Counting the Omer:
Time spent with the Teacher moved more quickly than anyone would have liked. Yet, no matter how little time we had, his words burned into our minds and our souls and remain with us always . We all hear his voice to this day speaking to us from the inner quiet of our being.
He said, "The number 49 is a significant number. There are 49 days between Passover and Shavuot which Jews counts in a commandment known as "Counting the Omer." Know that there were seven days of creation, and therefore this number represents perfection and completion.
If you multiply 7 x 7 we arrive at purification which is expressed in the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot when the Torah was revealed in all its majesty to humanity. Had our people accepted the Torah as it was given to Moses, then Moses would have been the channel by which the "Messiah force" would have changed everything. In a twinkling of the eye, the next universe, the world to come, would have super-imposed over this imperfect world. Temporal time would have turnedinto the eternal time line.
This purifying time was also a representation of the need for us to learn to control the seven basic emotions that make all of us human.
Love (hesed in Hebrew) includes anything that pertains to this powerful emotion. Hesed is the first week, or the first seven days of the 49 days between Passover and the holiday of Shavuot.
The second week in counting the Omer is gevurah, which is the opposite of love--discipline, focus, and channeling.
The third week in counting the Omer is tiferet--the week of harmony and compassion. Though related to the first two weeks, it goes far beyond that. It is the first stage of empathy and compassion, not only for your own people or family, but also for strangers and even those who do not deserve mercy.
Netach is the week of victory, but in order to have victory over self, you need fortitude, ambition, and endurance.
Hod is splendor which causes the emotion of humility--the knowledge of the smallness of self in contrast to the "All". This balances Netzach.
Yesod is the sixth week and it is an emotion that causes bonding which is another step on the road to complete empathy. It is more than experiencing something from the outside, it is the foundation of becoming what you observe by bonding with it.
The final week is called Malchut which is Nobility or Kingship: This is nobility of character, directing one's phsyical nature to become subservient to his or her spiritual nature. In in our own individual way, we can each become so much more by bonding with the Noble Eternal Light . We can bring about the redemption of ourselves as individuals and the universe in which we are all fellow travelers.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
On Rebirth: Israel and the Messiah
Israeli Independence Day came and went reminding me of something very profound that the Teacher told us, although the others and I didn't realize it at the time.
In the daily page of the Talmud, a great deal of time is spent discussing the Cohen (Priest) and defilement from touching a corpse. On one Independence Day the Teacher spoke about this and said:
"The Talmud teaches us that there are three stages of defilement after the body dies. When the body dies the spirit flies free and returns to the Everlasting. But the body goes through three distinct stages of decomposition, each one being less defiling than the last. The first is the flesh. When the flesh passes away, the ligaments remain. When the ligaments pass, only the bones are left."
The Teacher stopped talking for a while and seemed lost in thought, and then he continued, "Consider for a moment the words of the Prophet." And he read to us from Ezekiel 37:1-14:
"The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.
"Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones and say to them, Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "
"So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them."
The Teacher paused a moment and then explained, "Know that this is the rebirth of our people and our nation…first the bones were brought together, and then the tendons, and finally the flesh…but we have no breath in us. We are at the stage of the ultimate defilement…dead flesh with no spirit. Do not be amazed at the flaws and faults of our leadership…the defilement is total, from the head of state, down to the lowliest…because they have no breath of life in them. But this was necessary for the next stage." He took up the book and continued reading:
" Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
"Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "
He smiled and said, "This is the meaning of the age of the Messiah, a time when we will receive the breath of life from the Everlasting, and through this become the fulfillment of the promise of the First Man. The next step in human development which will spread to all the peoples of the world, and then all will expand together with the Universe.
In the daily page of the Talmud, a great deal of time is spent discussing the Cohen (Priest) and defilement from touching a corpse. On one Independence Day the Teacher spoke about this and said:
"The Talmud teaches us that there are three stages of defilement after the body dies. When the body dies the spirit flies free and returns to the Everlasting. But the body goes through three distinct stages of decomposition, each one being less defiling than the last. The first is the flesh. When the flesh passes away, the ligaments remain. When the ligaments pass, only the bones are left."
