The sages are called "the eyes of the congregation." They are visionaries, they are guides, and they open our eyes to see truth.
In the World of Creation, the realm of pure intellect, the sages are visionaries. They gaze into the future and convey to us, almost like prophets, what's in store for us – for the people as a whole and for each one of us – dependent upon whether or not we better our ways.
In the World of Creation, we, relative to the sages, are in the dark. We have to rely upon their judgment and follow their instructions, using our free choice whether or not to believe in the power of their eyesight and heed their words to the fullest. Absolute free choice functions optimally in the dark.
In the World of Formation, the realm of emotion, the sages are our guides. Here they do not guide the blind but rather serve as tour-guides so to speak, taking us through the Pardes, the orchard of paradise, revealing to our eyes the myriad of its delights, each of which is a Divine "form."
Each of our rectified emotions is a reflection of a Divine "form," which begins with a sense of wonder at experiencing the Divine "forms" of paradise.
In the World of Action, this lowest of worlds, the sages open our eyes to see ahead for ourselves and plan the strategies necessary to achieve our goals in life. They teach us to see the truth about ourselves, who we really are, and to see the truth about our surroundings, the people that influence us and the events that befall us.
But here, in the World of Action, it is crucial that we fully identify with the righteous sages of the generation, especially with that sage towards whom we feel the greatest spiritual affinity. He is our eyes and his eyes are our eyes.
2 comments
"Absolute free choice functions optimally in the dark."
I heard the Sages say a candle in a cave during the day time doesn't give as much light as a candle in a cave by night… So darkness is what allows the light to shine,via free choice…once a good choice is made, the darkness is gone for that thing and that obstacle falls away. With powerful free choice the world is redeemed.
……. the child's wonder reflects the presence of discovering G.ds wonders in our world with pure emotions …… to be as a 'visionary'; requests the 'adult' imagination immersed within the wellsprings of Torah truth to go beyond the childs wonder and see all the possible transformations that may be in G.ds infinate world of goodness ……. then to actualize the visions we need to connect with the Nasi, the sage of our generation, our Teacher who demonstrates how to bring our visionary dreams to fruition ……. may each of us be successful in actualizing our Divinely inspired mission, now