Welcome to Emotional Wellness Daily. We continue talking about the concept of Hitboninut, which we said could be translated as observing or contemplating. Rav Wolbe explains that the word Hitbonen has two roots- Boneh, which means to build, and Binah/to understand.
We have three types of knowledge: Binah, Chochma and Da’at. When you use your Binah, you’re using the observing, focusing and understanding parts of your brain. You build yourself through your thoughts, by constantly looking at, analyzing and wondering about things with curiosity, not just going through life on automatic pilot.
Case in point: I’m an old man already and I never knew, and I don't know how I stumbled on, the meaning of the words zip code.
Why is it called a zip code? If I had to guess, I’d say it’s like zip lining, moving the mail fast, maybe. But I found out recently that ZIP is actually an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan. I never thought about the zip in zip code. But that’s just thinking about a word. Hitboninut means constantly thinking about things, using your senses, as we discussed yesterday, with the leaf, the flower, the fruit.
That the entire Tehilim is built on this. It’s not just David Hamelech describing his wars. He says in chapter 8,
כִּֽי־אֶרְאֶ֣ה שָׁ֭מֶיךָ מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה אֶצְבְּעֹתֶ֑יךָ יָרֵ֥חַ וְ֝כוֹכָבִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר כּוֹנָֽנְתָּה׃
When I look at Your heavens, Your handiwork, the moon and the stars that You set up
מָה־אֱנ֥וֹשׁ כִּֽי־תִזְכְּרֶ֑נּוּ וּבֶן־אָ֝דָ֗ם כִּ֣י תִפְקְדֶֽנּוּ׃
Who is man in this large picture, a human being that You even pay attention to.
And he goes on…
David Hamelech was Mitbonen.
Furthermore, Yeshaya says, in Chapter 40,
שְׂאוּ־מָר֨וֹם עֵינֵיכֶ֤ם וּרְאוּ֙ מִי־בָרָ֣א אֵ֔לֶּה
Lift up your eyes and see who created these?
Our rabbis tell us the the first letter of the words /שְׂאוּ־מָר֨וֹם עֵינֵיכֶ֤ם Lift up your eyes spells שמע,as in Shema Yisrael. Before we say Shema Yisrael we're supposed to look into creation. That's why we talk about the sun every single day.
Rav Wolbe points out an interesting phenomenon: The Gemara in Sanhedrin, 42A says (and we say it every month in Birkat Levana), that whoever makes the monthly blessing on the moon, it's as if he accepts the Shechina. We recently spoke about this in a different class, about Az Yashir. It says HaHodesh Hazeh/This month. Similarly, in Az Yashir we say, Zeh Eli/ This is my God, pointing to God.
So we have a monthly Kabbalat Pene HaShechina/accepting of the Shechina. But where is the accepting of the Shechina when saying a blessing on the moon? Rabbenu Yona, in his commentary on the Rif in Berachot, explains that Hashem is not seen with the human eye. He's seen through His wonders in creation. God is hidden, but we recognize Him through the renewal of the moon.
Some might ask, So why don't we make a beracha on the sun every single day?
And the answer is, because the moon disappears and comes back again. Sometimes it's big and sometimes it's small, and that causes us to arouse our observation. It wakes us up and we're able to recognize God. The Elder of Kelm says, it's not the blessing on the moon that is considered accepting the Shechina, It's the hitboninut, the delving, the observing, the looking at the moon and understanding Who created this and that is accepting the Shechina.
That's our job. The Rambam writes that the way you come to Ahavat Hashem/Love of Hashem is by being mitbonen, by delving and looking into His wondrous creations. Look at the sun at sunrise or sunset. Look at the stars at night, and look with curiosity. Look at it for a while. You'll start noticing things.
We might not be used to this. It might start off feeling dry, but it's something to work at. It's a tremendous tool, it's a tremendous skill and it enriches you as a person. You’ll start feeling like, “Wow! noticed something. I picked up on something, on my own, in creation, about all the wonderful things!”
Or as we said, this can come through smelling things or tasting things. All of these techniques are good for our soul, but they're good for our psyche as well.
Have a wonderful day.