The Teacher stopped talking for a while and seemed lost in thought, and then he continued, "Consider for a moment the words of the Prophet." And he read to us from Ezekiel 37:1-14:
"The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.
"Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones and say to them, Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "
"So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them."
The Teacher paused a moment and then explained, "Know that this is the rebirth of our people and our nation…first the bones were brought together, and then the tendons, and finally the flesh…but we have no breath in us. We are at the stage of the ultimate defilement…dead flesh with no spirit. Do not be amazed at the flaws and faults of our leadership…the defilement is total, from the head of state, down to the lowliest…because they have no breath of life in them. But this was necessary for the next stage." He took up the book and continued reading:
" Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
"Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "
He smiled and said, "This is the meaning of the age of the Messiah, a time when we will receive the breath of life from the Everlasting, and through this become the fulfillment of the promise of the First Man. The next step in human development which will spread to all the peoples of the world, and then all will expand together with the Universe.
Monday, May 5, 2008
On the Way to the Promised Land
One day the Teacher was explaining the significance of the confrontation between Israel and Amalek, which happened after Passover, when Israel was on their way to the Promised Land.
He then asked , "Why didn't Moses take part in this first battle that G-d commanded Israel to wage against Amalek?"
Knowing that this question was rhetorical, we remained silent and waited until he continued.
"Because Moses knew that the battle was to be fought on two levels, the spiritual level and the physical level. R. Simeon teaches us in the Zohar that Moses didn't participate in this war because it was necessary for him to concentrate on the spiritual level. This war was the most critical battle fought between the forces of light and dark; even more important than the coming battle against Gog and Magog. Not only did Amalek attack Israel on the physical level. Amalek attacked the Holy one, Blessed be he, on the spiritual level."
The Teacher continued. "It is written in the Torah that Moses sat on a stone and Aaron and Hur held up his hands. Aaron represented the attributes of Grace and Hur represented the attribute of Strength, and Moses, between the two, became the living representative of Faith. The Torah further teaches that when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. When he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. Here we are speaking of the right hand which he held above the left representing the spiritual Israel. Remarkably, when Israel ceased praying Moses couldn't keep his hand up at all! This teaches us that even when the priest spreads out his hands at the sacrifice, the physical Israel must co-operate by praying.
"What we can learn from this is clear. Israel must fight the forces of darkness on the physical level but never let that fight distract them from fighting the same forces on the spiritual level. No war can ever succeed by force of arms alone, but only by a balance in which there is perfect coordination between the spiritual and the physical."
He then asked , "Why didn't Moses take part in this first battle that G-d commanded Israel to wage against Amalek?"
Knowing that this question was rhetorical, we remained silent and waited until he continued.
"Because Moses knew that the battle was to be fought on two levels, the spiritual level and the physical level. R. Simeon teaches us in the Zohar that Moses didn't participate in this war because it was necessary for him to concentrate on the spiritual level. This war was the most critical battle fought between the forces of light and dark; even more important than the coming battle against Gog and Magog. Not only did Amalek attack Israel on the physical level. Amalek attacked the Holy one, Blessed be he, on the spiritual level."
The Teacher continued. "It is written in the Torah that Moses sat on a stone and Aaron and Hur held up his hands. Aaron represented the attributes of Grace and Hur represented the attribute of Strength, and Moses, between the two, became the living representative of Faith. The Torah further teaches that when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. When he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. Here we are speaking of the right hand which he held above the left representing the spiritual Israel. Remarkably, when Israel ceased praying Moses couldn't keep his hand up at all! This teaches us that even when the priest spreads out his hands at the sacrifice, the physical Israel must co-operate by praying.
