Eitz Hayim Kabbalah Centre

Mental Health - A Jewish Approach

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:10:00 +0000

Is it friend or foe? In an age where time seems to be traveling faster and choices are vaster -- living on the verge of an anxiety attack is becoming commonplace. Learn what triggers this strange emotion and how to use its force in your favor.

One word is all it takes and suddenly your thoughts are going so fast that they create a vortex in your throat making breathing impossible. Confusion is the name of the game and you cannot imagine where to go from here.

These are some of the symptoms of anxiety. There is little comfort in knowing that we've all experienced anxiety on some level at some point in our lives. Anxiety comes when we are faced with a defining, life-changing moment or, perhaps, when we are required to make an important decision. We feel our worst imagined fears creep into our self-conscious where they multiply, inciting uncertainty and worry over something that might -- or might not -- ever happen.

The great French philosopher Montaigne once wrote, "My life has been full of terrible misfortunes, most of which never happened." Anxiety distorts normal worries and magnifies them. We become trapped like flies in webs of our own making, struggling helplessly, paralyzed from taking the necessary action to free ourselves.

Fear is based on known danger, something tangible: a lump discovered during a routine breast self-examination, an impending bankruptcy. These are problems we know are real: we can touch the lump, we can see the debt. And although the problems are overwhelming, there are things that can be done: removing the lump, special diets, treatments; restructuring the business, finding investors. With anxiety, however, we feel haunted, out of control. Yet when pressed, we can rarely pinpoint the exact cause. Because anxiety has no physical origin, it is a disorder that baffles doctors and resists medicine. Sufferers who look to pills, tonics and drug regimens for relief rarely find it.

Yet, despite the negative connotations attached to the word anxiety, the sensation itself can create within us a truly positive effect. And though it is something we desire never to experience, we are usually better for having done so. Anxiety is both a terrible curse and an enormous blessing.

It all depends on how you look at it.

Kabbalists suggest that we should view anxiety in a positive light. They believe that it manifests itself to remind us that we are not realizing our full potential in this world, that we are not fulfilling our purpose. Only with the spur of constant self-evaluation, which often begins with anxiety, will we strive to do better and succeed in our efforts. In fact, medical science supports this perspective. Many doctors contend that some anxiety is a good thing. In his full-length treatise on the subject, Anxiety (Oxford, 1986), Donald W. Goodwin, M.D. suggests that stress is a useful tool that can "build character, enhance creativity and encourage us to do better." With anxiety, we experience a heightened awareness of ourselves. According to the American Medical Association, anxiety also helps us respond to emergencies.

Thus the paradoxical nature of anxiety -- is it good or bad for us? How can we diminish the negative effects of anxiety and use its positive effects to prod ourselves to do better? How can we best use our anxious thoughts to help us achieve our goals?

There is an old saying: "Fear knocked. Faith answered. No one was there." Those who study the Kabbalah believe that anxiety occurs when we don't have certainty. By refusing to trust in God, or in the perfection of the ultimate plan, we accept burdens we were never meant to bear and, therefore, feel uneasy, depressed and afraid. Our bodies respond physically to this spiritual imbalance, which is why anxiety sufferers often experience headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations, incredible fatigue and respiratory problems.

According to the Kabbalah, however, our awareness of anxiety is the Creator's way of offering us a chance to reconnect with Him, a wake-up call to the spirit. Kabbalists believe that through anxiety we are alerted to a wrong turn we have taken, thereby giving us the capacity to re-orient ourselves on the path to our true destiny. Perhaps we were too focused on personal desires or in attaining fame or fortune and neglected our spiritual needs and the needs of others. Anxiety offers us the chance to step back and look objectively at our lives. "Review it and it will uplift you" (Mishlei 4:8). We need to examine our emotional and spiritual priorities and actively work to achieve them. Only then can we experience true peace of mind.

Tips For Dealing With Anxiety When It Strikes

• Keep a diary: each day write down five things for which you are grateful.

• Practice random acts of kindness.

• Recognize your incredible potential and strive to maximize it every day.

• Take your mind off your worries by helping others.

• Face your fears -- they are not as terrible as you imagine.

• Embrace the positive aspects of anxiety and use them to improve your life.

One of the most ancient way to remove the negative side of our emotional spectrum is to sing - Indeed Nachman of Breslov advises us in his Sefer HaMIddot "Whether in private of public; whether you are good at it or not, sing! This will dispell the dark cloud of unreasoning from your life". Worst comes to worst you can start singing the Jewish Blues - and that would be something to share.

Mikvah - Madness or Magic?

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:26:00 +0000

Ever since the days of the Bible, the use of a mikvah,or bath for spiritual purification, has been a widely practiced ritual amongst the Jewish people. But in recent decadesits use has become restricted to Ultra-Orthodox men and Observant Orthodoxwomen and for the purposes of consecrating a convert as a Jew. This has left those outside of these groupings being seen as ‘suspicious’ by their fellow Progressives when they admit to seeing the mikvah as a spiritual practise they can connect with.

The mikvah is a natural or constructed pool of water that conforms to very precise specifications in both its minimum size and the source andcharacteristics of its contents. When the Jerusalem Temple still stood, immersion in the waters of a mikvah conferred ritual purity onthose who had come into contact with the dead, allowing them reentry into theprecincts of the sanctuary. After the Temple was destroyed, the mikvah was used primarily by three groups of people:

(1) married women following menstruation, who could resume marital relations after immersion,

(2) proselytes as part of their ceremony of conversion,

(3) those seeking a measure of spiritual uplift, particularly before theSabbath or on the eve of festivals.

Although in the past the mikvah may have served occasionally as a bathhouse, its true significance was spiritual and ritual. After the loss of the First Temple, the Biblical prophet Ezekiel used the mikvah as a metaphor of restoration, spiritual and political. " I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your fetishes." (Ezekiel 36:25). And almost two millennia later Maimonides wrote, "Spiritual purity and impurity are basedon Scriptural law and are not rationally understood categories. So too immersion after impurity. Impurity is not mud or filth that can be removed by water but is based on Scriptural law and depends entirely on human intention." (Yad, Mikvaot 11:12).

Some aspects of ritual mikvah immersion have retained theiri mportance amongst observant Jews to this day, but the spiritual implications of mikvah are being appreciated by growing numbers also. Indeed it is seeing a huge resurgence in Conservative,Renewal and Reconstructionist communities. And this has seen women seeing the mikvah as an empowering experience(especially when women supervise their own mikvah experience and do not rely ona man to provide some legitimacy to their own judgements). But men also are embracing this practise andthis adds a dimension to the mikvah that was not previously acknowledged by mainstream communities.

The practice of sexual abstinence during the period of menstruation and theuse of mikvah by women several days afterwards is widely observed amongst the Orthodox because the resumption of marital relations without immersion is a particularly serious offense to halacha(Jewish law).

Conservative and Progressive Judaism have largely ignored this practice inthe past, but recently has begun to re-evaluate its silence in this area and toconsider the spiritual implications of mikvah immersion for human sexuality and for women. As Rabbi Elliot Dorff has written, "...some couples have made [sexual abstinence duringmenstruation followed by ritual immersion leading to a resumption of sexualrelations] part of their sexual practice... some women find this to be one of the distinctly female rituals by which they can affirm their Judaism andreconnect with Jewish women through the ages... In general, these rationales, taken together, add a sense of ongoing holiness to the marital relationship."

Progressive and Conservative Judaism's outreach activities have, in recent decades, resulted in increasing numbers of people seeking to convert to Judaism. The Progressive and Conservative Jewish process of conversion requires candidates, after a significant period of study, to appear before a beit din, or rabbinic court, to explain their reasons for choosing Judaism and to committhemselves to live as Jews, observe the Commandments, and raise any childrenwith whom they may be blessed in the Jewish community and faith. Male candidates are required to undergo circumcision or, if already circumcised, to have a symbolic ceremony. All converts complete the rituals of conversion by immersing themselves in a mikvah.

Jews-by-choice tend to recall the mikvah ceremony as an experience of heightened spirituality, leaving a permanent mark on their religious awareness. Some comments I have received about the mikvah include: "It made me feel closer to God," "Rich and rewarding," "An emotional highlight of my life," "Excellent experience... It was inspiring," "When I came up from the waters all was quiet, my eyes wanted to cry. My soul was still... I am still in a state of peacefulness and love fills me." "An experience I shall never forget." "Probably the most moving event ever in my life." These observations,written by converts to Judaism several weeks after the event, reflect the powerful impact of the mikvah ritual on Jews-by-choice and the profound mportance they attach to its spiritual significance.

