all at once; there’s no process, no surprises. When hearing, when taking a journey, there can be a long-winding path, twisting and turning in all directions, leading you on a seemingly endless quest. Then, at the very last moment, there can be a sudden revelation that retroactively changes your perspective on the entire journey! Like a twist ending in a great story, the last turn can change the way you perceive the entire quest. This is the nature of the final ge’ulah (redemption). When Mashiach comes, we will suddenly see how all of history was leading us toward our ultimate destination. This is why the end of days is compared to laughter: one laughs when there is a sudden change and the destination one thought they were heading toward suddenly shifts into something completely unexpected.
“Hearing” in Our Own Lives The same is true in our own lives. Sometimes, only by looking back and