"What we can learn from this is clear. Israel must fight the forces of darkness on the physical level but never let that fight distract them from fighting the same forces on the spiritual level. No war can ever succeed by force of arms alone, but only by a balance in which there is perfect coordination between the spiritual and the physical."
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Beginning of Wisdom is Silence
One day, the Rabbi was asked to explain who should be allowed to learn the Hidden Wisdom.
"There are several schools of thought," he explained, "Some teach that only men over the age of 40 should learn. Others say that teaching women is forbidden. Yet others claim that only those well versed in the Talmud should be allowed to ender the Garden."
He remained silent for a while to let us think about what he had said, then continued, "Listen to me closely. The Wisdom is there for all, men and women, young and old, learned and ignorant. There is only one pre-requisite for learning the Kabala and that is a desire to learn. It is not necessary to understand anything at all when being introduced to the first levels, since the student is only drinking from the well of knowledge to satisfy an instinctive thirst that he or she doesn't understand yet. The thirst is known…yet not understood. They are much like nursing babies who don't understand either the source of their nourishment, or how it will be absorbed into their bodies.
"They only know that they are thirsty. The light of the Ain Sof responds to that thirst like a Mother…giving freely and nurturing all who search for it, unlimited in its ability to quench thirst. For this reason, I never search for students. A student must come to me, as a wanderer in the desert to a cool spring, drinking instinctively from the life giving waters without questioning or understanding anything beyond that basic need. Only later, when he has quenched his thirst, will he be called upon to transfer this hidden wisdom to others.
"If he doesn't share with others, he will explode from selfishly retaining the unending wisdom, and will be forced return to the same shattered un-enlightenment that drove him to the well in the first place.
"So the desire to receive should be in order to give or influence…and the timing of this step is critical to the student, since it must happen when he is full almost to the brim, but before his 'container' bursts."
It took me awhile to formulate my question. "How do you know when to reject a person who comes to you to learn ?
"A true seeker doesn't come to me with pre-conceived notions of Kabala, re-incarnation, ego or a desire to change the physical by using the meta-physical. As I said before, the true student comes because of a thirst, which he or she, cannot identify. A false student will always try to teach rather than learn, to influence rather than be influenced, to assert his or her own ego rather than to receive, to tell rather than to ask.
"They never seem to learn that the beginning of wisdom is silence."
Thursday, January 17, 2008
From the Teacher to David: The Unity of God
I asked the Teacher to explain why divine name ELOHIM in Hebrew is in the plural. Why isn't God called called"EL" in the sungular form? The Teacher answered me like this:
"The Zohar teaches us that Rabbi Simeon, who wrote the Zohar, received a prophecy and this was it:
"When the most Mysterious wished to reveal Himself, He first produced a single point, which was transmuted into a thought, and in this, He executed innumerable designs, and engraved innumerable gravings. He further engraved within the sacred and mystical lamp a most holy design which was an edifice issuing from the middle of this thought. This is called in Hebrew "MI" (WHO). This thought became matter by creating a vessel for itself ("ELEH" in Hebrew or "these" in English). The letters of these two words intermingled to form a complete name ELoHIM. And once combined the name remained forever, and this was the word upon which the world was built.
"In his vision, Rabbi Simeon also understood saw that the sin of Israel as recorded in Exod. XXXII, 4--the making of the golden calf--further alludes to this mystery when they said "Eleh (these are) thy Gods, O Israel."
About ths golden calf, the Teacher said:
"The main sin of the Israelites was not only in making images, but also in interpreting God as a plurality. They did not understand that there is no plurality at all, only the combining of separate concepts into a unity.
"All is one. God is n everything and everything is in God."
"The Zohar teaches us that Rabbi Simeon, who wrote the Zohar, received a prophecy and this was it:
"When the most Mysterious wished to reveal Himself, He first produced a single point, which was transmuted into a thought, and in this, He executed innumerable designs, and engraved innumerable gravings. He further engraved within the sacred and mystical lamp a most holy design which was an edifice issuing from the middle of this thought. This is called in Hebrew "MI" (WHO). This thought became matter by creating a vessel for itself ("ELEH" in Hebrew or "these" in English). The letters of these two words intermingled to form a complete name ELoHIM. And once combined the name remained forever, and this was the word upon which the world was built.
