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| Mystical Musical Meditations in Jerusalem |
RESTORE THE JEWISH GLORY - PART 3 - WE ARE AN EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE
‘’And now , if you will hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you will be to me a special people of all the nations, for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation; these are the words that you shall say to the children of Israel ‘’ [Exodus 19:5-6]
‘’Do not touch my anointed ones……” [Psalms 105 /15]
‘’The power of His works He has declared to His people….[Psalms 11/6]
‘’He will raise the might of His people, praise for all His pious ones—for the children of Israel” [Psalms 148/14]
R. Kalonymous Kalman Shapira, The Warsaw Ghetto Rebbe, one of the greatest Tzadikim of the last generation, states in an internal midlife contemplation, ‘’….What shall I commit myself? To learn more? I think that as far as possible, I don’t waste any time…To abstain from physical pleasures? …..thank G-d, I’m not so attached to them. So what am I missing? Simply to be a Jew….”
I don’t think the Rebbe was just being humble….I think the Rebbe understood that the true quintessential essence of a Jew is so exalted and elevated, that he truly felt that he came up short….The Baal Shem Tov once guided his inner circle students in a meditation where they experienced the Neshama of a certain anonymous person…His students were overwhelmed with the power that they felt, certain that they had experienced one of the greatest luminaries of all time….The Baal Shem Tov informed them that they had just experienced the Neshama of the simplest of Jews…..
I believe it is incumbent on us, dear friends, in our present quest of revealing , re-discovering and restoring the Glory of the Jewish people, that we begin to explore what our Sages, old and new, in the revealed and hidden Torah, have to say about the extraordinary essence of the Jew….
With Hashem's constant and intimate help, let us begin;
MEDITATIONS OF AN EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE
1. BEING EXTRAORDINARILY BELOVED MEDITATION
KNOW
Know that if we knew how much Hashem loved us, we’d be constantly roaring like lions….Hashem chose to bind His Name to ours and to make us more important than the Ministering Angels who watch over us and advocate for us…Hashem reveals Himself to us even in the midst of idol worship and impurity…With ever increasing love, Hashem refers to us as His Daughter, His sister, His Mother….We are more beloved than even the Torah….The Heaven and the Earth were created soley for our sake…G-d chose us because we are the humblest of all peoples and because we are the most pursued and chased after….In His great love for us , G-d’s Tefillin state in wonderment , ‘Who is like my people , one unique nation in the earth….We are compared to a Dove –never leaving our Mate—Hashem…..Hashem refers to us as Tzadikim and Holy Ones
EXPERIENCE
Experience being Beloved by the Master of the Universe….Feel the love and how nothing can stand in the way of this love….Feel the warm glow that encompasses you , knowing that whatever you do, wherever you go, whatever you say----you are beloved with an unconditional love---with an eternal love—a love that will never be taken away---and even when you fall and do that which seems to be bad and wrong, when all is said and done—it’ll be retrospectively clear that you really intended it to be done for the sake of your Beloved –Hashem…..
2. AN EXTRAORDINARY CHARACTER MEDITATION
KNOW
Know that despite all the efforts to be like the nations that we dwell with, deep down , we are a nation that stands apart…..we are compared to the sand and the stars---when we fall, we fall all the way, and when we ascend, we ascend all the way to the highest heights….We are compared to the palm tree---just like every part of the tree is useful [for food and shelter], so too there are none in Israel that are not without worth……we are compared to the apple tree whose fruit buds before the leaves---so too do we say We will do and then we will listen….we are compared to oil that elicits it’s best quality only after being crushed, and which doesn’t mix with any other liquids , but rather rises to the top of the mixture…..we are compared to a Lilly of the field which though the sun’s heat beats down upon it, yet it blooms when it drinks in the dew [The Torah]…….the more greatness that is attributed to us, the more that we make ourselves small, not considering that it is our accomplishment at all….when we consider in thought alone to do a good deed, it is as if it is already done…..we are holy skeptics who are skeptical of anything but the best of the best……we are idealists who know deep down that there is a better way….we are unifiers who know with certainty that all is interconnected
EXPERIENCE
Experience your unique character as a member of the Jewish people….Awaken your inborn humbleness and your natural uniqueness….experience your faithfulness…..appreciate that you know deep down inside that you know of a higher and better way…..take great and profound pleasure in the fact that these traits and many more are an inheritance that were experienced by your parents and theirs all the way back to the Patriarchs and Matriarchs…..
