Friday, March 30, 2007

Bahir Verse 199

An esoteric explanation is required here to get us beyond the surface details.

Verse 199. The soul of the female comes from the Female, and the soul of the male comes from the Male. This is the reason why the Serpent followed Eve. He said, "Her soul comes from the north, and I will therefore quickly seduce her." And how did he seduce her? He had intercourse with her.

Commentary: Think of Creation as being Female or that which takes on the Image of the Male Creator. Drop Male and Female for now and just consider the Creator and Creation. What is this Serpent? It is conditional Time. The original template for Creator and Creation is this.

Ex: 1:3 And God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light.

The Intention is for there to be Light. This Intention is realized instantaneously. Not only does light appear but it also seems to appear in the past even before it is commanded to be it already was. What it should read here perhaps is ‘let there be light and there is light.’ The Creator sends forth its Intention which then becomes Creation. However, these two concepts are really both a part of the same process. Let us just say that there is a seamless connection between Creator and Creation. Now the concept of the Serpent is brought into play. The Serpent is the thought that no development is needed in order for Creation to process. It is the thing without the spirit of the thing. It is knowledge without the understanding of that knowledge that gives meaning to it. The Serpent co-opts the original intention substituting a shadow that entices and teases but never comes to fruition. Eve represents the imaged form that comes from the Creator. She is the budding of awareness born from within continuously anew. The Serpent represents side channel or illusory thoughts coming from without. It is our reactive nature. Eve is Adam turned on his side so that Adam will not be alone. This is the beginning of the extension of this ongoing conversation.

Gen 1:26 And God said: 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.'

Creator and Creation already engage in this conversation. It is One speaking to One. Now inside of the flesh of this Creation is made an image of this ongoing process.

Gen: 1: 27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.

In this way both Creator and Creation are projected inside of their own image. The unity is complete.

Then following the Gen 2:4 … ‘the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created…’ In other words following all of the outcomes that have resulted from this we find that man is then created again.

Gen 2: 7 Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

What was man before? Man was an image both male and female. Man was the operation of Creator and Creation simultaneously brought forth. Now for the third time YHVH appears in connection with Elohim. What is this soul of man? It is evidenced by the use of YHVH Elohim for third time in Torah alluding to the Yetzirah level of being. It is man's own cognizance of divinity within unrealized potential to be placed in operation at the fourth instance of YHVH Elohim (alluding to the level of Asaiah of being) when Man is placed (planted as a tree) in the Garden. What is this Garden. It is the world of response. Whatsoever this man thinks the Garden then takes on the impress of this thought.

The Garden remains with us in always in the background as evidence of ongoing Creation. It still receives the impress of our thoughts.

We were given free will by design. We were meant to impress the garden with our thoughts since this is by reflection the same process that was and is used for the Creator bringing about Creation. What is this Other? It is the interference between what we think and what the Other is telling us. For example, I want to experience a joyful life so then I start thinking about this joyful life and then someone comes along and no you cannot experience this joyful life. It is wrong. You should do this or you should do that. The Serpent is the inventor of lies and the inventor of the 'you should do this, or you should not do this' school. The other seeks to supplant his voice for your own that you are by the way always already receiving directly from the Creator. Once the Other is successful your voice becomes secondary and that is where all of our problems come from. This is the moment of separation that has not only continued but is promoted by every person who tells another what he or she should do. We're here to dress and keep the Garden right? How are we to do this? By listening and then embodying the voice of the Creator who impresses his thought upon her Creation. No intermediary is necessary and in fact must be avoided at all costs. The time-honored way to purify your thoughts from the impress of the Other is to change your mind activating your free will to choose which thoughts not only to think about but also to expand upon to produce the appropriate outgrowths. The trick with free will is to choose wisely from within from the limitless library of like vibrations moving ever higher in frequency as we the approach unity between Creator and Creation. This is the culmination of human experience and the highpoint of Torah when G-d’s name is revealed, as I am that I am. Whatever the Creator thinks upon is reflected and impressed upon Creation. My thoughts and the experiences that result from those thoughts are one. It has to be this unless you willfully choose thoughts to expand upon that have outgrowths that lead to chaos.

Both Creator and Creation reside within. We all have the life's journey to figure this out and build our world accordingly. We have to learn to deny the Other since this Other is merely the result of what someone has placed upon us in order to manipulate our thinking with those Serpentine words 'for your own good.' The only good that is truly ours is that which we are able to come upon by communion-connection with the Creator-Creation within.

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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Bahir Verse 198

The heart of the matter approached so many times, alluded to in countless Torah verses now becomes clear. The secrets of creation itself are discussed.

