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CONTENTS
Introduction
Ch. 1 - Alef
Intuition of Divine Oneness within multiplicity
Rediscovering the Creator with every breath
Adam’s mission
The ability to make associations and the Kabbalah
Ch. 2 - Bet
The perception of the deceptive plurality of creation
Bet, bayit: “house”
Blessing: the flow of Divine emanation
Ben and bat: children
Ch. 3 - Gimel
Animals: archetypes for divine messages
Gerim: “converts”
Ch. 4 - Dalet
Poverty and spiritual development
Dofek: “pulse”
Ch. 5 - Hei
Unambiguous communication
Hei, the gift of clear and pure communication
Using speech to repair emotions and transform enemies into friends
Speech of gratitude
Ch. 6 - Vav
The perception of the Divine in the natural world
Contemplation of nature
The body and health in the month of Iyar
Health as a process of renewed creation
Ch. 7 - Zayin
Discovering the correct rhythm of Yin and Yang
Memory and time: central aspects of Jewish life
Zayin, the Seven Noahide Laws
Ch. 8 - Chet
The feminine principle and the role of women in redemption
The “teachings of life” are transmitted through breastfeeding
The mikveh, love, and sexuality
Sun and moon, action and contemplation
Disease and “missing the target”
Ch. 9 - Tet
And God saw that it was good
God hidden in nature
Ch. 10 - Yud
The smallest people
The paradox of Israel
Who really are the people of Israel?
Yofi: “beauty”
Ch. 11 - Kaf
Physical force, the expression of Divine energy
Kelayot and kaved, kidneys and liver
Kaved: “liver”
Energy of love
Ch. 12 - Lamed
The art of loving
Ch. 13 - Mem
Water
The mikveh, conversion of the soul
The mikveh and women
Ch. 14 - Nun
The art of “falling” in the spiritual quest
The sign of Scorpio: returning to the essence in order to heal oneself of
obsession
Loving tests
Ch. 15 - Samech
The month of Kislev and the miracle of Chanukah
“Dreaming” with the month of Kislev and the letter samech
Ch. 16 - Ayin
Wisdom: the cure for anger
The “fountain of wisdom,” cure for anger and pride
Etzem: “bone”, “essence”
The Seventy Nations
Ch. 17 - Peh
Talmud and The Oral Tradition
The contrast between Greek culture and the oral Torah
Study and melody
Ch. 18 - Tzadik
Food as nourishment for the soul
Fasting in ancient and modern times
Eating and prophecy
Tzadik, the sign of Aquarius and the messianic era
Ch. 19 - Kuf
Kabbalah: the crown of the king
Kuf and descent into the depths
The sense of laughter
The Temple in Jerusalem, and the ketoret ha’besamim (“spice incense”)
The evil throne for good
Holiness and separation of the Jewish people: the “double bind”
Ch. 20 - Resh
The head as protection from evil
Evil and noise
Images of the mind
Ch. 21 - Shin
The element of fire
Joy
Ch. 22 - Tav
Tefillah: service of the heart
Approaching God
Teshuvah: return to the real essence
Prayer and desires
Teshuva: “return”
Tikun: “reparation”, “transformation”
The Oral Tradition1 teaches that the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet
are vessels that channel God’s powerful spiritual energy for creating the world.
In other words, when the commandments “Let there be light, and there was
light…; Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters…; Let there be lights
in the firmament…,”2 were uttered, God permutated the individual letters of the
Hebrew alphabet. These letters are the “bricks” of creation that translate Divine
will into reality. However, the creation process did not only occur in the past.
God is continually creating and thereby intimately involved with the world every
moment.
We can clarify this concept by noting that the Hebrew word davar means both
“word” and “thing”. The same term for “thing” is used for the “word that created
the thing,” implying that the thing is, in essence, the word that was used by God
to create.
The study of the inner meanings of words and the creative power of the letters
is the heart of the Jewish esoteric tradition, Kabbalah. This book is not intended
to be a linguistic and etymological analysis of the alphabet, but an attempt to
convey the strong connection between the letters and the concepts and values
inherent in the Jewish tradition. Based on the a priori position that a language
reflects the culture and concerns of the people who speak it, the letters of the
Hebrew alphabet are a key to the ethics, values, spiritual obligations, and
metaphysical aspirations of the Jewish people.
The power of the letters resonates deeply with the human soul. Biblical
Hebrew is precisely structured, reflecting its Divine origin, which determines
each letter’s meaning, shape, numerical value, and position in the alphabet. A
corollary to this principle is the halachic3 rule that each letter in a Torah scroll,
mezuzah4, and tefillin5 must be perfectly written. No letter may be omitted or
improperly written, and its individual integrity may not be compromised by
being allowed to touch another letter. The same holds true for words. Any
missing, extra, or damaged word invalidates the entire scroll, until it is corrected.
If a Torah scroll cannot be corrected, it is buried in a Jewish cemetery, next to
the tomb of a tzadik, a righteous man.
The strong relationship between letters and human beings is the heart of the
Kabbalistic practice of “reading” the mezuzah (the Torah parchment affixed at
the doors of every Jewish home) in order to determine the reasons for problems
that the family is experiencing. According to the events occurring in the home,
some letters of the mezuzah may be erased or damaged by ink deterioration. In
addition, a missing letter, due to a scribe’s error, can have a dramatic impact on
the life of the family. For this reason, scribes must approach their task with
utmost honesty and integrity. Often the scribe will immerse himself in a mikveh
(ritual purification pool) in order to purify his thoughts before writing the
ineffable name of God (yudhei-vav-hei).
The dialogue between the text and the reader is also the basis of the Oral
Tradition. In the Oral Tradition, a personal interpretation of the written text is
developed according to many factors. The choice of the vowel that accompanies
the consonants gives different meanings to the word. In addition, the study of the
symbolism, form, numerical value,6 and teachings linked to each letter has been
fundamental for all the masters of the Torah’s Oral Tradition.
The Talmud,7 for instance, states that Betzalel8 knew how to combine the
letters that were used to create heaven and the earth, as it is written: “I have
filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, and with
knowledge.”9 From this verse it is clear that even the masters of the Talmud
were fully aware that the energy of Hebrew letters is an aspect of the living,
dynamic, Divine light that penetrates every moment of our lives. Although the
laws regarding the scribes were written thousands of years before the advent of
quantum physics (which postulates that matter absorbs energy), they reflect the
energetic interplay between the letters, the reader, and the writer. Understanding
the mysterious link between Divine wisdom and the knowledge of the letters is
not exclusive to the Kabbalists. By studying the meaning of the Hebrew letters,
each one of us can learn more about the various aspects of Divine light.
The system of analysis and reflection used in this book is mostly based on
teachings from the Oral Tradition (i.e., the Talmud10 and the Midrash11) and on
Kabbalah, particularly the seminal Kabbalistic work Sefer Yetzirah (“The Book
of Formation”). I have also included my personal reflections, which have been
inspired via the process of actually drawing the letters. In fact, according to the
great Kabbalist, Rabbi Abraham Abulafia, one way of understanding the spirit of
the letters is to feel their energy by drawing them on a surface.12
Sefer Yetzirah13 describes how Abraham, too, gained enlightenment from the
letters: “And when Abraham came, he contemplated [the letters], sculpted them,
unified them, [and] counted them until he succeeded…Then God appeared to
him, drew him to Him, kissed him on his head, and called him ‘Abraham, My
beloved.’”14
The most ancient Kabbalistic text, the Book of Formation, attributed to the
patriarch Abraham, describes the deep interconnection between the Hebrew
letters, the planets, body organs and emotions. In a generation that has awakened
to the need of finding the link between matter and spirit, body and soul, the
message of the Book of Formation offers the possibility of a deeper reflexion on
the subject.
In fact, according to this text, the interconnection goes so deeply as for it to
dare to suggest that our organs “contain” parts of our spirit: not only they
animate the body, but they are the channels of our spiritual evolution. Our soul,
according to the Book of Formation, is in fact considered not as a single unit, but
as composed of several different “spirits,” which live within our limbs and
organs, and which are activated separately in different circumstances and times
of the year. In order to give the reader a taste of the terse yet inspiring flavor of
this text, here are some typical passages: The foundations are the twenty-two
letters: three “mothers,” seven “doubles,” and twelve “elementals.”
The three mothers are alef, mem, and shin: mem hums, shin hisses, and alef
is the breath of air, which is the mediator between them…
The three mothers are alef, mem, and shin; the heavens were created from
fire, the earth from water; and the air was formed from the spirit, which is the
mediator between them…
The three mothers are alef, mem, and shin; in the male and female soul are
the head, the belly, and the chest; the head was created from the fire, the belly
from water, and the chest from the spirit, which is the mediator between
them…
The seven doubles are bet, gimel, dalet, kaf, pei, resh, and tav; these are the
foundations of wisdom, wealth, seed, life, dominance, peace, and grace…
The seven doubles are bet, gimel, dalet, kaf, pei, resh, and tav; they are
height, depth, east, west, north, and south, with the holy palace in the middle
supporting them all…
The twelve elementals are hei, vav, zayin, chet, tet, yud, lamed, nun,
samech, ayin, tzadik, and kuf; their foundations are speech, thought,
movement, sight, hearing, action, the sexual appetite, smell, sleep, anger,
taste, and laughter…
The twelve elementals are hei, vav, zayin, chet, tet, yud, lamed, nun,
samech, ayin, tzadik, and kuf; with them He designed, formed, combined,
weighed, and changed, and created the twelve constellations of the heavens,
the twelve months of the year, and the twelve important organs of man…
These excerpts from Sefer Yetzirah give an idea of the depth of knowledge
contained in the Hebrew alphabet, and its connection to the healing of body and
soul.
Healing, as we shall see in the course of this text, is a key word found
throughout the entire Bible, and in Judaism at large. Maimonides explained that
the main role of the precepts of the Torah is to create a healthy body, a stable
chariot (Merkavah) for the soul. Elia Benamozegh, the greatest Italian Kabbalist
and scholar, in his History of the Essenes, the most esoteric Jewish sect (of
which, according to most scholars, the father of Christianity was a member)
stated that Judaism is mainly a “teaching of cure and prevention of disease.”15
Sefer Yetzirah describes the exact connections between the letters, the body
organs, the emotions, the senses, and astrological constellations. Those
associations were a guide for the cure of body and soul for ancient Jewish
doctors who knew how to apply the knowledge of the Kabbalah, and the energy
of the letters, to their medical profession.
Also, Rabbi Nachman of Breslav (inspired by Sefer Yetzirah), taught his
disciples the importance, both for spiritual evolution and for physical well-being,
of establishing a dialogue with “the organs of the body” (sichat ha’eivarim).
Unfortunately, the “know-how” for establishing this dialogue, the esoteric-
medical inheritance of the Jewish masters of healing, was for the most part lost
over the last 2,000 years. During various persecutions, Jews and their holy books
were burned together in “holy” fires that destroyed valuable healing remedies for
every human being.
In search of a holistic approach to healing that is still in use today, I have been
drawn to the study of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM, in practice
and in theory, synchronizes the cure of the body with the soul. Like Kabbalah,
TCM associates every organ with a planet, an emotion, a color, a season, a
direction, etc. Like Kabbalah, it stresses healing the emotions as a condition for
healing the organs.
I found myself at home studying TCM and mystical healing practices of
Taoism. Many Bible commentators state that these eastern traditions find their
origins in the teachings of the patriarch Abraham. According to the Bible,
Abraham sent his children to the East: “He gave gifts and sent them eastward, to
the east country” (Genesis 25-6). The “gifts” refer to these healing practices.
The powerful similarities between the medical teachings of Maimonides and
those of TCM inspired me to combine practical holistic healing strategies based
on spiritual truths common to both Judaism and the Orient. Both systems warned
that there cannot really be healing if there has not been a transformation of the
emotions (tikun ha’midot), and a rebalancing of the “elements” and the
hormones that rely on conflict resolution.
Kabbalistic teachings attribute disease to our transgressions. Humbly
admitting our shortcomings and subsequently improving our character has a
direct effect on our physical health. This process of teshuvah, complemented by
realigning the pulses, sefirotic energies, and Qi most exemplify the
complementary relationship between TCM and Kabbalah.
Besides the health-related benefits offered by the association of Kabbalah and
TCM, there are great philosophical insights that can be born from such a
“marriage.” Paradoxically, the study of TCM has helped me to better understand
the teachings of the Jewish tradition! Just to offer some examples, the Talmud
tells us that Abraham, who lived many generations before Moses, knew all the
Torah even before it was revealed on Mount Sinai. How was this possible? The
oral tradition explains, “God gave him two kidneys that served as advisors, from
which he learned his wisdom (Bereishit Rabbah, Talmud). This curious verse did
not make much sense to me until I read the TCM book, The Web that Has No
Weaver (Kaptchuk, 2000). I then began to understand the spiritual functions of
the kidneys, which are called the “Gate of Faith and Destiny.” This is where
primordial faith and wisdom are stored. I will further explore the kidneys in the
chapter on the letter kaf.
By meditating on some key concepts of TCM, we may deepen our
understanding of some of the most significant chapters of the Bible. For
instance, the conflicting relationship between heart and liver appears in the
verses of Exodus, disguised in the dialogues between Moses, God, and Pharaoh.
I will discuss the relationship between heart and liver, both in Chinese medicine
and in Kabbalah, in the chapters on the letters lamed and kaf.
The reciprocal exchange of esoteric knowledge and healing strategies is
invaluable. Some Israeli acupuncturists have enriched their medical practice with
the knowledge of the connection between the Hebrew letters and the organs.
When practicing Qi Gong (“energy work”) or acupuncture, together with
intentionally directing the Qi (“life-force”), they visualize the letter associated by
Kabbalah to the organ they are trying to heal. Sometimes the results are quite
impressive. TCM doctors could benefit greatly from incorporating the secret
knowledge of Kabbalah in order to rediscover the authentic “spirit” of Chinese
medicine. The penetrating Divine illumination, an essential aspect of TCM, has
been silenced by communist China. This truth needs to be exposed with the
revival of this invaluable medical tradition.
In fact, the goal of the book is to build a solid bridge for spiritual searchers
and healers of different disciplines to cross over, without fear of losing their
identity. On the contrary, it will become clear how each ancient tradition
powerfully reinforces the other.16 Mystical teachings of all traditions can offer
potent tools for speeding up the process of healing and evolution, as it is written:
“And the spirit of the Lord shall come upon you, and you…shall be transformed
into another man.”17
For centuries, rabbis have feared sharing the esoteric teachings of the Torah.
Therefore, Jews, Christians (naturally interested in the mystical tradition of
Yeshua ben Yosef), and Orientals were unable to access the healing power of
mystical Kabbalah teachings.
To paraphrase the words of the prophet Isaiah, the great “sin” of the people of
Israel was that they favored the ritualistic rather than the inward religious
experience: Yisrael lo yada; ami lo hitbonen—“Israel does not know; My people
do not meditate.” This “sin” has prevented both Jews and non-Jews from
drinking from the wellsprings of Kabbalah. I hope and pray that this book will
help truth-seekers of all faiths to be inspired to “meditate and know” once again,
in order to heal the entire planet.
A Note to the Reader: Each chapter is devoted to a Hebrew letter and its
Kabbalistic teachings. In addition, relevant and parallel concepts in Chinese
medicine will be discussed. Aside from ancient and historical sources, I have
also included my own experiences and those of my contemporaries from
various disciplines.
The illustrations throughout the book depict children who are trustfully
riding on soap bubbles. God calls the Jews the “children of Israel” in order to
teach us that we must learn to trust and experience simple faith, the highest
spiritual power. The cherubs that shielded the cover of the Ark with their wings
were angelic figures with the faces of children. Perhaps these images will
awaken the unadulterated wisdom of the angelic children within, openly
receiving these concepts with wonder, curiosity, and intuitive understanding.
CHAPTER 1
Alef
Then God asked the – אalef, the first letter of the alphabet, who had not yet
uttered a word, why it was silent. The alef replied that in a world of plurality
there was no place for her, since the numerical value of alef is one. God
reassured alef, saying that even if the world would be created with Bet, alef
would still be the queen of the alphabet. He said, “Have no fear, alef, you are
one, and I am One. I want to create the world to have My spirit of oneness dwell
there through the study of the Torah and the performance of mitzvot (the
commandments). The first of the Ten Commandments will begin with alef, the
first letter in the word – אנכיAnochi (“I”)—“I am the Lord your God.”21
The perception of God’s oneness that alef represents is further suggested by
the Hebrew word “( פלאwonder”), a permutation of the word alef: Discovering
God as He is disguised in each detail of creation generates feelings of wonder
and awe.
Three Mothers in the soul, male and female, are the head, belly, and chest.
The head is created from fire
The belly is created from water,
And the chest from breath, which decides between them.
This passage reveals some of the many parallels between the Kabbalistic view
of the world, and that of the Ancient Chinese. The alef is associated with
oneness, balance, the temperate (as opposed to the extremes of hot and cold),
rooted in the breath and the chest.
The alef also relates to the element of metal, which is associated with the
breath and higher perceptions of Divine Oneness. In fact, TCM designates metal
to the heavenly realms, the spirit beyond the body, and pure consciousness.24
Metal is also related to autumn, the pivotal “temperate” season between the hot
summer and the cold winter. Another parallel between TCM and Sefer Yetzirah
is that the metal element, like the alef, is related to the physical organ of the
lungs, and therefore to the breath. In Chinese thought, the breath is also seen as
our connection to the original, undivided, pure Divine. Correct breathing
maintains our balance and supports our righteous and ethical choices between
fire and water. As we inhale, we draw inspiration and nourishment from the air
and the heavens. When we exhale, we release that which is no longer needed.