"In his vision, Rabbi Simeon also understood saw that the sin of Israel as recorded in Exod. XXXII, 4--the making of the golden calf--further alludes to this mystery when they said "Eleh (these are) thy Gods, O Israel."
About ths golden calf, the Teacher said:
"The main sin of the Israelites was not only in making images, but also in interpreting God as a plurality. They did not understand that there is no plurality at all, only the combining of separate concepts into a unity.
"All is one. God is n everything and everything is in God."
Monday, December 31, 2007
From the Teacher to David: The Coat of Many Colors.
One day the Teacher spoke about Joseph in the Bible and the coat his father Jacob made for him. Jacob made the coat for Joseph because Jacob loved Joseph his youngest child so much. It was a special coat, a Coat of Many Colors.
"As you know", the Teacher said, "The salvation of man comes through two forces. One is called 'Savior the Son of Joseph' and the other is called 'Savior the Son of David.' Can anyone here tell me then, the significance of Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors?"
His deep blue eyes searched ours, meeting our gaze, one at a time. No one answered.
"I will tell you the hidden mystery of this thing." And then he looked at me, "You Rabbi David, have studied art in the world's universities. Tell me…what is color?"
"Is it when invisible light becomes visible to our eyes?" I asked.
"And when there is no light source?" he asked, smiling.
"Then there are no colors, only black or darkness…" I said hesitantly.
"Exactly!" he said, "And this is what the Coat of Many colors was. To the enlightened, it looked like the rainbow representing the light from all the various worlds, or levels of spirituality, to the others…darkness…it was black…a bitter joke, for they were blind to it.
"So Joseph put on the coat of many colors and went to his brothers in the field.They were jealous of the coat for two reasons. First, Joseph was given this gift by their father, which meant Joseph was above them on the spiritual plane. As they only saw a black garment, the brothers asked one another, "Who is this Joseph who claims to have a coat of many colors? He is a liar and a fraud!"
"The second reason the sons of Jacob were jealous was because their father loved Joseph more than he loved them. Their envy made them blind to the brilliance of the coat. Their envy also made them blind to the colors of Joseph's aura and the light of the Creator with which Joseph was encompassed.
"So the sons of Jacob cast their youngest brother Joseph into the pit (which represents an attempt at throwing him down from the spiritual heights represented by the coat) leaving him in total physical darkness while they decided his fate.
"Judah, the eldest and most spiritually aware, had indeed seen the light of the coatand pleaded with his brothers to release Joseph. But they were intent on killing him and extinguishing this light from the world of men. However, they sold him into slavery in Egypt instead which represents the lower realms of spiritual darkness. In this way, the brothers hoped that darkness would completely extinguish the light of Joseph and the light of his coat which was meant to be a spiritual sign for all the nations.
"Then the brothers took the coat, still just a black rag in their eyes, and soaked it in the blood of an animal, to show their father that Joseph had been killed. The light, if there had been a light, was now extinguished. Upon seeing the cloak their father refused to be consoled and went into prolonged morning. He mourned, not for his son alone, but for what Joseph represented. Joseph represented another chance at raising the world of mankind to the level of Messiah, another chance of repairing of the broken vessel. Had they accepted Joseph and the coat he wore, the world would have evolved into a higher world. The tikun or spiritual repair of the world would have been complete.
"But for every unjust action, there is always a reaction which brings a tikun. Just as Joseph was sold into slavery, so were the descendants of Jacob's sons, the Israelites. During a severe famine in Israel, the Israelites went down to Egypt. Enticed by a vision of plenty, they became slaves like Joseph. The first part of their tikun or restoration was the years of slavery that they had to endure. They endured this until Moses, another Savior Son of Joseph came to lead them back into the light.
