Tefila and Tefillin: Shadows of the Eternal

This work is an expression of what seems to me:

I learned from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg n’y that any phenomenon in the world can be traced back to Yiddeshkeit

I watched a video by Carl Sagan about Flatland and the Fourth dimension:

 

[A huge thank you to Daniel Kholdarov for referring the video and to Rabbi Weinberg shlit’a who helped me with the source of the video]

In this video, Carl Sagan explains how:

1. A 3-Dimensional object can be made by two interconnected 2-Dimensional objects
2. A 4-Dimensional object can be made by two interconnected 3-Dimensional objects.
3. A 3-Dimensional Object can be projected as a shadow into the Second Dimension
4. A 4-Dimensional object can be projected as a shadow into the Third Dimension

While Carl Sagan is describing physical dimensions, it connects me to a concept in Torah and Avodat Hashem, namely the sefirot, tefilla, and tefillin.

When I look at the sefirot and the way they are arranged according to the Arizal, I notice an image that, at first seems like a 2-Dimensional drawing, but is likely a 4-Dimensional figure that is being translated into the second and third dimensions:

This first image is the sefirot as they are commonly understood according to the Arizal, a seemingly flat, 2-Dimensional figure. 

I will now trace a few lines to help visualize the 2-Dimensional objects that are stacked atop each other:

I will now interconnect the three 2-Dimensional figures and you will notice two, 3-Dimensional figures:

Now you can see the two three-dimensional figures stacked on top of each other. Just like we started with two-dimensional shapes and created three-dimensional shapes by connecting them, we can in theory connect three-dimensional shapes to form a four dimensional shape (refer back to the four concepts summarized from the YouTube video).

Therefore, this fourth dimension extends itself down into malchut:

My understanding is that malchut represents a shadow projection in olam hazeh (this world) of dimensions beyond. 

I see this idea in my avodah in two main ways. First, through tefillin. The two tefillin, one worn on the arm and the other on the head, remind me of two stacked cubes. In this way, tefillin serve as a tool for connecting to Hashem, especially when I kiss both tefillin during kadesh li and shema.

The second way is through tefilah (prayer). The Tikkunei Zohar teaches that the sefira Malchut is the “mouth, the oral Torah.” I also learned from Rabbi Simcha Weinberg n’y that the phrase “ufiy yagid tehilatecha” (“and my lips will declare Your praise”) connects to gid, the thread used to bind tefillin. This suggests that both tefillin and tefilah enable us to “bind” or “tie” the spiritual realms to our world, specifically through action (like Halacha—the oral Torah) and speech.