July 4th, 2018
Lessons from Pinchas
In an unprecedented act of sanctioned zealotry, we read in this week’s Torah portion about Pinchas being commended for taking a stand against a public atrocity and killing the perpetrators, consequently saving thousands of lives. Pinchas is subsequently rewarded with the “covenant of peace.”
Of all things, why is peace awarded to a zealous act of killing? What does this teach us about modern day zealotry and its dangers? Haven’t we learned our lessons over history of the grave destruction perpetrated in the name of G-d by religious extremists?!
A specter of radicalism – centered in the Middle East – haunts the world. It began with Israel. It then moved to the secular Western world, beginning with Europe and the USA. By now the dark shadowy cancer of Islamic extremist terrorism has descended on virtually every country in the world, including Muslim nations. Past years have borne witness to brutal killings in Nice, Munich, St. Etienne-du-Rouvray, Istanbul, Orlando, Brussels, Paris, Beirut, Japan, Egypt, Somalia, Cameroon, Dhaka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. And this does not include the ongoing massacres in Syria and Iraq.
Forces are simmering. A one billion plus Muslim population is not complacently waiting for America to sell them Coca Cola and Big Mac’s (even if they were halal meat). The Muslim world is driven by a philosophy and a passionate belief system. Many of its ideas are quite noble and therefore appealing. Beyond all the distortions and the violence, it is not unfair to argue that the core of their belief system is the Divine message of the Bible of sublimating and spiritualizing the material universe.
However, like all strong belief systems, that same Muslim world is also a breeding ground for radicalism. At its extreme there is a powerful movement – no one knows the numbers, but it encompasses many elite, affluent Muslims – that advocates violence struggle against Western secularism. They see Christian and Jewish influences as corrupt forces that need to be vanquished.
Islamic intellectual hero, Sayyid Qutb, one of the primary philosophical fathers of Muslim fundamentalism today (he was executed by Nasser in 1966), has an extensive corpus of writings that advocates the philosophical underpinnings of the Islamic war against secularism. “If we look at the sources and foundations of modern ways of living, it becomes clear that the whole world is steeped in Jahiliyya (pagan ignorance of divine guidance), and all the marvelous material comforts and high-level inventions do not diminish this Ignorance.” “It is essential for mankind to have a new leadership… It is necessary for the new leadership to preserve and develop the material fruits of the creative genius of Europe, and also to provide mankind with such high ideals and values as have so far remained undiscovered by mankind, and which will also acquaint humanity with a way of life which is harmonious with human nature, which positive and constructive, and which is practicable. Islam is the only system which possesses these values and this way of life.”
Do not be seduced by the ideological tone. Qutb then calls for a militant revolution that will, violently if necessary, annihilate the Jahiliya.
This is not to suggest that all Muslims feel this way. But however you want to analyze it, one mistake we should not make is that the Muslim world is indifferent. It has deep passionate beliefs that are not just going away (and should not necessarily go away) because the Western world is uncomfortable with them.
And this belief system is a hotbed of fermenting radicalism, which is giving birth and continues to give birth to thousands (if not more) of faithful individuals ready to sacrifice their lives in their Jihad against a world (in their minds) opposed to G-d.
No one wants to hear this fact because then our battle is just too formidable of a task. How will a Western world, complacent with its comforts, ever face the violent passion of thousands, if not millions, of religious zealots?
Therein lies the powerful message of Pinchas. The Torah clearly and consistently abhors zealotry. When Abraham hears about the impending destruction of the infidel city of Sodom – criminals by all accounts – he doesn’t celebrate or join the attack, even though it was led by G-d Himself. Instead, He argues and implores G-d to not destroy the city. The same with Moses after the Jews built the Golden Calf, openly defying the commandment against idolatry they had just heard and accepted at Sinai. Moses insists that G-d forgive them, and after 80 days he ultimately prevails, evoking the powerful thirteen Divine attributes of compassion, thereby opening the door of teshuvah (return) to all souls – the ultimate power of the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur.
The Torah is filled with the message of love and compassion.
Indeed, this is the entire undercurrent of Torah “Love you neighbor as yourself – is the fundamental principle of Torah,” said Rabbi Akiva. “This is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary” (in Hillel’s words).
Indeed, the Torah warns of the dangers of being “more religious” that G-d, acutely sensitive to the fact that people can create “Torah sanctioned” outlets for their own personal aggression. “Erase My Holy Name,” G-d declares, “to preserve peace between husband and wife.”
Never, ever use religion as a weapon. No one ever was commanded by G-d to form a “lynch mob” and kill the infidels. When the Egyptians were drowning in the sea for their obstinate crimes against mankind, G-d rebuked the angels for singing praise: “My creatures are drowning and you sing?!”
Even when King David fought justifiable wars, he was not allowed to build the Holy Temple because of the blood on his hands. His son, Solomon, the man of peace, built the Temple. The Talmud tells us that a Sanhedrin (Rabbinical supreme court) was labeled a “murderous” court if under their tenure one verdict of capital punishment was issued even once in 70 years! Not because they are accused of being biased or corrupt, but to emphasize how abhorrent death is, even when it may be justified.
The only exception of sanctioned zealotry is Pinchas. Why would the Torah allow for the celebration of this one instance of zealous behavior when it knows the risks of how it can be interpreted?
The answer lies in the opening verse of this week’s chapter:
G-d says “Pinchas, the son of Eliezer, the son of Aaron the Priest, turned away My anger from the Children of Israel by zealously taking up My cause and thus preventing me from destroying them.”
The additional attribution to his grandfather Aaron the Priest (and not the usual reference to “Pinchas son of…”) is in order to emphasize Pinchas’ personality. Aaron was man of love and peace. “The Mishne tells us “be of the students of Aaron, love peace and pursue peace. Love all creatures [even if they have no other obvious quality except that they are G-d’s creatures] and bring them closer to Torah.”
Had Pinchas been an aggressive personality, had he been an advocate of religious radicalism, that would have boded trouble. Pinchas was a man of peace, a quiet man. Even this act of zealotry was not to kill, but to protect innocent people from being killed. When Pinchas saw that the people were dying as a result of the public atrocity and desecration that Zimri perpetrated, he went against his own quiet nature to defend G-d and save lives. Selflessness, not personal prejudices, was Pinchas’ driving force. The moment personal interests and inclinations are involved, one ceases to be a zealot.
It was actually Zimri, of the house of Shimeon who was the aggressive one, as was his grandfather Shimeon who was rebuked by Jacob for his violent and heated behavior.
What lesson does this have for us today, when faced with the violent passions of thousands if not millions of religious zealots?
Pinchas teaches us an invaluable and powerful message today.
The mistake we are facing today is in two extremes: Either extreme religious radicalism, or its’ counterpart – extreme libertinism, where everything goes. Indeed these two positions actually feed off of each other, thus making them close cousins. Years of abuse in the name of religion have created a backlash and knee-jerk reaction to anything that even “smells” of religious bigotry or imposition. Even if this may be understandable, it still doesn’t make it correct. Often, the reaction born out of an unhealthy situation is equally unhealthy.
What may be even worse than fanatical moral relativism (borne out of religious fanaticism) is passive apathy, or even radical apathy (if that’s possible). As one fellow asked his friend: “What’s worse, ignorance or apathy.” His reply: “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
A deep apathy – quite invisible – has arisen as a result of all these battles of extremism on both sides. Some call it the “silent majority,” others the “ignorant masses” ‘(“olam golam” in Yiddish), and yet others the large number of people who live “lives of quiet desperation.” You can add into the mix the cynics that cite the abovementioned reference in Ecclesiastes: “Nothing new under the sun.” Thus it was and thus it will always be.
Comes Pinchas the man of peace and tells us that there is another option: No extremes, no bringing in your own personal prejudices and feelings of aggression or passivity, violence or comfort zones. Pinchas teaches us simple selflessness to protect and defend innocent lives. Zealousness – but in peace.
G-d forbid for anyone to use Pinchas as a model of aggressive to hurt another person even in the name of religious beliefs. Self-defense and protecting other lives is another story. If you are quiet when you see other people being slaughtered, then you are not a man of peace; you are a coward.
What we learn from Pinchas is the exact opposite of killing in the name of religious zealotry. Violence against other people, especially innocent ones, can never be tolerated – no matter what its cause. Any justification of violence, whether it is in the name of religion or in the name of fighting for a cause, is unequivocally deplorable and goes against the laws of G-d. Anger and murder resulting from religious feelings is perhaps the most dangerous of all, because the “holy war” helps mask the venting of personal aggression.
Some prominent writers have suggested that terrorism in Israel can be justified because they are fighting there for a cause, but it cannot be justified in other parts of the world. It is laughable if it weren’t so tragic to suggest that terrorism is acceptable in one region but not in another. Imagine someone arguing that he can “understand” Nazi atrocity against Jews but not against Americans… If violent terrorism is “acceptable” (or more pc: “reprehensible but understandable”) in Jerusalem, than it becomes “acceptable” – and just a short step away – from violence in London, Paris, Moscow, New York and Beijing.
The Nazi terror made it abundantly clear that injustice in one place is injustice everywhere. Hatred to one race is hatred to all. And the biggest revelation of all: Indifference to violence and brutality against one group of humans is indifference to brutality against all humans. We are in this together – for bad and for good. Churchill put it best: “Appeasement in time of aggression is feeding the crocodiles in the hope that you will be eaten last.”
On the other hand, Pinchas teaches us, just because religion has been abused and used to perpetrate atrocities we shouldn’t fall to the other extreme of not fighting for any values. We must never lose sight of right and wrong, but at the same time we must learn from the past how to fight for it with selfless passion, not with violence.
We face today a major confrontation between religious and secular forces. In the Middle East and spreading through Asia, Africa and Europe, this battle is only accelerating. September 11th was a reminder to America of the festering forces at work.
To borrow a phrase – a specter is haunting the world. Not the specter of communism but of making our peace with G-d.
Leaders rise in times like this. A new vision is needed. Or is it a timeless vision that simply needs to be rediscovered?
What is needed today is passion – but guided by humility. G-d – but guided by love and compassion.
A specter is hanging over us – the specter of freedom. The violence perpetrated around the world today offers us an unprecedented opportunity to wake ourselves up from complacency and embrace a zealous battle for justice and truth.
We need a zealot today. Not a murderous zealot but a zealot of peace. A true Pinchas that will rise and defy conventional thinking.
Today we are called to join forces in a zealous and passionate against all form of extremism and violence, including those perpetrated in the name of religious zealotry. To counter the passion of misguided souls ready to blow themselves up, we need to zealously defend and promote the Divine principles of justice and peace – and all in the spirit of unity and love fueled by selflessness.
Nations of the world, communities across the globe, need to zealously unite with one powerful message: We will not tolerate or accept any form of violence, not in Jerusalem and not in London. Religious beliefs must be used not to fight wars, but to promote spiritual values, to establish laws that respect basic human rights and allow for diversity.
We must demand of the Muslim world – and for that matter of the Christian and Jewish world, as well as of all religions and creeds – to embrace the principles established by Abraham, father of all nations, to promote the deepest values of virtue and integrity, all with love and inspiration. To fight the pagan forces of the universe, not with violence, but with spreading light and warmth.
And on a personal level, we must counter the forces of “baseless hatred” that tear apart communities, with unconditional and zealous love and pursuit of peace. By fostering and intensifying unity and peace/shalom, we will eliminate the cause that destroyed the Temple and bring on the building of the Third Temple speedily in our time.
Tags: Pinchas, zealotry, fundamentalism, Islam, terrorism, Islamism
Posted in Weekly Parsha, Operation Iron Swords, Bamidbar, Torah, Pinchas, The Inside Story, Terrorism | 9 Comments »
June 28th, 2018
Listen to Your Body
A mysterious event in this week’s Torah portion reveals a phenomenon new to modern psychology—that we must listen to our body’s voice, which carries messages, memories and potent power.
One of the strangest episodes in history takes place in this week’s Torah portion. The gentile prophet Balaam is commissioned by Moabite King Balak to curse the Jewish people. Balak felt threatened by the Jews. He wanted to defeat them in battle and drive them away.
Initially G-d does not allow Balaam to go. But after Balak’s emissaries beseech him G-d permits him to go, saying “But only do exactly as I instruct you.”
Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his female donkey and went on his way. G-d plants His angel in the road to oppose him.
When the donkey saw G-d’s angel standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, the donkey went aside from the road into the field. Balaam beat the donkey to get it back on the road. G-d’s angel then stood in a narrow path through the vineyard, where there was a fence on either side. When the donkey saw G-d’s angel, it edged over to the side, crushing Balaam’s foot against the wall. [Balaam] beat it even more. G-d’s angel continued ahead, and he stood in a narrow place, where there was no room to turn right or left. When the donkey saw G-d’s angel, it lay down [refusing to budge] for Balaam. Balaam lost his temper and beat the donkey with a stick.
G-d then opened the donkey’s mouth and it said to Balaam,
“What have I done to you that you beat me these three times?” “You have embarrassed me [or: been playing games with me],” shouted Balaam at the donkey. “If I had a sword in my hand just now, I would have killed you!”
The donkey replied to Balaam, “Am I not your [faithful] donkey, upon which you have been riding from back when until this day. Have I ever been unmindful to you?” “No,” replied Balaam. G-d then opened Balaam’s eyes and he perceived the angel standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. [Balaam] kneeled and prostrated himself on his face.
G-d’s angel said to him,
“Why did you beat your donkey these three times? I have come out to oppose you, because your errand is obnoxious to me. When the donkey saw me, it turned aside these three times. If it had not turned aside before me, as it did now, I would have killed you and spared [the donkey].”
Balaam said to G-d’s angel: “I have sinned! I did not know that you were standing on the road before me. If you consider it wrong [for me to go], I will return home.” G-d’s angel said to Balaam, “Go with the men. But do not say anything other than the exact words that I declare to you.”
The narrative continues with G-d compelling Balaam to bless the Jews instead of cursing them, to the chagrin of Balak and his cronies.
