From Where I Sit - Purim

From Where I Sit

My Dear Friends


Many may argue the facts behind the fable. Some will tell you that its origins are rooted within the mists of mythology; god and goddess. Marduk and Ishtar joining in ascendancy and certainly there are elements of that. Traditionalists will tell you that the story is exactly accurate as written. The story is the word of G in which we see the hidden hand of G. Historians will tell you that Ahshverosh (sounds like a sneeze) was really Xerxes and on and on.

But as for me, in reading Sacred scripture, I have the one and only definitive and absolutely correct answer to the fractured fracas of factuality of the chronicles.
(Drum roll please…)

The answer is: "I don't care!"

I do not go to my sacred guide to ferret out facts; I wander through TaNaCh (Bible) tracking truths, personal paths to probe.

When I read the text, I first peruse the Pshat, the simple contextual meaning. Pshat is the preface to the magical mystical tour of Torah learning. It is a step not to be skipped. But it is only the first step.

The next level requires the Sherlock Holmes in us. It is called Remez.

Remez are the hints that we use to discover the deep mysteries within the parable of Purim. Remez becomes questions.
Oh look here is one now>>>> “which forces are visible and which go on behind the curtain of this juicy holiday?”

To explore the answers we must delve deeper than Pshat. We wade into the waters of Kabbalah. Here, truly we find the magical mystical Mikvah and immerse ourselves freely, openly.

If we are going to play the Kabbalist Sherlock Holmes (KSH) we must be willing to descend deep into the waters, the source of life. To us, as KSH (Kabbalist Sherlock Holmes), it is evident that whatever we find in those sacred waters is, in reality deep within our own psyche, our spiritual DNA just waiting for us to open the treasure trove. In that treasure trove is the dangerous but delightful Drash lurking, waiting for us to feed upon it.

Drash is the personal interpretation that will be right to one person but meaningless to another. My Drash might be formidable fuel for my future and yet without meaning or merit to someone else. This is the unique power of Drash. When I use it to power my search for meaning, my Spirit Quest, it is very powerful search engine. If I use it to try to convince others of the rightness of my path, its dangerous sharp sharded sides reveal themselves.

In the Drash interpretation that we find when diving deep into the sacred waters of the story of Purim we must dare to open that hidden treasure trove. It has a power to replenish our soul's life force. That force will lead and guide us to direct and control our responses to all the future events in life. It might even hold the key to our personal power and the bounty that will abound through us in the Assiyah world where we all reside.

In the eyes of KSH, Megilat Esther speaks to the forces that unfold in the innermost parts of our five-fold soul. Forces that direct us, point out for us the riches of relationship with the Wholly One of Being. It becomes a guide to the life giving waters, a treasure map to the treasure trove. We discover through our exploration of Drash the names of these forces; they are called Mordechai, Esther, Haman, and Ahashverosh.

The story of Purim unfolds before the building of the second temple. At this stage, the people of Yisrael who represent the desire to begin the Spirit Quest live calmly and peacefully in the kingdom of Ahashverosh. One way of translating Yisrael is Yashar El. This represents the desire to go straight (Hebrew – Yashar) to (Hebrew – El -- G) the Source of Blessing and to learn from G the ways of the universe, the ways of life on this planet and beyond.

Mordechai, in this Drash/interpretation, represents the inner force that desires Devekut, that oneness with the Source of all. Yet in the story Mordechai seems to live in happy complacency in a peaceful kingdom. Where was the desire? The questions tantalize and tease us into delving deeper.

By careful examination, playful exploration we bring some golden coins from the treasure trove to the surface. From the very beginning, there are Remez - hints in the narrative that something is not quite right: "There is one nation that is scattered among the nations," says the text. Israel is that 'nation' and we are scattered, as opposed to being centered. Do you see how subtle the Remez are? We almost missed it. Yet our Remez map jumps out at us like a road sign to the discontent and disconnect on the human path. It is a sure sign that humanity has not yet found its soul path, its destiny, for only in the unity of difference can we find our goal, to live according to the ways of earth and heaven. In other words the only way to get it together is together.

The evil Haman represents the self centered ego in us, what Yisrael needs to avoid or, as in the story, defeat. Haman's goal is to exploit the situation for selfish gain. He is the one who despoils the earth, who blurs distinctions between peoples or foments hate for those differences. He eventually wants to overthrow the King. He is the descendent of Amalek the destroyer. He is the ancestor of Hitler (Yimach Shemo). He is all those who tell us that to be different is to be less, unequal. His lesson is that differences are to be used, misused and exploited. He is also the one who declares that all people are the same, and we should give up distinctions and differences, the very flavor, the spice of life. Our goal is to notice differences, accept differences, and revel in differences. That is the revelation of difference.

Haman sees and seizes opportunity in the idea that Israel is a 'scattered nation', calling it weakness, confusion and lack of faith. He finds the situation an excuse for eliminating, from the face of the earth, those who are different. They stand between him and his short sighted, selfish greed: exploiting Gaia earth spirit and the Creator of Gaia way and Halacha path, for his own gain.

What Haman fails to understand, however, is that Yisrael is dispersed only in spatial terms. Yes they disagree on the ways of Halacha. It is true that people disagree and argue and enter into disputation, yet that is the surface structure adjusting to time and space. Underneath, deep in the Neshamah soul of sacred connection there is a oneness that is firm and flowing.

That Neshamah soul level is the direct and open thread, the sacred connect with the Source of Being. It is a bond so deep that some don't even recognize it as they focus only on the surface paradigm shifts. And yet, in those quiet moments of spirit questing, something that we may not have noticed becomes apparent; the spider web connection glistens. Indeed we see the truth of it when, at the end of the story, all peoples re-form. That is, they form again, accepting the potent potential of Holiness, of wholeness for ourselves and our world. In this story, that awareness is called Yisrael.

The frightening danger is our delusion that the 5-fold soul is, like the body, limited. That limitation is what the evil of Haman wants to exploit. That is why we need to discover and confront the Haman within us. Our bodies have limits and those limits are teaching devices for the soul. But the soul is limitless and always learning, growing and, if we listen carefully, teaching.

The beginning of the story tells how Mordechai the Jew saved the king from the two assassins Bigtan and Teresh. Naturally, we would expect the King to reward him for his deed, perhaps an honor, or at least recognition.

But things aren't quite that simple, for Mordechai is the Israel in humanity, it wants nothing but to be in contact with the ineffable name. It wants no personal gain; therefore you cannot give it any gift, for it has no other desire than oneness.

Thus, to our surprise, we read that it isn't Mordechai who is honored. The one who craves surface honors, Haman, the ego, the needy, the whiner; it is Haman who the King appoints as head of all the ministers. Haman gets total domination of the Kingdom and all are ordered to bow before him. The ego has now risen to frightening proportions.

Of all the people, only Mordechai sees through the facade and refuses to bow before anyone but the King (G). Mordechai represents the spiritual in us all. As plants are heliotropic, they point towards the sun, the human soul is Theo tropic always point toward, seeking out G’s light. Mordechai is the only one in the story who still remembers this powerful pointer, when the whole town of Shushan is bewildered and bedeviled. Even when his life is threatened, the hidden power of Mordechai chooses loyalty to the King, the source of all, the Wholly One of being over all else.

It is only through magnifying Haman's ego to this out of proportion level that the people could see the danger, could realize how right and righteous was Mordechai's way.

The difference between the road Haman takes and that of Mordechai is the core around which the story revolves.

Haman wants to exploit the King and use the authority to take over the Kingdom. His ego epitomizes the most vile force on the planet, the desire to rule the world at all cost, even that of the world’s destruction, even his own destruction.

Mordechai's only goal, on the other hand, is to unveil a true path in this world, to learn from the Wholly One of Being how to conduct himself for the betterment of the world and all who dwell there. Therefore he cannot be bribed in any way. He can stand at the King's castle and guard the gate while everyone bows before Haman. There is no material pay for his loyalty. Mordecai follows the Talmudic advice to serve a master without seeking reward. He knows in his holy optimism that the day will come when light will shine and truth be revealed. He also understands that he cannot impose his will upon others. And this too is his power.

Haman gets control of the Kingdom, precisely for the purpose of increasing his desires. The egoism is revealed as are the destructive forces that dwell within him. Haman decides to utilize the authority he's been given in order to carry out his plan to destroy his primary enemy – the Israel within.

Haman is then asked – what is to be done with the man the King holds dear? His ego being certain that it is him the King holds dear, he suggests that he be seated on a horse (the elevation of the 5 fold soul path, that inner force of humanity) and it be publicly declared: "Thus will be done with the man the King holds dear". But it is not the ego of Haman that is held dear but the straight path of the G seeker, Mordechai that is held high. It is Mordechai that is elevated. And Haman’s ego blinds him to the lesson. He continues his plot of ego gratification and destruction of anything that challenges it.

Haman carefully plans his actions, prepares the hangman's tree and the rope, confident that in a few moments, the power standing between him and his dream, will have been eliminated.

At this point in our tale, the unity of Israel the Yashar El path is revealed. For Esther the quiet, seeks the power to stand up to strength, to ignore authority. The people of Israel, the Yashar El seekers, pray for her path. Their collective prayer for the success of Esther's mission, representing the force of faith, puts the lie to Haman's belief in the devaluation of difference. One of his ego flaws is that he sees difference as separation. He believes that people with different paths are not aiming for the same holy space. He believes that he can separate, suppress and destroy diversity.

Esther is the powerful mythical heroine who enlightens the power of diversity as a force for unity. That power and awareness is the courage that allows her to address the King directly, which is one of the miracles of Purim. Prior to that, no one could or would address the King that way. Only the united spiritual support of the people, in prayer, and her great courage give her the necessary armor to come out of hiding (Heb: hEster means hidden) and into the presence of the King. She reveals the King's panim/essence of flow – to bestow on all humanity the great awareness of our potential. She, in facing the King, challenges us to share differences in love and harmony with none to make us afraid.