"Blood was placed on the doorposts during the exodus from Egypt as a sign of Joseph's Coat of Many Colors soaked in an animal's blood. The tikun for this evil action was also given to Israel for Joseph's sake. By the sign of blood on doorposts, the angel of death did not take the firstborn of Israel as punishment for what had happened, and took instead the first born of Egypt.
"Each culture and every nation has in every generation a Savior Son of Joseph to lead them out of the darkness because this salvation is one of choice…one of free will.
"However, the final salvation, or the Savior Son of David, is not a matter of free choice, but a forced evolutionary change of the spirit. Happy are those who make the choice offered us by Joseph before that final and terrible day."
"As you know", the Teacher said, "The salvation of man comes through two forces. One is called 'Savior the Son of Joseph' and the other is called 'Savior the Son of David.' Can anyone here tell me then, the significance of Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors?"
His deep blue eyes searched ours, meeting our gaze, one at a time. No one answered.
"I will tell you the hidden mystery of this thing." And then he looked at me, "You Rabbi David, have studied art in the world's universities. Tell me…what is color?"
"Is it when invisible light becomes visible to our eyes?" I asked.
"And when there is no light source?" he asked, smiling.
"Then there are no colors, only black or darkness…" I said hesitantly.
"Exactly!" he said, "And this is what the Coat of Many colors was. To the enlightened, it looked like the rainbow representing the light from all the various worlds, or levels of spirituality, to the others…darkness…it was black…a bitter joke, for they were blind to it.
"So Joseph put on the coat of many colors and went to his brothers in the field.They were jealous of the coat for two reasons. First, Joseph was given this gift by their father, which meant Joseph was above them on the spiritual plane. As they only saw a black garment, the brothers asked one another, "Who is this Joseph who claims to have a coat of many colors? He is a liar and a fraud!"
"The second reason the sons of Jacob were jealous was because their father loved Joseph more than he loved them. Their envy made them blind to the brilliance of the coat. Their envy also made them blind to the colors of Joseph's aura and the light of the Creator with which Joseph was encompassed.
"So the sons of Jacob cast their youngest brother Joseph into the pit (which represents an attempt at throwing him down from the spiritual heights represented by the coat) leaving him in total physical darkness while they decided his fate.
"Judah, the eldest and most spiritually aware, had indeed seen the light of the coatand pleaded with his brothers to release Joseph. But they were intent on killing him and extinguishing this light from the world of men. However, they sold him into slavery in Egypt instead which represents the lower realms of spiritual darkness. In this way, the brothers hoped that darkness would completely extinguish the light of Joseph and the light of his coat which was meant to be a spiritual sign for all the nations.
"Then the brothers took the coat, still just a black rag in their eyes, and soaked it in the blood of an animal, to show their father that Joseph had been killed. The light, if there had been a light, was now extinguished. Upon seeing the cloak their father refused to be consoled and went into prolonged morning. He mourned, not for his son alone, but for what Joseph represented. Joseph represented another chance at raising the world of mankind to the level of Messiah, another chance of repairing of the broken vessel. Had they accepted Joseph and the coat he wore, the world would have evolved into a higher world. The tikun or spiritual repair of the world would have been complete.
"But for every unjust action, there is always a reaction which brings a tikun. Just as Joseph was sold into slavery, so were the descendants of Jacob's sons, the Israelites. During a severe famine in Israel, the Israelites went down to Egypt. Enticed by a vision of plenty, they became slaves like Joseph. The first part of their tikun or restoration was the years of slavery that they had to endure. They endured this until Moses, another Savior Son of Joseph came to lead them back into the light.
"Blood was placed on the doorposts during the exodus from Egypt as a sign of Joseph's Coat of Many Colors soaked in an animal's blood. The tikun for this evil action was also given to Israel for Joseph's sake. By the sign of blood on doorposts, the angel of death did not take the firstborn of Israel as punishment for what had happened, and took instead the first born of Egypt.
"Each culture and every nation has in every generation a Savior Son of Joseph to lead them out of the darkness because this salvation is one of choice…one of free will.
"However, the final salvation, or the Savior Son of David, is not a matter of free choice, but a forced evolutionary change of the spirit. Happy are those who make the choice offered us by Joseph before that final and terrible day."
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
From the Teacher to David: God is Everything and Everything is in God
"Teacher" I said, "If God is everything and everything is in God, and, as we learn God is good…what then is evil? Where did it come from?"
"If I give you your hearts desire, you will call me "good"…and if I strike you, then you will call me "evil," he said patiently. "But here in this world you define good and evil by what affects you subjectively. The Wise have always said that God is not confined by our view of good and evil, and He cannot be defined by the limits of our mind."
"If so, Teacher," I said, "What then is evil and how did it come into the world? What then is Satan…what are angels, devils…?"
He held up his hand for me to be silent and continued, "The Torah says, "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.' And later, 'So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.'
"The Hebrew, as you know, reads נעשה אדם בצלמנו, which comes from the source צלם or image, but the root of this word is צל , which means shadow or shade. This is what man is: not the image of God as we understand an image, or a copy…but a shadow or shade of God, not equal to God, but still capable of being God-like and capable of creating within the limitations of our collective being.
"We create "good" in this world and we also create "evil." We create devils but we can also create angels. Satin is simply the collective embodiment of man's failure to use the incredible unlimited energy of the Creator to fill the universe with light and we chose to keep this light or energy to ourselves. This perversion of the creative force granted to man is the cause for the "breaking of the vessel" which we talked about before. This inevitably leads to waste, ecological crises, famine, injustice, war, death, and destruction. These become the crippled children of our collective being.
"We were given the power to create, within the boundaries of this, our test-tube world, and the collective "we" chose ego and self gratification over everything else…the desire to receive for the sake of receiving…and thus we created what we now call "evil."
"Our salvation will come because our soul recognizes this creation of our as being out of harmony with the universe and just as we have created "evil" we can also strive to create "good." This also is the first step in "repairing of the vessel.". We do so by striving to fill our creation with empathy and love until this collective effort will channel the unlimited energy of the Creator into everything and everyone, and we return to the garden.
"If I give you your hearts desire, you will call me "good"…and if I strike you, then you will call me "evil," he said patiently. "But here in this world you define good and evil by what affects you subjectively. The Wise have always said that God is not confined by our view of good and evil, and He cannot be defined by the limits of our mind."
"If so, Teacher," I said, "What then is evil and how did it come into the world? What then is Satan…what are angels, devils…?"
He held up his hand for me to be silent and continued, "The Torah says, "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.' And later, 'So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.'
"The Hebrew, as you know, reads נעשה אדם בצלמנו, which comes from the source צלם or image, but the root of this word is צל , which means shadow or shade. This is what man is: not the image of God as we understand an image, or a copy…but a shadow or shade of God, not equal to God, but still capable of being God-like and capable of creating within the limitations of our collective being.
"We create "good" in this world and we also create "evil." We create devils but we can also create angels. Satin is simply the collective embodiment of man's failure to use the incredible unlimited energy of the Creator to fill the universe with light and we chose to keep this light or energy to ourselves. This perversion of the creative force granted to man is the cause for the "breaking of the vessel" which we talked about before. This inevitably leads to waste, ecological crises, famine, injustice, war, death, and destruction. These become the crippled children of our collective being.
"We were given the power to create, within the boundaries of this, our test-tube world, and the collective "we" chose ego and self gratification over everything else…the desire to receive for the sake of receiving…and thus we created what we now call "evil."
"Our salvation will come because our soul recognizes this creation of our as being out of harmony with the universe and just as we have created "evil" we can also strive to create "good." This also is the first step in "repairing of the vessel.". We do so by striving to fill our creation with empathy and love until this collective effort will channel the unlimited energy of the Creator into everything and everyone, and we return to the garden.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)