According to numerous Jewish sources, deep breathing is seen as a key
instrument for coming into contact with the Divine within us.25 It is also no
accident that the Book of Psalms—the Biblical poems that express King David’s
constant striving to live in God’s presence—ends with the verse Kol
ha’neshamah tehallel Kah:26 (“Every soul shall praise God”).27 The Midrash28
invites us to read this verse not as “Every soul shall praise God—kol
ha’neshamah —הנשמהbut as הנשימה: “Every breath shall praise God”—kol
ha’neshimah.
Indeed one of God’s Names is Arich Apayim,29 literally meaning “Long
Breath” (even though it is usually translated as “patient,” “slow to anger”). By
emulating God with deep breathing, we allow the element of air to temper
between the excess of water and fire (our out-of-control emotions) and restore
balance.
Adam’s mission
By analyzing the word Adam we find out that the first human being was
created directly from – אדמהadamah, the earth.30 As his descendants we should
be aware of our essential need to be in contact with the earth from which our
vitality derives. The Oral Tradition clearly states that “a man who does not
possess a field is not a man.”31
The survival of humanity especially depends on our ability to follow God’s
commandment, originally given to Adam, regarding the preservation and
protection of the land that he was meant to cultivate.32 The Midrash comments:
“When God created Adam, He showed him all the trees of the Garden of Eden,
and then said to him, ‘Look at the perfection of My work! I created it for you, so
remember it and do not corrupt it, making My world desolate. Because if you
corrupt it, there will be none other to repair it.’”33 If we continue to work the
earth without taking measures to preserve it, ecological catastrophe will be
unavoidable. The Torah and the Talmud’s profound integrative spiritual and
physical wisdom provides precious instructions concerning protecting the
environment.34 Some of the Torah’s commandments are based on ecological
principles, such as the obligation to give the land a year of rest every seven years
(the sabbatical year).35
When we recycle wastes and maintain the purity of the water and the air,36
etc., we are fulfilling the commandment to protect and preserve the environment.
It is clearly stated in the Book of Genesis that we are the caretakers of the
garden. God tells Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and
subdue it, and exercise your dominion over the birds in the sky and the fish in
the sea, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.” A few verses
later, God addresses Adam’s possible illusion that he is on this planet to
dominate and exploit the earth. Scripture makes it very clear that man was
placed in the Garden of Eden to “preserve it and guard it.” The Midrash explains
that God is telling Adam: “Everything was created for your sake. Take heed that
you should not ruin or destroy My world, for there is nobody to rectify it after
you”.
Within these passages are God’s warning and calling to mankind to practice
the role of caretaker. The Oral Tradition clearly directs us to preserve the natural
environment and not to use it wastefully or wantonly. The Torah, for example,
discusses the concept of Bal Tashchit. When an army lays siege to a city, it may
not carelessly cut down trees as an act of terrorism. Rabbi Hirsch explains, “The
prohibition against the wanton destruction of trees in a siege is to be interpreted
as a prohibition against the purposeless, wasteful destruction of any object. Thus
the concept of Bal Tashchit becomes an all-encompassing warning to man not to
misuse his assigned station in the world by destroying the things of earth
capriciously.” Today this concept can be applied to all forms of energy
conservation.
A beautiful and ancient practice that should inspire modern city planning is
that of maintaining greenbelts around developed urban areas. Torah law
explicitly states that if the whole city votes for changes in city planning, the
preservation of greenbelts cannot be altered. They are considered the
“inheritance of future generations,” and thus no particular generation has the
right to disturb or alter them.
Greenbelts are a beautiful method of nature preservation, assuring that natural
plant and animal life can continue to flourish even in the presence of human
development. What is very interesting to note is that greenbelts were given to the
Levites—the musicians, teachers, and cantors of Israel—who, unlike the other
twelve tribes, did not have a territory of their own in the Land of Israel. Through
their music, the Levites inspire others to respect and contemplate the Shechinah,
the immanent aspect of God: Mother Nature.
Gerim: “converts”
In recent years, ever-increasing large numbers of gentiles have expressed their
desire to convert to as they journey towards Judaism’s unified spiritual vision.
Since there are various motivations for conversion, today’s rabbis are cautious
when judging the sincerity of aspiring gerim (“converts”). We are nearing the
end of times. According to the Ba’al Shem Tov, the souls of gerim are actually
Jewish souls. For reasons that Divine Providence has not yet revealed, these
souls were required to incarnate in the society of non-Jews and undertake the
long, weary path back to their spiritual roots.65
After my books were published in Italy, I started receiving letters and e-mails
from aspiring converts. They often described dreams as the main reason that
they felt strongly about belonging to the Jewish people.
• Below are three of the most significant stories: Anna of Ravenna dreamt of
standing before a sort of cupboard covered by richly embroidered fabrics. The
door of the cupboard opened, and in front of her appeared two containers of
sacred writings. They were topped with silver pommels that turned into two
candles. She was feeling totally at peace until the candles were extinguished,
whereupon she cried out, aghast, “My faith, my faith has gone!”
Anna in her real life had never seen a Torah scroll or an aron kodesh (the ark
in which Torah scrolls are housed in synagogues), but her soul remembered
them well. I explained to her that what she had seen in the dream was a prayer
service in a Jewish synagogue, probably on Shabbat since the candles were lit.
Today, after studying Hebrew and the Torah for some years, Anna managed to
convert to Judaism, and to light again the candles of her faith.
• Angela of Catania had three similar dreams in which she was in Rome,
running down the street, fleeing from men in black suits. In the last dream, she
entered a house where other people were hidden. The house was small, dark,
and gloomy. Then she entered a room on the upper floor. The light was bright
and the room full of peace. There were benches and she went to sit where her
name was written. The peace was interrupted by screams from the lower floor,
“They’re here. Hurry, send the children away through the terrace.” She went
down to help the children climb over the parapet and then she heard people
breaking down the door.
After those three agonizing dreams, Angela listened to the voice of her soul
guiding her to recover her Jewishness. She now understands from her dreams
and from her meditations, her last gilgul (incarnation) was interrupted by Nazi
fascism. She started reading books about Judaism and the Torah. Since then
her painful dreams have ceased.
• Silvia, a yoga teacher in Milan, also had some terribly distressing dreams until
she started the conversion process. All of her dreams started with a date, 1943,
immediately after the concentration camps in Germany appeared. She dreamt
she was standing in front of the ovens, but she was not forced to go in.
Instead, she helped the Germans force her Jewish brothers inside. Silvia’s
dreams also continued until she started studying Jewish history and Nazism,
and then read memoirs of the kapos (those Jews who assisted the Nazis in the
crematoriums). At that point she realized that she had been one of them in her
previous incarnation. Today, Silvia organizes courses on Judaism in her yoga
centers and helps other Jewish souls find their way home.
Today, thanks to the discovery of their past life as Jews, many people were
able to heal psychologically. Their haunting memories of Nazi Germany, aroused
through dreams, déjà vu, and hypnosis (with the psychiatric diagnoses that their
therapists attributed to such experiences) were now placed in the context of a
wider paradigm of the soul. Therefore, they were able to discontinue taking
pharmaceutical drugs prescribed by rationalist psychologists who refused to
consider the reality or possibility of reincarnation.
We may say that many converts, gerim, have drawn from the energy of the
letter gimel, which channels the Divine power to move forward on a new soul
journey.
CHAPTER 4
Dalet
Ancient philosophy and medical theories are based on the Four Elements. The
Kabbalah has described in length the existence of four realms or worlds
permeating all of existence: Asiyah (the physical world of action); Yetzirah (the
emotional world); Beriah (the intellectual realm); and Atzilut (the spiritual
realm). Although they are categorized for our understanding, these worlds are
not disconnected. Rather, they flow into one another. In order to heal, we need to
take care of our body, our emotions, and our psychological and spiritual well-
being. At times we need to fast, meditate or pray in order to realign with our
soul.
The Shabbat (Sabbath) is the ideal opportunity to get in touch with all realms
of our being. We receive and let go with the flame of the Shabbat candles. Our
perceptions of asiyah, yetzirah, and beriah are enlightened as the highest level of
our soul is aroused. Although we eat, drink, and share with friends and family,
these activities are elevated by the sanctity of Shabbat.
Without the awareness of the four elements and their parallel relationship to
the four worlds, our lives lack depth. That is why the letter dalet is also the
beginning of the word dalut (“poverty”). Lack of da’at (“knowledge”) is the
source of poverty.
The numerical value of the letter dalet, “four”, is associated with the four
primordial elements: fire, water, air, and earth. These elements are the
basis for plurality in creation. We see that the blessings on Shabbat night
are related to the four primordial elements: lighting the candles (fire),
blessing over Kiddush wine (air), washing the hands (water), and the
blessing over bread (earth). Through these blessings of the holy
Shabbat, plurality is elevated to its source in unity.
Judaism prescribes that tzedakah be given in a way that does not humiliate the
person receiving it.68 A rich person really is considered the administrator of
goods belonging by right to the poor, and these goods are returned to the poor
through the act of tzedakah.69
Concerning the proper way of giving, God tells Moses, “Speak to the
Israelites and have them bring me an offering. Take my offering from everyone
whose heart impels him to give.” (Exodus: Terumah: 25) The words “whose
heart impels him to give” teach us that the motivation for charity must come
from the heart and in this way the giver truly fulfills the mitzvah.
Many people protest: “Why did God create poverty and imperfection?” One
possible answer to this question is found at the end of the story of Creation,
where it is written that on the seventh day, “God rested from the work He had
created to make.”70 The words “to make” imply that creation is neither complete
nor perfect. In fact, it was created not yet perfect, in order to be completed. God
has chosen humanity as His partner to complete and perfect creation.
This is why poverty and wealth exist. Humanity, created in the image of God,
must act in His stead wherever there is need. Hunger in the world is not proof of
Divine indifference, but rather proof of the immaturity of that segment of
humanity that has more than it needs and refuses to accept its role as God’s
partner in helping the creation to reach balance and justice. This part of
humanity is unwilling to become gimel (the giver) for the dalet (the needy) of
the world.
On the other hand, experiencing poverty is important in the process of
spiritual maturity. If we would not know poverty and therefore the meaning of
need, we would not be able to grasp two of the most important spiritual values:
total dependence on God and His emissaries, and gratitude. Depriving ourselves
of food and water during fast days, such as Yom Kippur, besides being a means
of atonement, is a reminder to not take food that God has given us for granted.
Moreover, by rejecting the race towards material gain, we may discover spiritual
wealth.
The mindset of modern society is to grow as large as possible, and as quickly
as possible, in material wealth. We are constantly encouraged to use our energy
towards acquiring more material possessions. Even on the national level,
expanded economic activity and growth are the absolute priority, at the expense
of the environment. Overheating, pollution, and extinction of many species of
animals and plants are only some of the consequences of having chosen to
expand beyond real human needs.
Today most people recognize the truth that the goal of unlimited economical
growth is no longer tenable. Even the best ecological strategies cannot save the
world from self-destruction. As Rabbi Carmel states: The only way out of the
human predicament of our time lies in a complete and radical change, not of
methods but of goals. The essence of the human being is that he is capable of
setting his own goals and changing them when necessary. There is only one way
to avert the disaster that threatens to overwhelm mankind. Material goals must
be replaced by spiritual goals.
Dofek: “pulse”
Kabbalistic masters could discern both physical and spiritual pathologies from
pulse patterns. In the words of Rabbi Chaim Vital, “Know that just as physical
illnesses can be diagnosed from a person’s pulse by physical doctors, so could
my Master [the Ari] of blessed memory, discern the maladies of the soul by
feeling a person’s pulse.” (Sha’ar Ruach HaKodesh 3) According to the
Kabbalah, the pulse is the interface between the spiritual and physical
dimensions of our being. Rabbi Chaim Vital brings a Kabbalistic teaching of the
Ari: God brought about the Creation through the ten sefirot, ten modes of
creative power through which God’s infinite light was successively contracted
and muted in order to bring about a finite realm in which man can come to know
God. The vitality flowing from keter (“crown”) is “clothed” in the sefirah of
chochmah, “wisdom,” also called abba (“father”). The vitalizing power of abba
extends into the arteries and veins of the human body in the form of pulse
patterns that govern blood circulation. These pulse patterns are a garb for the
supreme vitality of the Infinite, which is concealed and clothed within these
pulse patterns. The pulse itself is abba, while the vitality contained within it is
the light and vitality of the Infinite, which gives man life.
Each of our souls is ultimately rooted in abba through the level of the soul
called the chayah, the “living essence.” From here vitality is channeled down
level by level, from the divine soul to the animal soul and into the body. The
vitality flowing into the body from Abba is expressed in the flow of ten sefirot.
This is why there are ten main pulse patterns: each one is a manifestation of a
particular kind of vitality flowing from the ten sefirot of Abba. In the words of
the Ari, each pulse pattern indicates from which aspect of Abba the vital energy
in the pulse is coming from.”
A pulse pattern is made up of a series of rhythmic beats or, in the language of
the Ari, “dots,” which vary in their spacing and intensity. The Ari teaches that
the various patterns exhibited by the pulse at different times correspond to the
forms of the Hebrew vowel signs, which are themselves made up of dots and
short lines in various combinations. The Hebrew vowels, like the letters, are
creative forces. If the letters are the building blocks of creation, the vowels
enable them to function together to form meaningful structures—words. Thus
the Kabbalah speaks of the Hebrew letters as bodies and the vowels as souls.
Just as the vowels “animate” the letters in different ways, so do our various pulse
patterns—expressions of various spiritual influences—give rise to different
rhythms of bodily functions and different kinds of vitality.
Thus, by identifying the vowel sign formed by a particular pulse pattern and
knowing the sefirah that corresponds to that vowel, it is possible to understand
what energy is coming into the individual’s soul and body at the moment the
pulse is taken.
In Rabbi Nachman’s beautiful tale, The Seven Beggars, the “Master of Prayer”
is capable of saving the Queen’s daughter from death because he knew the “Cure
of the Ten Pulses.” I will quote a few lines from this tale just to present an idea
about the deep meaning and value that Rabbi Nachman and the Kabbalah
attributed to knowing the “Cure of the Ten Pulses.”
The Queen’s daughter decided she would run into the castle, for she
preferred to drown in water rather than have the King of Evil catch her. He
ordered to shoot her; if she dies, she dies. They shot her, and all the ten types
of arrows that are smeared with the ten types of poisons struck her. And she,
the Queen’s daughter, ran into the water castle and entered its interior, passing
through all the doors of the watery walls, until she entered the castle’s interior,
fell down, and remained in a faint.
…And only I could heal her. For whoever does not have in his hands all the
ten varieties of charities cannot enter past all the ten walls of the water castle,
for he would drown in water. So the King and his soldiers pursued the
Queen’s daughter and were all drowned in water. But I can enter past all the
ten walls of the water castle. Now, the walls of water are sea waves standing
like a wall. The winds are what erect the waves of the sea and hold the waves
erect…waves that penetrate them with different force…And I can enter past
all the ten walls of the watery castle and I can pull out all ten arrows from the
Queen’s daughter, because I know all the ten varieties of pulse beats through
the ten fingers; for through each of the ten fingers, one can know a particular
pulse beat from the ten varieties of pulse-beats, and I can heal the Queen’s
daughter through all the ten varieties of melodies.
It is well known that diagnostic methods in TCM are based on pulses. How
these pulse patterns correspond to the sefirotic pulses of Kabbalistic healing is
beyond the scope of this book. However, it would be a very useful study to
pursue.
CHAPTER 5
Hei
According to Sefer Yetzirah, the letter hei is associated with the month of
Nisan, the month of redemption. It is also related to the tribe of Judah—from
whom Mashiach will descend—and to the “sense” of speech, as we will
explain.71
According to modern Kabbalists, the advancement of computer technology,
which makes it possible to instantaneously communicate incredible amounts of
information, will hasten the redemption. Thus, the prophecy of Isaiah that states
that in the messianic future, the “earth will be filled with the knowledge of God
as the waters fill the sea” (Isaiah 11:9) will be realized.
Unambiguous communication
In Judaism, Mashiach is not God or a Divine being, but rather a flesh-and-
blood leader with “the gift of words,” the art of communicating with the hearts
and souls of his audience. Since, by Divine Providence, his advent has been
delayed until our generation, the messianic movement is making use of modern
technology to spread the “good news” of redemption to every corner of the
globe.
Computers not only have made it possible to spread “the Word of God,” but
also to explain “the Word.” As a result, secret codes of the Bible have been
revealed. Throughout the centuries, the great Torah sages indicated that there
was a level of Torah which was unattainable, except for a very few. The Vilna
Gaon, known by his acronym the Gra (1727-1797), said that all the details of the
past, present and future are in the Torah. Now these encryptions, known as the
“Bible Codes,” are being revealed due to the research of the Hebrew University
mathematician and Biblical scholar, Dr. Eliyahu Rips, and similar investigations.
Because of the computer’s ability to display vast stretches of information, it is
possible to see word patterns spelling out events with incredible accuracy.
The Shema Yisrael prayer reminds us that spiritual life is not only about
silently meditating on God, but on revealing His presence through words which
are capable of filling the world with God’s presence.
Nisan, besides being the month of the original, seminal redemption of the
Jews from Egypt, is also the most propitious month for future, universal
redemption,72 through the rectification of the word. The Arizal73 teaches that
Pesach (“Passover”), which falls on the full moon of Nisan, literally means “the
mouth [peh] speaks [sach]”.74 In the Seder of Pesach, for hours Jews
acknowledge, relate, and sing praises of God’s miracles and Divine Providence.
This is the best possible use of the mouth: prayer and the transmission of faith
and truth.