Bahir verse 198: Why was she called Tamar and not any other name? Because she was female. Can we then say that [it was something special that] she was female? But it is because she included both male and female. For [Tamar means a date palm, and] every date palm includes both male and female. How is this? The frond (Lulav) is male. The fruit is male on the outside and female on the inside. And how? The seed of the date has a split like a woman. Paralleling it is the power of the moon above. The Blessed Holy One created Adam male and female, as it is written (Genesis 1:27), "Male and female He created them." Is it then possible to say this? Is it then not written (Genesis 1:27), "And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him"? It is only then later written (Genesis 2:18), "I will make him a helper opposite him," and (Genesis 2:21), "And He took one of his ribs, and closed the flesh under it." [We therefore see that the male was created first, and only later the female.] But we must say that the Torah uses [three different words]: "formed" (yatzar), "made" (asah), and "created" (bara). When the soul was made, the word "made" is used. [The word "created" is then used:] "Male and female He created them." The word "formed" was used when the soul was combined with the body and the spirit was brought together. How do we know that "forming" means bringing together? For it is written (Genesis 2:19), "And the Lord God formed (gathered) all the beasts of the field and all the flying things of the heaven, and He brought them to the Man to see what he would call each thing." This explains the verse (Genesis 5:2), "Male and female He created them." It is also written (Genesis 1:28), "And God blessed them."

Commentary: This verse mentions Tamar as a reason for expounding the relationships between male and female in terms of the energy that each represents. Tamar shows us the unity of male and female as indicated by the date palm and the above verse “male female he created them.” Lets approach this from the standpoint of thought which issues from the Creator and then transforms itself into the image of that Creator becoming in effect the response of creation directed due to the action of the Creator. Male is the Creator or the active force of Intention. It is what we’ve been calling our ‘heart’s desire’ all along during these discussions. This is referenced above when ‘he brought them to the man to see what he would call each thing.’ What we call something is our Intention. Everything we see above that has to doing with being formed, created or made out of something is the female counterpart of the male principle. These all are various levels of gestation that take place whenever we realize an Intention in our thoughts.

Here is the scenario laid out by the above verses. We have an Intention.

"And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him"

This Intention comes from the Creator. It is placed within us as an image of that which the Creator wishes to see represented in His Creation. How will this come about?

"I will make him a helper opposite him,"

This is the female aspect or the Creation itself. It is the form of the Image that is being cast by the Creator through the agency of His Creation. What is this agency?

"And He took one of his ribs, and closed the flesh under it."

This is say that Creation is one with the Creator. Ribs are the housing or container of the body. Taking the representation of this container all that is now make takes on it semblance as in closing the flesh under. This container is where our thoughts take form as when the soul is brought into the body bringing both together. The soul is the thought and the body is the Creation. The two are one. Why does God bless these two who are one? Because this is necessary for Creation to continue to flow and grow and maintain the same kind of momentum exhibited from this first act of renewal. The Lord God mentioned above references our thoughts above that act to bring to us everything that we would have and therefore cause to be named or come into Creation as a living thing. These living things are the life experiences that we go through.

Bahir 197

The explanation of origination and flowing of destiny is explained here. Let’s see how.

197. Rabbi Amorai sat and expounded: Why was Tamar worthy of being the mother of Peretz and Zerach? It was because her name was Tamar. Tamar was [also] the sister of Amnon. She was therefore made for this. Why were they called Peretz and Zerach? Peretz was named after the moon. The moon breaks out (paratz) at times, and will be built up in the future. Zerach was named after the sun, which always shines (zarach) in the same manner. But Peretz was the first-born. Is then the sun not greater than the moon? This is no difficulty, as it is written (Genesis 38:28), "One put out a hand," [indicating that Zerach's hand emerged before Peretz was born]. It is then written (Genesis 38:30), "This his brother, upon whose hand was the scarlet thread, emerged, and he was named Zerach." [Zerach] was supposed to have been the first-born. But God saw that Solomon would descend [from Peretz], and He had such great joy that He made [Zerach] return.

Commentary: Things get turned around in Torah. Tamar deceives Judah her father inlaw into fathering these children Peretz and Zerach. Yet she is considered to be worthy of being their mother despite the deception. Judah by his word had promised Tamar at first that his son Onan would give her a child in lieu of Er his first born who was wicked and slain by the LORD. Onan didn’t want to do this so he too was slain by the LORD. Then Tamar is promised that his third son Shelah would give her a son. This did not happen either. Tamar therefore had to deceive Judah in order to make sure his word was true and that she did conceive twins is further proof of the efficacy of Judah’s word since both children represented respectively Er and Onan who were slain by the LORD. The confusion over the one Zerach putting out his hand ahead of Peretz shows that both are considered to be first born even though Peretz is the one who emerged fully first. Okay so much for this Torah stuff. Now what can we make of this internally?