3. AN EXTRAORDINARY DIVINE CONNECTION MEDITATION
KNOW
Know that our deepest will is one and the same with Hashem’s Will…..know that just as Hashem is above time and space , so are we…..know that the root-essence of our wisdom and our life force is to recognize that there is Nothing else but Hashem……know that we are the witnesses of G-d’s existence in the world as well as G-d’s mouthpiece…Know that the deepest common essence point of our people is our connection to Hashem……know that Yisrael and Torah and hashem are all one…know that as long as we are connected to Hashem, there is no thing and noone that can do us any harm…..know that we are refered to as the Children of Hashem and His Chosen ones and His light to the nations….Know that our Soul is considered to be a part of Hahsem….Know that wherever we are exiled as a nation and as individuals, Hashem is always there with us….Know that Hashem will be with us forever and ever…..
EXPERIENCE
Experience how you are at one with Hashem, and how He is the source of all that is good in your life …..experience how he is the deepest will in your own will….experience that the deepest motivation inside of you is to reunite with Hashem in His infinite womb…..experience how you are truly a child of Hashem….experience how no matter where you go and what you do, that Hashem is right there if you call…..experience that you are empowered to the extent that you connect with Hashem….experience how you are at one with Hashem on the deepest level….experience an inner drive to reveal Hashem’s presence in the world –especially where it’s not felt…..
RESTORE THE JEWISH GLORY - PART 4 - THE HEALING OF THE CHOSEN NATION
“ כִּי-קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר, מְאֹד: בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ, לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ. “
“But the word is very close to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, so that you may do it.” [Dvarim 30/14]
‘’I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle on you clean water …..I will give you a new heart, and I will place in you a new spirit; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and will give you a heart of flesh…... I will put my spirit within you…..and you will be my people, and I will be your G-d ’’ [Ezekiel 36;24-29]
‘’Our truth is strong enough, but it is so overpowering that we are still unable to explain it in a clear language…..In our inwardness, we understand our ideas, and in the course of time our speech will also emerge from it’s hard exile in which it is confined…..Only a people that has finished what it started can descend from the stage of history , when it’s vision has already been fully disclosed to the world……out of the inner depths the Jewish people will yet sound the same call that was issued by the rock from which it was hewn….’’ [R. Avraham Yitzchak Kook ztz’l]
We stand at a threshold of history…..We sort of know, and most of the world sort of know what our future destiny is to be…..But when we—the Jewish people ---look at our selves and then look at our place in the world ---we back down…We wonder how can the present state of affairs –our image in the eyes of the world----how can we leap from where we are now to where we are destined to be? How can we bridge the gap? How can we heal the situation?
We have touched upon some of the possible projected ‘bridges’ in the meditations we brought in our previous teachings….Ultimately the bridging and healing will come from Above –as we are assured by The Torah and the Prophets and our Sages [ a few of which we have briefly quoted above], but our people’s spiritual evolving has always involved a dialectic whereby we are awakened from Above , and then we call up to the arouse the Source of all Being Above, and then we hold out our hands to receive the abundance….We know that the transformation is very close at hand as the verse states, ’’…. the word is very close to you, in your mouth, and in your heart….’’……..In that spirit, let’s begin……
HEALING MEDITATIONS OF THE CHOSEN NATION
1. BEING BELOVED - A HEALING MEDITATION
THE CHALLENGE
We don’t feel it….we don’t feel that we are anything special…we don’t even feel the same ethnic pride that has lately come into fashion among so many ‘peoples of color’ ……we don’t feel that we deserve it…..to the contrary, we feel ashamed of even engaging in this topic….we feel hated---even when the hate is not overt, we still feel that somehow it’s coming---it’s just around the corner…..we feel like we don’t even know what our special ness is all about….we’ve spent so much of our history either trying to be more Americans than the Americans or more British than the Brits that we couldn’t possibly understand how in the world we could be different and stand apart and be unique….we are like a neglected child that never really got the basic foundations needed for building up healthy self-esteem……
THE HEALING
Experience yourself as being a proud member of the most special family\nation that has ever existed….experience yourself as being very beloved in the eyes of Hashem now, in your own eyes and ultimately in the eyes of the world….Feel Hashem’s deep deep love for you---so deep that we are refered to as His Daughter, his sister, his Mother ……..so deep that He reveals Himself to you in all situations –even when we are stuck in the deepest lows…..feel the presence of the guardian Angels that Hashem sends to watch over us—every step that we take….Be aware that the whole world was created solely for your sake….know that we are compared to a dove that though they may fly away—they always come back to their mate---so too us with Hashem and Hashem with us…..we are refered to as his Holy ones, his Chosen ones, his priestly ones, his lights to the world, his righteous ones ….in light of all of this love, realize that the hate we are targets comes from jealousy, and the love and high esteem with which we are regarded from Above will serve as the springboards of our recuperation and our incumbent reclaiming of the unique global standing which is our birthright......