This story with the talking donkey is puzzling from beginning to end. If G-d didn’t want Balaam to go to Balak, why didn’t he just stop him from going? If for whatever reason G-d wanted to block his way with an angel, why did he hide the fact from Balaam and allow the donkey to see the angel – after all Balaam, not the donkey, was the prophet?!
A Torah axiom states that G-d does not perform miracles in vain. Why then was this miracle of miracles necessary, to have the donkey see the angel, resist moving on, until the donkey ends up speaking?! This miracle would have been totally unnecessary if Balaam had seen the angel himself. Why the need to open the donkey’s mouth?!
The plot thickens: the Mishne states (in the Ethics of our Fathers) that the “donkey’s mouth” was one of the ten unique things created at dusk on the sixth day of creation! In other words, G-d planted this episode from the beginning of time by creating the “donkey’s mouth” for the day when the donkey would speak to Balaam!
Why is the “donkey’s mouth” so significant?
Briefly:
Torah speaks in the language of man. Beneath the literal meaning in the Torah narrative lay layers upon layers of deeper dimensions. Within the “body” of the story lies it’s soul – profound spiritual and psychological insights that illuminate the nature of our psyches and provide direction how to deal with the challenges of life. Every character in Torah, every episode of its narrative, parallels a facet of our personalities.
The story of Balaam and his donkey is the story of our own lives, with a multitude of lessons.
The Hebrew word for donkey is “chamor.” [A female donkey (jennet) is called “osson.” “Pered” is the Hebrew name for a mule (or a hinny), a hybrid borne of a horse and a donkey. But the general name for donkey, male or female, is “chamor”].
The Baal Shem Tov explains that “chamor” also means matter. In Exodus the verse states: “When you see the donkey of your enemy being overburdened by its burdens, don’t ignore it. It’s incumbent upon you to help relieve its burden.” Interprets the Baal Shem Tov: You observe “chamor” – your physical body and the coarse materialism of life – and you see that it is your enemy, opposing all things spiritual, and feeling overburdened by the sublime responsibilities of the soul. You may then consider ignoring the body so that it does not distract you from fulfilling your calling. You may even want to punish your body through asceticism and self-affliction. Says the Torah: No! You are responsible to support, refine and elevate the “chamor,” even if it is ostensibly your enemy.
Balaam the prophet represents the paradox of a spiritual man locked in a decadent lifestyle. Each of us has two dimensions: A sacred side and a profane one. A person may be deeply spiritual, yet also profoundly corrupt. Indeed, the Talmud says “the greater the person, the greater his evil inclination.” An extraordinarily gifted person always has equally powerful unique challenges. Left without discipline these gifts can be abused. And when they are, it is very difficult to get through to the person. Because the smarter he is, the better are his excuses and his ability to cover his tracks. He can mask his subjectivity with brilliant smokescreens.
At it’s extreme, you have Balaam: A prophet willing and delighted to use his Divine power to curse an entire nation.
Spiritual corruption or distortion is worse than other forms of corruption, because it uses a very positive force for negative ends. In other instances of corruption, you can always hope that a person’s conscience and spirit can be aroused. But once the spirit has been corrupted, and the soul has been taken hostage by destructive forces, what recourse is left?
The same holds true for any abuse perpetrated by a person who is supposed to love you: A parent, a sibling, a spouse. With strangers we have our guard up. If a stranger is abusive, s/he cannot hurt you that much because you don’t necessarily expect much from a stranger. But abuse coming from a loved one hurts us in the deepest place: the place of love. A parent, for instance, is supposed to love you, and as a child you are vulnerable before your parent. Thus, when the parent is abusive, it touches the very core of our beings: our souls. The worst abuse is the one that scars our most vulnerable places. Nothing is worse then love itself – and the source of love – being (ab)used in a cruel way.
So what is the antidote to this epitome of distortion? If the gifted person, or the one who is supposed to be providing love, has become corrupt to the point that he cannot even listen, how then do you get through to him.
The dilemma is also from the perspective of the abusee (the survivor): Once someone has been hurt in a deep part of his spirit, he doesn’t allow anyone in. So how can he be reached?
Yet, G-d in His infinite wisdom precedes the cure before the illness. Even when the soul may be unable to hear the message, the body has its own voice that speaks to us.
In modern psychology there is a phenomenon, which we shall call “psychological hypothermia.” When a child suffers severe abuse from a loved one (especially if its ongoing), the child will go “out of body” to separate himself from the experience. One of the reasons for this is presumably because the child cannot tolerate the possibility of a loved one hurting him. He therefore disassociates from the experience, as if it didn’t happen to him.
Hypothermia is “a decrease in the core body temperature to a level at which normal muscular and cerebral functions are impaired.” When a child, for instance, falls into ice-cold water, and his temperature drops to dangerous levels, the child will go into a state of shock, which shuts down the primary life functions to the point that the child may appear dead, in order to preserve the bare minimum energy for the vital organs. In other words, in order to survive the conscious faculties have to temporarily stop functioning.
The same is true psychologically. For survival purpose, sometimes we have to detach from an experience, to the point that we may be unaware of it in our conscious minds.
Yet – and this is the big yet – even as our conscious spirits may be unaware of the experience, our bodies remember them. Every experience in our lives is etched into the memory of our bodies. That is why we talk about experiencing “knots” and “tightness” in our bodies. Psychological feelings do not remain in the mental domain; they seep into the body, causing all sorts of physical reactions (“knots in the stomach” is one mild example). Anxiety oozes toxins into your body. Strong traumatic experiences tie up your body in knots.
In severe cases, the personality shift that happens at the time of abuse remains long after the experience. A child may grow into an adult that has actually shifted his personality, and is living, in some ways, like another person, often having “out of body” experiences. So severe was the initial abuse.
But, even when the soul, for whatever reason, is unable to consciously acknowledge an experience, the body has stored it away, for the day when it will be safe to emerge.
And therein lies the true power of therapy and growth: To help an individual find safety and security, so that he or she can then work on “untying the knots,” and allowing himself to access the soul that he had to hide away so long ago.
By no means is this a simple process. It can even be torturous at times. Yet, in a strange way this phenomenon is a testimony to one of the greatest resiliencies of the human being: G-d allows a child to survive even the worst experiences, and then gives him the strength to reconnect with himself when the times is right and the situation safe.
Even when the soul is not conscious of the memory, because the abuse came from a soul connection – a loving person – the body is endowed with a wisdom that does remember. And it holds the secret till the day when the soul will be able to hear the message.
This is the inside story of Balaam and his donkey. G-d could not get through to Balaam on a fundamental level. He saw that Balaam was intent on going to Balak and helping him implement his malevolent plan. But even when the soul cannot be reached, the body can. So it is the “chamor” – the body – that sees the “angel,” and it is the body that cries out to the person prodding him to open his eyes.
What is most fascinating about this concept is that usually we associate awareness with the soul. Yet, Jewish mysticism teaches that the body too was created by G-d. It therefore contains unique Divine energy of its own. Indeed, the body carries enormous power stemming from the Essence of G-d, which in some ways is superior even to the energy of the soul!
But often when our bodies speak to us, beckoning us to act, we may ignore the voice. Or worse: We may “beat” the body, as Balaam beat his donkey, because it is becoming a nuisance and distracting us from our misguided plans.
