For example, only one who has invested himself into the deep study of medicine will have innovative insight into it. This is because he has reached into the depth of the subject, at its very source, from where the drops of insight bubble forth. In contrast, one who has not studied and analyzed medicine deeply will never have a flash of insight into the field of medicine. If he thinks he does, he is merely having delusional imaginations.
Now, the contemplation of Iyun constitutes keeping one’s mind on the concept and greatly analyzing both its external and internal aspects, with the specific intent of arriving at its inner, essential core. In the above mentioned example of observing an object, this would constitute the close scrutiny of the object in a way of thorough examination.
Besides being called Iyun, this kind of contemplation and meditation is also called Hitbonenut. The word Hitbonenut is spelled with two N’s (נ). It would have been no less grammatically correct if it had been spelled with one N (נ). The reason it is spelled with two to signify that one must analyze the known body of knowledge over and over until he knows it thoroughly. It is only through the repeated study and review of the subject, in which every particular is examined, that one will understand it clearly and achieve a true depth and understanding of it.