At a time when New Age enthusiasm is persuading numbers of people,disenchanted with traditional religious expression, to seek fresh ways ofdiscovering spiritual meaning in their lives, Progressive and Conservative Judaism have found in an age-old practice a metaphor for rebirth and renewalthat retains its power to uplift, cleanse and inspire.

Five Thoughts about Mikvah

1. Immersion in the mikvah is an ancient ritual that still has Jewish legal validity.

2. The purpose of the mikvah is a spiritual one, not to bathe for physical cleanliness.

3. In the past, Progressive and Conservative Judaism have by and large ignored the ritual aspects of taharat hamishpacha (laws governing sexual abstinence between married couples after menstruation and the requirement for mikvah immersion before relations are resumed) but is now reconsidering its spiritual importance.

4. Conservative conversion requires study, a meeting with a rabbinic court, circumcision for males, and ritual immersion in a mikvah.

5. Converts tend to react positively to mikvah immersion, which they appreciate for its spiritual meaning.

I would strongly advise you visit www.mayyimhayyim.org for more information about Progressive approaches to the Mikvah. Who knows, you might just begin dipping yourself?

Likutey Moharan

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 07:35:00 +0000

As Shimon has to study many texts for his Rabbinics Program there is a profound opportunity for the rest of us. The pith, or essential teachings will be presented on a lesson by lesson basis. This will allow for you to reflect on the essential meanings and the direct application of the teachings in your own lives.

This is an important point to remember, these teachings, like all spiritual teachings are not just to be read and then we feel good about ourselves at having read something. We are meant to apply what we study and then verify for ourselves whether they are applicable to our lives. Like all things, true spiritual growth is not all about getting an emotional high (this is a bonus but not a goal). What we are trying to achieve is to be more whole; to be more complete; to ascend!

Of course if you are NEVER going to change, if you are NEVER going to grow, or even if you are NEVER going to die, then you have no need for any of this. But if you are, like the rest of us, profoundly mortal and still a victim of life's ebb and flow then these teachings can add to your arsenal of spiritual treasures that will allow you to buy your way through the gates of spiritual attainment.

What is it that we attain: It is freedom? Freedom from the endless repetition of half thought desires and regrets for unfulfilled dreams. The Rebbe said of this work that "the Likutay Moharan is the beginning of the redemption". (Reb Nachum is always referred to as the Rebbe due to the fact that Breslover never established a lineage of Rebbes. This decision was a cause of much derision from other Chassidic Lineages, but as we move into the twighlight of classical chassidism might just prove to be a prescient decision). What he is doing is asserting that this work will bring the one who it's message and method to the state of spiritual freedom that we have come to refer to as Enlightenment.

The Rebbe appears to repeat himself, and for the impatient, or the proud; they deride it for this, but both as an educational technique and a spiritual method this technique actually allows for an ascending spiral which leads the seeker to enlightenment. Indeed the Rebbe said that "There will be people who will learn and pray by means of this book...if you are prepared to sit and study it without trying to pick holes and argue for the sake of it, then without doubt, your heart's obstinacy will disappear.". Indeed, when we are freed from the endless self sabotage that the ego desires we can become sky-like. We can ascend to higher states of being, indeed we can (as with all true spiritual paths) evolve into a higher state of being. The Likutey Moharan was produced after the return of the Rebbe from his pilgrimage to Eretz Israel. Indeed the Rebbe became embarrassed about his teachings from before he made Aliyah (to ascend, or to return to Israel or to the reading of the Torah).

Before his pilgrimage the Rebbe had desired to write a work of halachic erudition based upon the Shulchan Aruch were he would have given a conclusive decision (Din Torah) or affirmed which previous authorities decisions were binding. If this had occurred his status as a HaHam (a great scholar) would have been assured. But after he had revealed this great wonder Orna teaching, his vision was forever transformed and he never took up this great task.

"A closed system lacks the ability to adapt" was demonstrated by Charles Darwin. With the spiritual opening to the Numinous Other this principle would be teachings applied to the spiritual evolution of our species, of our people through the teachings contained in this work. In the Tibetan tradition there is a tradition of teachings being hidden for a future time so as to preserve the Sacred Tradition from decay. These teachings would have caused confusion if revealed before their time. The teachings (Termas or treasures)were for a future time. Reb Nacum said "I am not pRt of the present time at all. That is why the world cannot bear me. The role of leader is of no relevance to me at all...it is only by this means that something I say is able to come into the world at all." (Sefer Tzaddik pp 301-327).

We are taught in Tehillim (Psalm 34:15) " Depart from evil and do good". This text provides a path by which we are to achieve this great level of righteousness. We are shown by this work how to become a Tzaddik, a being of righteousness, a Jewish Bodhisattva.

Prologue

"Come and see the works of G-d: an amazing revelation concerning the mystery of the greatness of the godly sage, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai."

This beginning fulfills a prerequisite that many great teachings fulfill. They do not replace, but add to the Rose Garland of Treasures that any authentic spiritual tradition must create. When such a teaching evinces the qualities of a Paradigm Shift, or transformation in our understanding it can be considered to be a part of the chain of revelation rather than a work of revolution. Works of revolution replace, whilst works of revelation extend our spiritual understanding and breath life into a system that faces terminal decline. It is the spiritual and philosophical realization of the Midrash that teaches us that the letters of the Torah are thrown into the air and fall down anew. But it is not the text that changes but our understanding of them that changes.

Rebbe Nachum then outlines the fact that this work will ensure that Reb Shimon's. Prophecy that the Torah will not be forgotten. From the 'mouth of the offspring" and bring the Zohar from exile - that is, to become part of our spiritual parlance. We can see that Reb Nachum goes to lengths to place himself in the lineage of Rav Shimon bar Yochai - he even goes on to say "Know that the holy sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai corresponds to "Ir V'Kaddish min shemaya nachit" (Daniel 4:10) which translates as 'An angel, a holy one, descended from heaven' - the first letters of which are ShIMON...

With that he ends the prologue. But the image of "words of the mouth" which Reb Nachum returns to repeatedly is actually a central point, like a sesame seed which imparts a flavor that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. This concept, repeated throughout the Prologue presages the basis of the spiritual message he is about to present.

In the esoteric teachings of Tibetan Buddhism called Dozgchen or The Natural Great Perfection, and Mahamudra, or the teachings of the Great Seal, the texts go to great lengths to assert that they do not replace, but fulfill all the Paths that lead to them. They do not exhort us to break, but fulfill. The Likutey Moharan follows this practice of fulfilling the requirements of Torah whilst also extending the scope of the revelation at Sinai. It is a self declared work of the process of the Paradigm Shift at play. That is of adapting the method, so that the message continues to speak to us even though we have changed.

So, let us begin the journey through the Likutey Moharan's essential points

1. Know, that teshuvah/return/repentance is returning a thing to the place that it was taken from, like zarqa [the cantillation mark](Tikunei Hazohar #21 [p.]43), i.e. to bring back and return the thing to its root. And the root of all things is chokhmah/wisdom, as is written: "You made all of them in chochmah" (Ps. 104:24). Therefore everyone must guard his chokhmah and sekhel/intellect from outside intellects, which are called by the name Bat Par`oh/Daughter of Pharaoh. "Bat" alludes to a wisdom that is not a wisdom, as our Sages of blessed memory said (Menachot 110). And Pharaoh is a term for bitul/nullification, as is written: "tafri`u/let the people loose" (Ex. 5:4), and Onkelos translates: t'vatlun/annul. I.e. nullified wisdoms, which are the other wisdoms. For the main wisdom, to acquire wholeness, is only wisdom of Godliness. And the other wisdoms are only null wisdoms and are not wisdoms at all.

2. Therefore every man must very much guard his intellect and thought, that he should not put into his thought any outside through or outside wisdom or foreign thought, and all the more so, bad thoughts. Because all the blemishes and all the sins and all the transgressions, God spare us, they only come via blemish of thought, as mentioned, when one is not cautious to guard it properly, that it should not go out from the bound of holiness. And when one guards well his thought, which is the wisdom in the brain, this is his main repair and repentance for the transgressions, that he should be strong to drive out all the outside thoughts from his mind and intellect. Because the intellect is the soul, and when he sanctifies his intellect i.e. his soul, via this he raises and returns everything to his intellect, and this is the root of teshuvah/return/repentance.

3. And each member of Israel has a piece of Godliness from above, which is the aspect of wisdom, and this is why we are called reishit/first, as is written: "Holy is Israel to Hashem, the first" etc. (Jer. 2:3). But at the time of birth the intellect is constricted for each and everybody. And when we begin to use it, in contemplation in the service of Hashem Yitbarach, then his intellect get progressively larger, as is written: "And Shlomo's wisdom became great" (I Kings 5:10). But when a man puts into his holy intellect outisde thoughts, which are the outside wisdoms, then the holiness of his intellect is reduced according to the space that the outside intellect takes. And all the bad and ugly character traits and cravings get collected onto and connected onto the outside wisdom.