So, we have many voices available to us. In healthy situation, and in many instances, it is the voice of our souls that we should be heeding. Yet, at times our bodies carry important messages for us.
The question is: Are we listening?
Tags: elevation, refinement, growth, prophecy, miracle, abuse, spiritual and material, enemies, corruption, wisdom, body, psychology, angels, Positive psychology, soul, experience, superiority, psyche, safety, blessings and curses, Life's Challenges, Divine energy, jewish survival, love, creation, G-d
Posted in Weekly Parsha, Soul & Mystical, Beliefs & Concepts, Personal Life, Free Choice, Bamidbar, Spiritual, Balak, Torah, Emotions & Psychology, Pain & Suffering | 23 Comments »
June 27th, 2018
Your body contains many memories and secrets. Whether they are “good” sensations or uncomfortable ones, your body’s sensations are meant to alert you to the deeper state of your being. Ostensibly it may seem that bodily pain and pleasure are circumstantial experiences, which don’t tell us much. That, however, is a limited view on the body and its relationship to the soul. In truth, your body’s feelings often reflect your psyche’s needs. The following is a brief discussion based on 4000-year-old wisdom of Kabbalah of how it should feel to have a healthy soul in a healthy body.
What “Simply Being” Feels Like
Think of what it means to be alive. What does it feel like to just exist, to be? What does life feel like? If you can describe what life feels like, that would be a sign that something is wrong. Health has no sensation. Pain, illness – when things go wrong – then we feel something. When you are healthy, breathing normally, and have a regular heartbeat, you do not feel sensation. You just are. What does “alive” feel like? It actually has no sensation.
Life means to be, to exist. Being has no sensations. It can experience a sensation, but on its own it just is. As soon as you feel you exist, you are not experiencing existence itself; only a manifestation of it. Fascinatingly — and counter-intuitively — the more you are aware of yourself the less you are actually being.
Self-consciousness Reveals a Disconnect Between Body and Soul
Simply put: You are at our best when you are least conscious of yourself. The truest experience is when you feel completely immersed in the experience, to the extent in which you cannot distinguish between you and the experience. Think of a time that you were completely absorbed in a book you were reading, to the point where you didn’t even feel yourself reading words or turning pages; you were experiencing the story first-hand as if you were there. Or think of a time that you stayed up all night involved in a project you loved and were excited by. Time flies and you don’t even realize how tired and hungry you are, until you get out of the moment and suddenly feel the time and the place.
After your outer self is disconnected from your inner self, awareness is a necessary step to return. But the ultimate experience is when you achieve a unity with our inner voice that does not even require — and is beyond — a state of awareness. Some call this “being in the zone,” where you are not conscious of yourself and only serve as a channel of a higher consciousness. The subject and the object have fused into one.
The Wake-up Call
When you see beyond a one-dimensional life, when you realize that you are comprised of not just a body, but a body containing a soul, you recognize that there is a far higher purpose to your life, and a far deeper meaning to what you feel in your body. Both your lack of sensation (which reflects your self being absorbed in the experience) and your sensations express your inner self.
How do your sensations express your soul? Firstly, your awareness of your own awareness serves as wake-up call to help you regain contact with your inner self and reach beyond self-consciousness – living a life of complete seamless immersion in the purpose of your life. Secondly, as you connect to a supra-sensory state you can then manifest them in your sensations and senses. Like when you listen to music or gaze at a beautiful scene — your audio and visual senses experience something that transcends the senses. And finally, your feelings of pleasure or pain serve as a catalyst and springboard to access your soul, and your spiritual consciousness.
Feeling pain or other sensations in your body are opportunities to challenge the way you look at life. They can bring you to the edges of life, allowing you to view it from a new, revealing angle. So the real question you must ask is not just why you sometimes feel yourself, but what you are meant to learn from it.
Exercise: Think of a time when you experienced a strong bodily sensation. What could it teach you about your inner self? As you go about your day, bring awareness to feelings of self-consciousness. Think about what they are trying to tell you. Journal about it in your MyMLC journal.
Go deeper into this subject: The Origin of Consciousness | Rhythm | Excerpt from Toward a Meaningful Life: What Is Pain? |
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June 20th, 2018
The word “trust” is used commonly, but what does it mean? Is there a spiritual dimension of trust? Here is a short summary — a bird’s eye view — of the spiritual basis of trust, based on the 4,000-year-old Kabbalistic tradition. It comes down to three fundamental concepts:
Accountability
Trust is the single most important ingredient in any true communication; it creates the fertile ground for all relationships. That doesn’t mean that the people we trust are perfect. What it means is that they are accountable. Trust is based not on perfection but on accountability.
Trust Takes Work
Trust is tool, a resource, a faculty of the soul. But it needs our work to uncover its power. Obviously, trust needs to be earned (and we can’t be naive and trust anyone that comes our way). But we also have to not be afraid to trust others (even if we have been hurt and our trust was violated in the past) and must make an effort and discover the power of trust in our souls. And when we find trust in our lives — when we learn to trust others and we when others can trust us — our lives are immeasurably improved, and trust can change the course of our destinies.
Beyond Positive Thinking
Trust is not just being at peace with any given situation because you believe in a Higher Power and His plan. Trust is actually the certainty that you can change destiny. In the words of the Tzemach Tzedek, a great mystic and teacher, to someone in need of healing: “Think good and it will be good.” Not just “think good” period. Not merely positive thinking. But that by thinking good “it will be good.”
Trust is the absolute conviction that goodness will prevail, and that we have the power to make it happen. This conviction comes from the innermost recesses of our souls.
Exercise: Find an issue in your life in which you can “think good” about? Envision a good outcome, and cultivate your trust that it will actually come to be. Journal about it in your MyMLC journal.
Go deeper into this subject: Gentleness | Trust & Self-Interest | On Faith & Trust | How to Feel Secure In a Climate of Fear | Strength In Vulnerability |
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June 7th, 2018
Atzilut Revisited
Now that Pandora’s box has been opened, the great thinkers of the time weigh in with their philosophical opinions about the purpose of life and our ability to fulfill that purpose.
“What am I talking about?” you may be asking. Well, I’m talking about the story in this week’s Torah portion of Moses sending scouts to check out the Promised Land, in order to help prepare for its conquest.
The scouts are handpicked by Moses. The greatest men of their time – leaders of their respective tribes. Yet, they come back with the most terrible report, and what is even worse, they bring on one of the greatest tragedies in history.
The scouts return and basically challenge the entire notion of ever entering the land of Israel. Despite G-d’s repeated promises going back to Abraham that the people would enter the Promised Land, these ‘great leaders’ announce that Israel is a ‘land that consumes its inhabitants,’ and it is impossible for us to conquer the land!
Their frightening words traumatize the entire nation. This becomes the first tragic Tisha B’Av – the first of many to come – leaving an entire nation feeling helpless in tears because of their fears.
What is going on?! How many miracles do the Jews have to experience before they will believe G-d’s assurances? And how is it possible, that these greatest of spiritual leaders should actually stand at the forefront of challenging G-d’s explicit promises?