The aforementioned association between Nisan, Passover, redemption, and the
“sense of speech” suggests that the future liberation of humanity from the bonds
of ignorance will depend on the improvement of both the content and technology
of information. Communication is meaningless unless it makes a positive
difference in the hearts and minds of the people. Otherwise, in Shakespeare’s
words, it is “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”75
Unfortunately, today many people who meditate cannot even speak about the
depth of their spiritual experience. They often feel that they have to protect their
insights because other people will not understand and perhaps make fun of them.
They are even told by their teachers to try not to share their inner revelations.
Sometimes this dichotomy causes suffering because the soul ends up living in a
state of separation. One’s private life is cut off from one’s social life. While
navigating this dichotomy we sometimes manage to cut off a small a piece of our
day for spiritual life and continue living as down to earth human robots.76
Speech of gratitude
Another rectified use of speech that humanity must learn is how to express
gratitude to those who help them. Acknowledgement and gratitude are so central
to Judaism that it is even forbidden to step on bread if we find a piece of it on the
street. Instead, we are commanded to pick it up and move it, as a sign of respect
for our main source of nourishment.77 The Oral Tradition78 refers to man as
medaber (“the being who speaks”). In other words, he can fully express gratitude
after receiving a favor, and is able to make use of words in order to enlighten the
world around him.
We are obligated to acknowledge the good that others do for us, and not to
take kindness for granted. Just as we thank God for His goodness to us in our
prayers of thanksgiving, we must strive to convey our love and gratitude in our
personal relationships.
We learn about another type of “rectified” use of speech from Judah, the
progenitor of the tribe that adopted his name. Sefer Yetzirah associates Judah
with the letter hei, the final letter in God’s four lettered name that represents
malchut (“revealed reality”). On a human level, this corresponds to speech, the
revealed expression of one’s essence.
The Biblical story of Judah and Tamar represents the rectified use of speech
through the admission of one’s mistakes. The Torah gives us a description of
Judah’s remarkable ability for self-criticism. When his daughterin-law Tamar,
obviously pregnant, is accused of having illicit relations, Judah favors the truth
over his own public image. When he becomes aware of his responsibility for her
pregnancy, he admits it, publicly acknowledging that “she has been more
righteous than me.”79
Unfortunately, the spiritual path of many modern leaders—and of most of us
—is often limited by our need to justify ourselves and rationalize our actions.
This distances us from God as well as from our loved ones. Searching for the
words that will heal and repair is tantamount to liberating speech from its exile.
The power of rectified speech allows the hei to transform our thoughts into
words that lead to individual and collective redemption. As King Solomon
taught, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”80
CHAPTER 6
Vav
Contemplation of nature
The anniversary of the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, author of the
Zohar, is commemorated on the 18th day of the month of Iyar,85 which
corresponds to the sign of Taurus, as we have noted. His work was inspired in
the context of nature: the olive trees of the Galilee, the lake of Tiberias, the cave
where he lived and where he and his disciples withdrew for periods of
meditation and study. This great sage received and transmitted the highest
teachings of Kabbalah while immersed in the Land of Israel.
In the Kabbalistic text Tomer Devorah—The Palm Tree of Deborah, by Rabbi
Moshe Cordevero, such periods of study, carried out in close contact with the
natural environment, are defined as gerushin (“self-imposed isolation from the
social world”). In former times, groups of students who were very close to their
teacher and totally dedicated to the study of the secrets of Jewish mysticism
preferred to conduct their studies in a natural environment away from centers of
human habitation in order to support their kavanah (“directed awareness”) and
contemplation. The Ba’al Shem Tov is known to have frequently entered the
forest to pray. In the quiet, undisturbed solitude of nature, we can best hear that
“still, small voice”86 of the soul that is our spiritual connection (our personal
vav, which also means “hook”) to God.
The most common method of meditation practiced by the patriarchs and
taught by the great masters, including Rabbi Avraham ben HaRambam (the son
of Maimonides), is contemplation of nature, especially the vast, starry celestial
spaces and the sea. The power of such reflection to enhance Divine awareness is
alluded to by the fact that the Hebrew word – הטבעhateva (“nature”) has the
same numerical value, 86, as – אלקיםElokim, the name of God specifically
associated with nature.87
The letter vav is associated with the Hebrew month of Iyar. The modern
State of Israel, whose purpose, like the letter vav, is to unify heaven and
earth, was founded in the month of Iyar. The tribe associated with the
letter vav in Sefer Yetzirah is Issachar.
Sharing the same view, Traditional Chinese Medicine theorizes that disease is
caused by imbalance or conflict among the Five Elements. Healing is therefore
the result of rebalancing relations among the various organs and their associated
elements and emotions. Kidney-Water imbalance will affect the Liver-Wood
energy (trees need Water in order to grow). Such an imbalance will, in turn,
cause damage to the heart-fire (which needs wood to be able to burn), which will
then create an imbalance in spleen-earth. The Earth without Sun cannot give
fruits; the stomach without heat cannot digest food. This imbalance will
eventually damage the Lungs-Metal. Indeed, earth that is poor does not contain
minerals (Metal). The weakness of metal (Lungs) will create an imbalance in
Water. As a matter of fact, in nature water is collected by metal spoons or pots.
As medical science teaches, lungs and the kidneys must effectively cooperate for
the water passages to flow.
Awareness of the emotions that cause organ dysfunctions and disrupt the
perfect order and cooperation of the systems is the primary condition for healing.
The Oral Tradition clearly refers to physical healing being synonymous with
psychological and spiritual healing: “Great is teshuvah (“repentance”) because it
brings healing to the world.”90
In Psalms, the mystical experience of union between body and soul is clearly
expressed by the following verse: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is
within me bless His holy Name.”94
In the Shabbat morning liturgy, we find the same thought:
From severe, numerous, and enduring diseases You spared us…. Therefore,
the organs that You set within us and the spirit and soul that You breathed into
our nostrils…all of them shall thank and bless You…. Every knee shall bend
to You…and all innards and kidneys will sing to Your Name, as it is written,95
“Lord! Who is like unto You?”
In the central passage of the daily liturgy, during the Amidah (“standing”
prayer), we bow four times, first bending at our knees and then bending forward
with our backs, curving the spinal cord, which is symbolized by the vav. The
Oral tradition explains that the eighteen blessings of the Amidah prayer
correspond to the eighteen vertebrae that bend in the act of bowing.96 According
to both osteopathy and acupuncture, the act of bowing and keeping the spinal
column elastic enhances one’s physical health. The Talmud says that we are
obligated to bow during the Amidah to the extent that “all one’s vertebrae
stretch.”97 On a spiritual level, by bowing we acknowledge our humility as we
come before the Divine King with our prayers. The vav, the straight line that
symbolizes the direct connection between heaven and earth, must also be humble
and flexible in God’s presence.
CHAPTER 7
Zayin
Zayin is the seventh letter of the alphabet, and its numerical value is seven.
Therefore, the zayin has a strong association with the seventh day, Shabbat, the
day of rest.
Remember the Shabbat Day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do
all your work; but the seventh day is a Shabbat unto the Lord your God. On it
you shall not do any manner of work—you, your son, your daughter, your
manservant, your maidservant, your cattle, and your stranger that is within
your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all
that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the
Shabbat Day and hallowed it.
According to Jewish tradition, success in the six days of work depends on the
blessing bestowed upon us by resting on the Shabbat. Just as the true musician is
recognized by his ability to accentuate the intensity of musical pauses, so does
the quality of human existence totally depend on our capacity to “pause” and
cease all our work on the Shabbat. The Shabbat is a gift that we are commanded
to extend to our animals, to those who work for us, to strangers, and to all who
are within our gates. For one day a week all creation is called to experience the
bliss of stillness.
We live in a time-based reality, and our bodies are wired to function
rhythmically, in intervals such as waking, praying, eating, working, and sleeping.
Shabbat offers us an island in time that is disconnected from the demands and
requirements of our everyday existence. Just as God rested from His work, so
too do we take a rest from ours. We spare both the universe and ourselves from
our manipulations. We do not make changes in the world around us. Instead, we
step back and enjoy the world as it is.
The Shabbat is the ultimate expression and exercise of our freedom. Only
human beings have been endowed with the blessing of choosing rest. On
Shabbat the telephone is ignored, television and radio are silent, and food has
already been cooked and only needs to be enjoyed. There is no traveling, and
any thoughts, activities, or speech having to do with money-related subjects, are
avoided for almost twenty-six hours.
On the other hand, the Hebrew word – זןzan refers to sources of nourishment
for humans, and the word – זיןzayin itself means “weapon,” which hints at the
“struggle” of earning a living. This is only an apparent contradiction. Work can
be so all-consuming that, in our effort to earn a living, we can forget to “make a
life.” The Shabbat is the cure for the Yang totally taking over the Yin (the
introspective aspect of life). The Maharal of Prague explains that the number 6
symbolizes the six directions of space (above, below, and the four lateral
directions), in which physical labor takes place, while 7 is the center, the
untouchable heart of the cube—the Shabbat, the source of all the blessings for
the entire week.98 In order to gather the strength to meet the demands made of us
during the six workdays, we must reconnect to our higher self by recreating our
own center. The effort involved in making this day intensely different from the
rest of the week is parallel to the effort of working with an honest, pure, and
enlightened state of consciousness on the other six days.
Sefer Yetzirah connects zayin to the month of Sivan, in which the Torah was
given on Mount Sinai, and to the tribe of Zebulun. We can wonder whether it
might not be more appropriate to associate the Torah revelation with the tribe of
Issachar, the tribe of scholars, rather than with the entrepreneurs of Zebulun.
In Jewish thought, however, the way we earn our living is of major
importance in our spiritual lives. Doing work that is not ours is like “sleeping
with a prostitute.” According to Kabbalah, finding the work that best suits us is
as crucial as finding our “soul mate.”99 God joins work partners as well as soul
mates. Honest and correct partnerships are so important that the sages tell us that
the first question a soul is asked when it reaches the Afterlife is: “Were you
honest in your business dealings?”
The correct energy dynamics between the Yang and the Yin aspect of zayin is
central to Judaism. The Torah does not advise spiritual seekers to go to a convent
or a monastery to meditate. Rather, the Torah clearly encourages one to “work
for six days, and rest (a deep complete rest) on the seventh day.” On Shabbat,
our commitment is in the realm of “not doing.” During the week, the effort is
about “doing” in a state of higher awareness. In TCM terminology, we could call
the Shabbat the Yin that nourishes the Yang.
Keeping Shabbat is central to Judaism. Thus, we understand that the
sanctification of God’s Name occurs in the dimension of stillness and
meditation. Says the prophet Ezekiel: “Not in the wind, not in the storm…but in
the still small voice…” We read in the liturgy of the Shabbat afternoon, “a rest of
peace, serenity, a perfect and complete rest, which You want us to experience.
May Your children recognize and know that from You is their rest, and by their
rest they sanctify Your Name.”
The need to stop creative activity and go inside during Shabbat can also be
explained from an astrological perspective. The Hebrew name of the planet
Saturn (Shabtai) shares the same root as the word Shabbat. The energies of this
planet, which rules the seventh day, are not conducive to action. Saturn is known
as the planet that blocks and thwarts creative human effort. It is therefore much
more natural to withdraw and abstain from action and work on this day.
For centuries the first Christians also observed the seventh day on Shabbat,
Saturday, the day of Saturn, and not on Sun-day. From the astrological
perspective, the energy of the sun is much less conducive to introspection and
withdrawal and more inspiring to ‘action’. Maybe one of the reasons why
Western society is so extroverted and unable to go ‘inside’ is that its day of rest
is under the influence of the Sun, a heavenly body that is inspiring the fire of
activity. In fact, many Westerners spend their day of “rest” engaging in active
sports, traveling on crowded highways, or participating in social activities that
deprive them of the rest available on the seventh day.
Zayin is also the first letter of the words – זמןzeman (“time”) and – זכרzecher
(“memory”). Much of our successful spiritual and psychological growth depends
on our relationship with time and memory. The Name of God, the
Tetragrammaton, suggests the union of past, present, and future:103 by
combining the letters of the Tetragrammaton in various ways, we obtain the
Hebrew words for was, is, and will be. This hints to how God is beyond all time,
yet involved in every aspect of all time dimensions that we pass through.
Observing the Jewish holidays helps create a well-balanced relationship with
these three dimensions of time. On the one hand, as we reconnect to the events
of the past through rituals and prayer, we experience the trials and salvations that
our forefathers experienced. In doing so, we also reactivate the same energy and
states of consciousness they experienced, which helps reinforce our faith in the
positive promise of our future.
The holiday of Passover illustrates the importance of remembering: we recall
the story of the Exodus to remind ourselves of our past slavery, in order to
remain constantly aware of the danger of spiritual, emotional, and psychological
decline into all kinds of slavery (food, drugs, work, emotional traumas,
relationships…)104 On Passover, eating maror (bitter herbs), dipping in salt
water (to feel the taste of tears), and the numerous rituals of the Pesach seder105
have one single aim: to recall and arouse our awareness of the bitterness and
suffering of slavery—of any kind of slavery—and the possibility of freedom.
By remembering God’s continuing presence in our personal history, we also
can access the different qualities of time, related to the different “faces” of
Divinity. As is written in Ecclesiastes:106
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the
heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to reap that
which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build
up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to
embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to reap, and a time to sow; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Flowing with time is a religious precept in Judaism. Our sages teach that
Pesach (“Passover”) is a time when all of nature is escaping from the chains of
cold and winter. Similarly, Yom Kippur, the Day of Forgiveness, could only be in
the month of empathy and compassion, and the day of Purim (in which we must
reach the state of equanimity necessary for not seeing the difference between
good and bad in our lives) could only happen in the full moon of Adar, the
month of Pisces.
In our daily life, if we speak when we should listen, if we remain silent when
we should speak up, if we embrace when we should refrain from embracing, if
we want to win when we have already lost, we are not tuned in to “God’s time.”
For thousands of years in the East, the Book of Changes has been a guide for
men of wisdom to inquire and tune in with the right times for action and
contemplation, following the Divine energy flow.
A tool for tuning into the present moment is the practice of reciting the
blessings that are appropriate for any particular given situation. For example,
when someone dies we recite a particular blessing of accepting the Heavenly
decree. There are special blessings we recite when we see the ocean, smell the
scent of a fruit, or eat a certain type of food. Blessings are a type of meditation
through which we totally immerse ourselves in the present moment. Thus, we
avoid the psychological malady of either constantly projecting into the future or
digressing into the past.107 The condition of absolute awareness can be learned
from children, who know how to totally concentrate on what they are doing at
any given moment. As Zen masters also teach: “When you sit, sit; when you
walk, walk; when you eat, eat!”
Unfortunately, the Jews did not succeed in spreading those laws. This is partly
due to their difficult relations with the nations (thousands of years of
persecutions), and forgetting the importance of such a universal inheritance.
Today there is a large number of people who are interested in Kabbalah, or who
want to convert. According to the sages, in reality there is no extra spiritual merit
in being a Jew over being a non-Jew practicing the Seven Noahide Laws. The
real mission of the Jewish people is not to convert people to their religion (on the
contrary, they try to persuade people not to become Jews) but to help create a
world not only more “enlightened,” but also more ethical, towards humans and
animals alike.
CHAPTER 8
Chet
According to Sefer Yetzirah the letter chet is associated with Cancer—the sign
of feminine energy, the moon, water, and maternity. According to Jewish
tradition, as well as psychoanalysis and astrology the moon represents the inner
world, the unconscious, the emotions, and the deepest needs to nourish and to be
nourished. The energy of chet corresponds to the Yin principle.
Each person spends an entire life recalling the memories of those teachings,
buried in the unconscious, in order to become, one day, capable of being just, of
putting into practice all the teachings of the angel stored in his subconscious.
Connecting with water, especially through the ritual of immersion in the mikveh,
has among its functions the goal of helping us remember who we really are…
In reading these lines, we may ask ourselves how the all-knowing God could
not know from the beginning that reducing the moon would be a great mistake.
This gave the masculine sun the power to influence humanity with its tendency
towards fighting wars, domination, and irresponsible use and abuse of natural
resources. The answer to this question could be: God’s will was to test the sun
and show how impossible it is to rule without the moon’s cooperation, without
the feminine principle. Since the sun failed this test, the opposition between sun
and moon will be ultimately solved in the messianic era, by a new, final stage of
equal cooperation between their polarities. As it is written, “And the light of the
moon will be like the light of the sun.”
The moon, the “mother,” is that part of the psyche that reminds us, for
instance, to rest when we are tired. The damage resulting from an un-internalized
healthy mother can be corrected. We simply need to learn to take care of
ourselves and not to expect that others will do this for us. As the Sages say, “If I
am not for myself, who will be for me? And if not now, when?”. (Pirkei Avot)
The process that psychologists call “re-parenting” finds its roots in the
mitzvah to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We must first learn to love
ourselves in order to love others in a positive and balanced way.
We can more deeply understand the importance of the moon by noting that
while the sun disappears and seems to be defeated by darkness and obscurity, the
moon not only illuminates the night but is often visible during the day as well.
The hard work of self-reflection together with prayer, meditation, and artistic
expression can illuminate the shadows in our lives that threaten our ability to
grow emotionally and to develop healthy relationships. A purely rational,
sensible analysis of our problems alone is often not enough and is sometimes
detrimental to the healing process. Like the sun, rational solutions act like
merciless reflectors, creating areas of shadows and thus resistance. In contrast,
the light of the moon gently penetrates our inner world, healing it without
creating new shadows.
Mashiach, King David, and the people of Israel are all associated with the
moon. They are identified with their ability to become smaller and once again
become bright and majestic. They, like the moon, go into exile and are
drastically reduced, only to be ultimately restored to their original greatness.
