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."
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