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Q&A: On Opposites

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This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.

On Opposites

Question

I looked a bit at the book “The Dimension of Prophecy and Humanhood” by Rabbi Sh. T. Gefen. He explains there why opposites are a subjective matter and therefore do not exist with regard to the Holy One, blessed be He. For us, all experiences and definitions are relative; that is, I define one thing according to how I experienced another thing. Black is not white, and vice versa. And if we had no senses, then there would be no opposites or contrasts. I hope I understood correctly. (And I assume this is not only Rabbi Sh. T.’s view, but also the intent of the other sages when they discuss the subject of contrasts and opposites…)
But for example, if I drink cyanide it will kill me, and if I eat vegetables it will make me healthy. And that has nothing to do with how I experience the thing. Even if I had no senses at all, this one would kill me and that one would heal me. So doesn’t that mean that there are also objective opposites in reality, which operate in reality regardless of my definitions, and thereby undermine what we were trying to claim?

Answer

I did not understand the claim as to why opposites do not apply to the Holy One, blessed be He. At first glance this seems to me like nonsense. The question of how to define things is a methodological question (how I relate to reality), not a question about reality itself (whether opposites exist).

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