This is indeed one of the strangest episodes in the Torah, and upon second reading perhaps the most relevant one to our lives today.
So now we go back to the Pandora’s box. You may recall that in last week’s portion the people challenge G-d to provide them with meat. Their challenge is the challenge of life: Can we actually integrate our material world of ‘meat’ with sanctity? So they demand: “Where’s the beef?”
Now that this question is on the table, and G-d replies with the revelation of Atzilut – the cosmic ‘world’ that bridges the universe and the Divine – the greatest thinkers and spiritual leaders of the time cannot resist the ‘million dollar question:’ [1]
Yes, philosophically, G-d is all-powerful and not limited (“has my power become limited?”). Nothing stands in His way to provide meat, and allow for the finite to unite with the infinite (see last week’s article). But this is G-d’s unique power. How can we, mortal humans, ever actually expect to conquer a material “land that consumes its inhabitants”? Time and again people have failed the attempt. Every person who ever felt confident to integrate the two worlds of spirit and matter ultimately failed. [2]
Precisely because they were such great men, such spiritual people, this precisely was the reason that they so adamantly challenged the ability to enter the Promised Land and make it a home for the Divine.
Though they knew that G-d had caused the ‘emanation’ of Atzilut, which allows for the integration between spirit and matter, yet they could not fathom how most people (who don’t have the power of Atzilut) can accomplish this. Yes, perhaps Moses and the seventy elders, who received this emanation, can transform the material world and not be consumed by it, but the rest of us simply cannot do so. We don’t have that power.
Their mistake was – in its subtlest form – an error in their understanding of the significance of Atzilut. G-d emanated this dimension not just for Moses and great elders; the benefit of Atzilut is for all of existence and for the entire cosmic order. Atzilut is the first – and the root – of all the four worlds. Every aspect of existence, even in the most material level, is rooted in and mirrors the parameters of Atzilut. As Joshua and Caleb declared: “The land is very, very good.” We therefore can go forth and conquer the land.
So while it is true that souls of Atzilut (i.e. souls that retain their Divine Atzilut personality even as they come down below), like Moses and the elders, have the ability to awaken in all of us this awareness and power, yet, they awaken in us a power they lays latent – but is inherent – in every fiber of our beings.
On a more blatant level the mistake of the scouts evolved into questioning the very purpose for which we were created: Can we make it in a harsh and cruel world, a ‘land that consumes its inhabitants’? Their sin was that they didn’t just ask the question, but they also concluded that it is indeed impossible. That was a grave sin: they challenged the very mission that G-d gives each human being by sending each of us down to earth.
We were never given the right to question whether we can accomplish the mission; we were only charged with the job of figuring out how to do it.
The question still remains: How is it actually possible for us to not be consumed by the land and actually transform it? The answer and the secret lies in the two men who did not succumb to the argument of the scouts.
What distinguished Joshua and Caleb from the others, was that they both had the power of G-d with them. Moses prayed for Joshua, and Caleb went to pray at the grave of the Patriarchs in Chebron. When you are connected above you don’t fall below. Joshua and Caleb didn’t just assume a gung ho attitude, while the other cowered in fear. Joshua and Caleb humbly turned to a higher power, and that allowed them to not be frightened by the powerful tug of materialism.
Yes, when you go with your own strength and logic, you may not be able to overcome a “land that consumes its inhabitants.” Even with an Atzilut we may not be able to implement a conquest. But when you are connected above – then you allow the spirit of Atzilut to channel into your life below, empowering you with the ability to fuse heaven and earth.
Indeed, when G-d wants to punish the people for joining the mutiny of the scouts, Moses says to G-d: “Now, O G-d, You must increase your Divine strength.” And G-d concedes: “But as I am Life, and as G-d’s glory fills the world…” The challenge of the scouts necessitates a deeper revelation in understanding the nature of Atzilut – one that can only come from an increase of Divine power. Not only that G-d has the power of the finite as He does of the infinite, and the power to unite them both, but that He also empowered mortal beings to fuse the two. This is the true, deeper nature of Atzilut revealed in this week’s Torah portion.
Through their mistake, the scouts in an interesting way reveal for us a deeper understanding of Atzilut and our ability to face any challenge in life:
Yes, we live in a difficult world that poses us with formidable challenges. But we come well armed, endowed with formidable powers as well to fulfill our calling.
Our greatest challenge is to connect to above. Then and only then, we cannot fall below.
So if you were wondering: We can have our beef, and eat it too.
Footnotes:
[1] I thank my friend and colleague, Rabbi Eli Tauger, with pointing out the following association. Rabbi Tauger is a noted writer and translator of many important works, including a new and masterful translation of Maimonides Mishne Torah, Shulchan Aruch HaRav and more.
[2] As they stated: ‘even the Owner [G-d] cannot free His containers from there’ (Soteh 35a). Granted, G-d can create the containers (he has the power of the finite just as He has the power of infinite), and He – in His divine power – can even free the containers. But that is all by the power of G-d, not in the capacity of the containers. How can He ‘free the container from there,’ how can G-d free the containers from the ‘containers’ perspective?
Tags: Israel, Cosmic Order, meat, worlds, Joshua, scouts, Atzilut, connection, Caleb, spiritual and material, Jewish leaders, materialism, consumption, Moses, The 12 Spies, soul, Tisha B'Av, purpose of life, Life's Challenges
Posted in Weekly Parsha, Soul & Mystical, Bamidbar, Shelach, Spiritual, Torah | 8 Comments »
June 6th, 2018
How smart are you? How much of your mind’s potential are you using? What you perceive your intellectual limits to be is subjective; nobody truly knows his or her own potential. You have the power to transcend your natural boundaries. Here are two ways to stretch your mind and intellectual horizons, not just quantitatively but qualitatively.
Exert Your Mind
Exertion is the difficult process of straining and pushing the mind beyond its natural limits. By exercising your muscles you not only loosen them up, you develop and expand their possibilities. The same holds true with exercising the mind: Through deep concentration and mental strain, you force open and widen the channels that allow more of the unconscious to flow into your consciousness.
Think of the unconscious (or supra-conscious) as an enormous amount of potent energy stored inside an impenetrable, rock-like container. The only way to release that energy in is to apply strong pressure, to break open the “box” and allow what is within to flow outward into your consciousness. Like striking a flint stone to extract its spark, or pressing an olive or a grape to release its power, exertion is necessary to force out the juices locked within.
Einstein famously said: “Genius is 1% talent and 99% percent hard work…” Edison put it this way: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”
The best mind will not reach its ultimate potential without exertion. By pushing your mind, in the vigorous effort of struggling with a concept beyond you, studying it from different angles, challenging the idea with questions and counter questions, weighing all the arguments and counter-arguments – by experiencing the deep frustration and chaos in the process of researching a complex problem – all this hard effort stretches the boundaries and expands the channels, opening the valve wider to access the unconscious source of wisdom, allowing in new depths of understanding into your consciousness.
Practice Humility
A second method to access and release the unconscious is through humility. Humility is the process of getting your ego-consciousness out of the way, thus allowing in the higher state of unconsciousness and reaching the ultimate truth.
