Bahir 109

The whole idea of sacrifice had always been a turn off to me until I realized that what you see on the surface here is not what is given when we read between the lines to the substrata which Kabbalah insists that we penetrate to. Let's see what gives.

Bahir Verse 109. Why is this sacrifice called a Karban [which means "bringing close"]? Because it brings the Forms of the Holy Powers close. It is thus written (Ezekiel 37:17) , "And you shall join one of them to the other, making one stick, and they shall become one in your hands." And why is [the sacrifice] called a "pleasant fragrance"? Fragrance is only in the nose. The sense of smell is through breath, and this is nowhere but in the nose. "Pleasant" (nicho'ach) means nothing other than "descending." It is thus written (Leviticus 9:22), "And he descended," and the Targum translates this as Ve-Nachit [having the same root as nicho'ach ]. The fragrance-spirit descends and unifies itself with those Holy Forms, bringing itself close through the sacrifice. It is for this reason that [a sacrifice] is called a Karban .

Commentary: The entire key to this verse is contained in the word Karban as explained which means 'bring close.' What are we brought close to? The answer has to be our connection with the unity of those Holy Forms. The Holy Forms are explained in our explanation of verse 108 and are the idealized thought ideations of your heart's desire. What you are joining together is your thought of who you are with your thought of what you are. Who and what are described in the Zohar, Trumah Verse

15. The highest level, which is the secret of the highest world, is called 'mi (Eng. 'who')'. The lower level, which is the secret of the lower world, is called 'mah (Eng. 'what')'. We learned Do not pronounce it as 'mah', but rather as 'me'ah (Eng. 'one hundred)'', because all the levels are sublime in perfection here .

I have removed the commentary between the verses to clarify the point we are making. The highest level is called mi or who and that is where we define ourselves. This self definition can only take place in terms of what we believe in and extending this further it is also what we choose to focus our attention upon. This applies directly to where we go inside of our meditations. This who is the presence that we are making within by identifying it with that which we want to become. The What we are is the result of our reaching on high. It is called above the lower world because there is a downward flowing of inspiration into substance. Notice where it says all levels are sublime in perfection. This is another way of repeating the ancient axiom that 'as above so below.' Yes who we becomes an exact replica of what we are becoming. It is our thoughts which identify the person and provide the reality for self reflection as well as self actualization.

The sacrifice then becomes one of attention. We sacrifice our attention for one thing for the attention of another thing. This sacrifice is however, merely a moving away in focus and at the same time an attenuation of that same focus. Once we let go of outward influences we can rest easy in mind and fill our thoughts with the abundance of meaning that was meant to be there in the first place. Then flowing out from these meanings we see the pattern again from above to below and then back again.