Torah Way to Enlightenment - 009 Thoughts of Yechidah

1. The “Yechidah” Is Conceptually Different Than All Other Parts of the Soul

We have so far merited, with Hashem’s help, to learn about the Chayah dimension of our soul. Now we will proceed to the next step: the Yechidah.

We will only explain it in brief terms, due to the complex nature of this matter. If Hashem merits us, we will hopefully devote an entire sefer that explains the Yechidah.^[1]

The Yechidah point in our soul is a whole different kind of viewpoint in our soul than any of the other four viewpoints of the soul. Although each of the five points of the soul are all different from each other, it can still be said of them that they all fall under one category.

To illustrate, in the animal world, you have many different animals, but there are still families and groupings of animals [i.e. the cat family, which includes cats, tigers, lions, jaguars, leopards, cheetahs, etc.]. So too, it can be said of the first four dimensions of the soul that they are all under one “family”. The Yechidah of the soul is in a ‘family’ of its own, in contrast to the other four dimensions of the soul. Although the Yechidah is deeply connected with the other four layers of the soul, it is still a class of its own entirely.

The Yechidah, which is the deep point of the soul, sees a different view on the same reality we look at.

To illustrate what we are describing, the Neshamah is described as being partially in man and partially in Heaven. The part of the Neshamah which resides in man lives together with the physical body, and the part of the Neshamah that resides in Heaven lives totally in the spiritual dimension. It’s the same Neshamah, of course, but there are two viewpoints within it that are seeing two totally different dimensions. The part of the Neshamah which is in man can relate to physicality, whereas the part of the Neshamah that resides in Heaven sees only a spiritual viewpoint.

The other four dimensions of our soul see reality in a certain way that is limited. But our Yechidah views the same reality with a much higher perception than the lower four dimensions of the soul.

To give a parable that describes the Yechidah, the Sages say that “the difference between Gan Eden (Paradise) and Gehinnom (Hell) is the size of a hairsbreadth”. This doesn’t mean simply that there’s a small space that To illustrate this on a more practical level, we can take a person and stick him in the beis midrash with a Gemara, and it feels like Gehinnom to him. Another person will feel like it is Gan Eden; he has merited to taste the enjoyment of learning Torah, so to him, learning Gemara in Gan Eden is endless bliss. The opposite experience is felt by one who never tasted enjoyment in his learning; to him, that very same beis midrash is Gehinnom to him.

All five dimensions of the soul exist on the same plane, but each of them sees a different view. The lower four dimensions of the soul all have the same kind of vision, but the Yechidah has a whole different level of vision. All five views, however, are looking at the same exact reality.

We will clarify here that the Yechidah is not found in a different place than the other points of the soul. They are all found in the same place. The understanding is not that the Nefesh is in Eretz Yisrael, the Ruach is in Europe, and that the Neshamah is in America. They are all existing in the same place. It is just that each of the dimensions in the soul sees reality from a different viewpoint.

2. The Yechidah Sees The “Light of the Infinite” In Each Thing

The Yechidah can see the ohr EinSof (light of the Infinite) in each thing, as opposed to our normal perception of the soul, which only sees the limits of something. The other four dimensions of the soul generally see a limit of something; each of them sees a limited view, as we explained earlier. But the Yechidah sees how the light of the Infinite is cloaked in something.

Right now we are not discussing how a person connects himself to the Infinite. This will be at the second stage of hisbodedus, which we will later explain when we get there, with the help of Hashem. At this point, we are only discussing it in terms of discovering and recognizing it. It is essentially to recognize the spark of G-d that is in each and every one of us. This is the meaning of recognizing the Yechidah.

The Yechidah in you can recognize the light of the Infinite that is found within you. In other words: there is a spark of G-d found within you. When you think of this in terms of how it sustains you, that is not the Yechidah; it is the Chayah. But when you grasp this in terms of seeing the endless light of Hashem, that is the Yechidah’s view. In deeper words: the Yechidah sees how the Infinite manifests in all limited things.

So the other four parts of the soul see limited kinds of vision, while the Yechidah sees the unlimited. The Yechidah sees an all-inclusive kind of view.

Of the future it is said, “Hashem will be One, and His name will be One”.^[2] The fact that His Name will be one is essentially the view from our Yechidah - it is one, therefore it sees oneness.

To illustrate, the concepts of hatred and disparity only exist in our limited views, whereas hatred and disparity have no place in the viewpoint of the Yechidah. Our limited kinds of perception see deficiencies. The Yechidah does not see deficiencies. Our limited perceptions see movement, while our Yechidah does not relate to movement. Our willpower is limited, while our Yechidah is an unchanging will.

We can give tens of examples of the concept, but the point is the same: the other four points of our soul all see limited views, while our Yechidah does not see a limited view.

We have only scratched the surface here. This cannot be fully understood unless we go more into detail, but here is not the place to do that. It really requires a whole sefer to explain it.

3. Reaching The “Yechidah”, Stage One: Nullifying The Will

Whenever we work with our soul in any avodah, there are always two stages – “remove yourself from evil”, and “do good.” First there is a stage in which we must negate something, and then we move on to acquiring a level. In order to reach the Yechidah as well, we also must go through this two-step process; first we must negate something that is evil, and after that we can proceed to acquire the matter.

The first stage in reaching the Yechidah, in which we must remove something from us that is evil, is also the matter of “hishtavus”, “equilibrium”, a quality which the sefer Chovos HaLevovos describes as “the purpose of all avodah”. The concept of hishtavus is a secret. The question of all questions is if a person merits in his avodah to reach hishtavus. It draws the line between the sphere of the limited with the realm of the endless. In the limited realm, there are ‘divisions’, thus there are many ‘differences’ within this world. But in the realm of the unlimited – the ohr EinSof – all is one, so there are no divisions there.

Hishtavus means to equate things together, to unify. The more we see two things as differentiated, the further it is from hishtavus. The more we see how two points can unite and be brought to harmony, the more we unify them. This is the concept of hishtavus.

Through hishtavus, we can attain the “remove yourself from evil” part of the avodah in reaching the Yechidah. However, we are not trying to simply negate something for the sake of negating it. We will be negating something so that we can achieve a unity through it. We are referring to the concept of bittul haratzon – to “nullify the will”. When one learns how to nullify his ratzon\will, he is negating his will, and for a greater purpose: so that he can achieve unity in his very will, in contrast to having many other desires. The way we work on this is by learning how to detach from a desire towards something.

It is our ratzon (will) which is responsible for all the ‘divisions’ we are always making. When we have many desires, this creates disparity in the soul. Ratzon is also called “Keser” (lit. “Crown”); to be more specific, ratzon is the outer layer of “Keser”. After “Keser”, the ratzon extends to the realm of thought, and then to the emotions. Thus, in order for us to erase the notion of disparity and divisions in our soil, we need to erase the root of it, which is our ratzon.

To understand this, think about the following. A person wants to reach the light of the EinSof. However, he wouldn’t have to desire it, if it’s already revealed in his soul. If so, why does a person desire the light of EinSof? It must be that he wants something. If he would not want anything, that means he already has the EinSof revealed in him, so he wouldn’t want anything else. A person does not have a desire for something he already possesses; he doesn’t have to want it, because it’s already a part of his existence.

In order to reach the Yechidah, there must be mesirus nefesh, a giving up of the will. The term nefesh (soul) is often identified with the term ratzon (will), being that the will is how we experience ourselves. The concept of mesirus nefesh is really about mesirus haratzon, to give up your will. This is because when you give up what you want, it feels like you are giving up yourself, for something greater. However, there are levels of giving up the will – a partial level, in which we give up certain desires, and the more complete level, which is when we give up the will entirely.

For example, if a person has a desire for a certain food and he restrains himself from eating it, he has given up his will, but it is only partial, because he still has a will. There is a higher level: giving up the will entirely. The truth is that nobody can reach this level perfectly, but any person on his own level can reach it to a certain degree.

So the first stage in reaching the Yechidah is to nullify the will. It should begin with giving up the desires for things that are forbidden, and then one should then work to give up even permissible desires as well; as we know, the holiness of a Jew is reached when he does not indulge in even permissible desires^[3], because even permissible desires taint the soul. After that, there is a higher stage, in which one should nullify even holy desires. On that level, one reaches the secret of hishtavus.

In our current state, we are not able to totally nullify our desires – not even desires for the forbidden, and surely not with holy desires. We cannot nullify our desire for forbidden things because we live after the sin of Adam, in which the evil effects of the Serpent are still upon our soul, preventing us from totally nullifying our desires for evil. The Sages state that there were four tzaddikim who never sinned, and the only reason why they died was due to the effect of the Serpent.^[4] This implies that all of us are affected by the Serpent after the sin. So we are not able to disconnect completely from evil desires, and we surely cannot disconnect completely from permitted desires.

As for holy desires, it would be detrimental if we would disconnect from them, because we need holy desires in order to survive spiritually. If one would give up his holy desires, he will not want to keep the mitzvos (chas v’shalom). Since we live in a world in which there is evil, which can only be rectified when we do mitzvos in it, it would be forbidden for us to completely nullify our holy desires.

(However, there is still a concept of nullifying holy desires which we can do, as in the following scenario: If one wanted to a mitzvah and then something happened that was not his fault which prevented him from doing the mitzvah, he must accept this as a decree of Heaven and not be upset. In this way, he ‘nullifies’ even a holy desire.)

In summary, the first level is that we need to get used to nullifying our desires, at least on a partial level, by refraining from forbidden acts, as well as from indulgence in permissible desires; and sometimes, even from holy desires, as we have explained above. This is the first stage in reaching the Yechidah: nullifying the desires.

4. Working Our Way Through The Soul - Upwards and Downwards

There are two approaches in how we work with our soul: either to work our way upwards (beginning from the lowest point) or to work our way downwards (beginning from the highest point).

When we use the first approach, working upwards, we begin with Nefesh, then Ruach, then Neshamah, then Chayah and then Yechidah.

If we use the opposite approach, we start by nullifying our desires, which causes the Yechidah in our soul to shine with each time we do this. Through nullifying a desire, we are in touch with hishtavus¸ and this activates the light of our Yechidah. From there, we can continue with Chayah, then Neshamah, then Ruach, ending up at Nefesh – as a continuous process.

In this sefer, we are using the first approach, working our way upwards. However, the other approach is valid as well. We will explain why each of them is valid.

The approach of this sefer, which involves working our way upwards, is based on the concept of the “ladder of growth” listed by the Sage Rabbi Pinchos Ben Yair, which starts from zehirus (watchfulness), zerizus (zeal), nekiyus (cleanliness), etc.^[5] The other approach, working downwards, is reflected in the story of Rabbi Eliezer Ben Dordaya, who cried so much until he gave up his soul^[6], reaching the pinnacle of spirituality in just one moment. He nullified his desires – he reached his Yechidah.

Nullifying the desires must be worked upon only slowly and progressively. With each desire that a person lets go of, he reveals more and more hishtavus. This slowly but surely begins to reveal the light of the EinSof, for the light of the EinSof is contained in hishtavus; that is how the Yechidah in the soul is revealed.

This is the general description of the first stage in reaching the Yechidah. The details of this are many, for there are countless desires that each person has, which have many branching desires within them as well.

[The Yechidah Is Not The Ratzon]

The following point must be made clear.

There were many who believed that the Yechidah of the soul is the ratzon (will). As a result, they thought that the complete bond with Hashem is reached only through accessing their power of ratzon. After all, Chazal state, “It is our will to do Your will”, which implies that one must transform his ratzon into the ratzon of Hashem.

However, what those people did not realize was that this perspective is only valid from the viewpoint of this current 6,000 year era, which is a limited realm. The point of ratzon is the deepest point within this limited realm - but not in the realm of the unlimited. A hint to this is that the word ratzon is from the words ratz (run) and tzar (narrow), implying that the will narrows a person’s perception. The Yechidah is the point above ratzon. On a deeper note, the ratzon is what prevents the Yechidah – if one cannot go beyond his ratzon, he is unable to reveal the Yechidah.^[7]

5. Reaching The Yechidah, Stage Two: Reaching Oneness

Until now we explained the first part of reaching the Yechidah, which was “remove yourself from evil” (negate your desires). Now we will explain the second part, which is to “do good.”

As we explained earlier, the difference between the Yechidah and the other layers of the soul is that the Yechidah sees oneness, whereas the rest of the soul sees divisions. So in order to reach the perspective of the Yechidah, we need to reveal an all-inclusive kind of view (“koach hakolel”).

There are levels within “koach hakolel”. The Chayah in the soul also contains “koach hakolel”, but it is not as inclusive when we compare it with the view of the Yechidah. The Chayah surrounds the Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshamah, so it can be present in all of them. However, it can only surround one soul layer at a time. If the Chayah is surrounding the Nefesh, for example, it cannot simultaneously surround the Ruach. This is explained in the writings of the Arizal. While the Chayah is more inclusive than the lower soul layers, it is not as inclusive as the Yechidah.

Thus, there are levels in inclusiveness – a partial level, and a complete level. To illustrate the concept, there are positive commandments and negative commandments. These are the rules of the Torah, and they include many details. That is one kind of inclusiveness. But there is something higher that includes all of the mitzvos within it: the EinSof (Infinite) of Hashem. The EinSof of Hashem includes everything. Not only does it include all the details; it is much more inclusive than that. It is the all-inclusiveness itself.

When we say the word ‘everything’, what does that mean? Does ‘everything’ mean all the details, or does it mean even more than that? It means more than having all the details; it means that there is everything. If ‘everything’ is everything because it includes all details, this is a partial level of inclusiveness, because it is ‘everything’ with regards to details. That is the ‘everything’ which the Chayah is capable of. But if ‘everything’ is ‘everything’ because it is seen as ‘everything’, then it is a much broader kind of inclusiveness. It is ‘everything’ itself. That is the ‘everything’ contained in the Yechidah.

Thus, when we explain here that the Yechidah in the soul includes all the details, this is addressing a partial level of the Yechidah, not the complete level. To say that the Yechidah includes all ‘details’ is a definition of Yechidah when compared to the Chayah, but it is not describing the actual view of the Yechidah.

The Chayah level of the soul is called chochmah (wisdom), and the source of chochmah is in “ayin” (nothingness), as it is said in the verse, “Wisdom, from where is it found?”, and ayin is identified as Yechidah. But “ayin” is only a definition of Yechidah from the viewpoint of the Chayah, meaning, when compared to the view of the Chayah. So ayin is not describing the total level of the Yechidah. The Yechidah itself is not defined by how it relates to the Chayah. The Yechidah is just the Yechidah itself. The Yechidah, itself, is not defined as something that includes all ‘details’.

This is an additional error that people made about the Yechidah, relating to the Yechidah as being the root of all details, when this is not the defining aspect of the Yechidah. The Yechidah is the Yechidah, itself, and there is an external resulting aspect from it, which is that it can be clothed in all details and illuminate them. The Chayah level of the soul is indeed nourished from that external result of the Yechidah. But the Yechidah, itself, is an all-encompassing reality besides for its inclusiveness of details. It is everything, in and of itself [and this is a fact regardless of how it relates to the details included in it].

Now let us explain how this applies to us on a personal level. If we want to reveal the Yechidah in relation to details, we will not be touching upon the Yechidah. We would only be ascending towards it. But if we want to touch upon the revelation of the Yechidah, as it is, we need to reach a perspective that is “everything”.

How do reach such a perspective? “Everything” does not have to mean “everything” with regards to including all the details. Rather, it is has more intrinsic meaning.

We will explain this more. The following is an example of “everything” with regards to including all details.

The Sages said that “Chavakuk came and established them all on one – “The righteous person shall live by his faith.”^[8] The “one” thing which Chavakuk establishes our entire task is on is in the category of the Yechidah. What is that one thing? “The righteous person shall live by his faith” – the fact that a person can look at everything in terms of emunah, the fact that Hashem oversees everything. This is the Yechidah, but here it is clothed in the lower level. The Yechidah is being manifest here is an instructor to teach us that all details are run by the Creator.

However, this is not yet the higher perspective called “everything.” It is rather a perspective in which all-inclusiveness is being shined within details; it is a way to get to the inner point, but it is not yet the actual inner point. The Yechidah itself, as it is, its inner point, is not defined as emunah, which is about how all details are run by the Creator.

Here is another example. The Yechidah can be defined as “emunah” in relation to the fact that the Jewish people are called “one nation in the earth”, but this is not the general, collective level of Yechidah. It is rather a Yechidah on a more relational level, in the sense that all of the Jewish people are one.

Basically, the rule is that the Yechidah is not defined as something that expresses any combination of details or as being a root of details. It is rather an expression of oneness itself. When we grasp what oneness is, in and of itself, that is the view of the Yechidah.

Understandably, there are levels within the Yechidah. The highest level of Yechidah is the general Yechidah, which is the ohr EinSof, the Infinite Light, which is all-inclusive. The lower level of Yechidah is the individual, private level of Yechidah [in oneself].

Here is another example. When we think of Kohanim, we will think of all Kohanim as being one group of Jews that are known as Kohanim. This is a degree of the view of the Yechidah, for it is a view of “oneness” with regards to how we view Kohanim. If we expand the view further, all of the Jewish people are one, for it is written, “One nation in the earth.” This is a more inclusive view of Yechidah, for it is including the entire Jewish people. If we expand this view even further, there is a way to view the entire Creation with this oneness, and in such a view, the Yechidah is even more inclusive.

Thus, the view of Yechidah is not defined as the combination of all details. It is rather to view all separate parts as being one unit. Again, we will repeat that the Yechidah’s view does not see separate parts as unified. That would be the view of the Chayah, which is a view that unifies together details.

The Yechidah’s view of oneness is like the original oneness between husband and wife, before the sin, of “And they shall become one flesh.”^[9] In Adam’s original state, he was not two separate parts that became one. Rather, man and woman were originally one. When a man and woman marry, the deeper perspective on this is not that they are two parts coming together (that would be the view of the Chayah) – rather, it is like the view of the Yechidah, in which they are both one unit.

It is the same with everything else we view. Whenever we look at different details, if we view them all as one, this is the root of the Yechidah’s view.

So, to reveal the Yechidah, one needs to learn how to see a unified perspective on things. The basic concept of it is to get used to seeing two separate parts as really being one, as opposed to merely seeing how two different parts are meant to become unified.

We already gave one example of this above, regarding marriage, in which the perspective should be “And they shall become one flesh” – that the husband and wife are one unit, not two separate parts coming together. One can extend this view to include all of the Jewish people, by viewing them all as one, and one can take it even further and view all of Creation as being one.

To see all of Creation as one is like what is written in the verse, “And it will be that Hashem will be King over all the earth, and on that day it will be that Hashem is One and His Name is One.” The words “Hashem is One” refers to achdus peshutah – the undivided unification of everything – and the words “His Name is One” refers to all of the creations,  who were created entirely from the Names of Hashem. The words “His Name is One” are telling us that all of the creations are really one unit. When we have this view, we are revealing the view of the Yechidah.

In deeper words that make this concept clearer, a person must try as much as he can to see each thing in Creation on two levels: as a part that is separate from other parts in creation, and as something that needs to become unified with the greater whole of Creation, and, finally, as something that is part of the oneness of the entire Creation. First, one needs to see it as separate (nifrad), then he must connect it (me’uchad), and then he must see it as having always been one with the rest of creation (echad). One should keep viewing the same thing with these three different perspectives.

However, there are some things in which it is forbidden to see them as being unified with the rest of Creation, and the same is true vice versa – there are things in which it is forbidden to see them as disparate parts. For example, when we shake the Four Species on Succos, we may not individuate them. If one takes any of the four species without the other three, he does not fulfill the mitzvah. The mitzvah is to take all the four species together in one bundle. This is a mitzvah in which we are required to see all the parts as unified, where we may not individuate any of the parts.

We also find instances in which it is forbidden to connect together two different parts. An example of this is forbidden relationships, such as the Torah’s prohibition of marrying relatives. When it comes to these relationships, the avodah of a person is to recognize the individuation of parts. But in areas where it is not forbidden to so, there is a deep avodah of our soul to acquire a perspective of oneness towards Creation.

In the reality of our world we live in [when it comes to areas of keeping halachah], there are times where we need to adapt the “separated” mode, in which we recognize the individuation of the parts of Creation, and there are times in which we need to unify together details. But the deepest perspective, echad, where everything is seen as one, is not a perspective which we can practically live with and act upon. In other words, the perspective of echad\oneness cannot be applied to any of the mitzvos and halachos which we keep in our times.

The reason for this is clear and simple. The perspective of echad is the light of the future, but currently we are in exile. In the current state, where we are obligated in mitzvos, we do the mitzvos either in “separated” mode or in “unified” mode, but we cannot do the mitzvos with the perspective of echad\oneness, for echad is a light of the future, whereas the mitzvos are currently wrapped in a different “garment” that is not of the light of the future.

Thus, if we want to define how a person reveals the Yechidah level of the soul, it is by acquiring a perspective of oneness, to view everything in Creation as being all one unit. As we explained, this means that we should first get used to seeing each thing in front of us with three different perspectives: to see it as individuated (nifrad), then to see it as a part that is unified with all other parts in Creation (me’uchad), and then we can try to see it part of the oneness of Creation (echad).