4. Therefore the main thing is to guard one's thought and brain from outside thoughts and wisdoms, upon which [sit] the whole construction of the yetzer hara/evil inclination, the Merciful One save us, which is aspect of the Primordial Serpent, which karukh achar/chasing after the holiness. And this is why it is called "krakh gadol/the big village," for he is always chasing after the big people of the generation, more than after other people, as our Sages of blessed memory said, on the verse, "for he [the evil will] has done great things" [Joel 2](Sukkah 52a). Because since talmidei chakhamim/Torah sages and the learned people have a greater da`at, therefore it chases after them to make them sin, the Merciful one spare us. And the main thing is to guard oneself very much from bad thoughts, as mentioned.

5. And when a man guards himself from outside intellects, this is not the only thing, for he must renew his intellect at all times, and by this he will renew his neshamah/spirit. Because the intellect is the spirit, as is written: "The spirit of Shaddai/the Almighty gives understanding" (Job 32:8), and as our Sages of blessed memory said (Berakhot 10), that the spirit feeds and enlivens the body, and it iself is the intellect, as is written, "The wisdom enlivens" (Eccl. 7:12).

6. Renewal of the intellect, i.e. renewal of one’s soul is via sleep, as brought in the holy Zohar (part 1, 19 and part 2, 213) on the verse “they are new every morning (Lam. 3)” —the spirit is renewed etc. each and every day etc. Because when the brains get tired out then via sleep they are renewed, like we see tangibly. And at the time of sleep the brains i.e. the spirit comes into faith, in the aspect of “they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness,” as mentioned, and thereby one’s faith is increased. And this is what we are saying in the daily blessing: “…who gives strength to the weary,” because before, we were tired and now we are strengthened.

7. And there are several types of sleep. There is physical sleep, which is beneficial for the brains, and there is also an aspect of learning that is also aspect of sleep, relative to the devekut/cleaving to the Blessed Creator, namely, learning p'shatei oraita/simple meaning of Torah (holy Zohar, part 3, 344), as our Sages of blessed memory said, “He has set me in dark places,” — this refers to study of Talmud Bavli (Sanhedrin 24), in the aspect of sleep, as mentioned. But a man who is always cleaving [to Godliness] in the service of the Creator, and whose brains get tired due to the greatness of the cleaving — such a person should learn p'shatei oraita.

8. And via faith the brains i.e. the soul receive from ohr hapanim/the light of the face, as is written "In the light of the face of the king there is life" (Prov. 16). And there are several aspects in ohr hapanim, because there is [a way of] receiving the intellect from the ohr hapanim of the Torah, for there are seventy faces to the Torah. And there is [a way of] receiving from the light of the face of Tzadikim when the Tzadik is masbir/expressing/showing his face to him -- then he receives a new intellect and new soul from the light of his holy face. Because the root of the intellect is the ohr hapanim, as is written: "The wisdom of a man lights up his face" (Eccl. 8).

9. And there is also sleep which is the aspect of masa umatan b'eumunah/doing trade in faith. And when one is busy with trade in faith then the brains i.e. one's soul come into the faith and are renewed there and are strengthened from their exhaustion, and he draws down new intellect from the ohr hapanim. And the root of the thing is faith, that one must guard the faith very much. And then when his brains are exhausted, he renews them into the faith via some aspect of sleep, whether by simple physical sleep, when the brains renewed, as we see tangibly, but the main thing is faith, that before sleep one must tie himself to the faith, which this is the aspect of kriat shem`a on the bed that we read before sleep. And we need to read in with intention in order to tie one's soul and enter it into the faith at the time of sleep. And then his soul is renewed there, in the aspect of "They are new in the mornings -- great is Your faithfulness," as mentioned, and he should merit via sleep to receive a new intellect and new soul from the ohr hapanim. And likewise whoever has some aspect of cleaving [to the Divine] and his brain is tired thereby, then he needs to delve in p'shatei oraita, and then he needs to also enter into the faith. I.e. since his brain begins to be confused and he cannot cling more to the Blessed Lord in the aspect of knowledge and brains. Then he must lift away his knowledge and brains completely and tie himself to the faith in simplicity and delve in p'shatei oraita in simplicity and in complete faith. Because in truth even when the brains endure in cleaving or in some level which is also the root of sustaining the knowledge and the brains -- it is via faith, for one cannot rely on the intellect alone (as mentioned, in Ch. 24). But when the knowledge is lifted away one must enter into the faith only, via some aspect of sleep, as mentioned. And likewise sometimes trade is aspect of sleep, to renew his brain as mentioned, and there also the root is faith. And when one delves in trade in faith then his soul and intellect come into the faith and are renewed there as mentioned.