The first tet that appears in the Book of Genesis is in the word tov, “good,”
and hints to the highest form of Divine love. Meditation on the letter tet helps us
to focus our attention on the good that surrounds us. This tov is synonymous
with the life force that animates all of creation. If we are meant to emanate God’s
attributes, we are then obligated to look for the good in ourselves and in others.
It is through this letter that we understand that God knows what benefits us and
if we look through the surface of “good” and “evil” we may perceive His
consistent, unbending love for us.
Rebbe, after having being immersed for a long time in the contemplation of a
wild duck, prayed to God that this would help him “acquire Olam HaBa, the
World to Come”: Obviously for the great masters of Kabbalah, meditation and
contemplation of nature was a means of achieving a clear and direct line of
communication with the Infinite. This ultimate state of transcendental awareness
is also called “prophecy.”
The average (non-prophetic) person receives indirect but potentially clear
communications from the Infinite in the form of daily events that occur. There
are some, particularly insane people, who can apparently receive direct but
unclear communications. In contrast, the prophetic experience is described as a
communication that is both clear and direct.
Deveikut (“cleaving to God”) is a specific method of reaching transcendence.
Ultimately, the Infinite’s essence is unknowable by a finite mind with finite
senses. Nonetheless, the Infinite created this universe for the purpose of giving
to another. We are that other, and the greatest gift is the ability to have a
relationship with the Infinite itself.
Everything is the Infinite. The infinite is the “location” of the universe.
Indeed, one of the Hebrew terms for the Infinite is ha’makom—the place. On
human terms, however, it suffices to understand that the Infinite by definition is
always very near to us. This understanding is not intellectually difficult but does
require practice in order to be integrated into a constant awareness.
Fasting is a practice of constant focus and awareness that is central to Zen
Buddhism. Westerners developed a limited version of this awareness called
“epiphany”: the momentary experience of an object’s infinite source. Judaism
combines the two by cultivating both an expanded mind and a constant
awareness of this world.
Perek Shirah found some hints in the verses of the Bible, to the connection of
Nature to its transcendent source. Here are a few more quotes.
The rivers say: “Let the rivers clap their hands, together the mountains shall
sing for joy!” (Psalms 98:8)
The wellsprings say: “And as singers that are flutists, are all my wellsprings
within you.” (Psalms 87:7)
The day says: “The day to day utters speech and night to night expresses
knowledge.” (Psalms 19:3)
The rain-clouds say: “He made darkness His secret place; His surroundings
are His shelter, the darkness of water the clouds of the heavens.” (Psalms
18:12)
The hen says: “He gives bread to all flesh, for His loving-kindness endures
forever.” (Psalms 136:25)
The dove says before The Holy One, Blessed Be He, “Master of the World,
may my sustenance be as bitter as an olive in Your hands, rather than being
sweet as honey in the hands of flesh and blood.” (Talmud, Masechet Eruvin
18b)
The crane says: “Give thanks to Hashem with the lyre; play for Him with
the ten-stringed harp.” (Psalms 33:2)
The swallow says: “So that my soul shall sing Your honor and shall not be
silent, Hashem my God—I shall forever thank you.” (Psalms 30:13)
The swift says: “My help is from Hashem, Maker of Heaven and Earth.”
(Psalms 121:2)
The duck says: “Trust in Hashem forever, for God Hashem is the
everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:4)
The giant sea-creatures say: “Praise Hashem from the earth, the giant sea
creatures and the depths.” (Psalms 148:7)
The whale says: “Give thanks to Hashem for He is good, His kindness
endures forever.” (Psalms 136:1).
These last verses might sound familiar to anyone who has been involved with
the mysterious world of whales. Two thousand years after Perek Shirah, the
whales are thanking God for saving their species from sure extinction. This is a
great act of love, clearly recognized by all modern nature “contemplators.”
Unfortunately, two thousand years of persecutions and exile have caused most
Jews to lose their connection to the feminine aspect of Godliness and to relate
more comfortably (and safely, during times of persecutions) to the transcendent
aspect of God. Thus, we have for the most part exclusively become the “people
of the book,” connecting on a more intellectual with God. This has caused us to
lose touch with our Kabbalistic inheritance, our bond with the Shechinah, whose
presence is most easily felt in the natural world.
Adam, the first man on earth, in the Garden of Eden was given a special task
to love, enjoy and take care of the whole planet. All environmental abuse can be
attributed to the disconnection between Adam’s descendents and the Shechinah
(“mother earth”), which, according to the words of bio-molecular scientist Bruce
Lipton, is “trying to expel, with its fever, the micro-organisms that are disturbing
its balance: mankind.” The increasing phenomena of floods, earthquakes, and
other natural disasters may be interpreted as the earth’s valiant effort to restore
the balance that was disrupted by man’s destructive and unrestrained, greedy
pursuits, in the name of progress.
CHAPTER 10
Yud
The letter yud, the smallest of all the letters, is the beginning of the Hebrew
word for Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, and is also the beginning of the word for
Israel, Yisrael, which the Torah calls the smallest people on earth. In the next
image, we see how the gates of Jerusalem are opening for the ingathering of
those returning to their faith (ba’alei teshuvah). They are bringing their
enthusiastic offerings to the Temple, the sparks of light gathered in their long
journey in search of truth.
Yud is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, but it is far from being the
least significant. The powerful energy of the yud is concentrated in its tiny form
and is associated with wisdom. The value of humility, required for the
acquisition of true wisdom, testifies to the yud’s greatness, in spite of its small
size. One can imagine the great significance of the yud when we realize that the
beginning of any Hebrew letter or any Hebrew word starts with the form of the
letter yud.
Yud in Hebrew is spelled out with the same letters of yad (“hand”). As in
English, the Hebrew word for hand, yad, connotes “power” as in the phrase “the
hand of God.” In the Sefer Yetzirah the hand (the left hand particularly) is
associated with the world of asiya, inspired action and the sign of Virgo. Virgo
connotes the talent involved in transforming the material word into works of art,
or of “service” to humankind.
For this and other reasons, the use of hands is central to Jewish ritual and
liturgy. The first ritual and prayer a Jew performs upon awakening concerns his
hands. Netilat yadayim (washing the hands, literally “the raising of the hands”) is
recited while hands are lifted towards the sky, and palms and fingers are opened
as much as possible to receive God’s blessing. This movement is extremely
similar to that of Qi Gong: raising the hands to Heaven in order to collect and
make Heavenly Qi descend.
Birkat haKohanim, the Priestly Blessing (recited by the priests in Biblical
times and those descended from the house of Aaron today) is considered as the
most dramatic part of the synagogue service. And the role hands play in this
cerimony is central. The Kohanim bless the congregation while they stand with
their hands uplifted, the fingers outstretched in a particular “mudra”, resembling
the form of the Hebrew letter shin, the first letter of Shaddai, one of God’s
names. This gesture is symbolic of the Divine Presence, which “shines through”
the fingers of the Kohen while he blesses the people.
On Shabbat many observant Jewish parents bless their children by covering
each child’s head with their hands as they recite the following words, inspired by
the Priestly blessing:
May God bless you and guard you.
May God show you favor and be gracious to you.
May God show you kindness and grant you peace.
A similar gesture of raising of the hands is made during Birkat HaMazon (the
blessing after meals) when pronouncing the words poteach et yadecha u’masbia
le’chol chai ratzon (“You open Your hands and satisfy the needs of each
creature”). Once again, hand gestures are used in prayer for intensifying and
elevating one’s level of intention (kavanah).
At the conclusion of the Shabbat, one of the rituals signifying the separation
of the holiness of the Shabbat from the mundaneness of the rest of the week
involves holding the hands in front of a lit candle. The hands are reversed in a
gesture of channeling the light of the candle to the fingernails of the hand. One
intention of this ritual is to draw the holiness of Shabbat into the six working
days by enlightening the creative work of the hands, represented by the nails, the
most aggressive and powerful part of the hand.
The meaning of the hamsah (“the healing hand”), which appears in classic
Jewish jewelry, is a reminder of the important role hands and their positions had
in ancient Jewish healing.
In recent studies much attention has been given to the importance of hand
gestures in speech development… The brain’s “communication messages” are
first sent to the hands, and then our hand gestures are subsequently followed by
verbal speech. Basic hand gestures comprise a universal language, invaluable
when we find ourselves in a foreign country and unable to communicate.
Many discoveries regarding this issue can be found in the book Giving Speech
a Hand by Amy Hubbard. Her findings suggest a common neural substrate for
processing speech and hand gesture, likely reflecting their joint communicative
role in social interaction. Successful social communication involves the
integration of simultaneous input from multiple sensory modalities. Hand
gestures for example, can alter the interpretation of speech, disambiguate speech,
increase comprehension and memory and convey information not delivered by
speech.
Throughout history, many societies have used hand signs. These hand signs
transmit powerful messages and have religious, political, cultural and social
meanings. Our hands are powerful tools. They are tools of self-expression and
can communicate many sentiments that we are not able to express verbally. The
hearing impaired rely on the use of their hands to communicate with others.
Hand gestures greatly aid autistic children in developing their communication
skills. Where speech is absent we rely on the hands. Each time we touch one
another we communicate something specific. Aristotle considered the hands to
be “the organs of organs, the instrument of instruments.”
The role that hands have in communicating messages to our brain and our
subconscious mind is also extremely meaningful. As novelist Robertson Davies
puts it; “The hand speaks to the brain as surely as the brain speaks to the hand”.
The letter – יyud, the smallest in the Hebrew alphabet, is the first letter of the
Tetragrammaton, the ineffable, unpronounceable Name of God. As mentioned
above, yud is also first letter of the holy land and the people of Yisrael. Yud, a
black dot, represents this little-big people, as they are defined in the Torah.
This seeming paradox was perfectly expressed in an article by Mark Twain on
the “miracle” of the Jewish people. According to Twain, although Jews represent
only one percent of the world’s population, they include a disproportionate
number of scientists, artists, musicians, doctors, and businessmen. In his article,
Twain states:
The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with
sound and…then…passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and…
they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a
time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew
saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was…. All things are
mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of
his immortality?
My ancestor Don Yitzhak Abravanel, who like many great rabbis of the past,
was very knowledgeable of the New Testament and was therefore able to
communicate and establish meaningful relationships with kings and statesmen of
the Christian faith of his time. He should be considered a role model for all
Jewish leaders who are seriously motivated to establish a more constructive
cooperation among believers of various religions.
Yofi: “beauty”
The word – יפיyofi (“beauty”) begins and ends with the letter yud. The
connection between beauty and yud is also explained by the numerical value of
yofi, 100, which is the square of 10, the numerical value of yud. In Kabbalah, the
square of a number reveals the precise explanation of its essence. Therefore,
beauty is deeply tied to the history of Israel. Japheth (Yefet, in Hebrew, derived
from the word yofi), as the father of the Indo-European race and of Greek
civilization, is blessed by his father Noah with the following words: “God shall
enlarge Japheth in beauty and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem.”
This blessing is reflected in the fact that the numerical value of the Hebrew
word for “Israel” ( )ישראלis the sum of the numerical values of the words – יפי
yofi (“beauty”) and – אמתemet (“truth”). The messianic redemption will bring
the unification between the beauty of Western civilization and its artistic
expressions with the truth of the Bible and the Jewish spiritual tradition, yofi and
emet. Though he may not have intended this association, the famous last lines of
John Keats’ (1795-1821) The Grecian Urn, are relevant in this context:
Beauty is truth, truth beauty. That is all Ye know on earth and all ye need to
know.
The role beauty has in spiritual evolution can be easily intuited by reflecting
on one of the first verses of the Bible describing the creation of the Garden of
Eden, “and God caused every kind of tree to grow from the soil, delightful to the
sight and good for food.”(Genesis). The commentators of the Bible have pointed
out that in those verses, God is telling us that man’s nourishment does not come
from physical food only, but from aesthetic gratification (the sequence being:
delightful to the sight, and afterwards, good for food). Here the aesthetic sense,
man’s sense of beauty, receives its justification and sanctity. The forms of beauty
that appear on our earth are abundant, and, as far as we know, man is the only
creature endowed with a capacity to enjoy beauty. The development of the
aesthetic sense is part of the path to enlightenment. The enjoyment of beauty
creates a state of spiritual elevation. The various blessings that Jews should
articulate upon seeing natural beauty accentuate the awareness of the joy one is
experiencing. When we thank and bless for the “bliss” of beholding beauty we
are expressing awe and gratitude to the Creator.
From the Kabbalistic perspective, everything we experience is part of the
infinite. The infinite is the “location” of the universe. As previously mentioned,
one of the Hebrew terms for the Infinite is HaMakom, the place. The emphasis
Jews put in blessing God for the beauty they experience heightens our awareness
that the Infinite is always very near to us. Olam HaBa, the World to Come, is
better translated with the words “the world that comes to us.” This understanding
may not be intellectual, and requires practice to develop into a constant
awareness of the Shechinah, the Infinite Divine presence contained in creation,
felt and seen by physical senses.
CHAPTER 11
Kaf
A verse from the prophecy of Zachariah states that Mashiach will appear
riding upon a donkey. According to Chassidut, this verse must be read
symbolically: the word for “donkey,” – חמורchamor, has the same letters as the
word – חומרchomer (“matter”). In other words, the main goal of Mashiach is to
“ride upon matter,” helping humanity to transform matter into spirit. Presently,
matter “rides” and dictates humans’ psychological and spiritual reality. At the
time of redemption the emphasis placed on the struggle to acquire more and
more material possessions will be transferred into the desire to utilize matter for
the goal of stimulating and enlivening spiritual awareness. This shift in
awareness is needed both for healing the planet and for supporting human
evolution.
Spirituality is not a synonym for withdrawal from the world of action. It is
true that many spiritually oriented people today lack physical vigor and are often
unable to act with determination in the real world which they mistakenly view
pejoratively. This perspective, however, might be due to their lack of
understanding of the essential congruence of spirit and matter.
In the same vein, one of the afflictions of modern consumer societies is a
general malaise and spiritual emptiness that drives so many to acquire more and
more material wealth. In contrast, a clear example of the proper congruence of
spirit and matter is the biblical figure Samson, whose physical strength was an
expression of his union with the Divine. The balance between the spiritual and
the physical, between matter and energy was the key to his superhuman feats.
Kaved: “liver”
According to both TCM and Kabbalah, the liver is the seat of another very
potent life force. It contains large amounts of blood (actually 13% of the body’s
blood at any given moment), and, as the Scriptures teach, the blood is the nefesh
(the part of the soul that enlivens the body).
This accounts for the very strict prohibition in the Bible of eating the blood of
an animal. According to the Oral Tradition, the blood-filled liver is the seat of
two opposite drives. On one hand, it drives us toward impulsiveness, anger and
obsession with power. On the other hand, it is the symbol of our creative power,
of our will, courage and determination to be God’s partners in Redemption. This
can be seen in the numerical equivalence of the word – כבדkaved and the
Tetragrammaton, the unpronounceable, ineffable Name of God; both equal 26.
TCM also confirms the liver’s double drive: when the liver is healthy, it
provides the human being with the capacity to act with determination, to be
creatively inspired by the vision of “the” Project—to be like a General of the
army who has a strategy; knowing when to proceed and when to withdraw. An
unbalanced liver, on the other hand, can result in a paralysis of will or the
incapacity to retreat when faced with self-destructive tendencies.
The unrelenting Biblical figure of Pharaoh corresponds to the behavioral type
described by Chinese medicine of a lack of yin in the liver. This is the inability
to pull back in the midst of a disastrous situation. Modern Kabbalists and
acupuncturists diagnose the attitude of Pharaoh as a condition in which the “liver
has taken over the heart.” In reading the Exodus a curious attentive reader would
be puzzled by the number of times the words “Pharaoh’s heart is hard, heavy
(kaved.)”
The Hebrew word – כבדkaved means both “liver” and “heavy.” Therefore the
verse may also be read “Pharaoh’s heart has become a liver.” The image of the
“heart becoming the liver” is one that occurs repeatedly throughout the entire
narrative of Pharaoh and the Israelites. Instead of being the site of love and
wisdom, the heart becomes impulsive and irresponsible like the unbalanced liver
of a k’vad pei. The ruler of Egypt refuses to set the Israelites free despite the fact
that this stubbornness provoked disaster in the form of the ten plagues inflicted
upon the Egyptians.
However, Pharaoh is not the only one to be affected by the condition of “heart
becoming liver.” Also Moses, when he was invited by God to speak to Pharaoh
as well as the Israelites, initially refused to go. This is because he “stuttered,” or
was k’ved pei. This expression means two things: “heavy tongue” (speech
defect), or “a tongue that became a liver.”
Now we must remember that the “heart opens in the tongue.” That means that
the deepest intuitions of the heart can be communicated, if the heart is at its best.
When the main tool of expression of the heart (the tongue) is impaired, like
when it becomes hardened by the liver and its anger, the tongue and the heart
close up, blocking the flow of communication. Moses’ capacity to communicate
had been damaged by his reaction of anger and frustration when he witnessed
the persecutions of his brothers in Egypt. His tongue became heavy, became a
liver, blocked, unable to perfectly communicate the vision and the messages of
God, neither to the Jews nor to Pharaoh.
The connection between the heart and the capacity to communicate the inner
truths of the soul is reinforced by the Jewish religious practice of donning
tefillin. This mitzvah is a tool for inspiring the heart and enhancing the power of
prayer and communication.
There are times when we experience a “Pharaoh-liver,” which impels us
toward self-destructive behavior. The path to healing lies in allowing the heart
and mind once again to rule over the liver and its impulses. This is alluded to by
the first letters of the Hebrew words moach-lev-kaved (“mindheart-liver”), which
in this order spell melech (“king”).