2. BEING OF OUTSTANDING CHARACTER - A HEALING MEDITATION
THE CHALLENGE
We have a hard time believing in ourselves…..we are not aware of our strengths …..we have been brainwashed into believing the vicious lie that we are lustful money grabbers….we are divisive---2 Jews -3 opinions and have a very difficult time uniting under one leader or one banner….we are great actors and imitators of other people in the many many exiles e have been cast in……we think we don’t have our own character and depth , so we reach out to grab the cultures and belief systems of others [often cultures and faiths who have received their traditions from our own]…..
THE HEALING
Experience yourself as being a proud member of the most special family\nation that has ever existed…. Know that we are the nation that has done more than all others to give the world values and a conscience[derived from our Holy Torah…..know that you are part of a nation that is able to bear both sides of a paradox and come through shining….know that you are part of a people of deep and rich character, and despite all of this character and greatness, the more that we have, the more that we make ourselves small, usually attributing it all to Hashem…..experience your unique trait of being a holy skeptic, knowing that there is always something bigger and better than what is being offered….know that you have an inherent brilliance both intellectually and emotionally….know that we are compared to olive oil and therefore don’t mix with other nations , but rather rise to the top…..know that though we are compared with the sands of the sea, and when we fall , we fall all the way, but at the same time we are compared to the stars in the sky, and we rise , we rise all the way to the top…..experience being similar to the palm tree—a tree that is useful in all of it’s aspects—so too are we….experience being like the lily of the field which blooms despite being burnt by the sun….know that when all is said and done the nations of the world will seek to imitate and emulate us and not vice versa…..
3. BEING INTIMATELY CONNECTED TO HASHEM - A HEALING MEDITATION
THE CHALLENGE
We are a broken people ….broken by thousands of years of being tossed around the in the storms of exile and suffering…..a broken nation has a hard time seeing the interconnectedness of it all….a broken nation has a hard time believing that Hashem is the leader and the healer and the guider and the answer….. a broken nation, thinking that it has nothing of it’s own that is valuable, clutches at straws---embracing and worshipping various cults and faiths and ideologies and power positions and obsessions with health schemes and countless other straws---everything but what exists in our own backyard……
THE HEALING
Experience yourself as being a proud member of the most special family\nation that has ever existed…. Know that you are a monotheist—you gave this idea to the world….you have inborn faith---you are a believer , the child of believers…you are a Y-E-H-U-D-I------a person whose essence is G-dliness….you are a part of a people who bridge Heaven to Earth in every detailed aspect of life….you are a person who is constantly seeking to unify everything and to see everything brought to perfection [rooted in our people’s drive towards an ideal globally unified messianic vision]…..you are an inheritor of Tefilla and Torah –a constant dialogue to and from Hashem ….you are a witness to the world of Hashem’s existence…..your deepest will is at one with Hashem’s will….you are a soul that is a part of Hashem, and therefore beyond space and time and all other limitations….you are G-d’s mouthpiece to the world….when you are connected to Hashem, you are indestructible and impervious to all harm….you are an inheritor of eternity and infinity [and the great liberation that these grant to you…] you are one with Hashem and one with the Torah….so step up and shake off the dust of the seemingly exile that you have dwelt in and that dwells inside of you, and lift up your hands to the Heavens and reclaim your glorious heritage…
RESTORE THE JEWISH GLORY - PART 5 - BRIDGING HEAVEN TO EARTH
The Expansion Dimension
‘..and a ladder was set up on the earth and it’s top reached up to Heaven….’ [Beraishit 28/12]
We are a people who have a natural propensity for bridging Heaven with Earth …..This is primarily because we are made up of Souls inside of bodies---one of the most primal forms of a bridge between Heaven and Earth[ we are that ladder that reaches up to the Heaven]…..Our souls are defined as being ‘Chalek Eloka MiMaal’ which means ‘a part of G-d Above’….Our very makeup is G-dly….When we encounter the non-G-dly, we seek the G-dly inside of it , causing it, coming from it and hidden inside of it…
Perhaps the best way to begin to approach this Heaven/Earth bridge dynamic [ a dynamic that can become very extensive and overflowing], is to speak about Infinity and it’s natural companion or articulation --expansion… Earth–relative to Heaven is like finiteness relative to infinity and constriction relative to expansion…
First, a few points about infinity;
A. The Infinite Dimension
a. the goal of the Tzimtzum [the Creation process of contracting Hashem's infinite prescence to allow for a creation to exist] creation process is to ultimately reinfinitize it all
b. the goal of the light/vessil evolution process seeking the maximal synchronization between the lights and the vessils that contain them, is to produce a setup of vessils that can contain infinity
c. the goal of the Mitzvot [according to the Kabbalistic consciousness perspective] is to infinitize [and thus liberate] the ACTIONS of reality that we take/do
d. the goal of Mystical Consciousness is to infinitize [and thus, liberate ] THOUGHT
e. the goal of Ratzon [a Kabbalistic state of fusing our WilL with Hashem's Will ] is to infinitize [and thus liberate] our WILL and our calling in life and our capacities to be the right arm extensions of G-d's Tikun Olam process
f. the goal of the Divine bridge traits referred to as the Sefirot, are to infinitize all processes and all structures , [including those of our own persona]
g. the goal of the Tikun [rectification] of cosmic brokenness, is to transform reality into a conduit and conductor and environment for infinity
h. the goal of all upper and lower world interpersonal relationships is to tap into each other's infinite wellsprings and thereby unify with each other, and thereby reproduce infinite shefa[ abundance for all of the world to be nurtured from
i. ''the [goal and] innate desire of the soul, is to reunify with the infinite...this is the root of every wanting; noother object, idea or love can satisfy it's desire. It's not only what the soul wants, but what all of existence wants.'' [Alan Afterman in his work, '[Kabbalah and Consciousness]
j. Humanity's goal of returning to the Garden of Eden's Paradise state, as well as the Messianic state, is to arrive at a consciousness and a reality , where all that which was lacking, will be complete---and all that which was finite will be infinite
Now that we have begun to appreciate the essential importance of Infinitizing , let’s engage in some meditations designed to open ourselves up to it and to one of it’s prime forms of expression –
Expansion - Infinitizing and Expansion Meditations
Reproductive infinitizing
See yourself participating in all that you will do in your upcoming day in a way that will never grow tiring or burdensome or boring----in a way that you could do again and again ad infinitum, and still want more, like whenever you listen to your favorite song, or meet with your favorite person
Associative idea expansion
See yourself participating in all that you will do in your upcoming day in a multi-dimensional way….see now all the associated ways of carrying out your upcoming challenges, and choose that way or those ways that resonate with you best
Inter-inclusion
See yourself participating in all that you will do in your upcoming day in a manner that combines and unifies all the ways into each individual way…..for example, when meeting a certain person for a certain purpose, try to infuse into the meeting the greatest projected plans that you will be using in different activities, such as emotion and expansion and creativity and Divine guidance…etc…
constrict in order to expand
See yourself participating in all that you will do in your upcoming day in a sort of an urgent way---tapping in to the absolute need that you have to make it work out ok----and thereby creating activities that will be full blown expansive adrenalin filled activities, similar to an entertainer’s plugging into their nervousness prior to their performance, and thereby opening up themselves to give a fantastic performance
Higher calling
See yourself participating in all that you will do in your upcoming day from a standpoint of your higher calling….See yourself engaging in your activities, not as you normally do, but as you would do if you were fully plugged in to your unique power place ---your way of doing these that you know that noone else in the world can do except for you---your way of accomplishing things that you would normally not have the capability to accomplish---free of pettiness—free of fear---free of all the standard obstacles---all because you’re tapped into your higher calling
Out of the boxing
See yourself participating in all that you will do in your upcoming day in a most unusual way, in a way that you have never tried before---in a way that no one has ever even thought of before…..foresee the effects and impacts that this way has on yourself and your environment---in the short run and in the long run
Answers from Above
See yourself participating in all that you will do in your upcoming day as a result of receiving the guidance and directives from ABOVE…..Foresee how , as a result of having your activities directed from a higher place, the responses to your activities and words ..etc…will also seem to be coming from ABOVE
Resonation check
See yourself participating in all that you will do in your upcoming day in a way that is expressive of your total capacities---with total resonation---with a full and enlistment of your higher and lower selves and all else that makes up who you are….
All or nothing decision making
See yourself participating in all that you will do in your upcoming day only after you have determined that you will do everything with your total self, and if you have to choose between doing something in a partial way or in a fuller way , always choose the latter---in fact only choose to act in your allness
My unique contribution
See yourself participating in all that you will do in your upcoming day in a way that expresses your unique contribution to the activity---your unique way of doing each activity that no one else can do.
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