thinking hieroglyphically

Word of Mouth

2008-02-08T12:13:00.002-09:00

Every word that emanates from the mouth of God creates an angel.

(The Talmud)

If we can say that every word that emanates from the mouth of God creates an angel, couldn't we also say that every word emenating from the mouth of God is an angel? Does this mean that angels are words? And what is an angel anyway? Aren't they considered messengers of God? Don't words generally communicate messages? Couldn't angels, words, and messages also be spiritual forces of like kind? What about the Creation ("...and God said...")? And what about the letters themselves that shape the words? How relevant to the angels/words/messages are they?

More on this in a later post.

Mazel Tov: What it is, Why it's said

2008-02-08T12:05:00.000-09:00

And What the Bleep is a Mazel?
In Hebrew, the word mazal means constellation (plural Mazalot)

There is something very significant about the stars and the constellations. According to writings in the Bible (Psalms), as well as the Zohar, every single star in the universe has been named. Also significant is the concept that each of the stars is associated with a particular angel - as if that angel had command or authority over a that star. The same is true for each of the 12 planets, which could partly show why astrology is so attractive to so many (if we're influenced by the stars, that is).

However, in the ancient day knowledge like this was dangerous. Because the angels, as messengers or voices of God's will often influenced and worked through the planets and stars. Unfortunately, at one time in human history people began to worship the stars as deities. This cut out of the Divine loop the One Who created them. A Problem.

The stars' influence on the constellations of our universe is very pertinent since it’s believed that there is a constellation, or mazal for all of the hours of the day and night. When we consider astrology, we know that of particular importance are the factors surrounding a person’s birth – specifically time and date. The reason for this has a lot to do with a person’s destiny in life. Guess where some of these “destined” influences derive from?

It works like this: First you have Divine influence, the Absolute Light, Love, Force, and Power that is God, the Source. He sends out a continuous message of love and shalom on all channels, 24/7. One way of looking at it is that the angels are his personal transmitters: they take these messages and transmit them out into their individual spheres of influence – aka – the planets and the stars. The catch is that the messages tend to become slightly filtered due to an angel’s name, nature and purpose (which, by the way is usually all the same thing), so that by the time the message has been transmitted – first to the planetary sphere – then to the stars – and finally down to a soul newly born on earth, things tend to become a bit complicated. Though the essence of the message is God, the rest is a hodgepodge of influences from all the levels the message has filtered through. And every one of these factors have a huge sway over this new soul - shaping its destiny and being.

I guess my point is that one reason why people say Mazel Tov, or “Good Mazal,” (when a baby, marriage union, or any other joyful event occurs) is because we wish them ultimately, the greatest possible destiny that God has to offer. In addition, we hope to avert any negative factors that may arise or result from the collective influence of the angels, planets, stars, and mazalot that happened to be in their corner at the time of the event.

God's Absolute Goodness & Irony: The word Anochi

2008-02-01T12:00:00.001-09:00

In keeping with the ironic theme in the title of this blog, here's my first data entry:

The Ten Utterances, aka the Ten Commandments (aka Aseret HaDibrot), begins with the word Anochi (or "I" as in "I am the Lord, your God"). The use of the word Anochi (said to have been spoken in an Egyptian dialect) signified God's intention and desire to greet the Hebrew nation at Sinai by using a language they would understand, the language of the land where they dwelled at the time.

Sephardi, Sephardic, Sephardim, & Sepharad

2008-02-01T11:55:00.003-09:00

As a way of honoring the beauty and ethnicity of Sephardic Jewish Names, occasionally I hope to present a name and give its meaning and derivation.

When I was about 12-13 years old I used to keep lists of names. All types of names from different countries and cultures. They fascinated me. I tried to mimic how they would sound: some were sharp and tart; some were sweet, mysterious, and darkly foreign; and, some rolled off the tongue, kind of like, well, like buttah I guess, and made you want to say them over and over. I was already an odd kid, quiet, creative and bookwormish, but I felt alive with words, names and languages. Because I used to write short stories and poetry, having these lists of names came in handy. Sometimes though, I would just collect them for the sake of having an unusual collection of things I loved.

About 10 years ago approximately, I came across a genealogical list of Jewish names and fell in love with them. But these were not your typical Berger, Cohen, or Goldberg types (common Ashkenazic surnames, which I also love, by the way), these were unusual in that they were strongly reminiscent of Latino or even Arabic names - but there was another indefinable quality I couldn't put my finger on (later on I realized it was their Semitic root). So when I saw the term Sephardic Jew I wanted to learn about them - who they were and why they were different from any other Jew. I learned the general history of these people: that Spain had been a home to them before it suddenly cast them out, and that these displaced people even had their own ethnic language - Ladino.

Sephardic Jews were the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula which is Portugal and Spain. They suffered the Expulsion from Spain in 1492, so ordered by King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella - both Catholics. The word Sephardi derives from the term Sepharad, which in Hebrew means Spain. Consequently, the term Sephardim is now also inclusive of both Arabic and Persian Jews due to their use of Sephadic liturgy.

Sephardic Name of note: Carvalho

Carvalho

Variant: Carbalo

Origin: Portuguese

Meaning: Oak Tree

Five Levels

2008-02-01T11:45:00.000-09:00

Kabbalah teaches that the human soul actually contains five levels, or five levels of consciousness. The soul descended through each of these levels to be clothed in a physical body, and also has the ability to ascend them in order to commune with God.

Nefesh
This is the lowest level of consciousness (where most of us are now) and is awareness of your physical self. This part goes with you to the grave.

Ruach
The Ruach is the next level and it contains and concerns your emotions, particularly love and awe. This is also the part of you that is influenced by angelic influences and forces.

Neshamah
This is the next (higher) level. The Neshamah concerns the deeper understanding side of one's intellect, the contemplation and meditation on the revelation or manifestation of God.

Chayah
This level concerns the abolishment or total nullification of the ego and it seeks always to commune with God.

Yechidah
This is the highest, holiest and purest level of the soul’s consciousness, where you are one with God. This is the part of you that is always connected with God.

From my Bookshelf

2008-02-01T11:35:00.000-09:00

Kabbalah 365: Daily Fruit from the Tree of Life
Gershon Winkler

This book contains short Kabbalah stories, sayings, tenets and teachings - one for each day of the year. A very nice introduction to Kabbalah, and wonderful to peruse through.

Zohar, the Book of Splendor:
Basic Readings from the Kabbalah
Gershom Scholem

Gershom Scholem was a renowned Scholar (and Professor) of Jewish Mysticism at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem until his death in 1982. His work and disseminating writings are both well-known and respected. This book presents readings from the Zohar and offers a more intensive study than the previous book mentioned.

Zohar: Annotated & Explained
Daniel C. Matt

Daniel C. Matt is an amazing Kabbalah Scholar and is considered the poet laureate of the study of Kabbalah. The passages in the book were very well chosen, and Mr. Matt even states that he hopes to preserve the ambiguity of much of the Zohar's poetic prose. To help the sophmoric scholar out, Matt carefully disects each of the passages, and annotated on pages opposite his original translations, decodes, deciphers and fully explains both the Kabbalistic and Rabbinic symbolism.

This book makes you feel as if you have begun a very definite and wonderful journey to the heart of God.

The Essential Kabbalah
Daniel C. Matt

This book delves further into the heart of Kabbalah - presenting the compelling writings of the Zohar, but also the basic concepts which are the foundation of Kabbalah. One can't help but feel they've been given the secrets of the universe - there's so much wonderful spiritual knowledge here.

The Power of You
Kabbalist Rav (Rabbi) Philip S. Berg

This is a self-help book that actually can make a difference in your life. In this book the founder of the Los Angeles branch of the Kabbalah Center, Rav P.S. Berg gives you the practical keys that are actually spiritual tools that will help you unlock a bit more of your own power. It teaches you about the real power of negativity and gives you ways not only to deflect it, but also to proactively prevent it. Helps you to begin the process of changing your thoughts so that you can see actual results. Knowledge is power.

Gilgulim

2008-02-01T11:32:00.003-09:00

Gilgul - meaning wheel, refers to gilgulim, or reincarnation. It's always bothered me when people say things like, "you can be replaced." Not only is it pessimistic, negative and rude, it's also untrue.

No two people are alike. Literally. The reason for this is because within every single soul, your own for example, are contained smaller elements of souls that have lived before - parts of another individual. These parts were not "corrected" (for lack of a better word) by that individual during his or her time on earth. So what God essentially does is create new souls by combining a fundamental soul with these smaller elements to create a completely new and unique being. Maybe this is part of why and how we're all connected. And just maybe that positive action you do also reflects on or helps not only your own soul, but that of someone else. Just a thought, but one question I've always wondered is:

How does God choose which individual receives which elements? I guess it would be reasonable to assume that it's according to whatever the fundamental soul needs most, but as we have all guessed by now, God is far from reasonable.

Today is the Day

2008-02-01T11:30:00.000-09:00

Today is a day for thinking about things you haven't thought about in a long while. OK, so maybe I'm just making this up, but it seems to be true. Today, I was thinking about the 10 Sefirot and how there should be some kind of study that would help a person really understand them and learn more about them. Oddly enough, it occurred to me that I am already familiar with one way - and I wasn't even aware of it.* Perhaps one of the best ways to learn about the 10 sefirot is to experience them on a day-to-day basis.

It does help to have some inkling of what they are and represent. Firstly, you may have seen the10 Sefirot either in esoteric books or on websites as a diagram that looks something like the two images below. Funny, how it almost resembles a strand of DNA. While this is one way that I've heard them referred to, the most common way is that of the Tree of Life, or the Tree of Life configuration.

In a blog of mine I once attempted to give a rundown on the Sefirot as the divine prototype (or spiritual dna) for the human being - please take a look at my Lekabel site.

[The Heavier Stuff]

For a much deeper study please refer to the learnkabbalah website. Here, Jay Michaelson discusses Theosophical Kabbalah and gives you a very thorough lesson on Kabbalah with emphasis on the framework of the 10 Sefirot (one of Kabbalah's primary symbols) and most importantly, the quantum reality of the 10 Sefirot, their early mystical conceptualization as well as their conceptual evolution. I got quite a lot out of this wonderful series.

*There are prayer-meditations that you can do every day that will give you a small taste of what the Sefirot represent. I'll post the little bit I do know about this in a future post.