Healing occurs when the liver becomes a faithful servant of the mind and
heart, i.e., when a person is king over his impulses. When the order of these
three letters is reversed (kaved-lev-moach), we have the word klum (“nothing”),
the condition that the Sages define as the “burning of the inner sanctuary” by the
flames of the fire of anger.
Energy of love
Another great generator of strength in the Torah is love for another and for
God. Jacob, our patriarch, met Rachel, his future wife, at the well where she was
waiting to water her flock. The surge of love he felt upon seeing her for the first
time enabled him to remove the stone covering the well. Normally the joint
efforts of a number of shepherds were required to move the stone.
Moses’ love for God inspired him to refrain from food or drink for forty days.
To a lesser degree in our own lives we may become oblivious to our bodily
needs and limitations when we are in a heightened emotional state.
The other great generator of energy is blissful awareness of God, in Hebrew
deveikut (“cleaving”). Many episodes in the Bible communicate the idea of how
the spirit animates and rules over the body. Mirra Alfassa, known to spiritual
seekers as Mère or The Mother, is an example of the power of deveikut. Born in
Paris of Turkish-Moroccan parents, Mirra learned the Jewish esoteric tradition
and studied a central subject in Kabbalah: that of redemption through matter,
specifically the body, which has too often been considered the greatest obstacle
for spiritual awareness.
Alfassa postulated that spiritual evolution must be revealed in matter. An
illuminated person cannot be limited to perceiving light only in his or her inner
self. Such a person must learn to perceive light by descending into matter in
order to transform every cell of the body. Her experiments in meditation allowed
her to heal from many diseases, becoming the living proof of the Kabbalistic
idea of the spirit riding the “donkey.”
This concept is expressed in the experiments that Mirra Alfassa carried out as
she began her journey of healing. Through yoga, breathing exercises, long
periods of fasting, and other practices, she discovered that cells could be fed
directly by Divine energy, recalling the experience of Moses. She also
substantiated this phenomenon through meditation and communication with the
intelligence of the cells, allowing her to recover at will from the most serious
diseases. She thus discovered and demonstrated that a deficiency of
consciousness can cause illness, and conversely, heal us. Her story serves as an
example and proof that we have the continuing task to maintain our health so
that the body becomes the perfect instrument for the soul.
Sefer Yetzirah states that during our spiritual journey, we must rediscover and
dialogue with the “parts of the soul” residing in the different organs. This teaches
us that we must learn to sustain Divine light in every part of the body. This is the
only way to reach energy levels that will allow us to become a merkavah
(“chariot”) for Divinity in this world. When our entire being, including the cells
in our bodies, is full of awareness, we will leave the exile and declare with King
David, “Your Torah is within my heart,” or, like Job, “I see God in my flesh.”
These verses have become more meaningful than ever with the recent
proliferation of illnesses afflicting millions of people in modern society. The
pathway toward physical health will be made easier by healing the weakness of
the soul through a process of rediscovery and identification with the Qi, the
Divine vital energy.
In the image, we see the word koach (“strength”), and in its center we can see
Samson, the great prophet-warrior. His strength was not brutal and physical,
rather it derived from his direct connection with Divine energy.
CHAPTER 12
Lamed
The lamed, which towers above all of the other letters in the Hebrew alphabet
and is the initial letter of the word lev (“heart”), reflects the wisdom of TCM.
TCM declares that the heart is the strongest organ, emitting the most energy. The
heart is the source of inspiration, love and connection.
The essential energy of the month of Tishrei is channeled through the letter
lamed. It is in this month that we renew and purify our relationship with God and
make amends with each other. Our souls are then invited to bond under the
protective roof of the sukkah, the holy space where Jews eat for a week in purity,
in the presence of angels and visiting patriarchs and matriarchs. The sukkah is
like a communal mikveh where all of our social interactions become imbued with
love and clarity as we together purify our hearts.
During the week-long Festival of Succot, we shake four types of plants in
prayer and meditation. Each plant represents a different part of the body. The
etrog represents the heart and is the only specie that is held in the right hand.
Jews belabor the selection and purchase of the perfect etrog, which must meet
stringent halachic requirements. A good etrog reflects a rectified heart, free to
love one’s fellow man and serve God in joy.
We begin the New Year having strengthened and healed our strongest organ,
the heart. Throughout the rest of the year all of our thoughts, speech and actions
will surely be inspired by a vibrant, pulsating love.
According to TCM, when the heart becomes heavy (in Hebrew “heavy” is
written with the same letters of the word “liver,” kaved) one becomes numb to
life and blind to vision. When scripture informs us that Pharaoh continually
resisted Moses and thereby rejected the process of redemption, the verse
continues to relate that the heart of Pharaoh had become a “liver” or the “heart”
of Pharaoh had become “heavy.”
Because of his “liver-heavy” heart, Pharaoh witnessed the ten plagues and all
the miracles of the Exodus, oblivious to the mystery of the supernatural. Pharaoh
asked Moses several times: “Who is the God who sends you?” but he could not
receive an enlightening answer from Moses. Why is it that the greatest prophet
of the Bible could not answer his question? Could we attribute Moses’ failure to
communicate to and inspire the dictator to his own “constricted heart”? In the
Biblical text we learn that also Moses’ heart had lost part of its capacity for
inspiration and communication. Moses defined his communication problem
when he resisted God’s order to speak to Pharaoh as “I am k’vad pei (“my mouth
is heavy,” or “my mouth is a liver”).” TCM teaches that the mouth is the main
tool for the heart’s expression. In terms of TCM, Moses’ statement can be related
to his heart (the source of spiritual vision) having become tight and unable to
communicate like an angry liver. Unfortunately all these concepts are totally
buried by the prevalent English translation of the Biblical text: “I am stuttering.”
When God tells Moses to speak to the rock so that it will bring forth water, the
verse reads that the prophet “hit the rock instead of speaking to it.” Because of
his inability to speak and communicate, due to his pei kaved (“heavy mouth”),
God punished Moses by denying him entrance to the Promised Land. This
illustrates the dramatic importance of the heart’s capacity to inspire and
communicate.
Similarly, God, the true husband and father of us all, often uses messengers to
make us feel His love, to show that He is near, to train us to have a heart that is
“alive.” Having to “love God with all our hearts” (as we are commanded in the
Shema Yisrael prayer), we are given the task of opening up the heart—getting
ready for “openheart surgery,” as sometime happens in relationships. However,
sometimes the “messengers” make us literally forget about God, instead of
helping us live our lives more intensely in the Divine presence.
For this reason, our wedding day is the only time we are excused from reciting
Keriyat Shema al ha’mitah, the prayer said before retiring for the night. On this
day of our deepest encounter with human otherness, we are permitted for once to
forget Divine otherness. But if this “omission” were to become habitual, we
would have to restructure the relationship or bring it into question. When a
relationship is compromised by mutual dependence, manipulation, and power
games, the souls of the couple become increasingly distanced from each other
and therefore from God. If they can succeed in overcoming their baser instincts,
and forge a connection nourished by the wisdom of their hearts, they will
strengthen the spark of divinity in their souls and their match will be truly
blessed.
For this reason, the sefirah associated with the month of Tishrei is yesod
(“foundation”), whose inner attribute is truth. The only way to avoid letting our
relationship with human otherness take us away from God is by being fully
conscious of the healthy boundaries we must maintain in our relationships.
CHAPTER 13
Mem
The letter mem is the initial letter of the Hebrew word mayim (“water”), and
of mikveh (“ritual bath”), the symbol of rebirth and transformation. By
immersing ourselves in the mikveh, we express our willingness to give up the
material, static, dense part of ourselves and to be reborn as different beings.
He made Mem king over water
And He bound a crown to it
And He combined one with another
And with them He formed
Earth in the Universe
Cold in the Year
And the belly in the Soul.
Water
The word most clearly linked to the letter mem is – מיםmayim (“water”).
When we write the name of the letter out in full – מםmem, we have the same
consonants as this word. The additional ( יyud) in mayim, the letter associated
with “wisdom”, hints to the inherent healing qualities of water. The Torah is
likened to water, which is as essential to our spiritual survival as water is to our
physical survival. As it is written in the Talmud, “There is no water other than
the Torah.”
The mikveh, conversion of the soul
To fully understand the meaning of water in the Torah we have to continue our
discussion of the mikveh, the ritual bath. A Jewish community is in fact defined
by the presence of a mikveh. Archaeological excavations in Israel reveal the
presence of a mikveh, and the importance of the practice of immersion in “living
waters” to be central to Jewish observance. Even the small community of Jews
on Masada, who so valiantly fought off the Romans until their mass suicide, had
a mikveh. Perhaps this is the mitzvah that gave them the strength to refuse to
become subject to pagan rulers.
The first reference to the mikveh in the Torah is its role in the transformation
of Aaron and his sons from lay people into priests (kohanim). The immersion
performed for the first time by the kohanim was the initial ritual act
distinguishing them from the rest of the nation. In the same way, the Kohen
Gadol (“High Priest”)’s own purification in the mikveh before entering the Holy
of Holies on Yom Kippur was a process of spiritual elevation. This was necessary
in order for the High Priest to stand before God and obtain forgiveness for the
entire community.
Immersion in the mikveh, part of the ritual of conversion for a non-Jew who
wants to embrace the faith of Israel, transforms the soul. Signifying the water of
the womb, the mikveh for a convert is a rebirth into the nation of Israel and the
commitment to assume the obligations incumbent upon a Jew. The convert
emerges from the mikveh with a new identity and a new relationship to God. It is
written that, after immersion, a convert is like a newborn baby who has taken on
a new identity, There are numerous references in Kabbalistic literature to the
mikveh as a mother’s womb, the place where spiritual rebirth takes place. The
very root of the word mayim (“water”) helps us understand this process. Rabbi
Waknine points out that mah, the first syllable of the word mayim, means
“what.” With immersion in the mikveh, a person shows that she or he is ready to
nullify his or her ego—the fixed, unchangeable part of the personality—and to
ask the question, “What am I in my authentic, Divine essence?” Rabbi
Ginsburgh teaches that the word – טבילהtevilah (“ritual immersion”) is an
anagram of the word הביטולha’bitul (“annulment” [of the ego]). The cleansing
effect of the water on the metaphysical level in effect washes away the barriers
that prevent access to spiritual awareness; in the case of the convert, a new
spiritual awareness.
The words ve’nachnu mah? (“what are we?”), the ontological question that
Moses expresses to the Jewish people, describes a psychological and spiritual
state of humility. One must be ready to confront and subdue his or her ego with
this rhetorical question in order to be renewed.
The nun is associated with the concept of nefilah, “fall,” the existential tests
that are sent to us by God to force us to look in the deepest places of our
subconscious in order to find the power to transcend our limitations and to
overcome the unconscious destructive drives. This descent becomes an
opportunity to lift ourselves and attain a level that is higher than the one we had
achieved previously.
Loving tests
The Hebrew month associated with the sign of Scorpio is called Marcheshvan.
The name literally means “bitter reckoning,” referring to the difficult trials
related to the sign of Scorpio. In a seeming contradiction, Sefer Yetzirah
corresponds this month to the sefirah of chesed (“love and goodness”). This
teaches us that once we have fallen under the weight of the mistakes caused by
emotional excess, only love for ourselves and our persistent faith in Divine love
for us can keep us from descending into a vicious cycle of guilt and depression.
Chesed, the kindness and forgiveness that we must feel for ourselves is what
allows us to return to the surface.
The second association between the sefirah of chesed and the month of
Marcheshvan comes from the metaphysical principle expressed in the verse,
“For the Lord reproves him whom He loves.” This verse makes us understand
that suffering is a nisayon (“trial”—beginning with the letter nun) that God
reserves for whom He loves, for the more elevated. As is written, “Your rod and
Your staff, they comfort me, for they are the expressions of His love.”
Some religions depict Divinity as if completely removed from evil, ascribing a
negative role to the figure of Satan. This is a total anathema to Judaism, in which
Satan is an angel who obeys the Divine will by tempting us with evil. This
concept is expressed in an enigmatic verse from Isaiah: “I form the light, and
create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I, the Lord, do all these things.”
The Oral Tradition deals with this theme metaphorically, telling the story of a
king who tested his son’s purity by engaging a prostitute to lead him into
temptation. The story has various endings, but according to the one most
generally told, the prince resisted the temptation of “evil” and sent the prostitute
away from the palace. Another version, representing a more Kabbalistic
interpretation, relates that the prince understood that the prostitute was part of
the “family” (since she was sent by the king). For that reason, he married her and
helped her become a faithful wife.
According to a third version, the prostitute was so close to the king’s will that
she was not able to corrupt the prince. She thus had to hire a second prostitute
who, having never met the king, performed her duties, and the prince was unable
to escape her.
This story contains a metaphysical principle expressed in the Sefer HaBahir, a
controversial Kabbalistic text. According to this work, the levels of evil that are
farthest from the Creator act with such fervor that they almost deny the will and
existence of Divinity, who desires the triumph of man over evil. These levels of
destruction fall under the category of the nun’s tests and trials of initiation, which
may either end in death (and rebirth in a future incarnation in which the soul will
be tested again) or in miraculous resurrection.
These idea are expressed by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel [Steinsaltz], who
attributes man’s greatness to his capacity to oppose evil. He states that this
unending struggle against evil can be interpreted as a test, with man on one side
and God Himself on the other, pushing against him. As soon as man shows the
will to resist this particular evil, Rabbi Steinsaltz says, God removes it, but not
without replacing it with a new obstacle to test him. Thus, concludes the rabbi,
the struggle starts all over again, but at a higher state of consciousness.
Sometimes we cannot overcome a test without God’s intervention, as is clear in
the first rule of the Twelve Steps program of NA and AA, in which the addict
must realize and declare that without a helping hand from Above he cannot resist
the temptation of substance abuse.
This concept can also be found in the Torah. On the one hand, Israel is
commanded to blot out the remembrance of Amalek, the symbol of evil. On the
other hand, Israel is told that God Himself will destroy the evil inclination, as it
is stated in the Talmud. Only God will undertake the total defeat of evil (a task
absolutely impossible for us) after we have shown our desire to utterly forsake it.
The successful overcoming of initiation tests can even lead to prophecy. In
Hebrew – נבואהnevu’ah, “prophecy” represents the ultimate level of spiritual
awareness. This word can be in fact divided into two words: – נון באnun ba
(“nun comes”), bringing the gifts of the “fifty gates of understanding” associated
with the numerical value of the letter nun (50).
CHAPTER 15
Samech
The name of the letter ס, samech, means “support” or “trust,” referring
specifically to our trust in Divine protection. In Sefer Yetzirah, samech is
associated with the month of Kislev, the hush (“sense”) of dreaming, the sefirah
of netzach (“victory”), and the experience of trust. Dreaming in a state of higher
awareness is an enlightening experience that can help integrate the sense of trust
in the deepest layers of the soul.
The holiday of Chanukah occurs in the month of Kislev, celebrating the
victory of light over darkness. This is the time of the winter solstice in which we
find the longest night of the year. In the darkest of days in winter, we light the
Chanukah candles in order to integrate the message of the letter samech, whose
round shape represents a surrounding light of protection and support. When we
meditate on being surrounded by the light of the samech we can abandon
ourselves to absolute trust.
Together with the – נnun that precedes it, – סsamech forms the Hebrew word
– נסnes (“miracle”). Miracles are a genuine form of resurrection that God grants
us, for having acted with the maturity necessary to emerge victoriously from our
challenges. By staying connected to our inner light, and by remaining optimistic
even after repeated failures, we merit to understand, that even in darkness God is
always near. Thus, we can pass from – שחורshachor (“black”), a metaphor for
darkness, to – שחרshachar (“dawn”), a metaphor for light and redemption. The
difference is small, as small as the leap between our feelings of desperation and
of resurrection that can happen in a fraction of few seconds.
The great importance of dreams for spiritual growth is evident in the Keriat
Shema al Ha’mitah, the prayer said at night before retiring. According to many
Kabbalists, this prayer is most essential because during our sleeping hours we
may connect with our deep, inner self and our prophetic potential. Since we
sleep for one third of the day, we should take advantage of this time to grow
spiritually and to gain the prophetic visions and knowledge that are usually
inaccessible during our waking hours. According to Maimonides, prophecy is
not a privilege of the great masters and initiates but rather a spiritual right for all
of us. We can all access the prophetic experience if we truly desire this with a
whole-hearted and pure intention. Dreaming is a privileged path to prophecy.
A verse in the “Song of Songs” clearly refers to the role of dreams on our
spiritual pathway: “I sleep, but my heart is awake: Hark! My beloved is
knocking, saying, ‘Open to me, my sister, my bride.’” Through our dreams, the
voice of God speaks to the spark of Divinity in our souls. Upon awakening, our
task is to transform the dream into an experience of spiritual awakening.
The dream is at the core of a human being’s spiritual experience. It is written
in Tanya, regarding a man who has not expelled the spirit of impurity from his
life, “His dreams are vanity and degradation of the spirit, because [during sleep]
his soul does not ascend toward the heavens.” As it is written, “Who shall ascend
into the mountain of the Lord? He who is of clean hands and a pure heart.”
An analysis of the content of one’s dreams is therefore suggested by Chassidic
masters as a method of verifying one’s progress or regression along the spiritual
path. It is written in the Talmud that anyone who does not dream for a week can
be defined as an evil person. This is because anyone who does not remember his
or her dreams, or represses the memory of certain dreams, refuses to receive the
teachings necessary for spiritual growth. It is true that certain dreams are
particularly agonizing. Nevertheless, we must listen to their message. This is
what King David teaches us when he thanks God for having advised him during
the nights when he was tormented with nightmares.
According to the Talmud, a dream that is not interpreted is like a letter left
unopened. In ancient times, there were many wise men in Jerusalem who
dedicated themselves to interpreting dreams. Even today, some rabbis can
explain the messages of dreams in such a profound, precise, and almost
prophetic manner that undergoing dream analysis with them might be the fastest
way of solving one’s problems. This may replace endless sessions of
psychoanalysis.
We can only interpret dreams correctly if we comprehend symbols.
Interpreting the messages that dreams contain requires familiarity with and
mastery of Biblical symbols. The letter samech is also at the beginning of the
word – סימןsiman (“sign”, “symbol”). This hints to the Talmudic teaching:
“Decipher dreams and symbols and you will acquire Torah.”
CHAPTER 16
Ayin
Sefer Yetzirah associates the letter – עayin with the emotion of anger, the
sefirah of chochmah (“wisdom”), and the sign of Capricorn. Ayin means both
“eye” and “wellspring.” It is the symbol of the superior perception of reality that
supports us when we need to extinguish the flames of anger.
There are many discussions in the Oral Tradition about ways to avoid anger:
There are times when we make the situation worse by trying to step in and
control a misunderstanding. Instead, we should learn to remain silent or say a
prayer that will do much more than any words. As it is written in Psalms, “To
You, silence is praise, O God.”
The Talmud advises to not try to calm a person when he is at the peak of his
anger. Citing the words of God to Moses, “Wait until My anger passes and then I
shall forgive you.” A Midrash encourages us to remember the positive traits of
the person who offended us. In this way we emulate God Himself, who is also
referred to as “He who is slow to anger”:
My children, remember the virtues of your brothers when you are angry
with them. Learn from Me.
In the image, we see the opposition between fire and water—anger and
tolerance—controlling and letting go. The resolution of conflict can be
achieved by Divine wisdom, the inner eye related to the letter ayin.
The “fountain of wisdom,” cure for anger and pride
Sefer Yetzirah teaches us that the liver is the organ connected to the letter ayin,
and as mentioned above, corresponds to the sefirah of Chochmah (“wisdom”),
whose inner dimension is self-effacement. Through these associations, the Sefer
Yetzirah offers us a valid cure for the liver, – כבדkaved in Hebrew. Kaved is
written with the same letters as the word kavod, which means “honor” or
“pride.” These are the psychological characteristics responsible for the rise of
anger. When we learn to worry less about our own pride, and instead give kavod
(“honor”) to others and to the Creator of the Universe, we will attain health and
wisdom. The person who is truly humble does not allow his ego to dominate his
relationships. Instead of responding impulsively, he reacts with restraint. Rather
than being controlled by his anger, his anger is totally under his control.
In identifying the liver and anger with the letter ayin and the sign of
Capricorn, Sefer Yetzirah suggests that a person born under this sign must
approach the reviving power of water springs in order to discover “the third eye
of wisdom.” In Hebrew the word for water-spring is – מעיןmay’an, written
exactly like ayin (“the eye of higher awareness”) with the addition of a mem, the
letter associated with purifying waters. Those who suffer from pride and career
obsession must find the spiritual powers the fountain of wisdom, and connect to
energy of the sign of Cancer (opposite of Capricorn in the Zodiac, and root of
feminine receptivity of water). The contact with the may’an, the inner fountain,
can help them bring playful creativity, friendship, and imagination back into
their lives. Connecting to the inner and outer source of waters can create a
healthy balance between external power, productivity, and contemplation, with
inner essence.
In TCM, the water element is the “mother” of the wood element. Therefore,
reinforcing the Yin, the feminine receptive energy, is the most successful therapy
for curing the excess competitive aspects of the liver-wood energies. As water
puts out fire, silence cancels the force of ire.
The Greeks, however were not interested in controlling man’s nature, allowing
their dark side to dominate with their unharnessed intellect. This unenlightened
mindset rationalized male chauvinism, breeding uncompassionate behavior
towards women. The wisdom of the Greeks was highly valuable in terms of the
arts, music, physical, social, and psychological sciences. However, the tendency
to objectify reality and disconnect man from his family roots and from his
personal relationship to the spiritual realm formed the basis of the Greek exile.
In Greek mythology, Zeus tried to eliminate his father, Chronus. In
Christianity, the son dies for the father. But in Judaism, the word of God is a
dialogue, not a monologue. The mikra (“the sacred writings”) have no value
without the response from those who believe in them. This response is
considered to be the feminine receptive part of the Bible: the Torah she’ba’al
pei, the Oral Tradition.
The Torah needs our contribution because the human soul is part of God
Himself, assisting the Torah’s ongoing revelation by questioning and interpreting
the text. Indeed, every soul, with its experience of life and Divinity, has its own
contribution to make in the revelation of Scripture’s meaning. According to
one’s personal and spiritual preparation and state of mind, each soul must,
metaphorically, choose the vowels and punctuation. Thereby, the reading and
interpretation of the text results in a personal and participatory experience. Of
course, with the guidance of our sages, past and present, we gauge the truth and
validity of our interpretations.
In the image, we observe the messianic couple, who is able to reach the
eternal knowledge of the Tree of Life. The tree progresses with
increasing complexity as it develops in a space and time continuum. The
DNA, whose double helix is the template of the evolution of life, like the
tree of life, is found in each being. Our goal is to reveal the hidden
mystery of life: Kabbalah, which is today supported by the sciences. In
fact, the Kabbalah can and is being be revealed in all disciplines of
knowledge. It is precisely in this way that the Divine is uncovered in every
aspect of creation, nourishing the Tree of Life.
The Kabbalah bases much of its teachings on the image of a tree. The
outgrowth of the sefirot from God’s undifferentiated infinity is referred to as the
Tree of Life. Our real roots are in Heaven. A person, who is like a tree of the
field, can grow and rise towards the Heavens, and then offer his or her fruits,
shade, or support to others by connecting with the Divine nature of his or her
soul. This soul connection is sourced in either a particular facet of the Torah, a
specific emanation of Divinity, or an association with a righteous person who
illuminates from Above. However, in order to be effective for others, he or she
must develop strong and deep physical roots by learning to eat balanced and
nourishing foods.
Achieving self-control in eating, knowing when and how to eat, is a
fundamental goal in the Jewish tradition. Advice in this regard is found in
Maimonides’ discussion of Jewish law, and throughout the literature of Kabbalah
and Chassidut.
The letter kuf is associated with the sign of Pisces and the ability to laugh. On
Purim, every Jew is encouraged to become inebriated to the point of not
knowing how to distinguish between Mordechai and Haman; good and evil. In
this way we come to understand that behind every destructive event, there is a
hidden good. This realization helps us attain the highest spiritual level and
experience the pleasure of laughter, the reward for transforming “bitter into
sweet,” as it is written in the holy Zohar.
The king of the tale is God, the son represents the Jewish people, and the
“mortal danger” is that of giving up the spiritual quest for Torat Chayim (the
“teaching of life”). The king’s crown is in fact the Torah, and its precious
diamond represents the Torah’s inner dimension, too bright and powerful to be
looked at. The brightness of such a jewel had to be transmuted into a less direct
form of light that would make it possible for the masses to look at, without being
blinded by its power. The “ministers” of the king are those rabbis who, for
various centuries, tried to halt this revolutionary movement, opposing the
“sacrifice” of the aura of secrecy surrounding Kabbalah. If the esoteric teachings
had been restricted, as they wished, to an exclusive group, the spiritual survival
of the people of Israel and of humanity would have been endangered.
The Ba’al Shem Tov’s strategy of “turning the enemy into a friend,” i.e., of
seeing a personal spark that needs to be rectified, within our enemies, and many
other Kabbalistic strategies regarding the transformation of darkness into light
could have deeply enriched the anti-psychiatry movement. In addition, the
teachings of Laing and Shatzman—“Divided Self” and the “Family that Kills”—
contribute to positive transformation.
The books of Kabbalah are not the only sources that discuss the incense. The
Oral Tradition refers to it frequently. In the Midrash, the essence of the incense is
explained as follows: “Ketoret (‘incense’) can be read as an acronym for
kedushah (‘holiness’), taharah (‘purity’), rachamim (‘compassion’) and tikvah
(‘hope’).”
What made the incense so powerful, according to Oral Tradition, was its
ability to reverse what was most harmful into something extremely therapeutic.
The incense contained eleven elements, one of which, galbanum, had a very
strong and nasty smell. But the Divinely ordained mixture, exact in dosage,
ensured that this ingredient would not ruin the aroma of incense, but rather
enhance its effectiveness and make it even more pleasant.
In psychological terminology, the smell of the incense awakened the
worshippers’ right cerebral hemisphere and its ability to absorb difficulties
within a broader perspective. This negativity was neutralized with the perception
of what is positive in life. In the incense this message correlates with the foul-
smelling galbanum, which loses its foul aroma when mixed with the other ten
spices.
The transforming power of incense is linked to the power of the sense of
smell, the sense that the Kabbalah attributes to the Mashiach. Indeed, in the
Garden of Eden, the sense of smell did not unite with the other senses during the
first couple’s transgression. They looked at, touched, tasted, and discussed, but
did not smell the forbidden fruit.
The role of the holy incense in Jewish tradition was so important that when
the 1st-century Essenes took refuge in the caves near the Dead Sea, they took
incense along with their holy books. An amphora containing about 600 kilos of
the precious substance was found with the manuscripts of Qumran.
Since the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, the Temple incense is no
longer produced. However, Orthodox Jews continue to relate to its power by
reading the Torah passages and instructions that detail its composition as part of
the daily prayers. The law that forbids the exact reproduction of the Temple
incense, according to the recipe given to Moses in the Book of Exodus, was
meant to clarify to all generations the absolute holiness of this incense. It was to
be used exclusively in the context of the holy Temple service, in order to
facilitate the ecstatic experience.
The Oral Tradition required of those preparing the incense to sing while
grinding the elements, for “the voice has a positive effect on incense.” Our
prayers perhaps reflect this requirement as we await the return of the Temple and
its holy incense. In the meantime, the rest of humanity has been deprived of the
therapeutic power of the incense that will, be offered soon, God willing, at the
Temple in Jerusalem, the house of prayer for all people.
The widespread use of incense, marijuana, and other mind-expanding
inhalants seems to be clearly linked to the unconscious desire to reconnect to the
magical experience of transformation, purification, and hope that the aroma of
the Temple incense evoked. It has been reported that the lingering scent of the
incense can be inhaled from the stones of the Kotel (“Western Wall”). For those
who pray at and kiss the Wall, that fragrance, even though it is such a faint
facsimile of the incense, has the power to quiet the mind.
The image, representing a kuf during the holiday of Purim, refers to the
Jews who, during the Second World War, were obliged to wear a star of
David. They were able to be reborn like the phoenix, from their ashes and
use the symbol of the star of David in the flag of the newborn state of
Israel.
The solution is the Torah, the book of instruction, that tells us how to escape
slavery from Pharaohs in all ages. The People of Israel, with their scientific
genius, entrepreneurial know-how, and holy, enlightened teachers, must develop
an alternative, non-polluting source of energy that can save humanity from these
present-day Pharaohs. As we have seen, the Zohar states that in our times, the
Higher Waters (the Torah) will unite with the Lower Waters (the discoveries of
scientists) and together bring redemption.
CHAPTER 20
Resh
The letter resh initiates the words ra’ash (“noise”) and rosh (“head”).
Meditation can help us to block out external noise and distractions and subdue
our internal noise, allowing us to reach the silence and serenity that, according to
the sages, is the beginning stage of prophecy.
The second prayer box is attached on the upper part of the left arm and
wrapped in place with a strap. The wrapping comes down from the arm and then
wraps on the hand, stimulating acupuncture points on several acupuncture
channels relating to the heart, mind, and spirit, culminating by wrapping around
the middle finger, thus stimulating the Pericardium channel. The Pericardium in
Chinese medicine is also known as the “Heart Protector,” and has the function to
protect the heart (both physically and emotionally) and to help the heart to safely
engage in relationship, without being overly vulnerable and thus possibly
wounded. A healthy Heart Protector is essential for the free flow of
communication with others and with God.
Today, the “white man” has polluted the entire world, and not just the land of
the indigenous people, with his “noise” using the rationale of “progress.” In the
face of this disaster, we can at least silence another thundering noise—that of our
thoughts. In order to promote our peace and well-being, we can start to control
our inner noise. With our heads, our rosh, we can put a stop to our most
obsessive thoughts. The three-letter Hebrew word rosh shares its first and last
letters with those of the three-letter word ra’ash. However, its middle letter
changes from an ayin to an alef. According to the discussions of these letters, the
alef represents Divinity, and is the symbol of monotheism, whereas the ayin is
associated with anger. Since the numerical value of the alef is one, it follows that
in order to change from the negative noise, ra’ash, to the positive rosh, we must
exchange the anger of the ayin for the alef: the presence of God.
Overcoming the incessant activity of the mind is aided by the recitation of the
Shema. When we recite its first verse, we cover our eyes with our hand. With
this gesture we declare our intention to detach ourselves from the outside world.
One of the Shema’s most important directives is to seek not after your own heart
and your own eyes.
A metaphor used in Buddhist philosophy compares the untrained mind to a
monkey who, “restless by nature, jumps from one branch to another, then
becomes drunk on the wine of desire and is bitten by a scorpion who fills it with
envy for the success of others.” Finally, “it is possessed by the demon of pride
and its torment becomes impossible to describe.”
Both in shape and sound, the letter shin represents the effort of the soul to
elevate and cleave to God. For this reason, it is the beginning of the word shirah
(“song”), the instrument of the soul that the Jew uses to unite with God.
Joy
The highest level of elevation is joy. As written in Psalms, “When the Lord
brought [us] back, we were like dreamers. Then was our mouth filled with
laughter and our tongue with singing and joy.”
The emotion of joy in Chinese medicine, as it relates to the element of fire and
to the heart, is associated with the experience of love and bliss. These states are
reached when all blocks to our pure loving nature and our connection to the
Divine are removed. We must strive to attain these states all of the time, for the
sake of our health. The Torah warns us: the Divine fire that burns on the altar
must not be extinguished. It is easy to be inspired, but it is not easy to keep our
inner fire lit, as the Bible commands. Fire (the powerful destructive passions of
the liver) can be extinguished by wind or by water, the fears and depression
created by a malfunctioning of our kidneys.
In the spiritual anatomy of the Chinese tradition, the heart is seen as the
“Emperor,” or the organ that unites and directs the rest of the kingdom of one’s
spirit, body, and personality. As we mentioned each organ in Chinese medicine
relates to certain emotions; the Liver to anger and to our creative drive, and the
Lungs to grief as well as to inspiration and our ability to release and let go. The
Kidneys, Stomach, Spleen, Gallbladder, and the other organs also possess their
own energy, according to the elements they are connected to. The organs are in
reality not only physiological, but they are “spirits”, as alchemical Chinese
medicine teaches. Different spiritual traits are held within each of our organs and
used by us at different circumstances and times, to help us evolve and fulfill our
task on earth.
It is the “Emperor”—the heart—that takes the stance of connection with the
Divine, which guide us towards joy, truth and connection to our higher self. It is
from this place that the heart is able to direct the rest of the body and personality
to be loving and balanced. An Emperor who is out of balance cannot maintain a
happy kingdom with healthy subjects. So is it, too, with our body, mind, and
spirit. Through the directive from our Hearts, our between the pairs of words שיר
– shir (“song”) and – חזןchazan (“cantor”), – שורshur (“vision”) and – חזון
chazon (“prophecy”) demonstrates how shirah is the ideal way of reaching
levels of higher understanding. Indeed, one of the properties of music is its
ability “to cut off” the negative spirit, as shown by the double meaning of the
word zamer: “to sing” and “to prune.” The Scriptures confirm this analogy: King
Saul was in a deep depression that, according to the Sages, was due to a spirit
that wanted to completely possess him. The only remedy was listening to the
holy music of David (the future king of Israel). Only this gave him relief and
restored his potential to access ruach ha’kodesh, the prophetic spirit. David was
in fact brought to King Saul’s court to play the lyre in order to exorcise this
antagonizing spirit.
The ecstasy experienced by the worshippers in the Temple of Jerusalem was
facilitated by the Levites, who played the Temple music with hundreds of
instruments. Their heavenly orchestra accompanied prayer and the cathartic rites
of korbanot (sacrifices for the purpose of drawing closer to God).
The writings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslav powerfully illustrate that music in
the Jewish tradition not only stimulates transcendence, but it is also essential in
the healing process. We find particularly, in the story of “The Seven Beggars,”
that only the sage who was able to diagnose the ten types of affliction by feeling
the pulse in each of the ten fingers, was able to heal the princess. The princess is
the symbol of humanity. Through ten types of melodies, the sage rebalanced the
ten pulses that correspond to the ten powers of the soul, paralleling the ten
sefirot.
In a very similar way, Chinese medicine uses music to heal the imbalances of
the five elements and the twelve meridians. According to Chinese lore, Emperor
Huang Ti appointed one of his ministers to capture the harmony of nature in a
musical instrument. In this way the Emperor thought that it would be possible to
heal the citizens of his kingdom. The minister took a bamboo cane and filled it
with seeds. Then he prepared others of different sizes, following exact numerical
proportions, and filled them with the appropriate quantity of seeds. In this way
he was able to build therapeutic musical instruments that were described in the
Nei Ching, the most important text of traditional Chinese medicine, as an
effective method to re-establish the balance of the meridians and the flow of vital
energy.
