Communication Sciences Department of the Torah Science Foundation

Table of Contents

Two Opposing Forces

The verse in Ecclesiastes states “This in contrast to this God made.” The usual explanation for this is that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the side of holiness and the side of the “shells.” This means that for every positive phenomenon in the world there is a “twin” phenomenon of evil opposing it. This describes the image of twins, as explained elsewhere, an idea embodied by the Twin Towers

“Twins” are two phenomena that resemble one another. They can either be good twins, as personified by Peretz and Zerach, or they can be antithetical to one another. These twins may look like one another, therefore appearing to be close to one another, while in fact, they are the opposites of one another. Jacob and Esau personify “opposing” twins in the Torah.

Thus, regarding the concept of twins, there is a twin pair of twins in the Torah. In one set of twins, both are good, whereas, in the other set of twins, one is good, and one is bad. However, the twins of whom both are good, appeared two generations later, because Peretz and Zerach are the grandchildren of our forefather Jacob. Jacob and Esau represent the primordial concept of twins, of whom one is very good, and the other is very bad. In this case, in order for the good to prevail, for Jacob to prevail, there must be war between them.

Antidote for Terrorism

The antidote, or the antithesis, of terror is the Messiah. This can be illustrated by the fact that the word “terror” in Hebrew, has the same numerical equivalent as “Mashiach NOW!” We have to recognize the fact that, either there will be terror, or there will be “Mashiach NOW!”

One way that the Messiah can come is suddenly, without any warning. However, the cry of “Mashiach NOW!” is like rectifying the covenant, which is beyond one’s capabilities, as the Rebbe Rashab said. One wishes to rectify the defiled covenant, but is unable to do so because there is no rectification, just as there can be no rectification for someone who has committed suicide. The only place from which the rectification may arrive is from the person’s inner-self. The innermost point of his soul is the point from which this will come and from there he will be able to resurrect himself, thus rectifying his defilation.

In a certain way, defilation of the covenant is similar to the primordial sin, the eating of the forbidden fruit, of which it says, “on the day that you partake of it, you will certainly die.” Eating from the forbidden fruit is suicide, like eating poison. This can be compared to taking a pill that you know will kill you. This is the idea that God conveyed: this fruit is drugs, an overdose.

The paradox is that although a person who has defiled the covenant is apparently “dead and buried,” he can resurrect himself through the delights of the Torah.

Tapping Infinite Energy Resources

We will now clarify this point even further. A simpler term for “defilation of the covenant” is, “wasting energy.” This is also the specific connotation of the term, which literally refers to misusing procreative energy.

A person knows more or less how much energy he possesses, and he has to consider how to use this energy to the best advantage and not to waste his energies. However, he does not realize that he has infinite resources of energy of which he is totally unaware. The only way to tap those infinite resources of energy is by entering the naive state of “I will just do it,” without considering whether or not one is rationally capable of succeeding. Once someone begins thinking about what he can or cannot do, he is thinking about his revealed energy resources.

These infinite energies sometimes manifest themselves in times of danger, when a person is prepared to sacrifice his life in order to achieve his goal. The term for this in Hebrew is “mesirut nefesh.” At such times, a person suddenly reveals energies of which he was previously unaware. If he has to run, he can run for miles and for hours, doing something that is totally impossible with the normal physical energies in his body.

Revealing the infinite energies is the concept of “naaseh,” “we will do.” Exclusive use of normative energies, those energies of which I am aware, is “nishma,” “we will listen.” As we stated earlier, both are necessary in order to succeed in the task at hand, however, in order to tap into those infinite resources, we must first totally commit ourselves.

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