10. And it is impossible to be occupied with trade in faith unless one is knowledgable in monetary laws, so that he should not stumble in them, because all the monetary laws apply to trade. Hence when one is doing business he is involved in monetary laws.

11. When one is involved in trade in faith, one must guard the faith very much, so that the outside forces should not overcome him and he blemish his faith. Therefore one must be strong and delve in trade in such faith like Rav Safra, to fulfill, "w'dover emet bilvavo/and speaks truth in his heart" (Ps. 24). And thereby he can draw the chashmal/fiery radiance/eletrum (gematria = malbush/clothing) i.e. clothing from the world of binah/understanding, for binah is the heart, and is called: "em l'binah tira/Call understanding 'mother'" (Prov. 2:3). And then the mother shades her children, i.e. the heart makes chashmal i.e. malbush around the faith, so that the outside forces should not feed from them. And thereby he guards his brain and soul and fiath, and then he can renew his soul and intellect inside the faith that is in trade, as mentioned.

12. And when a man is involved in trade in faith, this is aspect of offering the korban tamid/perpetual offering, and haqtarat qetoret/offering up the incense. Because his brains i.e. his chokhmah binah and da`at then connect to the faith, p’shatei oraita which are aspect of yetzirah/formation. And then the faith get strong, to raise up all the holy sparks that are in the qlipot, in the secret of the eleven spices of the qetoret. And thereby all the qlipot and the idolaters and the lands that surround the faith, which is called “Yerushalayim qriah ne`emanah/Jerusalem the failful community” (Isa. 1:21), in the aspect of cutting off the descendants of Amaleq, which is one of the three mitzvoth that Israel were commanded when we entered the Land (Sanhedrin 20) via raising the holy sparks from them. And thereby, when this one falls the other goes up, which is the mitzvah to set up a king, which is aspect of faith, aspect of kingdom. And thereby we merit to do the mitzvah of building the Holy Temple and Jerusalem i.e. the faith, as mentioned, and then his brain is renewed and elevated in the aspect of building the Holy Temple like our Sages of blessed memory said, “Whoever has de`ah/consciousness, it is as if the Holy Temple was built in his says” (Berakhot 33). In the aspect of ohr hapanim, which is aspect of renewal of the brains and the soul (and see [Likutei Moharan] 280).

13. The chashmal mentioned above is aspect of tefilin retzu`ot/straps, which are meqifei malkhut/surrounders of kingship, i.e. faith, and “retzu`ah” is gematria ש"ע (370) (with the kollel). Hinting that via this chasmal which is aspect of “speaking truth in his hearts,” the faith is guarded. And the soul i.e. the brains that are in it and receiving from the light of the face which are the ש"ע (370) lights of the Upper Face which are drawn from rectification and truth. Because via the retzuo`ot of tefilin [we] guard the faith, as mentioned.

14. And even soneone who is not a [Torah] learner and does not himself receive new brains via trade in faith, since he does not delve in Torah, which is the root of the brain and the intellect -- despite this he too receives a great remedy via doing trade in faith. For thereby he benefits someone else who is from his root, for the brains of the other are renewed in his trade that is in faith. And he will have new brains for learning and for clinging to the Blessed Lord.

15. And this is the aspect of the shofar-blowing on Rosh Hashanah. Because Rosh Hashanah is aspect of sleep, as is known, aspect of the trade in faith mentioned. And the blasts are awakening from sleep, which is renewal of the brains, i.e. the intellect and the soul of everybody from the ohr hapanim. And this is why the face of the shofar-blower turns red, because lights from the Upper Face are awakened. And thereby each man attains, according to his aspect, to drawn down a new intellect and new soul from the ohr hapanim.

[edit] Kitzur Likutei Moharan Tinyana (II)[edit] #23When someone is happy, then the melancholy and afflictions are lifted aside. But a higher level than this is to be bold to pursue specifically the melancholy, and reverse it to joy. Like one who goes into a celebration -— then due to the greatness of the celebration and joy he reverses all his worries and sadness and melancholy to happiness. And an understanding mind can easily find in each pain and affliction and worry some expanse through which he can turn all the melancholy to happiness -— and this is the root of perfecting happiness!