The true definition of wisdom is something far greater than the mind alone; it is the search for truth. And in the search for truth we need more than a good brain. How does one find truth? Truth can only be found through objectivity. The greatest mind, biased and subjective, will not find truth. On the contrary: the better the mind, the more biased it can become, and the better it hides its tracks, creatively finding every argument to justify its prejudices.
Humility is the key ingredient to reach an objective result. True knowledge is not about you, it’s not about being smart, it’s about the truth of the knowledge and your humble recognition that you are a transparent channel for this knowledge.
Without humility this level of wisdom – channeling a seamless truth – is impossible to reach. Because the mind, the best mind, is still only a mind, which does not encompass all of existence. Once you get your own ego out of the way through humility, the higher truth will emerge through your being.
Exercise: Next time you feel intellectually limited, apply the two methods described above to open up new channels. Record your progress in your MyMLC journal.
Go deeper into this subject: Think Different Part One | Think Different Part Two
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May 31st, 2018
And the living shall take to heart – Ecclesiastics 7:2
Many, many lessons can be gleaned from this week’s Torah chapter.
I learned three of them from my father.
Light
The Menorah plays a prominent role in the Bible and in tradition. This week’s chapter begins with the statement to Aaron “raise the flames.”
Why so much focus on the menorah, more than any other Temple vessel? Because the kindled flames of the menorah encapsulate the very purpose of our lives: To illuminate our surroundings. Each of us must be a “walking menorah,” illuminating and warming everyone and everything we meet.
We live in a dark and cold world. Many of us are confused; others feel alone. It is hard to find our way in a material world that conceals the path of truth. Our souls wander the earth in search of our destiny, in search of some peace. The menorah teaches us that every single encounter allows us the opportunity to bring in some light and warmth to others and to ourselves.
How many people make you feel uplifted after a conversation? How many bring you down? How many of your friends bring a smile to your face? How many a scorn?
Yes, we always have two choices: Either to illuminate others or to add to their misery. There is no third option. As the wise say, “If you are not busy being born, you are busy dying.” If you are not party of the cure, you are part of the problem. If you are not bringing light into this world you are contributing to its darkness.
As the Talmud tells us, “every generation that does not rebuild the Temple is considered as if it destroyed it.” Strong words. Because the status quo of a shrouded life is not healthy.
And therein lies our power: We have the ability to shine; to light up the darkest crevices.
Every interaction offers us the choice.
I have seen a man who has brought light to many people in the most discreet of ways. So discreet, that I wonder whether he himself was aware of it.
Independence
The flames must rise on their own. It’s not enough to kindle a flame, but you have to ensure that the flame has the power to burn on its own.
Commanding autocrats may wield great power. But their control lasts only as long as their presence does. If you want to see real power look at the teacher that never makes commands or demands, but in his subtle way suggests. He teaches by inspiration and osmosis, rather than by fear and intimidation. He teaches you to rise on your own – to shine with your own brilliance, not just as an extension of his. And his influence lasts forever, because it’s not about his presence, but about his power to perpetuate.
I don’t recall my father ever ordering me to do anything. Some saw that as detachment, lack of direct involvement in a child’s education. Strange, but his positive influence on me far outshines that of any educator or disciplinarian I ever had.
Pesach Sheni
It’s never too late. Even when you may come late or miss your appointment, you always have a second chance.
Those people who could not bring the Passover offering came demanding of Moses “why are we deprived.” Their persistence and outcry elicited a new mitzvah, that even those that “were distant or impure” during Passover, have now a second opportunity to bring the offering.
Persistence is a rare virtue, especially in a complacent world. You must have a powerful engine within to maintain momentum even when others are discouraging you from forging ahead. If you want to change the world you cannot afford to hear all the reasons why something can’t work.
And persistence prevails.
These are some fleeting thoughts of a resolute soul in a shaken body. I ask myself, and perhaps every one of us can ask ourselves:
How many people have I illuminated and warmed today?
How many have I inspired to rise on their own?
And finally, have I resigned myself because it sometimes seems too difficult?
Never, never give up. Everything is possible, if you truly believe in it.
Tags: light, purpose, materialism, independence, soul, menorah, belief, persistence, darkness, Illumination, purpose of life, infinite, fire, choice, inspiration
Posted in Weekly Parsha, Months & Holidays, Chanukah, Behalotcha, Religion, Beliefs & Concepts, Kislev, Free Choice, Personal Life, Bamidbar, Social, Spiritual, Torah, Emotions & Psychology, Education, Personal Stories | 7 Comments »
May 24th, 2018
The Wildernes
What is greater: To do the right thing or to avoid doing the wrong thing? To be good or to not be evil?
A healthy, organized life requires five steps:
Plan.
Acquire.
Implement.
Adjust.
Review.
Everything begins with a mission, a statement of purpose, which defines the plan and outline. Then we find the tools required to implement the mission and plan, followed by actual implementation. To succeed we must also anticipate unexpected challenges and resistance, and adjust accordingly. Finally, we report, review and assess our success.
Torah, called the book of life, provides us with the ideal model for life. The Torah’s five books outline the five steps necessary to achieve our life’s goals.
The first book of Genesis lays out the purpose of life, and begins the training process, even equipping us with the basics we will need to transform the material world. In the second book of Exodus we acquire the tools and the methodology how to achieve this transformation: Transcendence from our limits and constraints (Mitzrayim), a blueprint for living a transcendent life (Sinai) and building a Divine home in the material world (Temple). The actual work begins in the third book of Leviticus, which opens up with the service in the Temple – the purpose of all life: “A person will offer of himself an offering to G-d.”
Now we enter into the fourth book of Bamidbar (the wilderness), where the real challenge begins: How to live a wholesome life in a sinister and threatening world. It’s one thing to find beauty in heaven, to discover wisdom on Sinai, to experience spiritual harmony in an oasis; but the biggest question of all is this: Can we maintain a soulful life in an alien environment? Can we survive – let alone thrive – in a corrupt, narcissistic wilderness called the material universe?
To be committed when the water is flowing is not that surprising. But what happens when you enter a parched and arid desert?
This is the theme of the fourth book of the Torah, which is primarily the story of the Jews’ 40-year wandering journey in the harsh wilderness. [The fifth book, Devorim, Mishne Torah, is the review of the entire process – to be addressed in a later article].
Samach-Vav, the Rebbe Rashab’s magnum opus (a series of 61 comprehensive Chassidic/mystical discourses) delivered one hundred years ago (1906), parallels the Torah narrative: After first laying out the purpose of existence (Genesis), and the methods for transcendence from our mundane world, to get inspired and remain inspired, the hemshech (series) continues with its analysis of light and the Divine service of offering your body and soul to G-d.
But then, as the Torah takes a turn into the dark wilderness, Samach-Vav accordingly enters into a profound discussion on how to access hope and love even when the Divine is hidden and it seems as G-d has forsaken and forgotten us. Invoking the verse “I remember the devotedness of your youth…how you followed Me in the wilderness,” the Rebbe Rashab explains that the dark journey through the wilderness of life is like a father who hides from his child in order to evoke the child’s ingenuity to find the hidden father.