Only then does Haman (the egotistical dark force within humanity) discover the flaw in his dastardly deeds, but it is too late for him. Too late, does he discover that the purpose and process of humanity is the revelation of the hidden light, the truth hidden within our inner selves to enlighten our outer shells. Unlike G, who is Ehad, one without parts, we are Yahad, one made up of differences, we are made up of parts and each part is precious. From the learning and the sharing of the parts, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

The climax of the story occurs when the destructive sentence which Haman himself had passed on others is turned back upon himself.

The great battle of Haman (the ego) to rule over the Kingdom versus Mordechai, the desire to live in harmony, is engaged.

In our story, Israel represents the deeper soul desires of humanity to discover the King's path of possibilities and the possibility of paths, ways to reach out and ways to reach in.

In our story, Israel represents the desire in humanity to be in perpetual Yihud, contact with the Source of reality.

In our story Israel represents us all when we accept the challenges of life with the inner certainty that those challenges only rise up to reveal our path to the palace of the King.

Israel is us, when we remember the Source of our lives and strive to utilize every opportunity explore the path and to fortify the bond with G.

Israel is us, when we do not give way to despair even when facing grave difficulties along the way.

We become Israel when we finally see beyond the surface and seek the inner light, when we learn acceptance and awareness of the oneness of the different paths of life.

We become Israel when we turn concealment into revelation and write with our deeds the story of Mordechai and Esther.

The Menorah and The Hanukiah

The Menorah and the Hanukiah

They sat side by side, almost twins. But their emotions were as dissimilar as their shape was similar.

“I am so excited!” chortled the Hanukiah. “It is almost that time of year. Soon the house will be filled with the smell of Latkes and the warmth of my favorite holiday.”

“I wonder what that could be!?!?” grumbled the Menorah, standing tarnished and forlorn by her younger sacred symbol.

“Why are you upset, you sound jealous?” replied the Hanukiah with a hurt tone of voice.

“What if I am,” the Menorah responded angrily.

“Why are you jealous? Hanukah comes but once a year. Ok, so I get lit for 8 days in a row!” (He positively shivered with delight). “But you are the most important symbol of the Jewish people. For one night every single week, you are brought out and lit! Songs are sung and prayers are said wonderful food is eaten. I envy you!!!!”

“But that is just it, I am not brought out once a week, or once a month or even once a year. I am forgotten, a meaningless relic, a useless ornament in the breakfront.”

The Hanukiah felt bad. “I…I didn’t know,” he said quietly.

“Well I am not putting up with this neglect, this abuse. I am leaving!!!” And with that the Menorah pushed with one of her 7 branches against the glass of the breakfront.

Don’t do that,” cried the Hanukiah, “the glass will...” and with that there was a crash and a thud as the Menorah broke the glass and fell to the floor. “I told you,” called the Hanukiah.

“Well, I don’t care, I am leaving!” cried the Menorah, tears running down her branches, as she brushed herself off and began to make her way through the living room towards the front door.

“Where are you going?” Cried the Hanukiah.

“Home!” Shouted the Menorah and then again, more quietly, “Home!”

“And where is home?” called out the Hanukiah.

For a moment, there was no response, then the faint sound of brass against brass as the Menorah strived and succeeded with a grunt to open the door. Then as the door swung wide, the Hanukiah heard the answer. “I am headed to Israel. That is where all of this started and that is where I intend to find out where I come from and why I have been so forgotten.

For years The Menorah struggled in its travel. It found its way onto buses and trains, into the trunks of cars until finally it found its way into the suitcase of an Orthodox Jew on his way to Israel. When the Menorah arrived, it climbed out of the suitcase and waddled its way onto a bus heading for the Negev, the desert of wandering. It felt as if it was drawn by an irresistible force to the ancient desert dwelling of our ancestors. Somewhere near Ein Gedi, that ancient oasis in the desert, it threw itself from the bus and struggled through the passes and wadis until, exhausted, it collapsed against a strange looking plant a sweet smelling plant, a sage plant.

As it rested, dully gleaming in the sun, the plant called to it. “Welcome home my child.”

The menorah was shocked. “How can a plant speak it wondered aloud.”

“In the same way that a Menorah can waddle,” the plant laughed, “Ask the author. Clearly, you are here for a reason. You have returned to your source.”

“Yes, I have come to Eretz Yisrael, my source, where it all began. Maybe I will learn why I am so forgotten, so useless?”

“Yes yes, Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel, but more importantly, you have returned to me. For I am your source, you were patterned after me. Thousands of years ago, when the people called, Ivrim, Bnai Yisrael, Yehudim, created your ancestor, the Menorah in the Holy Temple, they designed it, and therefore you, to look like me. I am the plant Moriah. Do you know what my name means?”

“No, I don’t.” exclaimed the Menorah in wonder, beginning to examine this strange plant more closely.

“It means the teaching of G. You were meant to remind all Jews of their relationship to G, the source of all, the source of life, the source of holiness. You were meant to be a pointer to the great lessons of life. Shabbat, which you also represent is a time to reflect on life, and love and oneness, indeed all the great gifts that humans take for granted.”

The Menorah laughed bitterly. “Yet I am forgotten. The Hanukiah is shined and used and the children sing songs and play games around it and I am left in the cupboard, forgotten and alone.”

“But don’t you know that the Hanukiah is your spiritual child. It was created to look like you, to remind, as you remind.”

“But that is just it, the Hanukiah reminds the children and their parents of the glory and the power and the spirit that was long ago. But I do nothing, I am nothing, I am only a relic.” And the Menorah wept, droplets of oil rolling down its branches, as it was held by the Moriah in the wilderness of loss.

Meanwhile, there was one in the Menorah’s former home who did notice that the Menorah was missing. Her name was Rinah Tal. She was the youngest daughter of the family who had purchased and then ignored the Menorah for so long. She was 12 and there was excitement in the house as everyone was preparing for their trip to Israel. This was to be her Bat Mitzvah present. Her family was going to travel to Israel and celebrate her Bat Mitzvah at the Dead Sea, near an ancient oasis called the well of the goats, Ein Gedi.

Rinah had always liked the Menorah, been somehow drawn to it, touched by it. She enjoyed looking at it in the breakfront and wondered why it was never used. She had read the stories of the Temple of long ago and the Menorah, the Ner Tamid, that seven branched candelabra that had been lit daily there.

The day finally came, the family had traveled by taxi and bus and plane and private car to the beautiful resort at the Dead Sea. She had done her Bat Mitzvah by the waters of Ein Gedi and everyone had been proud of her and awed by the stark beauty of the place. She had been showered with praise and gifts, yet for her, something was missing. The day after her Bat Mitzvah, she snuck out of the hotel early and caught a bus, by herself up to Ein Gedi, the sight of “her day”. She wandered in and out of the groves that grew along the water. She felt elated and yet…

Then she saw it. Tangled in a sweet smelling plant hidden from view was… a menorah. No, not a menorah, THE MENORAH it was the one she had loved, the one she had longed for, the one she had missed. She tried to pull it free and as she did some of the plant came away with it. She was ecstatic. She was so happy she wanted to sing and dance. But then she felt a powerful sadness, loneliness. She felt, almost heard the feeling coming from the plant wrapped Menorah, the need to be used, to be lit, to be a symbol once again of the ancient ways that were as new as the new day dawning. She said out loud, not at all embarrassed to be addressing the plant encrusted Menorah:

“My beloved Menorah, you are my Bat Mitzvah gift, my heritage gift, my sacred connection. I will light you every Shabbat as a reminder that I am Bat Mitzvah; I am part of the sacred history and spirit of my people. You are a symbol of my connection to G and to my people and to my soul,” She shouted in joy.

She ran back to the bus and took it to the hotel where her parents were up and worried about her. When she showed them the Menorah they were in shock. They tried to explain away its presence, not willing to accept that this was a place of signs and wonders. But Rinah Tal would have none of it. She insisted that this was her Menorah from back home. She insisted that from that time on it would be lit every Shabbat, SHE WOULD LIGHT IT EVERY SHABBAT. She quietly muttered; “This is my Bat Mitzvah present, this is the meaning of my trip to Israel, this is who I am.” And her soul was filled with the light of an inner Menorah, a Ner Tamid that would never be extinguished. And she insisted that the sprigs of the plant that had attached itself to the Menorah NOT be removed, ever.

Standing in the breakfront, next to the Hanukiah, the Menorah smiled with a dull shine of pride and awareness. Candle droppings covered it as a Talit of Rainbow colors. It was home and it was fulfilled.

Sukkot

FROM WHERE I SIT

My Dear Friends

There is something about building a Sukkah that opens the door to who we are. Our Sukkah building reveals the blueprints to our mind, our heart and our soul. Some people spend a great deal of money buying pre-fab Sukkot. They look at the directions and fit piece A into slot B. They put up the pre-painted fabric walls. Lastly they roll out the pre-fab Schach סכך (I so love that word), the vegetation that is the roof of our temporary dwelling. Voila, the Sukkah is complete. Every year when I wobble on the ladder, slam my thumb with the hammer and curse the stripped screw heads, I vow that next year I will buy a beautiful pre-fab Sukkah and make life easy on myself. But somehow, it does not ever seem to happen.

I like building my own. Sometimes my soul-partner helps and my daughter and son. It is a family enterprise and that adds meaning to an already meaningful connection. Building a Sukkah is a Mitzvah מצווה and Mitzvah means connection. Building a Sukkah is all about connections.

My friend Jon, who is a lot smarter than I am comes over to help. He has a tool box and a tape measure and apron for holding nails and screws and things. He sits with me to plan out the Sukkah. He plans, making notes and drawing designs. He writes down the material that I have to buy or he will donate the twine and screws and this year the webbing that he suggested is more eco-friendly and reusable. And then we set to work. Jon wants to put it together according to the plan, with strong clean lines that will create a beautiful and secure structure. I want to slap it together. After all, it only has to stay up for 8 days. He holds his heart and groans as I secure the beams haphazardly, rather than evenly. Each year I tell him the same story of my childhood Sukkah. Each year he has to teach me the names of the different roles that the 2x4s and 1x4s play. There are studs and rafters and beams and other things that I have already forgotten.

I ask “why?” a lot.

And we laugh a lot.

Because of the work and the family and the friends and the Mitzvah מצווה, Sukkot has been elevated on my hit parade of holidays.

For Jon we are building a dwelling, albeit a temporary one. The Sukkah is a dwelling place. It is a dwelling place for G. WAIT! Don’t dismiss that phrase. It is a dwelling place for G. We have always built incredible edifices in hopes of bringing that deep power, that Sacred Other into dwelling. We have built Temples and Synagogues and Shuls, all to hold the Shehina . Jon, whether in his consciousness or deeper, is building G’s house and he wants to “do it right”. What a wonderful soul challenge. If you were G’s contractor, what would you build? Would you build a citadel or summit, mansion or meeting hall? How would you build something that is inviting to G.? For some it might be a palace of ritual. By following ritual we can open ourselves to G’s dwelling, G’s Shehina. For other people an inviting dwelling place would be a Yeshiva where Torah is studied, Jewish issues discussed. Some would want a humble dwelling, shining with righteous action, fairness, compassion.

For my part, we are building a ‘tree-house’. I put up a Sukkah like I am a kid building his first tree-house. I want to build a tree house for G. I want to climb to my tree house on steps that mystically support my weight forcing me to concentrate and shed my baggage. I want to call out, in hallowed whisper, the secret password shared by all who also share deep philosophical questions of balance in the tree house. I want to climb and jump and laugh and learn the lessons of the tree house.

There are great lessons to be learned in the tree house, in the Sukkah too. They are the lessons taught by creatively understanding Halacha and history and the meaning of mystery. They are a hidden discussion with our souls and our soul-maker. They are coaching tips for us in regards to our interactions with each other and with ourselves.

Tree house/Sukkah lessons:
1. A Sukkah will not protect you from the rain. It will open you to the Sacred nature of nature
2. Be careful on what you lean, it is fragile. Like life, we have to act consciously and 'consciencely.'
3. Check how many walls you have put up. What do we want to keep in and what do we want to keep out. How big is our welcome mat and is it a heartfelt welcome mat.
4. Eat in the Sukkah. Food tastes better when shared with good friends and enlightened ancestors.
5. Sleep out in the Sukkah. There are good lessons on the wind as it breezed through the branches of our Schach סכך
6. Every once in a while you might have to prop something up. We need continually to examine our structures, the ones we build with our hand and the ones we build with our hearts.
7. Stop! Look up at the stars. That twinkling through the branches is there for a reason. Connect the dots.
8. Look at the shadows at your feet; let your imagination off leash. What do you see?
9. Always invite guests. It is merry and meaningful. Remember to invite the spirit guests, those who have built Sukkot before you. They are our inner teachers.
10. Putting it together yourself, with a friend is fun and it is fulfillng. It is heartful, soulful, full.

My family and friends come over. We build a Sukkah, a palace, a playhouse. And we laugh, and G gets a good dwelling place and a good ride.

I pray that all our Hagim are filled with laughter, love and meaning.

Hag Sameah

Sukkkot in Kabbalah

IN THE BEGINNNING
During the month of Elul, we seek to rebalance through forgiveness from others. On Rosh HaShanah, we stand before G in awe and awareness. On Yom Kippur, we bow the head and humble the heart seeking, in our souls, forgiveness from G.

Four days later, with the fullness of the moon, we exit our own homes and to enter into the Sukkah, that tiny Mishkan, G’s temporary home. G’s home, as we shall see, is the Sukkah.

When we want to be intimate with the Wholly One of Being, we tend to anthropomorphosize G, that is we talk about G in human terms. From Rosh HaShanah through Yom Kippur we say that G’s Left Hand, the side of Gevurah, has held us firm in the grasp of judgment. Yet, as soon as Yom Kippur ends, from the breaking of the fast through Simhat Torah we feel G’s embrace from the Right Hand as we enter into a period of joy and hope a period of grace, a graceful period.

The human imagery underscores our attempt to understand G. We seek to explain the unknowable that is G, with explanations that are human. Our hands only act out what is first thought of in our mind. We point to what we see of the world around us, and exclaim; “ we see what the hand of G has wrought. The mind of G, that causes the action is hidden. In our imagery, G holds with one hand and scolds us with the other. But the mind of G, that which causes the hand to act is still hidden from us. And so we say; “as it is below, so it is above.”

Our actions are the clearly visible works of our hands. Our thoughts form blueprints for our actions which follow. Our thoughts our not visible, they are concealed until made manifest by declaration and deed. As it is below, so it is above. The Thoughts of G are concealed from our eyes. They can only be uncovered when we see G’s ‘handiwork’.

When we connect through Mitzvot, we become, as it were, the hands of G. Yet, underlying the Mitzvot given by G lay the concealed sacred Divine Thought. Concealed within all Mitzvot, within the very words that spell out those Sacred Connections and the very letters that spell out those words, are concealed sacred hints as to what is in the Mind of G. The letters and words of the specific Mitzvot of Sukkot teach us the Sacred Meanings that are imbued by G.

THE SUKKAH
The secret of the Sukkot holiday can be found in the word Sukkah itself. If we play with the word Sukkah we can find the holy Name YKVK and more. The numerical value of the word Sukkah (Sameh, Vav, Kaf, Hey) is 91. The two letters Kaf and Vav in Sukkah numerically equal 26. This is the numerical value of YKVK . When 26 is subtracted from 91, the remainder is 65. 65 is the numerical value of the term for G, Adonai. Together, in a sense, the word Sukkah spells out the sacred, ineffable name of G and the term we hear so often when we see G’s name, Adonai. These two share a special and sacred relationship.

Adonai is the Name we use to call upon HaShem. YKVK is in mind whereas Adonai is in speech. Whenever most Jews see the YKVK we say Adonai. The sacred Name YKVK is the inexpressible, concealed potential, the “I will be” that G tells Moshe to say is G’s name in Exodus 3:13. The term Adonai expresses a manifestation of the concealed “I will be”. When combined therefore, YKVK and Adonai express the union of the Divine potential and manifestation.

In the realm of the Sefirot within Kabbalah, the Name YKVK corresponds to the six Sefirot (Hesed, Gevurah, Tif’eret, Netzah, Hod, and Yesod). Together these six are called Zeir Anpin, ZA, the Small Face (Zeir Anpin is Aramaic is the partzuf [profile] of the midot, corresponding to the emotive faculties of the soul. In general, the concept of the 'finite' is identified with Zeir Anpin). ZA is that Face of G unseen in our universe, yet is the source of all things happening here. It is this Face of G that is seen in the Heavens. The Face of ZA is centered on the Sefirah Tif’eret, which is the supernal Heart and source of the written Torah.

The term Adonai, on the other hand, relates to Sefirat Malchut, the Shehina. The Shehina is also called Nukvah the feminine of ZA. It is through the Shehina/Malchut that ZA is manifest here in our physical universe. The Shehina is the life force that gives rise to all forms in the physical universe. The Shehina is the mothering, dwelling place, understanding of G. It is that comfortable feeling we get when we are doing the right thing at the right time in the right way. It is our supernal hug. Shehina is the nesting feeling of comfort in the laws of nature that are part of our everyday life and our understanding of the universe. The Shehina creates nature, it is related to Gaia spirit into which Zeir Anpin flows and through whom it is made manifest. As such, Nukvah is the proverbial partner, the Bshert of ZA. The two must be in union for the sake of the continuity of the universe. Without the union of ZA and Nukvah, our universe would revert back to the cold primordial soup void of any life and consciousness.

ZA and Nukvah must be in a state of continual union in order for the supernal abundance of Divine energy to flow into the matter of our universe. Life is vibrant and ever-flowing. Torah is a paradigm for life understanding. We interpret and discover meaning in as we play among the black and the white letters of Torah. As ZA is shows us the general forms of all what is to be, Nukvah provides the details. "As it is above, so it is below." This is the mystery of the written and oral Torah. ZA manifests the written form of the Torah, etched and engraved within the holy letters. Nukvah breathes into those letters and gives them their meaning and parameters. It forms the sandbox in which we play and learn and grow. It is the oral Torah that gives form and substance to the written Torah. And the Oral Torah is more than the written word of Talmud. It is that which flows through all who delve and dive into the sandbox of Torah study. The two together are like loving partners, incomplete one without the other.

In Kabbalah, ZA is also referred to as the Wholly One of Being. Nukvah/Malchut, as we have said is referred to as HaShem’s Shehina. The union of ZA and Nukvah is thus the union of the seven lower Sefirot that balance the Active/Passive, the Giving/Receiving principles in creation. It is part of the Yin and Yang the IN and YO within Judaism. This is also referred to as the connection of the spiritual realm and the physical realm, the metaphor of the Heavens and the Earth. When we open our eyes and our hearts and our souls, we can see the relationship of Written and Oral Torah. We do not express a union of the Wholly One of Being and Shehina For G is not one made up of parts. But what flows from G becomes duality in our world, in our lives. We say that we bring G into the physical realm through Shehina through the way of Mitzvot. In reality, Mitzvot are the way of awareness of G felt through the prism of Shehina. Again, by playing with the letters of Sukkah, we can find revealed this concept, the concept of universal harmony and continuity, the “Thought of G” manifested in our actions.

Sukkot lasts for seven days. These seven days correspond to the unity of the six Sefirot of ZA and Sefirat Malchut of Nukvah/Shehina. These seven days unite the supernal Sefirot and radiate upon us their Ohr Zarua, their supernal light. Yet, as with all things in the physical world, one must be in the right place at the right time doing the right thing in order to receive that which is to be received.

THE USHPIZIN
The right place is the Sukkah, and the right time is the seven days of Sukkot. On each of the days the radiance of one of the seven Sefirot is revealed. On the first day, the Sefirah of Hesed is lights our way in the Sukkah. Day two, the Sefirah Gevurah is made manifest. On the third, Tiferet and so on. We invite seven male and seven female of our sacred ancestors to Represent the sefirotic energy of that day. As energy can become matter we take the energy of each Sefirah and manifest it as the matter of our holy ancestors. We call this spiritual energy matter transference Ushpizin (the guests). These are the sacred souls of the seven fathers and mothers of the Jewish people, each one of whom embodies one of the Sefirot and its energy. On each night of Sukkot, we invite the appropriate guest couple. Indeed, a special place (a chair) is actually prepared for the reception of this presence.

This invitation can be simply symbolic or it can be much more. With meditation with open minds and hearts and hands and souls, a we can feel the essence of the soul of the Ushpin (guest). The essence of the souls of Avraham, Yitzhak, Yaakov, Moshe, Aharon, Yosef and David come to us and bring with them an element of the manifestation of the Sefirot Hesed, Gevurah, Tif’eret, Netzah, Hod, Yesod and Malchut. Since the male influence has to do with tradition and the female, creativity, there are many different ideas about which of our mothers are invited. For me they are Miriam, Leah, Hannah, Rebecca, Sara and Rachel. Just as with the men, we need to look into the stories of the mothers of Israel to find the hidden relationship to each Sefirah. The essence of these Ushpin guests and the Sefirah energy they bring with them may be absorbed into our souls, causing us great spiritual elevation.

Traditionally, an Ushpin can only manifest at this special time of the year, the full moon of the seventh month. Like the moon, only when Yisrael is in her fullness can her fathers and mothers come and bless her. Yet, the blessing that comes in this time can only come through the proper receptacle. This receptacle is the Sukkah.

THE SCHACH
Our interpretation of the flow of G into the G field that we call ZA is activated in us through our actions in the Sukkah (the Sukkah becomes in a sense the Huppah or wedding canopy)) for seven days.

Through the fruity, earthy branches of the roof of the Sukkah we can see the stars. The reality of our Assiyah world of action twinkles. It reminds us of the Briyah the world of creation. As we repose, we pose the questions of our G field, our spiritual dna re-membering the first big bang, G, by means of a beginning creating all, from nothingness to the energy matter dance found in largest galaxy and the tiniest quark. We do not ask the when or how or where questions, that is for scientists seeking facts. We are here to experience truth. We are here to experience the ineffable Who and the sacred Why. We experience the Wholly Oneness of Creation. We see the stars through the branches of the Sukkah, feel the breeze through the frail and fragile strength of the walls and taste our food unique because of the awareness of time and space and spirit. We touch and are touched by the Yetzirah realm, the world of formation. For we have built this Sukkah and in it we connect with all Sukkot in time and space. We feel the earth under our feet, and see the stars above our heads and feel this open box of sanctity, our Sukkah. The words of G to the first humans resonate in a new way. "Go down to the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and commune with them, be one with the earth." The Sukkah reminds us that our physical forms, fates and fortunes are always transient. Our souls poured into our limited bodies to learn lessons are touched by the by the work of building and of being in the Sukkah. And sometimes if the longing is right, we can let go and find, just for a just a moment that total Yehidah oneness with G as we disappear within the realm of Atzilut, of G’s emanation.

THE FOUR SPECIES
Dwelling in the Sukkah these seven days offers us a deep spirit connection. Yet there is more to this special time than the Sukkah itself. There is also the mitzvah of the Arba Minim, a further opportunity for Sacred Connection. We take three hadasim (myrtle), two aravot (willows), one lulav (palm) and one etrog (citron) and wave them as a sacred sword, cutting away the knots of separation from HaShem. This ritual also hideswithin it mysteries for us to unravel.

The four species are:
1. Myrtle (hadas, spelled hey, dalet, samekh),
2. Willow (aravah, spelled ayin, resh, bet, hey),
3. Palm (lulav, spelled lamed, vav, lamed, bet) and
4. Etrog (spelled alef, tav, resh, vav, gimel).

The species themselves correspond to the seven Sefirot that are made manifest on this holiday. The three hadas branches are
the three Sefirot Hesed, Gevurah and Tif’eret. The two aravah branches are Netzah and Hod. The lulav is Yesod and the etrog to Malchut. Seven days and seven parts to the Lulav/Etrog both correspond to the seven Sefirot.

The six branches are held in the right hand and the etrog is held in the left. Tradition teaches us to hold the four species together with the etrog. We are bringing the holy Bshert into wholly oneness, ZA and Nukvah, the potential and the manifest, the spirit energy and spirit matter coming together.

By playing in the sandbox of Gematria we can discover for ourselves, through the letters of the names of the four species, how they too serve to create the unity of ZA and NOK thus maintaining the flow of blessing from Heaven to earth.

The final letters of the four are samekh (numerical value of 60), hey (numerical value of 5), bet (2) and gimel (3). Together these add up to 70, the numerical value of two important Hebrew words, sod (secret) and yayin (wine).

Wine is always the symbol of blessing and joy in Torah tradition. This is why wine is the prime element in Kiddush, Havdalah and every Simha (joyous occasion). We always celebrate over a full cup of wine. The Sod is that wine is a symbol of bringing the physical and the spiritual together, the ZA and Nukvah. Grapes are brought forth from vines. Human intervention makes the grapes into wine. Wine is used for Kiddush, part of the process of elevating earthly time into sacred moments. The four species too are like our Kiddush wine for the holiday. With them do we celebrate the union of Heaven and earth, spiritual and physical, energy and matter. With them do we celebrate the sod, the secret of the union of ZA and Nukvah concealed within tradtion and ritual, made manifest through our actions and interpretations. We celebrate revelation of inner meaning of Mitzvot, sacred connections. At its highest level, observance is breaks the bubble of symbolic gesture. We become G partners in the process of creation and the restoration of the state of harmony and balance between the worlds. The remez/ key clue, the hint to finding that highest level is found in the names of the four species.

The initial letters of the names of the four species (hey, ayin, lamed, alef) numerically equal 106. 106 is a special number, the value of the phrase recited daily in the Shema "bchol levavecha (heartfully). How then do we reach the highest level, participation in the process of creation and the restoration of the state of harmony and balance between the worlds. We reach that level by fulfilling the Mitzvot of Sukkot (Bchol Levavecha), heartfully.

106 is also the numerical value of the word hamelucha (G's sacred council). When one performs the waving of Lulav and Etrog as the spirit warriors sword, Bchol Levavecha, heartfully one is slicing through the ego barrers to the Heaven realms. Traditionally this was termed the 'ohl', 'yoke' of Heaven. The Hebrew word for yoke (ohl, spelled ayin vav, lamed) is also 106. When we act heartfully, we find ourselves in council with the Wholly One of Being.

106 is also the numerical value of the phrase higiyon lev (understanding heart). Understanding is always said to be an attribute of the heart and not the mind. One who observes this sacred connection, the mitzvah of the four species heartfully, cultivates an understanding heart with which is another remez/keyclue to understanding the mysteries of the Torah. How beautiful it is to seek the mysteries of Torah. And guess what! The Hebrew word for beauty is yofi, also numerically equal to 106.

The observance of the mitzvah of waving the four species, when done heartfully points to the incredible heights and lights of spiritual life. And in more Gematria games, the name lulav itself is numerically equal to 68, the value of hayim (life). When we wave the four species, we wave them three times in each of the six directions of the earth, south, north, east, up, down and west. Each cycle thus contains 18 waves. 18 is the number of hai (life). We repeat this procedure four times during the Hallel prayer. Four times the 18 equals 72, the numerical value of the word Hesed (compassion) the highest of the seven lower Sefirot. By bringing the spiritual together with the physical, by joining heaven and earth we bring compassion into our lives and into our world.

THEREFORE:
The Sukkah, the four species and the Ushpin are powerful teachers, with motivation and meaning. The Sukkah teaches us of YKVK/Adonai, the potential and the manifest. The Schach brings to the fore, the four realities that we can experience by living the sacred connection the Mitzvah to sit in the Sukkah. The Lulav and Etrog reinforce the teachings of the 7 guests, who come to connect us to the 7 Sefirot of creation and to make us one with the spiritual and physical reality of life. The Lulav and Etrog point us in the direction of heartfelt involvement, to sit in council with the Wholly One of Being. When we perform these sacred Mitzvot with an enlightened spirit, that is to say heartfully, we set in motion a series of spiritual occurrences far beyond what our minds can imagine. We create a conduit of potent spiritual energy that comes down to us here on earth. This occurrence is celebrated as a separate event and holiday. This is Hag Shemini Atzeret, the eight day. On this day, the union of ZA and Nukvah are complete. On this day, they ascend to the spiritually highest lofty places in the invisible worlds of Atzilut.

Not a bad way to spend a week, when you think about it!

An Open Box: The moving non-movement!

My Dear Friends

On Erev Rosh HaShanah I began a trilogy of sermons that I called "The path less travelled." On that night I spoke of the origins of our people, our tribal path. On Rosh HaShanah day I continued with the tests and lessons of movement. As a people we have moved through time and space carrying our faith in our hearts and our heads and our hands. Movements were built as boxes to protect us and our sacred cargo. Movements were and are trail markers along the path less travelled. And movements were mechanisms for change.

But movements have drawbacks. No matter what the grand ideal, no matter how well the box of movements carried the changes we needed, no matter how well the box protected tradition, no matter how open the box was to change and modernity, eventually the lid on the box closed and change solidified and we forgot what we wanted to keep out and what we wanted to keep in. The usefulness of a box is in the opening and closing, the emptiness and the fullness.

The box which each movement created for us to carry along our path less travelled, became sacred in and of itself. The movements began to take themselves too seriously. Ego is the rust on the hinges of our box. "Our way is the only right way to Jew our lives," squeaks the movement as the lid on the box becomes harder and harder to open. "If you don't do it our way you are somehow missing the mark, not handling it correctly, less spiritual or less modern or just less." And the lid of the movement refuses to move.

The Orthodox tell the story of a husband and wife in a car. The husband is driving and the wife, leaning against her side of the car complains: "We used to sit together in the car your arm around me, me leaning into you, it was romantic. But we seem to have drifted apart." The husband replies: "What do you want from me. I am driving the car, I can't move. You are the one who has moved away!" This is how the Orthodox box sees Conservative and Reform and all liberal movements in Judaism. The Conservative box see the Orthodox as needlessly neglecting modernity, while Reform has forgotten and forsaken its roots.



I have shared with some of you that I come from a long line of Rabbis. My father, (זצ"ל) was very proud when I was ordained. I was visiting him that summer in Narraganset Pier in Rhode Island. On Shabbos we sought out the only synagogue in that small town. When we entered, my father proudly announced that he and I were Rabbis. The people there thought that it was fortuitous because their Rabbi was on vacation. They asked us to lead the service. As we walked to the Bimah I noticed a מחיצה separating the men's and women's section. The reader's table faced the ark not the congregation. We had entered an Orthodox synagogue and they were asking us to lead. My father had never led an Orthodox service and so it was left to me to lead most of the service. But at one point he whispered to me: "Let's just turn around and do this right!" Right for him was the Reform way.

Movements, each and every one of them have become like a box with a rusty hinge. Boxes are important tools on the path less travelled and we each need to have our boxes, they carry significant ideas and keep safe important ideals. The box gives shape and form and direction to our thoughts. But we should be wary of climbing into the box and we should never do all our thinking inside the box. The problem is that movements tend to box us in and box others out. And that is because we don't open our box enough, we don't examine enough or play enough with what's in the box. Carrying our movement box can make us comfortable but it also can make us, has made us complacent.

There is a tale told of a bejeweled box that was a treasure of an elderly couple. They kept it in a glass case for all to see. They would take it out and show it to special friends, on special occasions, but they never opened the box. When they passed on they left it to their children, who kept it on the mantel and told all their friends how it had been so special to their parents. When they passed on and left it to their children, the box got stuffed in a drawer somewhere. And when they passed on, the box somehow was lost. The box is the movements and the hidden treasure within is our Judaism, our Jewing life to the fullest.

I love boxes, they proclaim neatness and orderliness, a place for everything and everything in its place. My favorite box is a replica of a tinderbox, carried by the mountain men about 150 years ago. I enjoy the firm pop as the hinged lid opens wide or closes down. My box is small in all its brassy glory. My box is the protector of small fragile objects. It has carried all that is miscellaneous, all that has nowhere else to go, all that is important, irreplaceable yet unplaceable.

So tonight I wish to offer a solution to the rusted box of movements, the box that is neglected and which contains the sacred and hidden light that we might call Moshiah consciousness. Tonight I wish to share with you a new box, clean, bright and brassy. It is a thoroughly modern box, a box that will carry us comfortably into modernity and yet the box is hinged with tradition carrying our sacred treasures along the path less travelled.

This box that I offer contains a non-movement, that is always moving. This box is a paradigm shift for movements and for individuals. I even have a catchy name for our new non-movement, a catchy name for our new box. I call this moving non-movement 'Reframing'.

When we reframe we see things anew. We see them in a light that we have not utilized before. Reframing how we move on our path less travelled will enlighten our path with the Ohr Zarua, the original hidden light of creation and creativity.

But as with all things of worth, it takes some work. And for our box to be useful to us we must use it, constantly adjusting, adding and subtracting from our box, rearranging and handling the contents.

Our reframing box requires each of us to fill and empty and refill it with questions to be asked, and actions to be quested. What studies will you put in our reframers' box. What traditions would you keep alive in our box as we wind our way down the path less travelled

Who is interested by history. Did you know that the Menorah is Judaism's oldest symbol and that it stems from a sage plant found in Israel. The name of that plant is Moriah, which means G's guidance and is related to the word for our Sacred Guide, Torah. How about the fact that two thousand years ago when we were forced from our land, the Romans, to add insult to injury, named our holy homeland after our worst enemies.

The people who invaded our coastlands of Ashkalon and Ashdod and Gaza were people who we would not even call by name, we simply called them the invaders. Today we mis-transliterate it as Philistine.
In Hebrew the word for invader is Paleshet. The plural is Palashtim. The Romans renamed Israel using that very word, the word celebrating their invasion of our sacred homeland. In Latin the term is Palastina what people now call Palestine.

History enlightens our path, the path less travelled.

Who would be willing to keep our sacred tongue alive, who would be willing to learn a little more about Hebrew putting it in our sacred reframer's box. Just the Alef Bet, or a few more words of worth. For Hebrew holds the secrets of history and poetry and philosophy and mystery.

What is the fourth letter of the Hebrew Alef Bet. It was Dag, which meant fish and the original pictograph was that of a fish. But we changed it when those same invaders conquered that spit of land on the southern part of Israel on the Mediterranean. They worshiped a god of fishing and its name was Dagon. We changed a letter of our Alef Bet from Dag, fish, to ד, door because it was too close to idolatry.

The א, the first letter of our Alef Bet is silent and yet contains within it the secret of the sacred name of G, the name we are prohibited from pronouncing.

What traditions would you carry in your box for a year to guarantee their survival and increase your spiritual awareness. Every tradition in Judaism has a history that will hold your heart and a mystery that will bring heaven to earth. Would you take 10 minutes a day, 6 days a week for a year and lay תפילין? It would change your life and add a little light on the our sacred path, the path less travelled. Within the leather box that is תפילין is the six word mystical phrase of oneness that we repeat throughout the day. We call it the שמע and the translation that we read is every week is weak. Sometime we will sit together and you will create your own translation that far surpasses what we read in our prayer books.

What of שבת, is that something to carry in our Reframers' box. What people call the 10 commandments are written twice in Torah and each refers to Shabbat a little differently. In one case Shabbat we are told, should be Shamored, guarded. In the other case we are reminded to זכור, remember Shabbat.
What is the difference. We guard Shabbat by living it, by doing it, by being it. How we do that in our Reframers' box will be different for each of us. But one element is the same. We will not allow the weekday, workday, mundane day into our sacred bubble of time. For some, no electricity or driving. For others, we travel for sacred activities not for shopping. But for all, Shamoring Shabbos is family time, prayer time study time, a time of holy rest. That is how we שמור. But if we cannot שמור, guard by living it fully, we can זכור, keep Shabbos in our hearts and heads and hands.

When our son, Ronin was in high school he took part in school plays. Needless to say, he was the best actor there. But it required him to perform on Friday nights. His answer to this challenge was to take a couple of candle stubs some Hallah and grape juice with him. At the appropriate time he would slip away and make the blessings. Since some of the other actors were Jewish they began to go with him. Eventually even the non-Jews came to see what was happening. On one such occasion Ronin was in the Sound of Music. What he told me painted a picture in my mind that still warms my heart. Members of the cast, in costume took part in the short celebration of Shabbat. In costume!!! I picture a group of costumed nuns, and Nazis standing around helping usher in Shabbat with blessing. If we cannot שמור we can choose to זכור and that will raise the sacred sparks.

Every תורה is hand written, copied from the one before. It has been so for over 2000 years. Hidden within Torah are shards of that original light that can brighten our world and our world view. One Shabbos our grandson Gage, looked up from the dining room table and asked me to tell him a story about that week's Torah POTION. Torah is a sacred Potion that we should keep in our reframer's box. Would you be willing to study a little Torah every week. Would you consider to look at a small part of the Torah potion under a new light? Would you carry that sacred light in your tinder box of reframing.

I am not asking that we do everything, that we study everything. I am asking that each one of us opens our box and decides what Jewing to put into our personal Reframer's box. We can try things out to see what fits and what comforts and compels us. But we must try or the box becomes just another bit of clutter in our lives.

The Reframer's box must have oiled hinges from constant use, opening and closing, putting in and pulling out. The contents must be shiny with wear. In this way our path less travelled remains a path worth travelling.

My friends our moving non-movement box of light, our reframer's box calls out to us with the shofar's blast and the whispered warning. “Open and examine and play with what is in this box but never climb into this box.” The box is for carrying our sacred tools, tinder and char, flint and steel, creating holy sparks. It is not for show and it is not a place to hide from modernity nor from Mashiah consciousness. We should think outside the box, live and love outside the box. But we should never abandon our reframer's box. A box is not a home it is our sandbox, our tool box, our toy box, our X box. We need to live with it and play with it, examining the contents adding new sacred tools and putting others aside. And we do this to enlighten our path with holy consciousness, our path, the path less travelled.


I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

The path less travelled

My Dear Friends
It has been a custom in my family for over 60 years on the High Holydays to give a trilogy of sermons wrapped around a single theme. I am happy and honored to continue this tradition for these High and Holy Days in our new and renewed congregation, the Bleeker Street Synagogue. The theme this year to come is the Path Less travelled. It is taken from a Poem by Robert Frost that was one of my father's (זצ"ל) favorites and is called "The Road Not Taken, "

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

This poem speaks of our people, speaks to our people, our tribe. For we have certainly taken the path less travelled. It started with a warrior path unlike any other. The Path became one of tests and lessons. And it has led us to a place, a time of challenge that I call Modernity and Mashiah. And that dear friends forms the titles of my 3 sermons: The Warrior Path, Tests and Lessons, and Modernity and Moshiah.

Tonight I speak of ancestors wandering the Warrior Path. Tomorrow I will speak of the tests and lessons that have confronted, confounded and coaxed our people into the 21st century. And on Yom Kippur we will face the future, the balancing of ancient and modern, the confluence of tradition, mysticism and modernity, which I call Modernity and Mashiah.

Tonight we start with a journey, a journey that begins in southern Iraq, in the city of Ur over 4000 years ago. A family follows the long and winding road alongside of the Tigris Euphrates up into Syria to a place called Haran.

And then a member of that family has a vision.
Most modern folk don't believe in visions, we have a healthy skepticism of them. But that is because we have a rather closed definition of what a vision is. Let me share a story to help illustrate. Many years ago I had the only Jewish congregation in a small town that claimed over 120 churches. Many of the Fundamentalist Christians would come to me seeking advice. They assumed that as a Rabbi, I was one step closer to their spiritual heritage and might have some arcane knowledge to share. One night, I was working late in my office when a fellow came to me. He told me that he had had a vision in which G told him to move to Oklahoma. He wanted my agreement and blessing and my understanding for his undertaking. I am a rational person and responded with a rational question: "How do you know that it was a vision from G and not the pepperoni pizza that you had for dinner." Well the man was not dissuaded and moved to Oklahoma.
That would be the end of the story except that I had a chance to mention it to my Rebbe. I was proud of my somewhat glib answer and shared it in a moment of jocularity with my Rebbe. He looked at me very seriously but with a twinkle in his eye and said: "What makes you think that G does not speak through pepperoni pizzas?"

My friends, visions and messages from G come in all shapes and sizes . We need not worry about the veracity of a vision but rather its intention and its interpretation. Avram (for that was his name) had a vision and moved south to a land that would become for all times the spiritual homeland of his tribe. Not surprisingly, Avram made war on his neighbors, bought land from his neighbors, and fought side by side with his neighbors. We should not be disconcerted when we read in Torah that our people acted much like their neighbors, that is to be expected in every age, in every culture, in every region of the world. What should stand out, are the differences. The magic of Torah, our guide to who we were , who we are and who we will become is not how we were similar to our neighbors but how we were different from them, how we took the path less travelled. Torah, in this way, offers a unique window into the soul-path of the Jew, and when we find something that stands out, stands apart, stands up from the text we must grab it and examine it and take it to heart. Avram, makes mistakes, missteps, has misadventures like all of us.
But Avram did something that seems to be unique to that time and that place and unique to our people. He stood up to G for justice. We all know the story of Sdom V'Amora. But our translators have softened the tale for us. Torah anthropomorphizes the story into G standing around with Avram informing him of the impending doom about to befall the evil twin cities. What is Avram's response? "חלילה לך" "G that would be a curse on you!" This is a first and I do not know of any other people who admonish their G quite like that. Quite a conundrum unless you know the secret rules to the game of Torah understanding, the first of which is that G knows what G is doing. G teaches us through the challenges that we face. G sometimes just wants us to stand up for justice no matter what. Again the lesson happens in the אקדה the story of the binding of Isaac. It was a custom of the people who inhabited Israel at that time to sacrifice their first born son. As children, this custom seemed to have held a deep fascination for my younger brother. But Rashi tells us that Avram misunderstood G's intentions when G told him to take his son up on a mountain for a sacrifice. Avram should have realized that the invitation was to teach his son the ways of service, not offer him up as a grisly ala carte. Avram learns and grows.

His wife Sarai gives part of her name to him and he becomes Avraham "The Father of His People" and a tribe is born. They have a son named Yitzhak who we might call the peacemaker. Again a uniqueness jumps from the black fire on white fire that is Torah. Yitzhak digs a well and finds water, no small task in the Negev, the desert of Yisrael. But jealous neighbors, like neighborhood bullies decide that they own it. This occurs 5 more times and each time Yitzhak's men are eager to fight. In each case Yitzhak demonstrates courage, perseverance, pacifism and faith in G. The 7th well puts an end to the bullying when the neighbors with their slow learning curve, realize that a person who can dig 7 wells and hit water each time is a person to have on their side. That 7th well still stands to this day and a city has been built up around it with a university and hospital that serves all people in the Negev, Jews and Christians, Muslims and Beduoin. The city is named is named after that well, באר שבע.
Yitzhak's wife, Rivkah has a power to see beyond the physical reality of this realm. She sees deeper than her husband. When she first sees him, the aura that he wears but of which he is unaware strikes her so hard it knocks her off her camel. And this sight will do her well when her husband's sight fails him.
Yitzhak's second son is a quite mamma's boy. Quiet, clean, a good cook, stays around the house. He seems studious. His brother by comparison is a man's man, a hunter, sometimes a bully. He is brusque, brash and brave. But he is not much of a thinker of any depth and Rivkah sees no good aura around him. Rivkah too has a vision, a message from G and makes sure that Yaakov, the follower son, is to be the leader. And it is a good choice for we are all named for him. His chosen name, the name he wins in battle, in bravery with wisdom is Yisrael. And we are the children of Israel. Yisrael is the tribe builder, 13 sons twelve ancient and one modern tribe descend from this man, his two wives and his two assistant wives. And here the Amazing story of our ancestors ends and the story of our tribe begins.

For Yosef , the son of Yaakov leads us into Egypt, where we prosper as a warrior tribe. We were probably a mercenary army for the Egyptians when we became עצום ורב, powerful and with the beginnings of wisdom. But our power caused jealousy and fear and we were enslaved and belittled. The disparaging term that they used to degrade us was probably a variant of Hapiru which means 'those who cross over.' Hapiru transliterates as Hebrews. We were the Hebrews, the ones who crossed over, the foreigners not to be trusted.

After centuries of oppression and harsh treatment we escaped to the purity of the wilderness. We toughened our hides under the hot sun of Sinai and we opened our souls becoming a loose federation of twelve tribes on the spirit path. That path less travelled led back to our homeland and it led up to a higher level of soul consciousness, not as individuals but in tribal sensibilities. We lighted the Menorah of the mind and felt the radiance of the sun in our soul. But we never forgot that we were עברים, the ones who cross over, the stranger. Like others before us, we fought wars across the Sinai, sacrificed animals, and set up a code of law for the tribe. And yet again there are differences that light up our text and our time. Our sacrifices were not to appease angry and hungry gods, they were sacred Bar B Ques, the soulful gatherings of the tribes. They were representations and symbolic actions for our benefit. In Psalms (50: 10-13) the song is sung of sacrifices as an expression of faith not fear, of a loving connection not a luring conjecture.

Our prophets teach us the truth of animal sacrifice. "What need do I have of all your sacrifices?" says G in Isaiah . G follows that statement with the admonishment to defend the poor, the homeless, the needy for Justice is what is required of us (Isaiah 1:11-13). Torah, our sacred guide cries out: "Justice Justice, you shall pursue!" (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9) Throughout TaNaCh, our Bible, G states clearly that our path, the path less travelled is to become אור לגוים a light to the nations. We set for ourselves unique laws and light the lamp of equality always set to the refrain: "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt!" We were to treat the stranger as equals with the home born. For we knew what it meant to be a stranger in a strange land.

Wandering gave us a sense of wonder, Sinai toughened the skin and sensitized the soul. We became warriors again and our pilot light kindled the flame of faith and fairness. Yes, we fought Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites, Canaanites, Amorites, Moabites and every other 'ites' that stood between us and G's promise of the land of Israel. That is to be expected of a people in that place and that time. What is less expected is to hear the words that enlighten our text and our lives. "I am the HaShem your G who brought you out of Egypt out of the house of bondage" invariably preceding the challenge to take special care of the widow and orphan, the needy and the stranger in our midst.

Imbuing and imbedding such ideals is not an overnight activity. 40 years, which just means a very long time, passes before the lessons are hammered out on the anvil of the Sinai desert floor.

And then we came over Jordan. The עברים, the Hebrews, the ones who cross over crossed over Jordan from East to West and came home. We built from the 12 tribes of Jacob, the nation of Israel. In that nation building we created the 8th wonder of the physical world, the Temple of Solomon and the first wonder of the ancient world an ethical code of equality. It is a code that is the basis for the religions of Christianity and Islam and can be found in the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution. It was and is a song of salvation and it ends with the refrain; "Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt!" The key word here is remember, for the word Ivrim, that condescending term for outsider, also carries with it the consciousness of our past. The word 'Ivri' comes from 'Over' which means 'coming out of the past.' We, the Ivrim are the ones who crossed over Jordan remembering our past. Re-membering, as my belovedest , my partner and friend has been trying to teach me, is bringing something in so deeply that it is part and parcel of who we are. It comes naturally because it is so deeply held in our soul memory.

And so our life in our Sacred Homeland followed a course similar to the other nations. We conquered and were conquered. Just like the other nations who rose and fell with the tide of fate. But our path less travelled stands out from the text, stands apart from the rest. We do not fade into the night of exile and assimilation. When Nebuchadnetzer and then Titus destroy our 2 Temples, one in 586 BCE and the other in 70 CE, we carry that sacred sanctuary in our hearts. We adopt and adapt and survive and thrive even in the dark night of expulsion . Temple sacrifice no longer possible morphs into synagogue service. שחרית, מנחה, מעריב punctuate our days and enlightens our nights. But what never changes is our unique faith in our One G, source of love, source of life source of mystery. Our warrior path survives exile and return, war and wandering. For though we are tossed on the winds of fate we carry the G field in our souls and we carry our corpus of conduct and spirit wisdom in our hands and in our hearts. We physically survive and spiritually thrive not because of our numbers, but because of our indomitable faith in G and the transcendent teachings of our Torah.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and we --
we took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Elul the month of searching

Elul

Elul is the sixth of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar. In Aramaic, Elul means searching, which is what we do to find the deeper meaning of simple terms such as our months. Elul is also called “the month of repentance,” “the month of mercy,” and “the month of forgiveness” for it is the month of ‘Pre-pare,’ preparing to repair. We cannot repair the world alone. We need to be in relationship to repair our torn world. We need to find our sacred partner and rejoin in that partnership. That is why I call it re-pairing. The High HolyDays are the shofar blast call to re-pair with each other, with our G, with our 5 level soul.

Repairing with the Wholly One of Being is not easy. It takes preparation. In order to re-pair we need to pre-pare. Elul then, is also the month of pre-paring to re-pair. In Elul we pare away all the covers, all the armor, all the outer skins. After we have pared away, after we have pre-pared, then we are ready to pair again with G and with our inner deepest soul. Pre-paring leaves us open and ready to re-pair.

The four letters of the name Elul are an acronym for the initial letters of the phrase in the Song of Songs (6:3): "I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me." This is our public acknowledgement of our private need to re-pair with the Wholly One of Being. The words help us pre-pare to re-pair with the Source of All Being. "I am to my beloved" we call out in a consummate desire from the חייה (Hayah) soul of longing to turn once again, to re-turn our soul-root to G. “And my beloved is to me” is the faith we have that when we turn again to G, when we re-turn, G is there. When we pare away all of the unbalancing weight of our mis-steps, our mis-guided actions, our mis-takes for the last year; when we pare away the harsh judgments and anger that we feel to others we are ready to re-pair with our “Beloved” with our G.

In "small numbering (this means that we add the numerical value of the letters which equals 67 and then add 6 and 7 to equal 13,) Elul = 13, alluding to the 13 principles of Divine mercy that are revealed in the month of Elul and that is our mantra for returning to spiritual balance. For the month of Elul, we recite during Slihot, the thirteen attributes, the mantra of pre-paring in order to re-pair with The Source of Mercy. For the world cannot be whole again without re-pair. During Elul, we pre-pare in order to re-pair during the new year, 5770.


Letter: yud.

The yud is the first letter of the Tetragrammaton, that tiny little point of beginning.

All created form begins with an essential "point," of energy and life-force, the point of the letter yud. As we ‘pre-pare’ for the beginning of the spiritual year it is most appropriate for us to focus on that point of beginning.

The word yud means “hand” and was originally a pictograph of a hand pointing. Elul is our pointer, our Yad, to the coming year. It is our direction of focus for the future.

Sign: Betulah (Virgo the virgin)

This is the beloved in waiting, the bride to be. In Judaism we are taught that the verse in Song of Songs "I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me" refers to our desire for G and G’s openness to us.

In Hassidut the verse "I am to my beloved and my beloved is to me" refers, in particular, to the service of prayer of the month of Elul.


The Betulah symbolizes as well the "virgin earth," The earth needs a rectification of action from we two-leggeds and that too is the month of Elul.


Sense: action.

The sense of action is the inner "knowledge" that through devoted deeds of goodness one is always able rectify any blemish and remove any broken state of the soul. This is the sense necessary for the spiritual growth and the point at which Elul is aimed. The sense of action is thus the sense never to despair, never to give up, never to stop. This is the "point," the yud (of Elul), of Divine service. Without it we can never begin, for we can never pre-pare.

The sense of action is the inclination to fix a broken object. Our souls are broken, our people are broken, our country is broken, our world is broken. Elul is a call to action a call to pre-pare to re-pair.

Tribe: Gad.

One meaning of the tribe name Gad (pronounced - god) is “camp.” In Genesis 49:19 in Ya’akov’s blessing to his son it is written: “Gad shall create camps and he shall set the camp to follow" (Genesis 49:19). Gad was setting up a rearguard action with his ‘camp.’
The name Gad means as well "good fortune." This "good fortune" is manifest through good deeds. Good deeds that heal our blemishes and beautify our souls.

The ‘good fortune,’ the ‘good deeds’ of Gad in Kabbalah, refers to the thirteen principles of mercy that are represented by the month of Elul.

When we play the Gematria game we find some fun facts. Gad = 7. Gad was the 7th son of Ya’akov. Good fortune is often translated as Mazal as in “Mazal Tov,” “May the Stars be with you.” Mazal = 77. The middle letter of mazal is zayin = 7. If we take the name Gad (Gimel Zayin) which equals 7 and replace the zayin with them we make a new word. That word is Migdal which means "tower.” The verse states: "A tower [migdal = 77] of might [oz = 77] is the Name of G-d, into it shall run the tzadik and become exalted." (Proverbs 18:10) In Kabbalah, the "tower of might" refers to the bride. The Betulah of Elul also refers to the bride. The Jewish people are the bride of G. And Shabbat is also refered to as the bride. The Tzadik here refers to the groom.


Controller: left hand.

For right handers, the Tfilin shel yad is placed on the left hand. The left hand receives the Tfilin from the right. We place it on the left hand to be near the heart. So the good deeds, the healing acts are done heartfully, as it says in the Shma: “And these word/things you will do soulfully, heartfully, fully.

The month of Av

The Hebrew month of Av is the fifth of the twelve months of the Jewish calendar.

The name Av may have come from Aviv meaning spring. It may have come from the word for father אב or אבא. Since Hebrew is a root language words build out from the center and so the month of Av could also be derived from the root אבה which means "to be willing,” “to surround,” “to embrace.”

This month exemplifies life in that it demonstrates the high and the low and the blending of the two in life. Traditionally the low point on the Jewish calendar is the 9th of Av. We have associated all tragedies in Jewish history with that date. Our sages tell us that on the 9th of Av the sin of the spies and the destruction of both the first and second Temples in Jerusalem occurred. Later Rabbis continued the view associating acts of horror in the Inquisition, and the Holocaust to the 9th of Av. It is not an auspicious time to start something positive such as married life or a business venture. Birth on the other hand has high hopes on that date as we shall discuss further.

But Av also contains a sweet highpoint as well. It contains the Jewish equivalent of the modern Valentine ’s Day, the day of finding one's Bshert one’s soul-mate.

These two dates the 9th and the 15th of Av, the low and the high blend in the teaching of our sages who taught that "the Mashiah will be born on the 9th of Av. We use the imagery of bride and groom in the relationship of Jews and the Mashiah. The Mashiah comes to redeem us to complete us to bring us to spiritual balance just as finding our bride or groom brings us to balance and completes us. After the birth on the 9th of Av the Mashiah will reveal hirself to hir spouse and betroth hir on the 15th of Av.

Letter: tet.

The letter tet, can be thought to resemble a womb. Its number value is 9, corresponding to the 9 months of pregnancy. The 9th of Av is to be the birthday of Mashiah. All these tie in to make the letter tet (the ninth letter of the Alef Bet) to be the letter associated with Av.

Mazal: aryeh (Leo--lion).

The aryeh symbolizes finding spiritual meaning and positive power in the seeming randomness of life. For example: In the words of our sages as found in Yalkut Shimoni, Yermiyahu, 259: “The lion came in the month of the lion and destroyed the lion in order that the lion will come and in the month of the lion and rebuild the lion.” This is a mystical moment of empathy. But to understand this mantra and its meaning, we need to unpack it. "The lion (Nevudchanetzar, who is referred to as a lion in Yermiyahu 4:7) came on the month of the lion (Av) and destroyed the lion (the Temple, more specifically the altar of sacrifice), in order that the lion (referring to G, from the quote in Amos 3:8 'the lion roars, who shall not fear') will come on the month of the lion (Av again) and rebuild the lion (the Temple).

There is a parallel teaching in the Gematria of aryeh. Aryeh = 216 which converts back to gevurah which means power or might. Gevurah is one of the emanations from G on the Sefirotic tree. Gevurah also means discipline, as in the discipline to grow from every experience and to accept that destruction too, is part of growth. Playing the Gematria game again, if you add 216 as 2+1+6 we get 9. The same result as when we add 7+2. When we translate 72 into Hebrew letters we get Hesed which is compassion and loving-kindness, the partner to Gevurah on the Sefirotic tree. Hesed is connected with creation just as its partner and opposite (think Yin Yang), Gevurah is attached to destruction. The Divine power which "builds" all of reality, is Hesed. As it says in Psalm 89:3: "the world is built by Hesed." Thus we find in Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 1:10) the aryeh appears to the right, the place of Hesed, in the Merkava, Divine Chariot.

Tribe: Shimon.

The name Shimon comes from the word "to hear." The Haet, the missed opportunity of our people to enter the Land of Israel at the time off the spies, on the 9th of Av was because of their speech and our hearing. They spoke fearfully rather than heartfully. We heard fearfully rather than faithfully. Av calls us to listen with more than our ears and speak more deeply than with our tongues.

In Torah, when Moshe blesses every tribe, only Shimon is not blessed. Shimon is the only tribe that Moses did not explicitly bless at the end of the Torah. The Rabbis interpret the reason as having to do with the idolatry that took place at Pe’or. The name Shimon can be divided into the two words which spell sham avon, "there is vanity," for idol worship is “eye-doll” worship the worst form of vanity.


We find another relation of speech to hearing that attaches to Shimon. In the division of the land of Israel to the twelve tribes, Shimon inherited his portion within the larger portion of Yehudah. That happens with no other tribe and therefore stands out as a Remez a key clue for understanding on a deeper level. When we play the Gematria game with the two names Shimon and Yehudah a new clue comes to light: Shimon-466 plus Yehudah-30 = 496 which is malchut or kingdom.

Yehudah corresponds to the month of Nisan. As we have seen before, Nisan is connected to the sense of speech. Shimon corresponds to the month of Av. Shimon is related to Yehudah and Nisan is related to Av through one interpretation of the meaning of Av. The word Av is found in Aviv which means spring and is the name in Torah for the month of Nissan).

There is a powerful lesson here. In both hearing and speaking wonders are wrought and destruction drawn forth


Sense: hearing.

"To hear" in Hebrew means "to understand," “to bring it to heart.” To hear another is to hear with our hearts hir dilemma and empathize with hir. Hearing is receiving which is the literal meaning of the word Kabbalah.

In the beginning of Isaiah (read on the Shabbat before the 9th of Av), it says: "if you are willing (tovu , from the root Av) and hear (the sense of Av), you shall share in the goodness of the land." Empathy then, is the key to sharing the goodness of life with others on this planet. And empathy begins with the ability to hear the voice of the other..

The sense of hearing also represents the sense of inner balance. Imbalance leads to the fall, it is the source of our own destruction. When we truly hear and discern truth flows and falseness fades, as it says in Job 12:11 and 34:3: "the ear discerns words" ozen malin tivchan and the acronym formed by these words is “emet,” “truth.”

Controlling limb: left kidney.

Ok, this is a ‘tuffy’

Kabbalists tell us that the two kidneys are the "male" and "female" advisors of the soul. The right kidney advises how to balance one's character through the process of careful introspection. The left kidney advises how to absorb truth into one's consciousness.

The word for kidney, kulyah, comes from kol, “all.” Kol = 50. The last two letters form the first two letters of G’s name, “The voice of G!” It is something to think about when the kidneys call us to action.

The Book of Ruth & The Yahrzeit / Yizkor Candle

The Book of Ruth
The book of Ruth is read at this time. Again, there are varying reasons given for this custom, and none seems to be definitive. Ruth is the story of a Moabite woman who converted to Judaism and who eventually married a judge of Israel, Boaz . Traditional Torah commentators offer two major theses to explain the custom: that Ruth was the model of Torah acceptance, and that without her Jewish history could not continue.



The Yahrzeit / Yizkor Candle
There are 4 times a year when Jews light a special candle, called a Yahrzeit Candle, in memory of loved ones who have died. Yizkor is a memorial service which is recited on Yom Kippur as well as the last days of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. Yizkor, which is the Hebrew word for "remember", asks G to remember those we mourn and to grant them proper rest.

A Yahrzeit Candle is lit at sundown on...
1. The night of Yom Kippur
2. The night of Shemini Atzeret (the 8th night of Sukkot)
3. The second night of Shavuot
4. The last night of Passover
The Yizkor service takes place the following day.

Shavuot and the Ten Commandments

Shavuot and the Ten Commandments
Shavuot is also known as Zeman Matan Toratenu, the Season of the Giving of Our Law, which commemorates the receiving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai.

After Moses and the Israelites fled the slavery of Egypt, they wandered the desert. G provided the travelers with food to eat (manna) and water to drink. After long months Moses brought his followers to the foot of a mountain called Sinai. Though the desert was dry and bare, the mountain was lush and green, covered with grass, flowers and trees. Moses and the Israelites set up camp at the base of the mountain.
On the third day of the Hebrew month of Sivan, Moses was commanded by G to prepare the Jewish people for G's decent and visit. The Israelites washed and purified their clothes and their bodies. Three days later, on the sixth day of Sivan, the people were awaken by thunder and lightning. Thick, dark clouds hung over the mountain. The sounds of the Shofar, the ram's horn, were heard echoing across the desert. The earth began to tremble and shake. Then the Israelites heard a voice, G's voice, as he spoke to them from out of the clouds. And G gave them the Ten Statements (Aseret HaDibrot) which are referred to as the Ten Commandments. In reality there are many more than ten commandments given in the Torah. Tradition counts them at 613.

1) "I am the Lord your G, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery"
2) "You shall have no other gods but me"
3) "You shall not take the name of your Lord in vain"
4) "You shall remember and keep the Sabbath day holy"
5) "Honor your father and mother"
6) "You shall not murder"
7) "You shall not commit adultery"
8) "You shall not steal"
9)"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor"
10) "You shall not covet your neighbor's goods. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his bull, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s."

Moses went up the mountain and returned with the Tablets that contained the Ten Commandments.

Through the centuries the Jewish people have celebrated this important event. It was at Mount Sinai that this band of worn and weary travelers would become the nation known as Israel.

Celebrating the Day of the First Fruits

Celebrating the Day of the First Fruits
The farmers of Israel would begin their spring harvests with the barley crop at Passover. The harvest continued for seven weeks as the other crops and fruits began to ripen. As each fruit ripened, the first of each type would not be eaten but instead the farmer would tie a ribbon around the branch. This ribbon signified that these fruits were Bikkurim, or the first fruits.
At Shavuot the farmers would gather the Bikkurim into baskets and bring them to the city of Jerusalem where they would be eaten in the holy city. The farmers living close to Jerusalem would bring fresh fruits, while those who had to travel a long distance carried dried raisins and figs. This joyful occasion was celebrated with the music of fifes, timbres, and drums. As the pilgrims approached the city walls they were greeted by the inhabitants of the city. Sometimes the King himself would join the procession to the Temple Mount. The Bikkurim ritual is no longer practiced in present day Israel.


The Legends and Customs of Shavuot
Many of the traditions and customs of Shavuot have evolved from the legends and stories describing the experiences of the Israelites at Mount Sinai. According to tradition the Israelites actually overslept on the morning of G's visit. To compensate for this negligence, Jews hold a vigil on the eve of Shavuot. They stay awake from dusk to dawn, keeping themselves busy with the readings of the Torah and the Talmud. A digest of readings has evolved called Tikkun Leil Shavuot, the "Restoration of Shavuot Eve," which includes selections from the Torah, the Prophets, the Talmud, and the Zohar.

Another Shavuot custom is the eating of dairy foods. One explanation states that this comes from a passage in the Torah which reads: "And He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey". Another explanation comes from a legend stating that before the visit from G the Jews did not keep kosher or follow the Kashrut (dietary) laws. It was on this first Shavuot that they found out that their utensils were non-kosher and thus unfit for use. So finding themselves without kosher meats or utensils the Israelites were forced to eat only dairy foods. Today Jews celebrate Shavuot by eating blintzes, cheesecake, and other dairy dishes.

Another legend tells the story of the Israelites finding Mount Sinai blooming and lush with greenery and flowers. From this legend grew the custom to decorate the Jewish home and synagogue with tree branches and flowers. Some temples decorate the Torah scrolls with wreaths of roses.

The customs and meanings of Shavu'ot the Week of Weeks

The Story of Shavuot
Shavuot, the Feast of the Weeks, the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Passover and Sukkot). Shavuot’s agricultural origin is part of the Jewish celebration of the harvest season in Israel. Shavuot, which means "weeks", refers to the timing of the festival which is held exactly 7 weeks after Passover. Shavuot is known also as Yom Habikkurim, or "the Day of the First Fruits", because it is the time the farmers of Israel would bring their first harvest to Jerusalem as a token of thanksgiving.

Shavu'ot is not tied to a particular calendar date, but to a counting from Passover. Because the length of the months used to be variable, determined by observation (see Jewish Calendar), and there are two new moons between Passover and Shavu'ot, Shavu'ot could occur on the 5th or 6th of Sivan. However, now that we have a mathematically determined calendar, and the months between Passover and Shavu'ot do not change length on the mathematical calendar, Shavu'ot is always on the 6th of Sivan. Outside of Israel, for those who accept that traditional counting, both the 6th and 7th are celebrated. The Jewish calendar is lunar, with each month beginning on the new moon. The new months used to be determined by observation, no small trick considering that the new moon is not visible. When the new moon was observed, the Sanhedrin declared the beginning of a new month. Notice was sent out by messengers and signal fires to tell people when the month began. People in distant communities could not always be notified of the new moon and therefore, of the first day of the month, so they did not know the correct day to celebrate. They knew that the old month would be either 29 or 30 days, so if they didn't get notice of the new moon, they celebrated holidays on both possible days. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that the Samaritans would purposely light signal fires on the wrong day, just to mess with us.)

Historically, it celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and is also known as Hag Matan Torateinu (the Festival of the Giving of Our Torah). Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. In Traditional circles, the Ten commandments are the “Table of Contents” for all the Mitzvot in the Torah and so we say that on Shavuot we were given Torah..

It is noteworthy that the holiday is called the time of the giving of the Torah, rather than the time of the receiving of the Torah. The sages point out that we are constantly in the process of receiving the Torah, that we receive it every day, but it was first given at this time. Thus it is the giving, not the receiving, that makes this holiday significant. Dvar Aher {which means: a different point of view}: The Torah was given only at one time. But it is up to us to open our hearts minds and souls, to reach that higher level of soul searching understanding and awareness, in order to receive the spirit questing power of Torah.

The period from Passover to Shavu'ot is a time of great anticipation. According to the Torah (Lev. 23:15), we are offered a sacred connection by counting the days from the second night of Passover to the day before Shavu'ot, seven full weeks. This period is known as the Counting of the Omer. An omer is a unit of measure. On the second day of Passover, in the days of the Temple, an omer of barley was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering.

Every night, from the second night of Passover to the night before Shavu'ot, we recite a blessing and state the count of the omer in both weeks and days. So on the 16th day, we would say "Today is sixteen days, which is two weeks and two days of the Omer."

The counting is intended to remind us of the link between Passover, which commemorates the Exodus, and Shavu'ot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah. It reminds us that the redemption from slavery was not complete until we received the Torah.

This period is a time of partial mourning, during which weddings, parties, and dinners with dancing are not conducted, in memory of a plague during the lifetime of Rabbi Akiba. Haircuts during this time are also traditionally forgone. The 33rd day of the Omer (the eighteenth of Iyar) is a minor holiday commemorating, according to tradition, a break in the plague. The holiday is known as Lag b'Omer. The mourning practices of the omer period are lifted on that date. The word "Lag" is not really a word; it is the number 33 in Hebrew, as if you were to call the Fourth of July "IV July" (IV being 4 in Roman numerals).


The counting reminds us of the important connection between Passover and Shavu'ot: Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavu'ot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to the life of the “narrow place (this is a pun on Mitzrayim/Egypt) a life of idolatry and immorality.