In the Book of Creation, Sefer Yetzirah, I have found the discussion on the difference between the material and the spiritual to be a fruitful one.
The?translation by Aryeh Kaplan poses the following question on page 59:?”What is the difference between the material and the spiritual?”
“We speak of the material and the spiritual as two different concepts. We know that the spiritual is not material. But precisely what is the difference? The answer should be obvious. The main difference between the physical and the material involves space. Physical space only exists in the physical world. In the spiritual, there is no space as we know it.
“Although concepts of distance and closeness exist in the spiritual realm, they do not have the same meaning as they do in the physical world. In a spiritual sense, closeness involves resemblance. Two things that resemble each other are said to be spiritually close. Two things that differ, on the other hand, are far apart in a spiritual sense.”?
This discussion, which is much more complex than the above two paragraphs,?ignited an exploration of my perceptions of reality, both physical and spiritual.?In?presenting the material to a study group, it is?helpful to?share the views that we each have about such concepts. It makes you think about the beliefs that you are?holding in your?consciousness and to ask, “what else is there for me to?understand more fully?”
Here is another extract, from page 62, that I also found provokes exploration: “Man can move from level to level, but angels are bound to their particular plane.”?
For another time….
?Melanie