Bahir 98

It is uncanny how our study of the Bahir sometimes mirrors questions I've been pondering myself during the week. Previous we were discussing the transformation of consciousness. Here in this verse 98 a similar theme comes through.

Bahir 98. And all the Holy Forms oversee all the nations. But Israel is holy, taking the Tree itself and its Heart. The Heart is the beauty (hadar) of the fruit of the body. Similarly, Israel takes (Leviticus 23:40), "the fruit of a beautiful (hadar) tree." The date palm is surrounded by its branches all around it and has its sprout (Lulav) in the centre. Similarly, Israel takes the body of this Tree which is its Heart. And paralleling the body is the spinal cord, which is the main part of the body. What is the Lulav ? [It can be written] Lo Lev ; "it has a heart." The heart is also given over to it. And what is this Heart? It is the 32 Hidden paths of Wisdom that are hidden in it. In each of their paths there is also a Form watching over it. It is thus written (Genesis 3:24) , "To watch the way of the Tree of Life."

Commentary: The beauty of the body. This is analogous to the holy forms being spoken of. It is the archetype of the body. If we extend the term body to mean any thought form then we begin to see what this verse is speaking about. The spinal cord and the 32 Paths of Wisdom are discussed. Visualize now the connections you may feel to the various emotions and states of mind. Visualize all of this in a central channel of awakening. The heart of this awakening is centered in the Tree of Life. The Aryeh Kaplan translation of the Bahir which I've been using here says 'watch the way.' Another translation from JPS Bible says to 'keep the way to the Tree of Life.' This is in response to being sent away from the Garden of Eden. The meaning of this is as follows. All of us have had moments of inspiration only to find ourselves lost inside of our doubts. The point of inspiration is where we touch the Garden of Eden. It is the spiritual center of connection. The 32 Paths allude to all of the ways in which we may return to this spiritual center of connection. The same symbolism is true of the date palm and all of its branches. It is the nature of inspiration to burst forth in a radiant glow reminiscent of the thousand petalled lotus formed by the enlightenment of the crown chakra. Radiance occurs all of the time showing us not only how it feels to be in the Garden of Eden but also showing us what we have done to get us there. The verse says that there is a form watching over each path. This form is the way back into the Garden of Eden or the return to this connected state of mind.

This relates specifically to the transformation of consciousness. Remember what gets you there is your ability to keep opening the doors within your mind to release the light of connection. Then travelling on this supernal beams you are able to feel the connection and live your life in connection.