Six references in the psalms mention “singing a new song” to God. This
means that each of us, through reflection and meditation leading to the
communion with the Divine, can be inspired to sing a song that comes from the
soul. Each song will be a unique expression, created through the spontaneous
outpouring of the soul in harmony with the Divine. Every man or woman of faith
will be inspired to sing a song that specifically resonates with his deep spiritual
essence
Nowadays, thousands of young artists are claiming the right to convey Divine
light through music and song, just like the ancient prophets or the Levites in the
Temple of Jerusalem. In Israel many inspired musicians are unlocking a pathway
to the secrets of healing that are contained in the Bible. This healing cannot be
accessed through a solely intellectual approach to Torah. Rabbi Kook used to say
that messianic redemption will be possible with the condition that each poem,
each song, each work of art divinely inspired, will be finally written, sung and
created!
Unfortunately, some musicians, once they rise to fame, start creating and
playing music to satisfy the needs of an audience. This is betraying the prophetic
mission of the real musician. This sentiment is articulated poignantly by King
David, who dramatically describes the exile of music and of the musician:
By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, and we wept,
When we remembered Zion.
On the willows of that land
We hung up our lyres,
For there our captors asked us for words of song.
Our oppressor [asked us for] joy, [saying]: “Sing us some of the songs of
Zion.”
The beautiful 1970 reggae song, Rivers of Babylon, quotes this psalm,
perfectly conveying the mission of music to speak to the soul, and not sell
herself to the needs of the record business.
Connecting to our spiritual center via music and song can lead us to the
highest level of spiritual experience; the joy of total connection with the Divine.
“When God will lead back the returnees to Zion…our mouth will be filled with
laughter and our tongue with chants of joy.” Ecstatic music wells up from within
us when we overcome a separation from our inner core and yearn to return to the
essence of who we are.
On another musical note, when the Israelites walked on dry land after crossing
the Sea of Reeds, and saw the waters engulf their Egyptian pursuers, Miriam led
the women in joyous song, praising God. In parashat BeShalach 15:42, “Miriam
the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the drum in her hand and all the women
followed with drums and dancing. Miriam led them in the response, ‘Sing to
God for His great victory; horse and rider He cast into the sea.’” Singing is the
soul’s spontaneous reaction to a totally exhilarating experience when spoken
words will not suffice to express an overwhelming emotion of joy.
In the Temple of Jerusalem, the Levite vocalists (whose role it was to
spiritually inspire and elevate the worshippers) were chosen according to their
musical capabilities, rather than according to their knowledge of ritual. Music
was recognized as the ultimate instrument for creating the alteration of
consciousness necessary to stimulate the process of teshuvah.
When the people of Israel went into exile after the destruction of the Second
Temple in 70 C.E., the masses were disconnected from the intense musical
experience that the Temple had provided. Then, as predicted by King David, the
vision of the prophets surfaced in our generation! The vision was first expressed
in the form of the music of the hippies, which became the “soundtrack” of a
revolution of consciousness in the Western world. For decades, the music of the
‘60s, reverberates through time, continuing to spread the Biblical message of
hope, peace, and transcendence.
Intoxicated with the dream of creating a world of justice, freedom,
brotherhood, a return to the earth, equality, peace between people and the sexes,
and in search of a genuine spirituality liberated from religious dogma, an entire
generation identified with the lyrics and the music of the ‘60’s. The music
blended politics, philosophy, ecology, and spirituality into a very powerful
counter-culture mission statement, challenging the materialistic values of a
consumer society.
Both the beatnik and hippie generations correctly intuited the holy, very
powerful role of music, summarized in the words of Leonard Cohen’s 1984 song
Hallelujah:
Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
With these words, one of the “high priests” of this generation articulated the
quest of enlightment and spiritual roots, provocatively .questioning Western
society and its materialism, the leaders of this counter-culture accused
contemporary society of being deaf to the call of the spirit, and to the message of
music.
In Paul Simon’s famous lyrics,
Hello, darkness, my old friend,
I’ve come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the Vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
…
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking;
People hearing without listening;
People writing songs
That voices never share…
“Fools,” said I “You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.”
“Hear my words that I might teach you….”
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made…
As we read these words, it hardly seems that two thousand years have passed
since Moses, Jeremiah, and the prophets of Israel warned the people against
worshipping idols. King David described exile as “darkness of the soul,” a
condition in which people “hear without listening, look without seeing,” a time
of illness born of silence and the inability to communicate.
According to contemporary Kabbalists, the powerful flow of Divine love that
descended in the world in the summer of 1967 inspired both the hippies and the
people of Israel. Thousands of concerts, of which Woodstock was only the most
famous, deeply transformed American society during what was called the
“summer of love.” On the other side, this powerful celestial configuration
assisted the people of Israel prevail through what could have been a catastrophic
war (against five Arab armies attacking the Jewish state). The Sixties and in
particular 1967 has been called by Kabbalists a “moment of grace” (et razon), an
opportunity that God gave humanity to transform itself.
However, that evolutionary leap was not realized. The opportunity for a
messianic society was lost. One of the reasons was that the potentially fruitful
encounter between the wisdom of Judaism (the “secret chord” of the harp of
David) and the hippie movement’s aspiration toward expanded consciousness
did not occur. The establishment succeeded in consigning this movement to the
fringes of society and denigrating it rather than incorporating its message of
essential spiritual growth into the mainstream mentality.
Afterward, the power of the hippies slowly faded. The music and lyrics of
Leonard Cohen, the Beatles, Donovan, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Pink
Floyd, and the rest, inspired by the visions and the words of the prophets, were
gradually replaced by hard rock. Hard rock degenerated to the point of assuming
dark tones and lyrics inspired by satanic rites (Heavy Metal, Black Sabbath).
Many Jewish mystics today are gathering the music of the 60’s with the certainty
that they belong to what the Ba’al Shem Tov calls “the remains of the melodies
of the Temple of Jerusalem.” These melodies were scattered to the four corners
of the world after the destruction of the Temple, trusting that in the messianic
age, these melodies will be reconnected to the holiness of spiritual experience.
The reasons for the failure of the hippie movement are many and complex.
Since this is not the appropriate context to discuss them all, I will describe only
two factors that prevented the fusion of the revolutionary ideals of the hippie
generation and the spiritual bases that could have supported them.
The first factor was Israel’s inability to welcome and absorb the thousands of
hippies who traveled there. They were inspired by the miraculous success of the
1967 war, in which Israel defeated five Arab countries despite of their numeric
and military superiority. These young people were not welcomed into the
religious world; they instead ended up in secular kibbutzim, utopian societies
based on equality but quite removed from the teachings of the prophets with
whom these inspired youths were instinctively trying to identify.
The second factor was the passage from soft drugs to hard ones, covertly
orchestrated by commercial American interest groups who could not accept the
liberation of an entire generation from capitalist consumerism. Most
unfortunately, these commercial interest groups succeeded in sabotaging a
movement that would have disempowered them. Hopefully this movement will
be revived, imbued with the proper spiritual basis, and will help to usher in the
messianic age.
CHAPTER 22
Tav
Approaching God
One meaning of the word tefillah is “union.” The highest form of union we
can have with God is to feel Him so close to us that we can speak to Him.
Moreover, the more we speak to God, the closer we feel to Him. This
phenomenon of mutual reciprocity is a proven fact in the field of
communications. The closer two people feel to each other, the more they can
communicate, and the more they communicate, the closer they will feel to each
other.
Prayer is not only the expression of the soul but is also the instrument
with which the soul joins with God. In fact, the word nefesh, “soul,”
according to the Talmud, also means “prayer.” The goal for every human
being is to live in a constant state of prayer in order to achieve true
fulfillment. In the image, we see the letter tav wearing a prayer garment
(tallit).
In the Book of Proverbs, King Solomon tells us that the heart, which
expresses itself most intensely in prayer, must be refined just like gold and
silver: The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tries
hearts. The Hebrew word kesef (“silver”) also means “desire.” In other words,
before prayer, we must refine the quality of our desires and our requests.
In the terminology of Roberto Assagioli’s theory of psychodynamics, we
could say that in the process of praying, a person goes from ego to higher Self
and puts himself or herself in contact with the Transpersonal Will. This is the
Divine will expressed in our soul, freed of the weight of the ego.
In order to understand how the structure of the liturgy serves to refine the
heart, we need to recall the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream. According to the
interpretation of the Zohar, the verse “And behold, a ladder was set up on the
earth and its top reached to heaven” refers to prayer, which we recite on earth but
reaches to heaven. We also see this in the verse, “Then hear, You in heaven…”
The imagery of the ladder indicates how we ascend toward heaven through
prayer, step by step, with the aim of reaching God. According to the Midrash, as
explained by Maimonides, the ladder had four rungs, representing the four stages
through which thought must pass to reach God. According to Kabbalah, the
ladder’s four rungs are the four spiritual worlds. The earth is the base of the
ladder. The first rung is the world of Asiyah (“action”), the world of cause and
effect. The top rung of the ladder, from which we reach toward “heaven,” is the
supersensitive world of Atzilut (“emanation”), the world of the Higher Spheres.
In between are two other rungs/worlds, Beriah (“creation”) and Yetzirah
(“formation”).
While the worlds that the Kabbalah delineates represent the downward
development of Divine Emanation, the ladder of prayer signifies the different
phases of consciousness that we must reach and then overcome, starting from
earthly phenomena and culminating in the vision of the Absolute. The apex and
most dramatic part of the Jewish liturgy is the silent prayer, the Amidah
(“standing”). It is so called because it is to be recited while standing at attention
in one place. Although it is at this point in the liturgy that we reach the highest
level of consciousness, it is also, paradoxically, the first time in the liturgy that
we voice our material requests for blessings such as livelihood and health.
Indeed, it is crucial that we not make these requests until we reach the state of
self-abnegation that characterizes the Amidah and the world of Atzilut. For it is
our higher essence that must express our material needs, and not our unrectified
ego, with its limited vision of existence. Our desire for health and livelihood
must be predicated by our desire to better serve God. Therefore, the Amidah is
prefaced by the verse: “God, open my lips, and my mouth will relate Your
praises.” It is as if we are saying, “May it be You, not me, who prays the
following prayer through me.”
It is only after the soul has used the liturgy to ascend through the four spiritual
worlds that its Divine spirit can express its needs, in order to assure both
personal well being as well as that of the collective; the Jewish people and the
world at large. This type of prayer is by no means a “shopping list,” the self-
serving act that is denigrated by the sages and that the Ba’al Shem Tov described
as the “barking of a dog asking its master for food.”
There is a verse in Psalms that shows how the Divine spirit, the Shechinah,
prays within us: “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with
him in times of trouble.” The following parable from the Midrash clearly
illustrates the meaning of these words.
As a woman was giving birth to a child, her mother was on the upper floor
of the house. When she heard her daughter’s screams, she also began to cry.
When the neighbors asked her why she was screaming, she replied, “Isn’t it
my daughter who is feeling the pain? I am screaming because her pain is
mine.”
If a mother can identify in such a way with her daughter, then she must be
even more capable of identifying with the Shechinah, since it is the Divine spirit
that not only created us but lives inside us and suffers every time we suffer. If we
do not feel fulfilled, if we are ill, if our personal and professional relationships
are not satisfactory, the Shechinah suffers with us. She suffers because our
alienation is its alienation.
The irony is that though the Shechinah, the Divine aspect of our soul, is very
sensitive to our thoughts and actions and we can either move her forward into
the Light of Divine awareness or backwards into the darkness of negative
emotions and unworthy aspirations. It is the soul, which is that part of us that
will continue in other lifetimes where a tikun will eventually be completed.
Teshuva: “return”
There are a number of pathways of teshuvah, the soul’s return to God. Some
may achieve peace through spiritual awareness without having to face any harsh
trials. This person is obligated to be a living example, instructing others to find a
suitable language to communicate one’s feelings and remain in light, even in a
world of darkness. In Kabbalistic tradition, this is the role of the tzadik, the
righteous person. The tzadik’s return is the opposite of spiritual elevation since
his duty is to descend, to anchor himself to the material world to illuminate
others. The tzadik is obliged to choose to communicate with people and not with
the angels.
Ba’alei teshuvah (penitents) have a very different path. Their trial consists of
redeeming the sparks of light contained in the obscure situations in which they
have been placed by God and to perform an alchemical ritual, transforming evil
into good and darkness into light. It is written: “Great is teshuvah because it
heals the world.”
Quite often, these “black holes” are distinguished by a physical or
psychological illness that cannot be healed without help. But God, either directly
or through the tzadik, can penetrate the soul of someone in exile and cure it.
The overwhelming majority of ba’alei teshuvah must walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, often experiencing a shattering of the ego in order to
transcend and evolve spiritually. It is not easy to find a tzadik gifted with the
ability to look into the depths of our soul. According to the Talmud, however, in
every generation there are at least thirty-six hidden tzadikim in the Jewish world.
They are not only capable of making infallible diagnoses of the origin of
mental and physical imbalances but also of giving precise instructions on how to
cure them. Often, all that is really needed is just a little readjustment, while for
others a genuine tikun is needed. Tikun is a Kabbalistic term referring to the
difficult operation of repair and transformation that our souls must undergo.
Jungian psychoanalysis and Tikun C.G. Jung, the creator of a psychology that
“transcended” itself, and become a tool for spiritual and religious experience,
was extremely attracted to Kabbalah and Hassidism, and in particular to the
ideas of tikun.
One of the strongest influences of Hassidism on Jung was the idea that the
goal of religious life is the tikun (reparation)—the restoration and rectification of
the world. As Jung stated in a letter to James Kirsch (Drob, 2009, p. 33): “The
Jew has the advantage of having long since anticipated the development of
consciousness in his own spiritual history. By this I mean the Lurianic stage of
the Kabbalah, the breaking of the vessels and man’s help in restoring them. Here
the thought emerges for the first time that man must help God to repair the
damage wrought by creation. For the first time man’s cosmic responsibility is
acknowledged”.117
Jung was fascinated by the kabbalistic concept of man’s descent into the abyss
of material existence “for the sake of an ascent,” for the purpose of elevating the
Divine sparks dispersed in the world. The archetype of tikun, the reparation of
the world, as expressed by Lurianic Kabbalah and later by Hassidism (which
believes there is a spark of divinity in all things, waiting to be rescued by man)
was very near to Jung’s belief in the connection between individual and
collective unconscious.
Each individual, according to Kabbalah, is given by God a certain number of
sparks to elevate that are uniquely suited for his soul to raise, both in the world
and within himself. Jung integrated these ideas into his work, seeing
psychological redemption as a prompt to man to free the sparks that are trapped
in the husks, overcoming neurotic complexes that prevent the individual from
actualizing his redemptive role and divine potential. Jung understood the fact
that psychological complexes were also spiritual entities. He used to say that
“more than having a complex, it is more accurate to say that a complex is having
us…A person who is a complex, is in a sort of a state of possession by an alien
personality…”.
The psychoanalytic treatment has the goal of freeing the sparks and releasing
man from his complexes, obtaining something more than an individual cure.
Like Hassidism he believed that the process of tikun and of psychotherapy is
incomplete if it remains only on the personal level and does not affect the
external world.
Following the visions he had in 1944 visions about his relation with Rabbi
Shimon Bar Yohai (as describer in his biography “Dreams, Visions and
Memories”), Jung uttered a public acknowledgement of his debt to Kabbalah and
Hassidut: “The Hassidic Rabbi Beer from Mesiritz, whom they called the Great
Magid…anticipated my entire psychology in the 18th century” (McGuire, 1977,
p. 271).
1 The Oral Torah is the detailed explanation of the Written Torah, given
concurrently with it and revealing the profound, hidden meanings of the written
text. The Talmud (Gitin 60b) states that God established a pact with the Jewish
people only on the basis of the Oral Torah, as it is written: “And the Lord said to
Moses, ‘Write these words: for after the tenor [literally, “for by the mouth”—the
oral explanation] of these words I have made a covenant with you and with
Israel’” (Exodus 34:27).
2 Genesis 1:3.
3 Halachah (literally, “walking”) is Jewish law.
4 A mezuzah, or “doorpost,” is a parchment inscribed with Torah verses placed
on the doorframes of Jewish homes.
5 Tefillin—also called phylacteries (from Ancient Greek phylacterion, form of
phylássein, meaning “to guard, protect”)—are a set of small black leather boxes
containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are
worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers.
6 Every letter of the Hebrew alphabet is also a number, based on its order in the
alphabet: the first 9 letters are the integers; the next 9 letters are the tens; the next
9 letters (i.e., the remaining 4 letters and the 5 final forms) are the hundreds.
7 Berachot 55a. The Talmud is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It consists of
63 tractates, and in standard print is over 6,200 pages long.
8 The master artisan chosen to oversee construction of the Tabernacle.
9 Exodus 31:2.
10 Particularly Shabbat 104ab.
11 Particularly the work Otiot d’Rabbi Akiva.
12 Otzar Eden HaGanuz
13 6:7.
14 Isaiah 41:8.
15 In the Bible, God gives a description of Himself using a very clear image: “I
am God your healer” (Ani Hashem Rofeicha). The second definition God gives
of Himself is “I am God who frees from slavery.” These two Divine roles are
deeply related, as will become clear throughout the pages of this book.
16 As quoted in the book The Art of Amazement, Abbot Norman Fisher (Jewish-
born) leader of the San Francisco Zen Center, declared: “Being Jewish is deep
karma” (qtd. in Seinfeld, 2002, p. 13).
17 1 Samuel 10:5.
18 The Eskimos have 38 words for “snow,” reflecting its importance in Eskimo
culture. In the language of the Bible, concepts such as “good deed,” “prayer,”
and “God” are expressed in multiple ways. In Jewish practice, it is customary,
out of respect for God, not to pronounce His Names outside of liturgical use. We
will therefore follow the practice of inserting hyphens in these Names to indicate
that they are not to be pronounced as written. The customary “mispronunciation”
of the Name El is “Kel.”
