Connected & Moving

Ahh, the end of the year. The sun's coming out and the textbooks are beginning to close! Smiles abound in the spring season, widening with the knowledge that summer is almost here. Let's for a moment enjoy the spring season, before moving into the summer. The snow's melted, the birds are chirping. For the natural world, in the springtime we see life in action.

Everything in the world is moving. To be alive, means to be constantly moving. Our heartbeat must constantly move, our breath as well. One can marvel at the remarkable consistency of the waves of the ocean. EVEN minerals show a life force in action (extraction of fission energy). According to Torah, this movement occurs because all of creation is connected to its source, A Divine life force that is perpetually infusing everything with life. And life causes movement.
We see this by the fact that everything that's alive - moves.
Interestingly, the only being that stops moving at times is us human beings.

An animal stops at times because it's his built-in nature. You won't find a tiger, though, staying in for the day because he wants a "day off" to sleep in :) We humans, though, at times decidedly stop. We lie on the couch or stay glued to a TV or computer. Worse, we can fall into a despondent, depressive state.
How come we humans can stop moving; can stop appearing alive?

Kabbalah explains that this is because we are able to forget, to not feel & be in tune with, the fact that we are connected to our life force. When one realizes that at every moment (even when things are apparently going bad in one's life), that he or she is directly connected to their life force - G-d, one becomes joyous, happy. This is even many times expressed in movement; dancing or actively sharing this feeling with another. Because knowing that you are connected to your life force brings life,
vitality, and therefore movement.

Being happy isn't changing into something new. Rather, it's going to the natural state a creation in this physical world is supposed to be in. Alive, moving. You are connected - therefore alive, vibrant, and happy.

But feel free to laze around a bit too ;)

Shabbat Shalom and a happy Spring & Summer to you!

-Daniel

Harmonizing Colors

The days between Passover & the holiday of Shavuot (where we celebrate the giving of the Torah), are known as the days of "the counting of the Omer." After leaving Egypt, the Jewish people traveled through land and water (or splitting of waters) for 49 days, until finally camping at Mount Sinai, where they heard the 10 commandments and received the Divine Torah. In order to prepare for such a lofty occasion, we are told that the Jewish People worked on refining themselves during these 49 days. In commemoration of this, there is a mitzvah to count every day of these 49 days (see here). But beyond just commemoratively counting, we are enjoined to also try and work on refining ourselves during these days, just as our forefathers & mothers did when they left Egypt.

The Chassidic Masters & Kabbalists explain a very deep component of this "refinement" done during these 49 days. We are taught that each of us are made up of 10 sefirot (character traits/drives): 3 intellectual and 7 emotional. Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge. Kindness, discipline, beauty/harmony, endurance, humility, bonding, leadership. During the Omer, we focus solely on the emotional traits.
To complicate things, each of the traits we have contains all of the other traits within them. That's why we need 49 days - 7 emotive traits, that contain the other 7: 7X7=49. What does this mean?

Let's take an example with the 1st 2 emotive sefirot - Loving kindness & discipline. If a parent's child were to run into the middle of the street, that parent might feel the need to severely scold that child, so that he doesn't do it again and lives a safer life. That parent is acting outwardly with discpline, but is expressing his loving kindness through his discipline. His intention is a good one! But sometimes the only way to help someone is through severity.

In the bigger picture, let's look at these 2 emotive traits.
All of us know of (or have) parents who pretty much let their kids do anything they want. They like to be friends with their kids, and let them have a free, good time in life, with little discipline or severity. That is pure Loving Kindess. Then we see the parents who are overly tough disciplinarians. The child must be careful with his every step.
What's needed here is the 3rd sefirah, known as "Tiferet" - harmony, or beauty. Tiferet is the ability to blend the above 2 drives, kindness & discipline, in a healthy way. To give a bit, and to hold back a bit. To balance; to harmonize.
Oftentimes we think that true perfection and greatness lies in extremes. Extreme giving and kindness; extreme severity or discipline. Ultimately though, in our lives, we must work to exercise tiferet - harmony, in every aspect of our lives. Fascinatingly, this 3rd drive is described in Kabbalah as "Beauty." The Sages explain that just as one color alone is not as beautiful as numerous colors intertwined in a harmonious fashion, so too Severity and Loving Kindness must be channeled together to achieve a truly beautiful life.

You can count on it ;)

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel
{For some great short insights into these Sefirot & days, check here}

The Royal Wedding

With the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate in England today, many people's minds were on royalty. I, too, was thinking about royalty, as I was learning Chapter 42 of the Jewish mystical book Tanya, last night. It's one of my favorite passages of Tanya. Let's take a look at the words of the author, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi:

'One should remember that, as in the case of a mortal king, the essence of awe [of him] relates to his inner nature
and vitality and not to his body - for when he is asleep, there is no fear of him - and, surely, his inner character
and vitality are not perceived by physical eyes but only by the vision of the mind, through the physical eyes beholding his
stature and robes, and making the beholder aware of the vitality that is clothed in them.
If this be so, one must likewise truly be in awe of G-d when gazing with your physical eyes at the heavens and earth and all
that fills them, wherein is clothed the Infinite Light of G-d that animates them.
And although many garments are involved in this investment, there is no difference or distinction at all in the awe of a mortal
king, whether he be naked or robed in one or many garments.'

Simply put, the awe of a king - of royalty - happens because a person seeing him realizes (through his clothing, etc.) who he is.
So too when it comes to the true King - Hashem. When surveying the natural world we live in, we don't necessarily notice G-d.
But if we contemplate, that all of the world that we see, is really just the clothing of G-d, than we can be aware of the One Who Animates the clothing.

Through being aware that the nature we see is just the garments of the King, may we merit the ultimate wedding of G-d and the Jewish People, a greater event than even today's grand affair!

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel