- Rabbi Akiva and three of his colleagues began a journey to the Mansions of their meditation together. They were heading for PaRDeS - orchard in Hebrew, which became Paradise in English. This place is a different dimension of reality, not accessible by means of sight, touch or hearing. It can be accessed only by use of certain methods, amongst which are those of Kabbalah. Rabbi Akiva warned, “When you enter near the stones of pure marble, do not say ‘water water,’ since it is written, ‘He who speaks falsehood will not be established before My eyes’” (Psalms 101:7).
This is another way of saying only those who are pure of heart, whose intentions are holy, will be able to experience Paradise.
Their experience was so intense that the first, Rabbi Ben Azzai, approached the infinite light and died, for his soul so longed for the source of the light that he instantly shed his physical body and was no more. Regarding this, it is written, ‘Precious in God’s eyes is the death of His saints’ (Psalms 116:15).
Note: Dies. Why leave to return to the mundane existence? Rather just stay there in peace. However, if he had not completed his work here, he should not be leaving.
The second, Rabbi Ben Zoma, glanced at the infinite light of God’s robe and was stricken. He lost his mind, for he could not reconcile ordinary life with his vision. He took on more that he could ‘swallow.’ Thus regarding him it is written, ‘When you have found honey, eat moderately least you bloat yourself and vomit it’ (Proverbs 25:16).
Note: Mad. He also does not want to leave, but realises he has still his life to live, so returns—but does so only partially. Only a part of his soul returns, and the rest remained behind, never fully leaving that realm. These we call insane.
Another explanation is that the experience was so sweet that it “blew his mind” and he spent the rest of his days seeking that same sweetness, only to be doomed to failure. He too was distracted from his true purpose.
The universe cannot repeat a configuration. It cannot return to a previous version of itself—just as you cannot return to a previous version of yourself. That is why time is always moving forward (or stuck in limbo) but never going backwards. This speaks most eloquently of an underlying cohesiveness—a memory, if you will. Some call it the Akashic Record, some the mind of G-d.
The third, Rabbi Ben Abuya, looked at the Divine light and he saw God’s light everywhere. Therefore, he became an apostate. He is referred to as the Other, for upon gazing, “he cut his plantings and was rent asunder from the roots that fed him”, that is, he became an heretic. It is also said that he saw two, where there is only One.
Note: He realized the fullness of G-d and the emptiness of existence. He saw the Wisdom inherent in all paths, and could no longer walk only one—the one he had inherited from his tradition.
Only Rabbi Akiva survived the experience. Rabbi Akiva entered in peace and left in peace, but through no doing of his own. Only through the intervention of the Blessed Holy One was he able to return. Of him it is said that the angels also wished to cast R’ Akiva down but the Blessed Holy One said, “Leave this elder alone, for he is worthy of making use of My glory.” In other words, he needs to return to continue His teaching.
Note: He stuck to the traditions. In essence, he had already negated his ego in his desire to serve G-d. He was already at the zero point.
Personal Note: My problem here is that he does not signify the opposite of Ben Abuya, Acher.
Pardes, composed of the four consonants PRDS, פרדס, is an acronym for the four rules for Biblical exegesis:
- פשׁוט, Peshat = "simple understanding;” the plain, literal meaning of the text in its immediate context, understanding each word in terms of its common usage. According to Shabbat 63a, a verse never loses its simple meaning.
- רמז, Remez" = “hint;” "allusion;” generalising the meaning of a verse, so that it functions metaphorically or allegorically.
- דרשׁ, Drash = “conceptual;” “inference”, a more detailed exposition or interpretation of the peshat or remez (often by juxtaposing different verses to elicit new meanings), often to make a moral point.
- סוד, Sod = “hidden;” “secret;” an esoteric or mystical reading of the text.
Thus, this could be read to mean that these four sages together sought to achieve an absolute, perfect understanding of the Torah in all its complexity, on all its levels. Some kabbalists see these four methods as stages through which a mystic can use Biblical interpretation to fathom the depths of reality until one has a direct encounter with the divine truth.
The four rabbis who entered Pardes were, in fact, trying to rectify the sin of the first man, Adam, a monumental task that, apparently, they were not as capable of doing as they had hoped they would be. They were trying to enter the level of consciousness that Man enjoyed prior to his sin in order to rectify it, because there is a concept that one can only atone for a sin if he can return to the level upon which the sin was committed.
They had mastered Mikreh - the simplest explanation of the entire Torah - and they knew the entire Mishnah on the level of the Talmud. They had mastered Pshat, Remez, and Drash. And, as is evident from the story in the Talmud, they had sufficiently mastered Sod - Kabbalah - to enter Pardes, but not enough to withstand the profound tests of reaching such sublime levels of consciousness: Ben Zoma went insane, Ben Azzai died, and Elisha ben Abuya became a heretic. Even Rebi Akiva needed special Divine protection to withstand the wrath of the angels.
Some would like to learn from this a reason to stay away from Kabbalah. However, the true lesson is that Pardes is attainable, but one must not go beyond the level suitable for him. For, as the Arizal teaches:
“If a person fails to fulfil all the Torah commandments on all three levels of deed, speech, and thought, then he will have to reincarnate until he does. A person must also learn Torah on all four levels or He will have to reincarnate until he does.
Think of Pardes as ladder between the world we live in and G-d Himself. Pshat is the first rung on the ladder, Yetzirah is the second rung, Beriyah is the third, and Atzilut is the fourth. Indeed, says the Midrash, because Jacob didn’t climb the ladder after he was personally invited to by G-d, his descendants had to suffer the four exiles: Babylonian, Median, Greek, and the Roman. To remain on the ground, that is, on the level of Pshat is to remain in the world of physicality, and be vulnerable to the enemies of truth.
And from the Kosher Torah School of R. Ariel Bar Tzadok, we have The Lessons of the Four Who Entered the PaRDeS - The Dangers Inherent Upon the Path of Ascent By Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzadok.