Musar for Berakhot 113:28

The third stage, that when the hole is big enough to allow a small root to grow through it, signifies that we are now dealing with the עפר, earth, part of man, which causes all materialism, and grossness. Nonetheless, even עפר contains elements of spirituality, in fact it is its very root and essence. It is this essence which harbors the potential of growth something rooted in earth but ascending heavenwards. The same applies to the raw material man is made of. Man's growth potential is rooted in his raw material, עפר, and that is why it is described as "a small root." This raw material contains a "small" root, i.e. the soul, which is the root that, though physically small and invisible, has the value of a great root. When the sages of the Talmud call the disputations of Abbaye and Rava as "minor," they do so when comparing them to matters involving מעשה מרכבה, the carriers of G–d's entourage. Abbaye and Rava concern themselves with the practical observance of the laws of the Torah, i.e. something essentially physical, whereas the מעשה מרכבה is something essentially spiritual. Both matters, in fact, are very great indeed. Our Rabbis already debated at great length, whether תלמוד i.e. study or מעשה, practical performance, is of greater importance (Kidushin 40). The Zohar in Parshat Tetzaveh describes Exodus 27,20: "Pure olive oil beaten to produce the eternal light," as referring to Torah study, since Torah provides spiritual illumination. The olive is the size mentioned by Ravah in his fourth example above of an earthen vessel that needs to be rehabilitated from impurity. Olive oil dispenses physical light, whereas Torah study dispenses spiritual light. It is in the nature of Torah study to crush man's physical strength, and he is left as crushed as the olive when pressed to produce its oil. Finally, Rava's fifth example, a hole the size of pomegrantes. This is a veiled reference to the actual מעשים, performance of Torah commandments in practice. Israelites are described as "full of מצות, just like the pomegrantes" (Berachot 57a). So here we have a hint of the spiritual implications of the הלכה concerning the ritual purification of an earthen vessel which has become impure. This corresponds to the five levels of spirituality man could possess, namely, in descending order נפש, רוח, נשמה, חיה, יחידה. Our Rabbis have this in mind when they mention that the soul is similar to G–d in five respects (Berachot 10a).

We can find a very interesting allusion to this principle in Deut. 4,6: כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני העמים אשר ישמעון את כל החוקים האלה ואמרו רק עם חכם ונבון הגוי הגדול הזה, "For that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing of all these laws will say: 'Surely that great nation is a wise and discerning people.'" We have a principle that the words אך and רק are invariably used when the Torah wants to exclude something from consideration which was previously assumed to fall under a general category. We therefore have to try and understand what precisely the word רק in this verse is to exclude. Our sages commented on the word רק in this verse and others that even the least learned of the Jewish people are far superior to the Gentiles because they have the Torah and the wisdom contained in it. Our sages describe this graphically when they say "even the 'empty' ones (least observant) amongst you are as full of commandments as a pomegranate is full of pips" (Berachot 57a). So it will be in the future after all of Israel will be rehabilitated, a future described as a result of the rehabilitation of Cain. This will be in the nature of a חק, i.e. the kind of legislation which appears contrary to all logical considerations. Only G–d Himself knows the logic of the emergence of light from darkness just as only He understands the logic of the purity that emerges from the ashes of the red heifer while all those handling these ashes become impure by contact with it. In a similar way the same Cain who is known to us as the prototype of sin and impurity will eventually be the source of purification from sin and rehabilitation. The word חק may also be read as an acronym of the first letters in the words חוה קין, alluding to Eve who had said that she acquired Cain with G–d, as we mentioned earlier.

When the author of this prayer speaks about the נבונים, this is a reference to the matriarchs; a mother is compared to someone with בינה. We are told in Berachot 57a that if someone dreams that he has slept with his mother he may look forward to insights and understanding. Our Kabbalists refer to בינה, insight, as אימא עילאה, "Mother Superior."