19 The customary “mispronunciation” of the Name Adonai is “Ad-ni.”
20 1:2b-3b; Zohar Chadash, Rut 107b.
21 Exodus 20:2.
22 The three “mother letters” are alef, mem, and shin, and represent three
essential phonetic and natural elements, air, water, and fire, respectively.
23 See Glossary.
24 Ancient Chinese philosophers, in order to observe and perceive the natural
world and its connection to humans, divided it into five elements. Each element
encompasses a multitude of interrelated characteristics in the natural world, in
the physical and in the spiritual nature of human beings, and in the mystical
realms.
25 See Tanya, chapter 2.
26 The customary “mispronunciation” of the Name Yah is “Kah.”
27 Psalms 150:6.
28 Bereishit Rabbah 14:9.
29 Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Nahum 1:3; Psalms
86:15.
30 Genesis 3:19.
31 Yevamot 63a.
32 Genesis 2:15.
33 Kohelet Rabbah 7:13.
34 See Aubrey Rose, ed., Judaism and Ecology.
35 Leviticus 25:1-7.
36 Bava Batra, chapter 2, etc.
37 Genesis 1:26.
38 Isaiah 42:10; Psalms 33:3, 40:4, 96:1, 98:1, 144:9; 149:1.
39 Genesis 2:19-20; Bereishit Rabbah 17:4.
40 1 Kings 5:11-12.
41 Every physical entity is a manifestation of a corresponding spiritual principle:
water, for example, is the physical materialization of the principle of love and
knowledge, while fire is the physical manifestation of the principle of power and
strength. Practically speaking, if we manage to contact the “parallel” essence of
this reality when, for example, we take a shower or light a match, we will be
able to formulate all the possible metaphors, just like King Solomon. Thus, in
the Kabbalistic sense, we will hasten the fulfillment of the prophecy that on that
day, the Lord shall be One and his name One (Zechariah 14:9).
42 Exodus 25:8.
43 Psalms 90:1.
44 The term is from Ezekiel 11:16. In the Talmud (Megilah 29a) it is understood
to mean synagogues and houses of study. In Chassidism it is applied the Jewish
home, as well (see Likutei Sichot, vol. 22, p. 181, vol. 23, p. 265, vol. 25, pp.
418, 423, vol. 31, p. 237; Sefer HaSichot 5748, vol. 1, p. 162, etc.).
45 Berachot 55a, Chagigah 27a.
46 E.g., Midrash HaGadol, Midrash Rabbah, and Nachmanides, Preface to
Commentary on Exodus.
47 Jewish temple or The Jewish Temple, may refer to the original two ancient
Jewish Temples in Jerusalem. The First Temple was destroyed by the Neo-
Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE. The Second Temple was destroyed by the
Roman Empire in 70 CE.
48 Exodus 40:34-38; Numbers 9:15-23; 1 Kings 8:10-11.
49 Bereishit Rabbah 60:16; Rashi on Genesis 24:67.
50 Leviticus 24:4-9; Chagigah 26b.
51 Bereishit Rabbah 60:16; Rashi on Genesis 24:67.
52 Genesis 18:1-8; Rashi on Genesis 18:1.
53 Shabbat 127a; See Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, The Mystery of Marriage, pp.
230-232.
54 Amos 8:11.
55 Bereishit Rabbah 49:4.
56 Psalms 2:7.
57 The fact that vowels are generally not written in Hebrew allows us to read
groups of consonants—words—in different ways. In this example, the
consonants ג, מ, “ = לg”, “m”, “l”, with the vowels “i” and “e” are read gimel,
with the vowel “a” they are read gamal, and with the vowels “o” and “e” they
are read gomel.
58 For example, Judah is referred to in the Bible (Genesis 49:9) as lion, the king
of animals, since the ultimate king, the Messiah, will descend from him. In the
same way, every person who wants to reach his or her own potential ability to be
a leader can meditate on the archetype of the lion.
59 This concept is also reflected both in Shamanism and Jungian psychoanalysis.
60 Genesis 8:6-12.
61 Ezekiel 1.
62 Torah is the central reference of the religious Judaic tradition. The term Torah
means “instruction” or “teaching”, and offers a way of life for those who follow
it. It can most specifically mean the first five books of the twenty-four books of
the Tanakh, and it usually includes the rabbinic commentaries; it can mean the
continued narrative from Genesis to the end of the Tanakh, and it can even mean
the totality of Jewish teaching, culture and practice.
63 Avot 5:23.
64 At the conclusion of the Song of Songs, Song of Solomon 2:17: “Until the
cool of the day when the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a
gazelle… Flee, my beloved, and be like a gazelle.”
65 Igrot Kodesh Admor Mehorayatz, vol. 8, p. 208 (quoted in Keter Shem Tov,
addendum 108). See Teshuvot MiBa’alei HaTosefot MiKitvei Yad, p. 286, §19;
Midbar Kedeimot, Gimel 3; Sefer HaMa’amarim 5721, p. 256 ff; Likutei Sichot,
vol. 18, p. 130.
66 Shabbat 104a.
67 Shekalim 5:6.
68 Mishneh Torah, Matnot Aniyim 10:4.
69 Avot 3:7; Midrash Shmuel ad loc.
70 Genesis 2:3.
71 Sefer Yetzirah associates the twelve months, the twelve signs of the zodiac,
and the twelve tribes with twelve “senses,” or human faculties.
72 Rosh HaShanah 11ab.
73 Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (1534-1572), central figure of Kabbalah, known by the
acronym of the phrase HaEloki Rabbeinu Yitzchak Zichrono Livrachah – The
Godly Rabbi Yitzchak of blessed memory.
74 Pri Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Mikra Kodesh 4.
75 Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5.
76 Marina Borruso: Il presente adesso. Tecniche Nouve, 2012. (Disciple of
Eckhart Tolle)
77 Eiruvin 64b; Magen Avraham on Shulchan Aruch 1:171:1.
78 See Targum Onkelos on Genesis 2:7.
79 Genesis 38:26; Rashi ad loc.
80 Proverbs 18:21.
81 Psalms 19:3.
82 See above, in the chapter on gimel
83 1 Chronicles 12:33.
84 Genesis 49:14-15.
85 The holiday of Lag Ba’omer (the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer) is
celebrated on this date. In Israel, Jews of all origins and spiritual levels visit the
tomb of Rabbi Shimon in Meron, in the northern Galilee, on this day.
86 1 Kings 19:12.
87 Pardes Rimonim 17:4.
88 Exodus 15:26.
89 Chidushei Chatam Sofer, Shabbat, 147b; Sha’ar Yissachar, Chodesh Iyar 3
(88ab); Likutei Sichot, vol. 32, pp. 72-76.
90 Yoma 86a.
91 Ben Yehoyada on Shabbat 119b and Ketubot 111b.
92 Jewish law forbids praying before the body is freed of waste and impurity.
93 The words stand before, which are not present in all the versions of the
prayer, indicate that should these channels not work, we could not stand before
God, that is, we could not pray and serve him.
94 Psalms 103:1.
95 Psalms 35:10.
96 Berachot 28b; Zohar 3:255b; Likutei Torah 3:70d.
97 Berachot 28b.
98 Derech Chaim 5:15.
99 Both are compared to the Splitting of the Red Sea (Pesachim 118a; Sotah 2a).
100 Very succinctly, we can say that in the language of Chinese philosophy, Yin
and Yang represent contemplation and action. Yin is the passive, contemplative,
female element; Yang is its opposite: the active, male element.
101 The sixth son of Jacob and Leah.
102 Deuteronomy 33:18.
103 Zohar 3:257b (in Raya Mehemna); Sefer HaYirah; Pardes Rimonim, Sha’ar
Eser v’lo Teisha 9; Sha’ar HaYichud VehaEmunah 7 (82a). Deuteronomy, 25:17
104 George Gurdjieff, a spiritual teacher of Russian origin best known in the
West for his charisma, attributed a fundamental role to memory (“self-
remembering”) as an instrument to increase awareness of the present by helping
us avoid falling into the sleep of automatic, unconscious behaviour and
emotional reactions.
105 Exodus 12:8.
106 3:1-8.
107 Another mechanism Judaism uses to encourage deliberation and awareness
is the mezuzah attached to every doorpost. These signposts enjoin the Jew to
“preserve awareness” every time he or she crosses a threshold.
108 Mishneh Torah, Melachim 8:10-11.
109 Sanhedrin 56a; Mishneh Torah, Melachim 9:1.
110 See Genesis 2:29.
111 Genesis 9:2-4.
112 Exodus 19:3.
113 1:8.
114 Unfortunately the Spanish conquest was followed by the destruction of
Indian spiritual life, whose reparation on the side of white Americans is yet to be
completed.
115 The descendents of the Jews exiled in Ethiopia, who were brought back into
Israel in the majestic airplane operation in 1972.
116 Proverbs 31:1-31.
117 These words of Jung’s, together with his commitment in saving many Jews
from Nazism, can be understood as a powerful compensat ion for years of
“suppression” of that truth, as well as for his anti-Jewish writings during the rule
of nazi Germany and his conflict with Freud.
APPENDIX 1
Tobia Ravà
Ravà lives and works in Venice, Italy. He attended the International School of
Graphics of Venice and Urbino and graduated with a degree in semiology of the
arts from the University of Bologna. He began painting in 1971, displaying his
works in individual and collective exhibitions in Italy and abroad since 1977. He
is one of the founders of the Bologna group AlcArte, founded in 1983. In 1988,
he began concentrating on Jewish iconography, carrying out research involving
the cataloging of Jewish epigraphs in the Veneto, Friuli, and Trentino Alto Adige
regions in Northern Italy.
In 1993, along with Cimitan, Fontanello, Pain, and Vignato, he promoted the
Triplani (“Three Planes”) group, deriving its name from the idea that there is a
third symbolic level of reading in addition to those of the signifier and the
signified, stemming from the double-paned semiology of Greimas and
Galabrese. Since 1999, he has lectured at universities and higher schools of art,
speaking on his involvement with Hebraic culture, mathematics, logic, and
contemporary art.
Ravà was a founding member of Concerto d’Arte Contemporanea, created to
bring together artists’ ideas on harmonizing man with his environment and
giving contemporary art its place in both history and art history. The group
exhibits in historic villas, parks, and city squares in order to extend the reach of
art in its communities.
See his website: www.tobiarava.com
Frank Lalou
Lalou was born in Marmande in southern France in 1958, and resides in
France and Belgium.
Lalou is an internationally known calligrapher. He has had over a hundred
exhibitions in France, Japan, the USA, Morocco, England, and Canada. At the
same time, he has a passion for publishing, both as an illustrator and as an
essayist in the various fields of Biblical studies, archeology, poetry, and
education. Currently, he has published 40 books among which are La
Calligraphie de l’Invisible for Albin Michel (his main publisher) and Les Lettres
hébraïques for Alternatives.
Some of his one-off books have been purchased by famous institutions, such
as the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Le Musée d’Art et d’histoire du
Judaïsme in Paris, Le Musée des Arts décoratifs de Bordeaux, the Israel Museum
in Jerusalem, and the Sackner Foundation and the Library of Congress in the
USA.
As a polymorphous artist, he applies his calligraphy on numerous materials
including stained-glass windows, glass façade (the largest calligraphy in Europe,
for the Church of Notre Dame d’Espérance in Paris), sculpture, carpets, jewelry,
clothes, video, furniture, and gardens.
In 2000, thanks to his invention of the calamophone, he managed at last to
combine art with music, his other great passion, thus fulfilling his artistic
mission.
See www.lalou.net
Josh Baum
Born in London in 1971, Josh studied painting in Barcelona and traveled
throughout Spain. He then moved to Safed, the center of Kabbalah in northern
Israel, where he became enchanted by the Hebrew letters. During these years in
Safed, Josh studied in yeshiva and restored the paintings on the domed ceiling of
the ancient Sephardic Abuhav synagogue. From Safed he moved to Jerusalem,
where he trained as a sofer stam (“ritual scribe”) and wrote a Sefer Torah. His
illuminated manuscripts, etchings, prints, drawings, and other Judaica draw on
influences as diverse as medieval manuscripts, art deco, hip-hop, Islamic art,
science, and nature. He is currently living in East London, working and studying
for his Masters degree in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins.
See www.alefsinwonderland.com
APPENDIX 2
Allen Afterman was born in Los Angeles in 1941. He studied at UCLA and
Harvard Law School, and taught law in New Zealand, Australia, and Singapore.
In 1972 he retired from teaching and devoted himself to poetry, publishing The
Maze Rose (1974) and Purple Adam (1980). In 1980, he immigrated to Israel,
where he resided until his death in 1992.
Rabbi Eliyahu Avihail: Rabbi Eliyahu Avihail is the founder and director of
the Amishav (“My People Returns”) organization, which is dedicated to the
research and discovery of lost Jews. Rabbi Avihail is a sought-after lecturer
worldwide, and the author of Those Lost in the Land of Assyria and The Tribes of
Israel.
Rabbi Avihail is a member of the special rabbinical court that converted the
community of Belmonte, Portugal. He was also active in the immigration of the
“Toward Jerusalem” community of Mexico and the “Benei Moshe” community
of Peru, and continues to assist the “Benei Menasseh” tribe of Northeast India.
Rabbi Avihail travels worldwide to seek out, investigate, encourage, and direct
lost Jews wherever they are.
Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh: Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1944. Prior to his
rediscovering his Jewish heritage, Rabbi Ginsburgh pursued an academic career
in mathematics and philosophy. Upon finding his way to Torah faith and
observance, he began an intensive program of religious study and development
under the close guidance of several great sages, most notably the Lubavitcher
Rebbe. After moving to Israel in 1965, Rabbi Ginsburgh began drawing from his
intimate knowledge of these profound teachings so as to make them spiritually
relevant to the contemporary Jew for whom the original texts are virtually
impenetrable. Using his academic background to present these classic ideas into
a conceptual language and system that speaks to the 21st-century mentality,
Rabbi Ginsburgh has been able to unlock a vast treasure of insights that many
have long been thirsting for. He is a talented musician and composer, having
produced recordings of original music. He teaches throughout Israel and around
the world. Rabbi Ginsburgh has also devoted much of his time and energy to
writing original works of Chassidic thought based upon his unique system and
methodology. Rabbi Ginsburgh lives with his wife and children in the rural
Chassidic settlement of Kefar Chabad.
Rabbi Tzvi Inbal: Born in 1945, received his MS in Chemistry from the
Technion. He was active in the League Against Religious Coercion in Haifa.
Beginning in 1972, while serving in the IDF, he began to return to his Jewish
roots. He is one of the founders of Arachim and serves as one of its senior
lecturers, both in Israel and the Diaspora, while continuing to work in the field of
chemical research.
Rabbi Shaul Leiter: Founder and Director of the Ascent Institute, Safed.
Born in New York, Shaul became observant and entered yeshiva in Brooklyn
after graduating from Cornell University with a BSc in nutrition in 1976. He
came to Israel in 1978 to focus on his rabbinic studies, and soon after married
and settled in Safed. In 1984, he co-founded Ascent, using his newly gained
knowledge and teaching ability to share the wealth of Judaism with jewish
backpackers in the Holy Land. A separate branch of Ascent has been created by
Rabbi Ayal Reiss (The Kabbalah Center of Safed) to allow non-jews to also be
able to access the study of Kabbalah.
Nechama Nadborny-Burgeman holds a Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi
degree in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in Art History. After her world
travels, she came to Israel where she attended yeshivas in Safed and Jerusalem.
Nechama has authored The Twelve Dimensions of Israel, The Princess of Dan,
and The Seventy Dimensions of the World. Nechama lives in Moshav Ta’oz, 40
minutes from Jerusalem, where she continues to study, write, teach, paint, and
play the harp. She lectures both in Israel and abroad.
David Friedman: one of the greatest teachers of Kabbalah, lives in the city of
zfat (Safed), and uses his beautiful artwork and mandalas to express the deepest
teachings of Jewish mysticism. Look at his website www.kosmic-kabbalah.com.
APPENDIX 3
A suggested meditation
Now that we have explored some aspects of the Hebrew alphabet, we wish to
invite the reader to have a personal experience of meditation in front of the work
of the famous italian artist and kabbalist Tobia Ravà. Even if the reader is not an
expert of numerology, by looking at his paintings, he may have a sense of the
depth of the hebrew language and of its metaphysics which Tobia Ravà has
grasped as few scholars have been able to do.
My meeting with Tobia Ravà and my decision to use his paintings to illustrate
the depth of the hebrew language can unreservedly be described as a “Divine
coincidence”: I met him in Padua, at the grave of our common ancestor, Don
Yitzchak Abravanel, the greatest sephardic leader and scholar, serving as an
advisor of Queen Isabel before the Inquisition. Tobia graciously handed me a
catalogue with his extraordinary paintings, offering me the possibility to use his
artwork in my books to give an idea of the depth of the science of numerology
(numerical equivalences, and associated concepts), Hopefully, you will thus get
an idea of the infinite possibilities, meanings, parallels, and juxtapositions
associated with the Hebrew language.
Nautilus ghematrico (Fibonacci), 2006. Resin and acrilyc tempera on canvas,
cm 80×80. Private collection.
Seconda natura delle cose, 2007. Acrylic resin and tempera on canvas and
panel, cm 92×67,5.
Private collection.
Foresta degli Elementi, 2006. Acrylic resin and tempera on canvas, cm
100×120. Private collection.
II germoglio del libro, 2007. Acrylic resin and tempera on canvas, cm 30×40.
Private collection.
APPENDIX 4
Glossary
Bibliography