Episode 532 - 17 Iyar (Regular Year) - The Greatest Magic Trick
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In this episode of the It Is Taught Tanya Podcast, host Sarit Switzer explores a profound concept from Chapter 48 of The Tanya: the idea that God's knowledge is not merely observational but constitutive—God is the knower, the known, and the knowledge itself. Using the metaphor of a magic trick, she illustrates how we perceive only the surface of reality—the disappearing coin, the levitating object—while missing the invisible sleight of hand. Similarly, we see the physical world but fail to perceive the constant, hidden divine vitality that sustains it. The episode delves into the Rambam’s teaching that God’s knowledge encompasses all creation in a real, actual way, unlike human thought, which only imagines objects. This divine vitality, described as 'sovev kol almin' (encompassing all worlds), is infinite and cannot be confined to finite creation, hence its description as surrounding rather than filling. The Kabbalistic concept of tzimtzum (contraction) explains how divine light is concealed to allow for finite existence. Though this idea transcends human comprehension, it reveals a deeper truth: the world is not self-sustaining but is continually brought into being by God’s infinite presence, hidden in plain sight.
God's knowledge is not just about knowing creation—it is the very source of creation's existence.
The world appears self-sustaining, but in truth, it is continuously vitalized by God’s infinite presence, hidden through divine contraction.
The metaphor of a magic trick helps us understand how we perceive only the surface of reality while missing the unseen forces behind it.
God is the knower, the known, and the knowledge—three aspects unified in one reality, unlike human cognition.
The term 'sovev kol almin' (encompassing all worlds) reflects God’s infinite knowledge that surrounds finite creation without being contained by it.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
Introduction to the Episode and the Tanya Study
Sarit Switzer introduces the podcast, its mission to make Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi's Tanya accessible, and sets the stage for today's lesson on divine knowledge and creation.
The Magic Trick Metaphor: Seeing the Illusion, Not the Mechanism
“Just like when we see the magician performing an act on stage, all we see is the object disappearing, reappearing, whatever it is. But we don't see the sleight of hand that's happening behind the scenes, even though that sleight of hand is all the magician's doing.”
God’s Knowledge vs. Human Thought: The Reality of Creation
“When we go back to this example of the magician, so just like when we see the magician performing an act on stage, all we see is the object disappearing, reappearing, whatever it is. But we don't see the sleight of hand that's happening behind the scenes, even though that sleight of hands is all the magician's doing.”
The Infinite and the Finite: Divine Encompassment and Tzimtzum
“The reason why we call this light the light that encompasses all the world, the light of sovev kol almin, like that's the aspect of God that we're talking about here is because God's knowledge truly is infinite and it has no limits and it has no bounds.”
“God is the knowledge, the knower and the known. He's all three of these things.”
“When we go back to this example of the magician, so just like when we see the magician performing an act on stage, all we see is the object disappearing, reappearing, whatever it is. But we don't see the sleight of hand that's happening behind the scenes, even though that sleight of hands is all the magician's doing.”
“Just like when we see the magician performing an act on stage, all we see is the object disappearing, reappearing, whatever it is. But we don't see the sleight of hand that's happening behind the scenes, even though that sleight of hands is all the magician's doing.”
Host
Sarit Switzer
person
The Tanya
book
Rambam
person
Uri Geller
person
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi
person
It Is Taught
media
Randy
person
An Honest Liar
media
Ramak
person
Shoshana
person
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