[edit] #61The root of time is because of katnut hadaat/diminished knowledge. And the more the intellect grows, the more time is diminished. Like in a dream, when the intellect then is lifted away, and only the power of imagination remains, then in a quarter hour one can spend a whole seventy years. As it appears in a dream, that many many times pass and go by in a very small time, and afterwards when he awakes from sleep and the intellect returns to him, then he sees with the intellect that all the time and years that passed in the dream were only a very little time. But the seventy actual years, they are seventy years according to one's intellect. And so likewise in an intellect that is higher above from his intellect,that too which is considered by him seventy actual years are likewise a quarter hour of less; it is just that we do not understand this, like in a dream if someone came to him then and told him that these years are only a quarter hour, he would not believe him. And likewise there is an intellect that is so high, that all the time in its entirety is completely annulled. And therefore Mashiach, who passed through whatever he passed through from the day of the creation of the world and endured what he endured, after all this, in the end the Blessed Lord will say to him "Ani hayom yelidetikha/I today begot you." And all this will be because of the extraordinarily astounding level of the intellect of Mashiach, which will be very great. Therefore all the time from the creation of the world will be by him nothing and actual zero, and it will be actually as if he were born today.

[edit] #661. The Tzaddik is required to do teshuvah/return/repentance on behalf of all Israel. Because all the punishments that the Lord, Blessed-be-He, punishes a man, are as if they afflict the Lord, Blessed-be-He, for “In all their affliction He was afflicted.” [Isa. 63:9] Likewise they afflict the Tzaddik too. Because all the four yesodot/elements/foundations that a man was created from are drawn from the basic element, which is the concept of the Tzaddik, as in “but the Tzaddik is the foundation-element of the world” [Prov. 10:25]. Therefore “גַּם עֲנוֹשׁ לַצַּדִּיק לֹא-טוֹב/To punish also the Tzaddik is not good,” [Prov. 17:26] for when He punishes someone it afflicts the Tzaddik himself. Therefore the closer people are to the Tzaddik, the easier their teshuvah is. Because the Tzaddik does teshuvah for them.

2. All the traits come from the four elements. Therefore when a man sees the Tzaddik, who is the aspect of the basic element from which all the four elements are drawn, it is fitting for him to look and feel via this how he is holding with all the traits that come from the four elements that are drawn from the Tzaddik, who is the aspect of the basic element. And it is fitting for him to return in complete teshuvah on them.

3. Why is the day after Yom Kipur called “Shem Hashem [The Name of God]”? Because all the punishments for sins affect the name of the Blessed One. And after Yom Hakipurim, when the Lord, Blessed-be-He forgives Israel their faults, via this they are automatically saved from all the punishments and from all the harsh decrees. And this is the main way His name is magnified. Therefore they call the day after Yom Hakipurim “Shem Hashem,” for through the erasing and forgiveness done on Yom Hakippurim the name of the Lord is magnified.

[edit] #67[Why does the Torah begin “Bereishit” and end “in the sight of all Israel.”?] 1. The true Tzaddik is the glory and the beauty and the charm of the whole entire world, and he is the master of the house of the whole entire world. And he is the aspect of the master of the house of the Holy Temple. For he lights up the Holy Temple and the whole entire world. For he is the light and the glory and the beauty and the charm of the whole world. And when this Tzaddik is publicized and his name is magnified in the world, through this the name of the Lord, blessed-be-He, is magnified. And the more his name is magnified and glorified, the more the name of the Lord, blessed-be-He, is magnified and glorified. And whoever is included in the name of truth, which is the glory and the charm and the truth of the whole world, as mentioned, i.e. whoever draws close to him and is included in his name — through this his eyes are opened and he begins to look at himself, at all the traits, how he is holding with them, and to return in teshuvah on all the bad traits that he blemished, and merits to look at the greatness of the blessed Creator and to look into repair of the world, and merits that holy and pure brains are drawn onto him from this holy name of the true Tzaddik.