Our thoughts move in response to our desires. Many times we do not think out the consequences of those desires and therefore end up producing something that we could not foretell would be happening. Judah’s word has made a very complicated mess of things and except for Tamar his word would never have be fulfilled. Events will fulfill themselves in spite of what may seem to be the random nature of the universe. In the sense of the above verse the end justifies the means here. Solomon is the result of this play confusion. What is Solomon? Solomon is Wisdom of course. Then we can see that the result of the outworking of this divine plan was to bring Wisdom into the world. What this is saying in terms of the first born is that sometimes we’ll have a thought and then suddenly pull back from that thought at the same time remembering to pursue this thought at another time. We pull back from our initial inspiration because what comes next is of even greater importance. The trick is in recognizing what to expand upon and what to leave go of. That discrimination is a life long balancing act that ever more relies upon intuition as the deep inner discernment of what comes next. In a sense we must learn to anticipate thought as it is coming through. Then we are able to see the entire thread in a single conceptual breakthrough.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

BAHIR VERSE 196

Start in the middle of everything and work your way from the center outwards transforming everything that falls under you perception. It is here that you begin your journey and here that all higher thoughts are entered into. It is here where tasks are mostly in your face that you rise above and set the tone for your future permanent freedom. You make your goals as something that is happening concurrently with the surrounding waves that ebb steadily towards the shore. These are the vibrations of the status quo and you may give yourself permission to rise above these vibrations to roll your own currents towards their own destination shore.

196. Rabbah said: If the righteous wanted, they could create a world. What interferes? Your sins, as it is written (Isaiah 59:2), "Only your sins separate between you and your God." Therefore, if not for your sins, there would not be any differentiation between you and Him. We thus see that Rabba created a man and sent it to Rav Zeira. He spoke to it, but it would not reply. But if not for your sins, it would also have been able to reply. And from what would it have replied? From its soul. Does a man then have a soul to place in it? Yes, as it is written (Genesis 2:7), "And He blew in his nostrils a soul of life." If not for your sins, man would therefore have a "soul of life." [Because of your sins, however] the soul is not pure. This is the difference between you and Him. It is thus written (Psalm 8:6), "And You have made him a little less than God." What is the meaning of "a little"? This is because [man] sins, while the Blessed Holy One does not. Blessed be He and blessed be His Name for ever and ever, He has no sins. But the [Evil] Urge comes from Him. Can we then imagine that it comes from Him? But it originated from Him until David came and killed it. It is thus written (Psalm 109:22), "My heart is hollow within me." David said: Because I was able to overcome it (Psalm 5:5), "Evil will not sojourn with You." How was David able to overcome it? Through his study, since he never stopped [studying] day or night. He therefore attached the Torah on high. For whenever a person studies Torah for its own sake, the Torah attaches itself to the Blessed Holy One. They therefore say, "A person should always study Torah, even not for its sake, since if [he studies it] not for its sake, he will eventually come to [study it] for its sake." What is this Torah that you are discussing? It is the Bride who is adorned and crowned, and who is included in the commandments. It is the Treasury of the Torah. It is the betrothed of the Blessed Holy One, as it is written (Deuteronomy 33:4), "Moses commanded us the Torah, the heritage (Morasha) of the congregation of Jacob." Do not read "heritage" (Morasha) but "betrothed" (Me'urasa). How is his so. When Israel engages in the Torah for its own sake, then it is the betrothed of the Blessed Holy One, then it is the heritage of Israel.

Commentary: I think we need to talk about Torah study and its mystical significance here in order to understand what we are being shown here in this awesome revelation. Torah study is the process by means of which we discover new meanings in Torah relating verses of Torah to each other and to higher aspirations of holiness. The ultimate goal of Torah study is attachment to the Blessed Holy One. It is the unification of consciousness that we seek in all of Torah study. In addition it is the knowledge that each of us is able to communicate directly within the unity of our consciousness. Okay lets study this unity as it relates to the creation of a world. The verse about says that the righteous would be able to create a world except for their sins. If they were righteous then why would they have sins? Righteous here must refer to a level of understanding that references the knowledge of creation.

We create worlds every second with our thoughts and just as quickly will we see these worlds crumble because of our sins. What are these sins? They are thoughts that pull down the creations we are building through our thinking. Yes they are doubts that keep us from experiencing the good that we are thinking about. These doubts are dissipated like clouds through the action of our certainty and the association of our feelings with the accomplishment of our good. What was it David learned through his Torah study that allowed him to accomplish past his doubts or sins? It was the evolving nature of consciousness itself. David understood the flow and ebb of thought and how consciousness was affected by every purpose given to it. Through his contemplation of the deepest meanings of Torah David learned to see past the appearances of what was written enabling him to discover the hidden secrets within himself that he could use to do away with sin before it matured into experience. In a sense David learned to make atonements for his sins through the recognition of the highest function of consciousness, which is to unify with Hashem. This is the Bride spoken above that is adorned. We take our thoughts of what we are and connect them with Hashem. Through this connection our feeling nature is aroused producing the holy union or unity. Thoughts evolve through this unity of feeling and higher intention called the Treasury of Torah above. It is indeed a treasury because once you realize these inner workings of consciousness you will be able to ask what you will and see the results in kind. The flowing of thought into being transcended by the Bride or Shechinah that is our feeling nature personified through connection with the Above.

Why is man a little less than G-d? It is because man does not recognize his sins right away but will rationalize them until through experience he has to wake up to them. G-d on the other hand represents the quality of perfect thought. This is why we seek connection with G-d because to have even a moment of perfect thought is enough to expiate and heal our sins meaning that the karma we would otherwise incur is erased. This karma is erased through both our understanding and acceptance. What we understand then is to stop thinking that produces sin and to accept thoughts that are perfect in their presentation and that promote our highest awareness of our connection with G-d.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Parsha Ki Tisa (Last Weeks Parsha)

Behind the veils:

First Veil: Contradiction and questions

We have to take this Parsha in context with everything that has come before and everything that is to come after. Previously when Hashem speaks it is in an active voice as in Moses do this or watch while I do that. Hashem rules unquestionably. Now in this Parsha Moses bargains with Hashem as if Hashem were a relative or someone on the street selling goods. All of a sudden Hashem is asking Moses to “let Me alone that my wrath may wax hot against them.” What is this about? Why would Hashem first have to check with Moses in order to perform any actions whatsoever?

This apparent contradiction here shows the distance that Moses has gone away from Hashem. It is only by Moses interpretation of the Divine influence that he is able to lead Israel. The moment Moses appropriates this power for and acts as though he is leading G-d instead of visa versa the stage is set for the sin of the Golden Calf.

Ex 32: 10 Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them; and I will make of thee a great nation.'

Why does the Lord seemingly ask Moses leave to consume these people? This is the Lord and you would think that the Lord would know exactly what has to be done. In a strange way the proof of the unity of being is expressed here. Without Moses to listen the Lord does not appear and then cannot act except through Moses. We are also given the foreshadowing of what phase of deity Hashem represents. More on this further on. This is a divine play. It must be understood in terms of our own inner purpose of listening for the voice of Hashem within so that unity may be experienced. Hashem cannot be everywhere present without being totally there within each of us. The choice is what we make of this understanding.

Moses asks the Lord to repent after the Lord asks Moses to let him destroy these people.

Ex 32:12 Turn from Thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against Thy people.

Moses bargains with the Lord giving reasons that he might save the people. What is this evil? Is Moses accusing Hashem of evil? Where does this evil come from? The answer to this is obvious. It comes from Moses who by this time knows the difference between good and evil. After all he wrote the books right? If we take this conversation as occurring between Moses and the Lord it doesn’t compute. However if we see this dynamic as occurring within Moses then it is another matter. This has to do with man and his struggle with the ego. The ego wants what it wants regardless of consequences. Listen. Moses lost sight of the people both literally by going up the mountain and abandoning them to their own devices below and also figuratively by not including them in this most important of meetings. It is for Moses to interpret the will of Hashem. Hashem says this and Hashem says that is often colored with what Moses is projecting upon the situation as it occurs. This cannot be helped because the ego seeks supremacy but must be tamed through understanding. The level of understanding displayed here does cause the greatest of all misfortunes to befall the children of Israel. Moses once the hero comes down off the mountain as a tyrant. It is Moses who in effect then prevents the Children of Israel from entering the Promised Land. The projection of Moses guilt is seen through his anger with Israel because of their sin with the Golden Calf. Wait a minute. Let us consider these Children of Israel.

The Second Veil: Consciousness

The Children of Israel are the sum total of all of our thoughts including those that seek unity and those that seek chaos. We are in the mind of Moses now. All of these ideas are encircling his consciousness. On the one hand is the high of his contemplations symbolized by the mountain and the voice or active force of these contemplations, Hashem. Then there are the everyday thoughts that he encounters coming off the mountain. He is warned by the active voice of the ego Hashem in an unbalanced state that what he faces below is a descent into materialism. The high of the mountain will soon be replaced by the mundane affairs symbolized by the Children of Israel. The ego or Hashem in this case want to start all over by destroying everything but Moses says no understanding that the only way he was ever able to ascend this mountain was because of Israel and the purpose they represent. When Moses comes down off the mountain his anger and frustration are too much for him. The solution is right there in the palms of his hands as he bring the law down with him. All he has to do is to integrate what he has just experienced on the mountain or in his contemplations with those thoughts he has left lingering below. It is a simple seeding process of connection. It will both unify Israel and Hashem through the activity of Elohim. The simple giving of the law unselfishly will transform chaos into unity. Instead he smashes the stones replicating what the ego will do when its very existence is threatened. It lashes out and projects making even more chaos then rationalizing it in the name of expediency. The connecting links are horrifically destroyed.

The Third Veil: The illusion of separation

Moses has led them and has been a part of them all along throughout the journey thus far. They have come to rely upon Moses as the interpreter of Hashem. What do they know of Hashem except through the acts of Moses? Now Moses abandons them to go up the mountain. This isn’t the first time this has happened because a pattern is now becoming a series of laws that will forever place distance between the Children of Israel and Hashem. All of this began with Yitro where the priesthood was first introduced making priests of Moses and the brethren of Aaron and the tribe of Levi. Now instead of becoming a nation of priests they are a nation ruled by priests and in their ultimate frustration with the priesthood they demand from Samuel to have a king like the other nations do. As they say in the parlance of today’s economics; the deal has changed for them.

Moses leaves the Children of Israel to their own devices where they do what comes naturally to them. They set about to worship a G-d using their stolen treasure from Egypt to make this G-d out of. Aaron left in charge helps them in their efforts and as far as we know the Levi’s who go to stand with Moses when he says ‘who is with me’ also do not prevent this particular sin from happening. This sin however cannot be attributed to the Children of Israel. They are children. Moses gave them laws but he is not there to provide guidance delegating this guidance to Aaron and the appointed priests while he goes up to the mountain. This is Moses missing the mark and Moses does what most of us will do when faced with something we’ve done that is wrong. He projects his anger upon the Children of Israel and then proceeds to murder three thousand of his children in direct refutation of the commandment ‘thou shalt not kill.’ In doing so he not only revokes his original plan for entering the Promised Land he also confuses the whole issue of Hashem so that the people once singing praises for love of Hashem now cower in fear for their lives. Something else has changed here as well. Prior to leaving Egypt Moses chief concern was the Children of Israel. Their welfare was paramount. Now it is Moses who becomes self-important. It is Moses who intercedes with Hashem to spare them and then it is Moses instead whose anger waxes against the Children of Israel. Because of this the people follow Moses and do not seek the unity of Hashem with Elohim.

Moses face shines so brightly that none may approach him so he must wear a veil. It is this very veil that keeps the Children of Israel from a unified relationship with Hashem. Moses is exposed without this veil. The light that Moses is keeping hidden is the way to approach Hashem. Every person has this same ability to approach Hashem but Moses decides to rule with fear and secrecy concerning this most ancient of truths that Hashem is indeed within and all of our power to influence the world around us comes from this holy connection that is the result of Hashem balanced by Elohim. By setting up the priests, the rituals, and the laws he makes sure that this people will behave but he does not prepare them for their growth in the knowledge of Hashem-Elohim. Instead of unity the children of Israel face the daunting challenge of the separation of consciousness.

When power is kept in the hands of the few it will always be corrupted. The history of the Jewish people and of all peoples is filled with this kind of corruption. What is typical of the anger and projection of Moses is that now all he has to do is to ascribe any actions he wants the children of Israel to do to as coming from Hashem which translates as agree or die. To question is death. Sound familiar?

Fourth Veil: Symbols- Consciousness – the birth of the ego.

Okay all of this is in the context of Torah displaying what is written and allowing us to look deeply into each wonderful area of significance. We cannot discount these obvious contradictions. They must mean something to each of us individually. If the purpose of Torah is to awaken within us the recognition of Hashem-Elohim so that we may realize this connection internally then we have to translate the actions of this Parsha into the terms of consciousness itself.

Moses: What then is Moses in terms of consciousness? Moses is the initial breakthrough of ‘I am that I am.’ It is thought that knows itself to be produced out of nothing. Wow. Then following the direction of this self-awareness this thought must therefore reproduce itself in kind following the table of correspondences that takes place in Genesis.

Children of Israel: Who are the Children of Israel? They are by definition every thought that comes from the prime thought of I am that I am. Because this is so all of them are precious and yes like a shepherd the prime thought watches over these antecedent developments.

Hashem: What or who is Hashem? I can only approach this answer and yet it is a question that all of us who yearn for connection must attempt to resolve within each moment. Hashem is the vortex of unity that must be ultimately balanced with Elohim. It is the connection between who I am and what I think I am. Hashem in our experience may be described by Intention. What is it that I am seeking? I am or the Lord – Hashem does not appear until

Gen: 2:4 These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven.

See how YHVH and Elohim come together here in preparation for all that is to be. This may be compared to what happens when male and female come together forming the zygote in preparation for meiosis.

Elohim: The metaphysical of being. It is the feminine emanation of abundance overflowing with the containers of being. It has one purpose and that is to express itself in myriad ways all leading back to itself from itself.

The generations of heaven and of the earth are those thoughts that issued from Elohim and are now becoming transformed into I am which will then become embodied. The life however or the soul of these embodiments still remains in stasis until:

Ex 2:5 No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground;

What is the rain? It is the feeling nature that is present when man desires. Through the self-awareness of being Man tills the ground to bring forth his desires. Out of this feeling nature the earth waters itself.

Ex 2: but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

What we desire then comes forth from the feelings (mist) we have about this desire that then causes the face of this desire to become embodied in the ground of our experience.

Of course what comes next is the soul of man breathed into by the LORD God.

Ex:2 :7 Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

This is how the embodiment of an idea is able to become self-aware. It is this concept that is continually forgotten and then remembered in Torah as if it were something new. We see in this Parsha how we are going through the process of forgetting this idea through the placing veils in front of it as will happen anytime a new idea is promoted within and then subsumed by the ego. In this case the ego is represented by Moses who co-opts the ‘I am that I am’ of Hashem. Because of this the voice of Hashem is dimmed and the people only get to hear Moses through a veil and his own egoistic interpretations.
The laws of Torah that follow are further attempts by the ego to hide its essential nature that is its destiny for unification with Elohim. Hashem seeks Elohim is the simple dynamic that continues forever. In this way we may learn about our inner voice that seeks our good through love without need of any intermediary.

