Chapter 8 A Grave Warning

Various people and movements were misled by the physical images in kabbala, most particularly the Sabbateans and Frankists in 18^th century. It is easy to get misled by the metaphors and forget that what is being spoken about in all these images is the One Above. And this is how certain people developed a very grotesque and twisted view of the spiritual realms and the Infinite One Blessed Be He.

Furthermore, when one opens up a siddur with kabbalistic intentions, it's possible to approach it as some kind of engineering manual. Each page discusses along with each blessing or prayer, the scheme of certain names or sefirot being elevated to such and such a place. So that one could think that they are connecting a red wire to a green wire, in some complex machine. And this obviously not the case, since what is being discussed are aspects of G-dliness; the names are names of G-d Himself.

This is also an issue especially in the more poetic descriptions of G-d found in the Torah and the prayer liturgy, that sometimes incorporate the most material imagery in some texts include actual pictures of these images. For instance, the Divine Presence or Shechina is described as a woman with feminine features, and in certain Torah literature these features are described in great detail. Nevertheless, the Divine Presence is also just another name for G-d.

These "faces" of G-d, the wires and cables that lead from infinitude to our finite reality are not Him. He dwells in them and we must recognize His presence there in order to bridge the gap between our physical mortal existence and Him.

Chapter 7:De-Anthormorphication

Just like the mortal hand has the function of handing something to another person or taking from them so also above the force of Kindness acts to give from G-d's light to the creations and is called His "right hand"...

Another way of understanding G-d's limbs is as a functional definition. Although my foot looks nothing like the foot of the centipede or of a snail, the serve a very similar function - transportation. So also the metaphor of G-d's hand is in order to help us relate to a certain Function in the Realms Above. The reference to Kindness being G-d's right hand is from the Zohar, a section known to be said by Elijah the Prophet. In this paragraph in the Zohar, Elijah is connects the sephirot with various forces and functions of Creation and represents them allegorically as "limbs" of G-d's body:

They [the sephirot] are called ["limbs" of] a "body" relative to the "clothes" that cover over them. [These "limbs"] are arranged as follows: chesed (or loving-kindness) is the right arm, gevura (restraint) is the left arm, and tiferet (harmony) is the torso. Netzach (dominance) and hod (empathy) are the two legs, and yesod (foundation or channel) is the body's extremity, the sign of the Holy Covenant. Malchut (kingship) is the mouth. It is therefore called the "Oral Torah".

So just as the right hand represents a certain functional definition of one of the sephirot, each one of the limbs also represents a different function, a different way n which G-d interfaces with the creation. And since kabbala incorporates such physical images it is necessary to strip the images from their material form to understand the underlying message and spiritual form they are conveying.

Chapter 6: How G-d's Hand Evolved into a Pot Handle

...to strip away from these ideas their physicality...that everything that the Kabbalists spoke of and associated aspects of G-dliness with physical images such as Head, Hands, and Feet...these are all metaphoric and allegorical as it is written "For you did not see any likeness"(Deut. 4:15)but rather they are G-dly forces that were described thus [with physical images] since they are the source of the source for the existence of these physical images as written in the Shaloh (authored by Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz (1560-1630 ACE))...

In order to have a relationship with G-d, and pray to Him, I must somehow be able to relate to Him on my terms, on human terms. This is the source of all the physical images associated with G-d throughout the Bible. The challenge is finding the correct way to relate to all this imagery without transgressing the warning "For you did not see any likeness" or even more serious "Accursed is the man who will make a graven or molten image...and emplace it in secret"(Deut. 27:15). The world tends to understand the physical imagery of G-d in the Bible as a metaphor for something deeper. Therefore, when I read about G-d's Hand (as in Ex. 13:3,9,14,16) I obviously understand it doesn't mean a hand like mine.

The Shaloh, renowned medieval kabbalist, explained that when the Torah speaks of G-d's hand  it means really G-d's hand.  G-d's hand is not a physical hand - it is a spiritual force in the upper worlds. This spiritual force or concept descends down to the physical world and here it becomes exemplified in the human hand, which was created in its image.  So my understanding of G-d's hand can't begin with the human hand, rather I must explore this concept as it is in the upper worlds.
For instance, if I want to better understand the human hand, it is not helpful to understand better the hands of a clock even though they are also hands. If I want to understand the human foot it doesn't help me so much to study the foot of a centipede or of a snail. It is much like looking at a caricature of a person and assume that this is the blueprint his parents used in forming him. A caricature requires taking the person and reducing him from three dimensions to two dimensions, de-emphasizing certain features or lines, enlarging certain features beyond their natural proportions. Our world is a caricature, or sketch of forces and concepts that descended from above, and share the same names with their distant root forces up above.

