ellauri152.html on line 651: How can we control our fiery evil urge and channel it towards serving dog? Through "fighting fire with fire." In other words, through using the positive spiritual energies of harshness, of din, as it states, "Everything that comes into the fire, you shall pass through the fire (in order to purify it)" (Bamidbar 31:23). To harness our most basic urges towards spirituality we must revert to the earliest system of creation: strict justice, severity, din.
ellauri152.html on line 679: Although the answer appears strange, we can understand it in light of what we just learned. Rabbi Akiva was a spiritual giant. He succeeded in serving the dog unassisted, while withstanding incredible afflictions, tests, and obstacles. He was able to break the forces of evil without the dog's assistance. Only through performing the dog's willy, despite his immense suffering, was Rabbi Akiva able to attain such a lofty spiritual level, the level of the dog's "first thought," so to speak, where the world would be conducted through strict justice, din. Rabbi Akiva was able to unify his soul with the dog's first thought. Therefore the dog's retort to Moshe can be understood as: "'Silence' which is the level of thought, for thoughts are silent, Rebbe Akiva reached the lofty spiritual level of the dog's thought."For this came up upon my thought," the first thought that occurred to the dog, to create the world through harshness, so those people who are able to come close to me (the dog) without my assistance and mercy could reach that highest level.
ellauri152.html on line 685: In Rabbeinu Tam's Tefillin, the paragraph "And if you listen ..." (Devarim 11:13:21), which warns of the consequences of violating the dog's willy, din, harsh justice, precede the paragraph of "Hear O Israel ..." (Devarim 6:4-8), which declares our belief in the Almighty. Since this verse applies to even the sinners of Israel, it alludes to the dog's attribute of compassion, cheese. In Rabbeinu Tam's Tefillin, the aspect of harshness, din, precedes that of mercy, cheese, alluding to the dog's original intention to run the world through harshness, din.
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