The Golden Calf: This symbol completes the submersion of Israel through materiality. All of their booty is turned therefore into a symbol of reverence only to be reduced to ashes by Moses. Moses should only have been angry with himself here. When he takes it out on the families of those who participated in this forbidden celebration he loses his connection on high and never regains it. Instead he rules Israel from the negative side of the Tree of Life showing them the hardships of a forty-year march in the wilderness. To conceive of a G-d that would issue such a harsh decree assumes that mercy and goodness are arbitrary in this world, which they are most definitely not. No from here on in Israel is now at the mercy of Moses and his priests.

This tale is a caution for those who would in any way use their power or knowledge of spirituality to manipulate or in any way try and influence others to do their will. In the end it never works. Either the people revolt or regress. Mass slaughter does not do the trick either. Amalek was supposedly slaughtered completely but later we find out the king survived just long enough to father a child who still confronted and battles Israel today. There is however, a law greater than Moses and that is the law of karma. Actions produce reactions and ill deeds beget ill consequences. Moses and Israel spent forty years running away from the slaughter in camp where father murdered son and visa versa all in the name of Moses anger. When something isn’t right it cannot be rationalized even by forty years of wandering.

Despite rising to the heights we find that Moses is still capable of mass slaughter in the name of anger. On that day the Shechinah was diminished in Moses sight even though he is promised that it will go before them in their travels. In truth it is illusion that Moses now must accept for himself. Israel pays the price because they have no choice left but to follow Moses. They live in fear of Moses and of the Law of Moses.

What does all of this mean in the context of Torah? The first time that YHVH appears without Elohim is in Genesis 4:1 where Eve begets Cain with the help of YHVH. What is this birth? It is the birth of the Ego. The Ego is thought without its feminine aspect or the aspect of Elohim the combined creative force of male-female. For the ego it is a constant battle, animal sacrifice, murder, slaughter, competition, laws, the taking of territory and the veiled deity that takes and makes promises and bargains and then gets angry just like an ordinary man. It is life without the wonder of creation. What are we to do about this?

The Fifth veil: Correction – Tikkune

Hashem must be reunited with its feminine counterpart Elohim. The equation will otherwise remain unbalanced. We’ve always known this all along but tradition and the Ego are very powerful forces. Torah in its way provides the answer. Forget about ‘back to the future’ and remember ‘the beginning.’ In the beginning Elohim leads the way and is then joined by YHVH until just before man is brought forth which separates YHVH and Elohim forcing consciousness down a path of pain. Still Torah is there to remind us of our mistakes containing an abundant record that chronicles yes the triumphs of YHVH but also shows how man cannot survive with Elohim. The secret them of Hashem is that it must be joined to Elohim in order to function with perfection. Look at it this way. The thought is never complete without the fulfillment of thought. Both Intention and Fulfillment go together. Work cannot succeed unless both sides of the equation are balanced.

As we travel through Torah I am reminded of a story I once wrote. There was adventure, intrigue and a great plot line. Something was missing. I asked myself ‘where is the love.’ As soon as I realized this, the story turned into something else as I rewrote it and I felt a sense of completion. The definition of love seen through YHVH or Moses eyes is harsh indeed with murder mayhem and mass destruction being the order of the day. Except for Psalms, The Song of Songs, and the various Prophets, etc. there aren’t too many references in Torah that talk about love. The love of Hashem is stated as a commandment that is odd because love can never be commanded. My point here is that the world was created with Elohim promoted by Hashem and the two must ultimately be reunited. This reunification is something that all of us have to keep in mind even in our everyday thoughts. Especially at this time of year this becomes more than readily apparent.

She listens always. Her ways are from the beginning. She only speaks love, forgiveness and abundance. Long ago He left her to go to war and set up His kingdoms all the while missing Her and acting out because of Her. She is patience Herself for She knows that She will always love Him. He knows that He must return to Her. A Love like this cannot be denied. For now She waits and reminds Him every spring of Her beauty as He wistfully thinks of Her more often than not praying for the day when they will both be together again as One. He must let go of His past and be open to Her. In a sense He is Her child since She must always come first. As a Mother She allows Him to misbehave knowing that her Love will bring Him back to Her. In case you are wondering She is Elohim and He is Hashem.

Many Blessings,

Mark Siet

Thursday, March 01, 2007

And so at long last we come to the last section of the Bahir called, ‘Secrets of the Soul.’

Bahir 194. Rabbi Rahumai said: This I received [from the tradition]. When Moses wanted to know about the glorious fearsome Name, may it be blessed, he said (Exodus 33:18), "Show me please Your glory." He wanted to know why there are righteous who have good, righteous who have evil, wicked who have good, and wicked who have evil. But they would not tell him. Do you then think that they did not tell him? Can one then imagine that Moses did not know this mystery? But this is what Moses said: "I know the ways of the Powers, but I do not know how Thought spreads through them. I know that Truth is in Thought, but I do not know its parts." He wanted to know, but they would not tell him.

