LEARNING ABOUT OHR EIN SOF [#18891]

1) This question only concerns those who have learned sefarim or who have heard shiurim about the concept of the ohr Ein Sof (the infinite Light) of Hashem. Is it appropriate for every person on any level to think a lot of about the concept of the ohr EinSof (the infinite Light of Hashem), concepts of Keser (whether the lower aspect of Keser, which is the Arikh, or the higher aspect of Keser, which is Atik, the Reisha D’lo Isyada, the unknowable beginning)? And what if a person is not “holding” of learning about such things, and he risks the danger of involving himself with too much spiritual light that can damage him since he can’t contain all of the revelations? Certainly a person needs the basic requirements of being careful with halachah, learning Torah, and getting rid of his worst character trait, but it’s almost impossible to find a person who’s perfect at keeping halachah. For example, it’s common for people to skip parts of Pesukei D’Zimrah, or waste time while learning, or get angry at others and talk lashon hora about others, and no one is perfect at keeping all of halachah. So how is anyone eligible to learn about matters of the ohr Ein Sof if almost no one is a proper “container” to hold onto the spiritual revelations of ohr Ein Sof, being that almost no one keeps all of halachah perfectly?
2) Also, what about a person who is totally lax about keeping halachah and he lacks yiras shomayim (fear of G-d), usually because he has a burning yetzer hora and he often sins or doesn’t feel like keeping to every halachah? Can such a person still learn about the ohr Ein Sof and think a lot about it (such as what the Rav discusses in the later volumes of Bilvavi where the Rav talks a lot about the ohr Ein Sof)? Will that be his answer to saving himself from his yetzer hora, and learning about the ohr Ein Sof will cause such a person to have more yiras Shomayim?

Learning about matters of the ohr Ein Sof is a matter that depends on one’s personal shoresh neshamah (soul root). If a person’s soul is meant to learn about these matters, it is appropriate for him to learn about it, because that is part of what he is here on this world for. It also depends on one’s level right now. If one is at the proper level of learning about the ohr Ein Sof, he can think all the time about this concept and fix his mind on it more regularly. But if it’s not his current level right now to involve himself with ohr Ein Sof, it is merely a “surrounding light” for him, which can offer him a burst of inspiration but it is not yet part of him, because it is right now far from his level. Therefore, if a person is not yet on the right level of thinking regularly about matters of the ohr Ein Sof, then he should only learn about ohr Ein Sof in order to inspire himself, but if he attempts to involve his mind in it all day, he is merely imagining his growth and he is not actually getting there. If a person tries to set himself on a level that is above his current level, any growth that he thinks he is acquiring is only being imagined, because it is still outside of him and it cannot yet become part of him, when he isn’t on the level right now to internalize what he’s learning. [If a person is lax in keeping all of halachah and he lacks yiras Shomayim, most are of the view that such a person should not learn at all about these matters [of the ohr Ein Sof, which is the most refined area of the hidden dimension of Torah]. However, the view of Chabad contains teachings that were developed specifically so that any Jew at any level can learn about the most refined secrets of the Torah [and of our relationship with G-d], by learning about the most esoteric matters on an intellectual level, and it is based on the view that Hashem chose to place His dwelling precisely on the lowest realms of existence – meaning that the most delicate concepts of sensing Hashem’s Presence can be studied even by those who aren’t actually on that level.