The following example can help us relate more tangibly to the concept, so that we may be able to better implement this idea into our life. A person is blessed with a wife and children, Baruch Hashem. He has three children. He do we view this? If we go with the lower perspective, in which we see individuated parts, we see a father, mother, and three children. According to this perspective, which sees the individual parts, how many souls are present here? Five. If we take the higher view, in which we unify together details, we will view the husband and wife as one, for they are two parts that have merged into one, so we will see four souls in front of us (the husband\wife, and the three children).

If we take the highest view, which is oneness, we will see the entirely family as one, for since they are all related to each other, they are really five souls bound together through oneness, and therefore, they are really five souls that are one. Within this higher view as well, we can take the oneness even further, for we can see all of the souls of the children as being included in their father’s soul, so altogether, there is one soul in front of us!

The idea behind this is to take anything we can see and uncover three different perspectives towards it: to see the reality of separate parts, to see the reality in which there is a unification of parts, and to see the reality in which there is oneness. Through getting used to this perspective, the soul slowly receives the ability to view things in terms of oneness, which is the very revelation of the Yechidah level of the soul.

In deep terms, the entire secret of hisbodedus is this secret of oneness (echad). The very idea of hisbodedus implies that you should isolate yourself from everything and reveal the oneness that is in you. So the secret of hisbodedus is the secret of oneness. However, in the very beginning stages of hisbodedus, which is the external level of hisbodedus, you need to separate from everyone and everything around you, and in that elementary level, you are only “alone” in the sense of being separated from all others (nifrad). But this is all a tool that is meant to be used to reveal the more inner perspective within you, which is called “echad” – oneness.

6. Revealing “Echad” - Oneness

In the beginning of this sefer we explained that there are three stages of hisbodedus [Jewish meditation], also called hisbonenus (reflection): finding one’s self, finding one’s bond with the Creator, and finding the Creator. These are all parts to hisbodedus. In deeper words: they are all stages that are needed for one to find the state of echad, “oneness”.

The preliminary stage of finding “echad” is when one is alone with himself, for the sake of simply discovering himself. After that, the avodah is for one to be in a state where he is “echad” (one) with the Creator, which is also a way of feeling oneness. Finally, there is an avodah for one to feel “echad” on its most absolute level, which is when one just finds the Creator alone [with no sense of self].

These three stages, however, are all ways to find one’s Yechidah, which is called “echad” (the state of “oneness”). They are all essentially three stages of how to get to “echad”.

On the simpler level of hisbodedus, a person finds the state of “echad” by reflecting on how all of Creation is one unit. This is the first stage, in which one finds “himself” as being part of the collective whole. It is still the external layer of “echad” and not yet the inner stage. However, although it is external, it is still necessary, because it is the tool one needs in order to bring himself into the absolute stage of “echad”.

There is also a danger contained here in this stage. When one is alone in a forest or in any secluded place that is away from people, he will come to feel only himself alone, and then he might become too focused on his ego. Now that he is away from people, he will only feel himself as existing - which is the ego.

There are indeed many people who have become total egoists because of practicing hisbodedus! Such a person has one hour of the day to think only about himself, so he uses that time to become solely immersed in his own existence. This is disgracing the level of the Yechidah, for the person is taking the most Heavenly light possible, which is “echad”, and using itto become immersed solely in himself.

The person will become immersed in himself: “What happened to me today? What do I need to do? How can I daven for what I need…?” We have a word for this, and it is called: self-absorption! (Of course, in order to for a person to avoid feeling totally egoistical about himself, he might throw in a tefillah for Klal Yisrael at the end of the hisbodedus, this way he feels like he has done his obligation towards the greater whole of Klal Yisrael. But the fact of the matter is that he’s still wrapped up in himself most of the time.)

A person must learn how to leave his own private existence, secluding himself from others in order to find the state of “echad” (oneness) in order to reveal how “Hashem’s Name is one” – that all creations are really one unit. This is the true, inner kind of hisbodedus.

Thus, grasping reality through the Yechidah is for one to reveal the state of the true “alone”, of “echad”, oneness. The external part to being alone, physical seclusion, is just a means to get to the greater end, which is for a person to reach his own state of “echad”, oneness. From there, a person can go further, and realize that all of Creation is really “echad”.

May Hashem give all of us the ability to reveal the inner point within us, and to connect it to the Creator – and to discover the reality of His Endlessness, completely.