Commentary: As we have been learning all along that it is Thought that moves within and creates the vibrations of life. What are these Powers? They are the levels of vibration produced by Thought. Moses says here he knows the Powers because he can feel their presence and witness the actions that result by proper reflections of these Powers. What Moses doesn’t know is how Thought makes up itself out of itself. He is unable to see the connection that good and evil have together and how one balances out the other and both contribute to the continuity of reflection. He doesn’t see how on one level a person may be considered righteous and then on another level they may be termed evil. Evil may be defined for this context as meaning anything that degrades the unity. One may contemplate holiness and yet if even the slightest doubt enters that contemplation the holiness does not reach the level of understanding that it is destined to because of the doubt or evil that has crept into these contemplations. What is the glory of the fearsome Name? It is the unqualified unity that exists within and because of the Name. Why wouldn’t they tell him about this Glory? Because you must answer a person in their language of understanding in order to communicate the truth of the answer. Moses by his questions demonstrated the duality of thinking that prevents a true understanding of the fearsome Name. The only answer that ever suffices for this question is to become the Unity and then no questions are necessary.

Bahir 195. Why is there a righteous person who has good, and [another] righteous person who has evil? This is because the [second] righteous person was wicked previously, and is now being punished. Is one then punished for his childhood deeds? Did not Rabbi Simon say that in the Tribunal on high, no punishment is meted out until one is twenty years or older. He said: I am not speaking of his present lifetime. I am speaking about what he has already been, previously. His colleagues said to him: How long will you conceal your words? He replied: Go out and see. What is this like? A person planted a vineyard and hoped to grow grapes, but instead, sour grapes grew. He saw that his planting and harvest were not successful so he tore it out. He cleaned out the sour grape vines and planted again. When he saw that his planting was not successful, he tore it up and planted it again. How many times? He said to them: For a thousand generations. It is thus written (Psalm 105:8), "The word that He commanded for a thousand generations." It is in relation to this that they said, "Lacking were 974 generations. The Blessed Holy One stood up and planted them in each generation."

Commentary: We are talking here about thoughts and the way in which they come to harvest as experiences. It is our thoughts that make us righteous or evil according to their direction. We have the responsibility to change our thoughts if they are evil. We are to change them to good thoughts. Thoughts combine together in what is called generations above to provide the templates that we live our lives through. Realizing this frame of reference we aim to always plant good thoughts knowing full well that their harvest will continue the process ad infinitum. The process we take in order to clean up our lives is to take out the sour grapes (negative thoughts) and begin again anew to plant the good thoughts that will then take root to produce a good harvest for us time and again. This is something that cannot be directly explained without the experience gained through planting and replanting.

Parsha Tzsaveh תְּצַוֶּה
What is this lamp which burns brightly and how does it relate to the inner atmosphere of ideation that are represented by the ‘Children of Israel?’ Also what is the oil that must keep this lamp burning in perpetuity?

Proverbs Chapter 20: 27 The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all the inward parts. 28 Mercy and truth preserve the king; and his throne is upheld by mercy.

The only way in which we are able to maintain our connection with Hashem is through our intention to always look for that presence which uplifts us and shows us the way within and without. It is the inner journey that accomplishes every unification without. Our thoughts revolve around the center of our consciousness being borne by Hashem in such a way as to burn brightly. The king in the verse above is the elevation of consciousness. It is for this purpose that we are enlivened into this world. Mercy is that quality of letting going that allows our highest thoughts to ascend and our lower thoughts to fall by the wayside. Truth is what we make within as we experience the connection with Hashem. This throne is where we reside in the highest sense of being. Through truth the throne never descends and by the agency of mercy it always floats effortlessly within.

What follows next is in consideration of the holy outerwear of the priests described in great detail. These garments in all their finery represent the inner architecture of consciousness that is represented by the twelve tribes of Israel. What are these twelve tribes? They are the highest reach that each area of thought is able to obtain. In fact we see that engraved upon these most precious jewels are the names of he twelve tribes. The appearance of each name appears as in a signet ring. This tells us that each quality of consciousness may not only shine individually but may also shine in concert with the grand whole.

All of this occurs on the mountain, which is the place of our highest consciousness. These garments are arrayed with order and perfection. The reason for all of this attention to detail is to provide Moses and Israel a pathway to return to Hashem. This is an important part of the instructions because once Moses leaves the mountain it is going to be difficult explaining everything that he experienced. The phrase ‘you had to be there’ will hardly suffice.

Note: The pathway of return is a mystical journey that all of us make when we seek Hashem in everything we do. The dynamics of this return have as its purpose the holy connection between Hashem and man. What is this holiness that we aspire to? It is the unification of consciousness symbolized in Kabbalistic and Rabbinic literature as the ‘unification of the name.’ It is the making whole of our consciousness so that like Torah we will be able to navigate with certainty our thoughts finding the connections that exist between each idea and the greater sense of what the connection of this idea is to the whole. This is why the elements of the sanctuary and of the garments worn by the priests have a special attention to them shown by Torah. This is described very well in this verse
Ezekiel 44:5 And the LORD said unto me: 'Son of man, mark well, and behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee concerning all the ordinances of the house of the LORD, and all the laws thereof; and mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth of the sanctuary.