The foolish child misunderstands the concealment and first gets consumed with self-pity, fear and tears, which then turns into resignation and denial, finally wandering off into a life thinking that the father has disappeared forever (or never existed in the first place). The wise child, however, is not perturbed by the concealment, but recognizes that it is G-d’s way of testing us. Thus, the child exerts himself to find the father within the concealed layers of material life. This extra, often super-human, devotion (“how you followed Me in the wilderness”) in turn elicits an infinitely deeper expression of love and kisses between father and child, precisely because it comes after utter concealment and the hard work of discovering your hidden father. Samach-Vav explains that this is the profound love, and energy, generated by our struggle in exile, when the Divine is utterly concealed – a love that will be revealed in the final Redemption.
This week’s installment of Samach-Vav – delivered one hundred years ago this week – continues the theme by addressing the way we search for the hidden good and Divine concealed in our layered universe.
When Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden they were given their calling: “To serve and to protect.” There are two types of mitzvoth: Positive ones (thou shalt) and negative ones (thou shalt not). We serve with our positive acts; we protect through avoiding the negative.
We too are charged with the mission “to serve and to protect” the world in which we live: To serve by creating beautiful environments and structures. And to protect them from negative elements.
When we do a positive mitzvah and act virtuously we build beautiful structures. However that is only half – actually less than half – the story.
What happens if you build a beautiful home, decorate it with lovely ornaments and fill it with exquisite furnishings – but then allow rodents, dust and mold into the home? Beauty is defined not only by what it is, but also by what it is not.
Indeed, a defaced work of beauty is much uglier – and more disturbing – than a disfigured work of mediocrity (or plain ugliness). The worse part of a child abused at home is that the abuse is coming from people who are supposed to (and often do) love you. If a stranger hurts you – you don’t necessarily expect more, and you don’t allow yourself to be vulnerable to a stranger in the first place. But when the hurt comes from a parent – someone who assumedly loves you, and often shows love to you, than you as a child get all confused by the snowballing of love and pain. This mix of beauty and ugliness is the root of some of the most devastating distortions in our individual and collective psyche today.
In a revolutionary statement, Samach-Vav declares that the negative mitzvah – avoiding the ugly – is more powerful than creating beauty. And indeed, the negative mitzvoth (thou shalt not) protect the positive ones. In mystical terms, the positive mitzvah generates a defined form of Divine energy, one that can be contained in the particular act of each respective positive act. The negative mitzvah, on the other hand, manifests the Essence – the Divine energy than is beyond any form of expression, one that cannot be contained in any particular act, only in a non-act; in the sheer effort of withstanding temptation to do something wrong.
And it is these negative mitzvoth that most manifest the potent strength and devotion of the child searching for the concealed father. Positive acts of virtue express love; serving someone you care for demonstrates devotion. But the deepest love is expressed, and the strongest effort exerted, in protecting your beloved from destructive forces.
“I remember the devotedness of your youth…how you followed Me in the wilderness,” when you did not see My Divine face and did not experience revelation.
The ultimate test of devotion and commitment is in “your youth,” in your behavior when you are spiritually and emotionally young and undeveloped, and when you follow the path of truth even in the “wilderness,” where there is no apparent revelation and direction.
We find many loving people in our world. Much beauty and nobility. But mixed into it all we also find much pain and abuse. To be a good person means not just doing good things, serving a good cause, but also protecting – ensuring that the non-good does not intrude and infiltrate the good.
Many of us serve, but do we protect? Many parents care and love their children, but do they also protect them? We often know how to love others, what to do to express love, but do we also know what not to do?
— Samach-Vav Part 15 —
Tags: journey, Toward a Meaningful Life, energy, love, wilderness, hope, Torah, five, exile, transcendence, Books of Torah, body and soul, purpose, tools, redemption, revelation, childhood, mitzvot, mission, Mt. Sinai, Spirituality, material, abuse, Divine service, desert, psyche, transformation, Temple, abused children
Posted in Good & Evil, Weekly Parsha, Naso, Soul & Mystical, Religion, Beliefs & Concepts, Torah Personalities, Personal Life, Bamidbar, Free Choice, Modern, Home & Family, Spiritual, Moshiach & Redemption, Torah, Rebbe Rashab, Emotions & Psychology, Pain & Suffering | 4 Comments »
May 23rd, 2018
All positive change is precipitated by action. The negative forces of the world and within you thrive on complacency and inaction — if you want to live a positive life, you have to do positive things and think positive thoughts. This does not mean burying your head in the sand and being either a doormat or a “Pollyanna” — just the opposite. Strengthening your soul through action is your best defense — it is absolutely true that “the best defense is a good offense.” Action jolts you out of inertia and the status quo. It forces you out of routines and patterns.
Recognize Negative Influences
When positivity and negativity are two distinct entities, you can at least identify negativity and deal with it accordingly. But when negativity is hiding amidst your friends, when the toxic is buried within the good, where do you begin? The lack of clarity allows negativity to grow, and it demoralizes you and saps your resolve to fight an invisible enemy. Some of the worst diseases known to mankind are the ones in which parasites or malignant cells intertwine themselves and “hide” between healthy cells. Once they embed themselves, the only way to eliminate them is through aggressive medical treatment, which at times requires killing good cells with the bad cells. To preempt this you need to isolate the problem at the outset. Awareness of the problem is half the cure.
Act on Your Inner Voice and Higher Calling
What should inspire your actions? Your indispensable individuality and your inner core. Awareness of them will in turn empower you to live by your inner voice and higher calling, rather than be swayed and seduced by the forces around you that relentlessly inundate you with all sorts of demands. Your inner self will embolden you with the power to define your own destiny, instead of having others define it for you, and indeed shape the universe, instead of it shaping you.
A Few Ideas for Positive Actions
- Commit here and now to love every friend or stranger with baseless and unconditional love.
- Eliminate judgmentalism from your life.
- Commit to increase and intensify learning about your inner self and your unique purpose in life. Commit to inspire others to do so as well.
- Take part in building or expanding something positive, like a school, spiritual center, or other cause of your choice.
- Increase in giving charity.
- Every morning and evening speak to your children about their inner selves and unique purpose in life.
- Place positive, spiritual reading materials and a charity box in a conspicuous place in your home, as well as in your children’s rooms.
- Inspire others to do all the above.
Exercise: Identify negative influences in your corner of the world. Then create your own list of positive actions. Resolve to focus on the positive. Journal about it in your MyMLC journal.
Go deeper into this subject: Our Response to Tragedy | Absolute Evil? | The Key to Taking Charge of Your Life | All Articles About Discovering Your Inner Voice & Higher Calling |
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May 17th, 2018
In the Third Month [when the Children of Israel left Egypt and arrived at Sinai to receive the Torah] a supernal and recondite light shines forth… and that light is contained in two lights, which are one. The first light [Chesed] is white, too bright for the eye to behold. The second light [Gevurah] is one which gleams and sparkles in red. The two are united and become one… Because it is contained in two lights, it is called the “Twins” (Ti’umim). Therefore, in the month in which the Torah was given (Sivan), the constellation of the “Twins” (Gemini) rules, and from them issue lights of various grades below to illumine the world.
Among all the other signs of the Zodiac there is not one possessing mouth or tongue, but this one has both, and the two are one. Therefore it is written in regard to the Torah: “And thou shalt meditate therein day and night” (Joshua 1:8), “day” corresponding to the tongue, and “night” corresponding to the mouth. And both these are one.
Therefore the word ti’umim (twins), ‘there were twins [Jacob and Esau] in her womb” (Genesis 25:24), is written t’umim [without the letter alef], in order to indicate that Jacob alone is under the sign of this constellation. This is all one mystery. Jacob had two months, Nissan and Iyar, and is included in the mystery of Sivan, Twins. Esau’s months are Tammuz and Av [when the Holy Temple was destroyed by the descendants of Esau], but Elul is not his, and even in Av only nine days are his not more. He separated himself and turned toward impurity, in chaos and desolation, and he is not included in the Twins.
And because Jacob is the Twins the Torah was given to his children in the month of the Twins. The Torah itself is a “twin”, the written and oral Torah; it was given in the third month (Sivan), symbolizing the treble Torah, Law, Prophets, Writings. And it is all one.
– Zohar II 78b
A cryptic Zohar indeed. Jacob is Esau’s twin. Jacob cannot be considered a twin without Esau. How then can the Zohar tell us that Esau is not included in the ‘twins’ of Sivan?
The twin brothers Esau and Jacob represent dual forces in our lives. In microcosm and macrocosm – both in our psyches and the larger universe – two conflicting forces drive us at all times. In general terms: the battle – and tension – between matter and spirit is an inherent part of every aspect of existence. This dichotomy manifests itself in so many ways: The conflict between career and home, between our personal higher standards and the pressure to conform to marketplace standards. The battle between our yearning for transcendence and the need for material survival, between existential loneliness and the sense of connection to a greater whole – the war between the outer and the inner, form and function, packaging and substance – between the pull from above and the tug from below. The list goes on.
Many philosophies and schools of thought have been espoused about this battling duality and ways to remedy or at least minimize the inherent tension between matter and spirit.
The Torah was given in the month of the ‘twins’ (Gemini) to teach us that these two forces are truly two sides of one coin – a set of twins that can either be at each other’s throat or unite into a synergetic force.
“The entire Torah was given in order to create peace in the world.” (Maimonides end of Laws of Chanukah)
In the Midrash ‘twins’ refers to the human experience of light and dark (Pesikta Rabsi 20). Or to the human duality of two forces, the good and evil inclination, that comes with process of maturity (Tanchuma Haazinu).
The giving of the Torah is all about creating unity in a world of duality – not by annihilating the duality, but by transforming it into ‘twins,’ two that are really one.
Esau is the warrior. On his own he can go either way: Either he can be an aggressive force representing material belligerence. Or he can channel his warrior nature to conquer the elements of the world and transform the material universe into a Divine home. Because in this mundane world we need intense strength to stand up to the challenges of life and not conform; we need a forceful attitude to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the world and conquer it.” (see the article Esau’s Two Faces).
Jacob (the soul) is the one that directs and channels the aggressive Esau (the body) into a healthy partner and ‘twin’ that joins forces with the soul to transform the universe.
The Zohar, therefore, tells us that when Esau ‘separated himself’ and indulged in material conquest, he essentially disqualified himself from being a part of the ‘twins’ as a unit in Rebecca’s womb. Technically, he remains Jacob’s twin, but conceptually he has allowed the apparent duality of the universe to control his life, hence, no true twins, only two separate forces at war with each other.
In truth, Sivan, the month of Twins, is actually the Third month, which corresponds to the third emotional sphere of Tiferet. Tiferet – beauty – creates harmony within diversity. Chesed (love) reigns in month one (Nissan), when the Divine revelation from above freed the people from constraints (Mitzrayim). Gevurah (diversity, discipline) is the energy of month two (Iyar), when our human initiative from below works on refining our 49 (7×7) emotions as we count the days of the Omer leading up to month three (Sivan), tiferet, which integrates chesed and gevurah, into one greater harmony.
Mattan Torah (the giving of the Torah) – which is called tiferet – united heaven and earth. As the Midrash explains that up to that point in history there was a schism that divided the ‘upper’ from the ‘lower;’ at Sinai we were given the power to marry the ‘upper’ and the ‘lower,’ spirit and matter. And the way we achieve this is through spiritualizing the material – fusing them both into a ‘twin-like’ relationship. It takes the special energy of the third dimension (tiferet) that transcends both body and soul, to ultimately integrate the two into one whole, without annihilating or compromising either one of them.
These twin forces have been consumed in raging battle from the beginning of time. Beginning in Rebecca’s womb “two nations” have been struggling, and:
“Two governments will separate from inside you. The upper hand will go from one to the other.” (Genesis 25:23)
As history unfolded these two forces – which began as two individuals in Esau and Jacob – magnified and multiplied into global confrontations. Before Sinai (the children of) Esau is offered the Torah, but he rejects it; he has separated himself and is not yet ready to be a true ‘twin.’ (see article Esau, Ishmael and Sinai)
As the centuries rolled on, Esau’s children (the Romans) would destroy the Temple, and years later they would begin to embrace in their own way some of the Torah’s message.
Two millennia later much has transpired. The world of Esau has evolved and continues to refine itself, aligning itself more and more with the teachings that the original Esau learned from his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham.
The universe as well has evolved to a point where matter and spirit have become interchangeable (e=MC2), and they continue to evolve to the point where we can now see that they soon may be synonymous, or better put – ‘twins.’ In physics, technology, communications, medicine, we are witnessing the convergence of a duality that has always been the staple of the universe.
Yes, the twins Esau and Jacob are about to finally meet and join hands. Thousands of years ago Jacob told Esau (even after they reconciled):
“…that the children are weak and I have responsibility for the nursing sheep and cattle. If they are driven hard for even one day, they will die…Please go ahead of me… I will lead my group slowly, following the pace of the work ahead of me, and the pace of the children. I will eventually come to you, my lord, in Seir [Edom].” (Genesis 33:12-13)
The time had not yet come for the ‘twins’ to unite.
“And when will he [Jacob] go [to Seir]? In the days of Moshiach, as it says (Ovadiah 1:21) Redeemers will ascend Mount Zion to judge the Mount of Esau, and the kingdom will be G-d’s.” (Rashi ad loc)
After over three millennia they are finally ready to unite.
The stage is set for the ‘twins’ to emerge – in science, medicine and politics. The final frontier is personal and psychological: to allow the ‘twins’ to emerge in our psyches.
We now have the power to finally bring some peace to our fragmented (if not tortured) spirits, and by extension, to our ailing world.
Two twins have been wandering for so long, isn’t it time to finally come home?
Tags: Torah, transcendence, matter and spirit, kabbalah, war, body and soul, Light and Dark, Zohar, Jewish nation, Jacob and Esau, Matan Torah
Posted in Biblical, Shavuot, Good & Evil, Soul & Mystical, Months & Holidays, Miracles, Beliefs & Concepts, Torah Personalities, Moshiach & Redemption, Spiritual, Torah, Esau, Sivan, Jacob | 3 Comments »
