love
In Two Carts and a Balloon you write that “there are statements, or references (not descriptions), that can refer to a thing in itself, and not to its form. One of the exceptions to this rule is the statement that a certain thing exists” and in a footnote you add that “an interesting exception is love for a certain person. It is difficult to assume that the object of love is the collection of that person’s qualities. It is more likely that one loves the person himself, and not his qualities.” Could the Rabbi explain in more detail what he meant by his words? How does the person in the process of love receive recognition of the thing in itself that he could not receive before, and what kind of recognition is this? And in your opinion, is the same also true of the idea of loving God (as opposed to Maimonides’ words about observing His actions)?
Also in your reference to this point there, you write that “when I was dealing with this distinction years ago, one of my students commented that in her opinion, love for someone also addresses the beloved’s essence and not his attributes. The attributes are the way to meet him, but after that, love addresses the possessor of the attributes and not the attributes, and therefore it may survive even if the attributes change in some way. Perhaps this is what the sages said in Pirkei Avot: “Any love that depends on a thing – nothing nullifies love. And any love that does not depend on a thing – nothing nullifies love.” But I still don’t understand how a Platonic emotion can be directed toward an object to which we have no access (the thing in itself/the material)? And do you really think that a change in attributes shouldn’t affect the degree of our love for the one we are supposed to feel it for?
In short. My argument is that there is an encounter with the thing in itself through its appearances. The man through his characteristics and attributes. Therefore, the connection that is created is created through and through the characteristics (the phenomenon) but after it is created it touches the noumena. Therefore, from now on, the attributes may change and it will not change, or at least not disappear. It is possible that the attributes will affect its nature and in rare cases will also completely disappear.
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