The house of the Lord is the place of holiness within that we return to each day through our prayers and our service in the form of mitzvoth that we perform by guiding our thoughts ever upwards towards unification. The house is our body that we enter returning from sleep each night. We go forth from the sanctuary after having partaken of the holy feast described in this Parsha. The blood that is described being sprinkled on Aaron and the priest describes the essence of our attention that is purified by association with holiness.

Ex 29:33 And they shall eat those things wherewith atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.

The essence of connection may only be achieved by becoming at one with it. There cannot be any middle ground here. The sacrifices are for the expiation of sins. These sins are thoughts that can never unify with our highest aspirations. Therefore they weigh us down. By letting them go (negative thoughts-emotions) by literally shredding them to pieces in the way the sacrifices are described only then may we partake of the essence of what is good called holiness.

There are three elements of this holiness that are described in this Parsha:

One: The garments are made holy by their design.

Ex 28:2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for splendor and for beauty.

Hashem is telling us that what we wrap around ourselves determines the state of mind we experience. These garments are the thoughts that travel with us in the background of our consciousness. Make them beautiful shining in splendor like the jewels engraved with the names of Israel. Keep uppermost in your mind those thoughts that shine with connection. In this way you are always on the road to holiness seeking and finding and then sharing.

Two: The priests are made holy by their anointing.

Ex 28:41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and upon his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto Me in the priest's office.

Israel has been told that they are to be a nation of priests.

Ex: 19: 6 and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.'

What does a priest do traditionally? He serves as an intermediary between the people and G-d. In this case Israel is given the legacy of priesthood for everyone and the status and responsibility of being a holy nation. What this suggests is that every Jew has a special relationship to Hashem. This is a holy relationship. This means that as we contemplate G-d we are invoking within ourselves the highest calling. When we think about anything our attention is engaged until the thoughts begin to revolve around the center of our chosen subject. The action of these revolving thoughts produces a vibration within. This vibration by definition is either moving towards or away from the presence of Hashem indicated by the physical counterpart of that presence or the Shechinah that acts to produce the feeling of connection called bliss or absorption. This feeling of connection results from a linking of our thought vibration to that of the higher vibrations that are continuously produced via Hashem. Hashem represents the highest unity of vibration that we may achieve. We attach ourselves to this vibration through Torah study, mitzvoth, and contemplation. This attachment results in holiness. This holiness is our synchronous sympathetic bonding with Hashem or the vibration of Hashem in the manner of our highest understanding. There are levels of understanding through which we may attach ourselves symbolized by the Sephiroth of the Tree of Life. These levels may be compared to musical harmonies where the same note is repeated as the octaves ascend. In this way even though the understanding may not reach all the way up it still maintains its connection through harmony with Hashem. Aaron and his sons through their donning of the garments of holiness are enabled by association to vibrate with holiness, which in turn works to complement the overall holiness of Israel in its relationship to Hashem.

Three: The people are made holy by their association with the blood sacrifices.

Ex 29:43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and [the Tent] shall be sanctified by My glory.

Ex29:45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.

The purpose of the burnt offerings is revealed in these verses above. What is burnt and why is it offered? Our attachment to our task driven lives are burnt up by breaking the pattern of doing this and that without considering Hashem. What we offer is an open mind that is free of these attachments. Only then does Hashem flow quite naturally within. Change and innovation open the doorways for this to happen as the mind seeks out new avenues of contemplation the old task driven thoughts are replaced by creative connections defining the purpose described by ‘sanctified by my glory.’ What is the Tent of meeting? It is a gathering place for holiness. This holiness consists of everything related to I am or to Hashem as we are able to perceive this. What is gathered? Thoughts are gathered here. What is the name of those thoughts? The Children of Israel is their name. Why must they be gathered and why here? The Children of Israel are well known for their wanderings going astray here and there and losing sight of Hashem in the long run. They need a central place of uplifting where they may be unified with Hashem, renewed and then raised to the next level of unfolding. This Tent of Meeting may be likened to a crystal emitter of tremendous capacity that has the power to vibrate continuously causing in turn the sympathetic vibration spoken about earlier. This is an exact place within and is where we connect with Hashem.

Traversing the pathways of Torah we must always be on the lookout for the side doors that lead into the worlds without end beyond. There unspoken mysteries await our touch to reveal the many treasures of wisdom that issue forth. Starting out our minds open and then release our task-based consciousness. This results in the journey spoken about so often by our sages. The purpose then of this Parsha Tzsaveh is to pay attention along the way not missing the forest for the trees and allowing for the miracle of the journey to find yourself standing on that ancient horizon where our thoughts meet the promised land and Mashiach turns out to be only a short step away. It is for such a vision that I would travel a lifetime. Indeed for such a vision not only foretells the future it is the proof that such a future exists.

B’H”

Mark Siet

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