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The 4th blessing assumes the flow of divine energy
into the world described in the 2nd blessing and the descent of the soul into
the body and animating soul detailed in the 3rd blessing. With the system now
fully operational, we begin to describe its capacities. "Baruch
atah…hanotain lasechvi bina lehavchin bain yom uvain lailah.""Blessed
are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe,
who gives the rooster understanding
to distinguish between day and night."the giver - hanotain-...
G-d gives to us freely, out of pure kindness. to the rooster - lasechvi-...
According to rabbinic sources, sechvi also denotes "man" and "heart."
Just as a rooster senses the dawn, so too man possesses an inner sense of "seeing." understanding
- bina... Bina signifies true comprehensive understanding, not merely
superficial cognizance to distinguish - lehavchin... This
is the ability to grasp the quality and essence of a thing, and to see how it
is different from everything else. between day and night - bain yom
uvain lailah... The light of day reveals, the darkness of night conceals.
This contrast extends metaphorically to the ability to discern between good and
evil, and between awareness of the divine vs. non-awareness.
Rabbi
Shaul Leiter is the executive
director of Ascent-of-Safed.
This series is translated and adapted from Meah Shearim
and other sources | 