Acknowldgement

The explanations in this blog are based on the text, Derech Mitzvosecha, the Root of the Commandment of Prayer, as explained by Rabbi Adin Even-Yisrael Steinsaltz in his weekly classes available online at http://www.hashefa.co.il/home/doc.aspx?mCatID=62997&mCatID2=60570. I also added my own explanations based on what I've learned and heard explained by other Chabad mashpiim (spiritual mentors).

Chapter 5: Kabbala and Downwards

In order to understand a tiny portion of the concept of Prayer, we must precede with what is known in the Pri Etz Haim [fundamental text of Lurianic Kabbala] the distinction between the Sh'ma prayer [Hear O Israel the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One (Deut. 6:4)] and Prayer itself [what is called the "Standing Prayer" consisting of 18-19 benedictions, repeated by a Jew thrice daily]. That through the Sh'ma prayer is brought about the unification of Father and Mother [Wisdom and Understanding] and through [Standing] Prayer is brought about the unification of the Small Face [Emotions] and its female counterpart [the Divine Presence]...to strip away from these ideas their physicality...

The Kabbalistic texts work by providing us with the basic formulas underlying the revealed aspects of Jewish life.  Kabbalistic wisdom resides in a world of pure G-dliness - when we hear and try to understand the language of the Kabbalistic masters, it is as if we are attempting to bridge between two distant worlds. And so even though they speak in terms of objects that we can relate to - Mother, Father, Wisdom, Understanding, etc., these are merely metaphors for their more universal origins in the Higher Worlds.

As mentioned previously, one of the main ideas behind Prayer is that of bringing about Unifications. But before I can relate to the idea of Unifications, I must cleanse myself of my own preconceived notions regarding this topic, and also this word. This is called "abstracting" and is the first step towards understanding and relating to Mystical Wisdom or Kabbala. I must leave behind my limited conception of Father, and even my more expanded relationship with the concept of Wisdom, or Unification, and open myself to the idea that as much as I have thrown these words around my whole life, I don't understand or relate to them in their absolute sense.

A small child can also be taught complicated formulas but will have no grasp of the meaning of the words or the application of the underlying concepts. For instance, one may open up an Economics textbook and find there the description of diffrent formulas and curves. There he learns, superficially, that when the curve shifts in a certain direction, overall wealth increases.  He may then conclude that in order to solve the world's economic issues, all he needs to do is draw a graph with the curve shifted outwards. But that is completely missing the point.

The Kabbalistic formulas are coming to bring simplicity and order to a complex reality, but these formulas are only graphs. In order to understand their significance I must learn to relate to them as I do to any other concept or theory, and not rush to understand them on the grossest level of interpretation.

Chapter 4: What we can learn from Five Peas

The famous children's storyteller Hans Christian Andersen tells a story of Five Peas that are shot from a child's peashooter. Each pea ends up in a different situation and a different locale, until the last one of them lands in a crevice filled with earth near a window and begins to sprout. On the other side of the window, lies a sick girl whose mother has almost given up hope. But the girl takes notice of the pea sprouting outside the window and gains strength and hope from its growth process.

As the girl gains strength and eventually recovers from her illness through the inspiration from the pea blossom, the mother exclaims, “Our heavenly Father Himself has planted that pea, and made it grow and flourish, to bring joy to you and hope to me.” The belief that G-d cares for and is concerned about the minute details of our lives is stronger by the simple folk, the ones who walk all day with simple faith in the One Creator.

In order to pray to G-d, we must seek within ourselves that point of simple faith in our loving heavenly Father.  However, those of us who are lacking in simplicity, who do not see the world and everything in it naturally as the handiwork of G-d, must make an effort in our priors to reveal that simple point of faith.  By working to reveal, our innate desire for and awe of G-d, we can reach a similar perspective to that of the simple mother in the folk tale. Herein lies the labor of Prayer.

Introduction to the "Lonely" G-d

Prayer is a universal practice across almost all religions. It is the daily practice of a large part of the world's population to pray to the One Above. And yet how many of those who stand in prayer before G-d regularly or irregularly can lucidly explain what they are doing?

To state the problem more clearly: why does the all-knowing, all-powerful, compassionate G-d need me to apply to him on a regular basis, praising him, as well as beseeching him to fill mundane and seemingly insignificant needs. If he is all-knowing, he already knows what I need. If he is all-powerful why does he require my praise. If he is compassionate, why does he wait for me to pray to him before answering my prayer, and why is it that sometime my prayer goes unanswered?

This essay or discourse by the Tzemach Tzedek for the first time addresses and answers all these questions in an orderly fashion, describing in the process the network of spheres that make up the system of G-d's energy channeled down to this world through a series of contractions and manipulations. The Tzemach Tzedek also explains the relationship in the Jewish faith between the two poles of the prayer experience, the Sh'ma Yisrael and the Amidah prayer.

Most importantly, this essay discussed the kabbalistic concept of unifications ("yichudim") - how these unifications are an essential part of our relationship with G-d and how they guide our growth as spiritual individuals and as partners in the Creation.