2. And on the other hand, Heaven forbid, when the name of the true Tzaddik is hidden and goes away from the world, and big phony rabbis (mefursamei shel sheker) are magnified, who do not have the name of the Lord in them at all. Through this, as it were, the name of the Lord is reduced and hidden. And then enchanters and sorcerers are magnified, and there come upon the world things that cannot be helped except by names of impurity, Heaven forbid. And through this fires come to the world, Heaven spare us. And the light of the eyes mentioned above goes away. And this is the aspect of the burning of the Holy Temple, which was also due to removal of the light luminaries (meorei or), which allowed fire luminaries (meorei esh — see LM 67) to overcome. So when the true Tzaddik goes away from the world it is like the burning of the Holy Temple, and then the children of Israel are considered as if they are rolling around outside, Heaven forbid. [This is the explanation of Bereshit – which is a permutation of Rosh Bayit — head of the house — like Yosef Hatzaddik, as it is written, “Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; it was he who sold grain” etc. For by sustaining the Temple and the houses and generations of Israel, through this the name of the Tzaddik is magnified, who is the head of house, and through this the eyes of Israel are opened, and this is the explanation of “Bereishit…in the sight of all Israel”]

3. At these times, when the exile has already been so long, and the Lord, Blessed-be-He, looks out at all times to return to us and come back and rebuild our Holy Temple, it is fitting for us to not hold up, Heaven forbid, the building of the Holy Temple; we should only make effort for its building. Therefore we very very much need to rise for Tikkun Chatzot every night, and very much mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple. For perhaps in an earlier incarnation he was the one who caused the Holy Temple to be destroyed; but even if not, perhaps now he is holding back construction of the Holy Temple by his sins, and is considered also as if he caused its destruction. And on this he should cry and mourn very much every night at midnight, and through this it will be considered as if he made effort for the Holy Temple’s reconstruction, and through this he should merit to draw close to the truth, i.e. draw close to true Tzaddikim who are God-fearing and kosher, who are the main glory and charm and beauty, the truth of the world*, and through this his eyes will be opened and the will look at himself in all the traits and return in teshuvah on all the bad traits, and merit to know and recognize the great name of the Blessed One.

4. By rising at midnight and mourning the destruction of the Holy Temple, one is saved from fires.

Sacred Food

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 04:08:00 +0000

Because our bodies are receptacles of our souls, and vessels of God'slight, we must keep them healthy and consider carefully what we put into them.Traditional Jewish thought suggests that we must keep our bodies well for thesake of spiritual pursuits and in order to fulfill mitzvot, commandments.Today however, a focus on fitness is often seen as vain or improperly secular.

It is interesting to see how far back in our tradition concerns with our physical selves and the balancing of Torah and physical activity can be found. Already in the Talmud (Shabbat 82a), Rav Huna urges his son Rabbah to study with Rav Hisda. Rabbah resists, saying that Rav Hisda only focuses on secular matters: anatomy and hygiene. Rav Huna admonishes his son, saying, "He speaks of health matters, and you call that secular!" Though some individuals in the Traditional world may value exercise, to say that as a community we do so, either philosophically, or in an organized fashion, would be a stretch.

Indeed, one finds a reluctance to focus on exercise, in part because timeis so limited and time spent on sport is time not spent on Torah study or chesed( good deeds) activity. Although many of us are familiar with Maimonides' long discussions in the Mishnah Torah about the importance of exercise and healthy, measured eating, we rarely take the details of his many recommendations to heart. For example, Maimonides states that a person "should engage one's body and exert oneself in a sweat-producing task each morning." Despite Maimonides'words, this centrality of exercise is simply not part of normative Judaism.

Many of us are also aware of the daily morning tefillah(prayer) that focuses on our health and posture: "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who straightens the bent." Is this just a metaphor, or would participation in exercise that straightens our bodies so they are not hunched, stooped, bent, or subject to skeletal pain, not help usbe true to the profound words of our prayer?

Martin Buber recorded a story of Rav Simhah Bunim, of Przysucha, who took very literally the words of our prayer that relate to physical awareness. According to the story, Rav Simhah arrived late for synagogue one Shabbat morning. When asked why he was so late, he quoted from Pesukei d’zimra, preliminary blessings and psalms (Psalms 35:10), which he had missed reciting because of his lateness: "All my bones shall say, who is like You,God?" How then, Rav Simhah asked, could he come to pray before his bones were all awake?

Most likely, we view the words of Psalms that Rav Simhah quoted in a metaphorical sense. However, anyone who has done yoga, or any type of intensive physical activity, knows that awakening our bones need not be simply a metaphorical act. It can be profoundly physical as well as mental, and these realms connect to the spiritual. Nowhere am I more mindful of how much yoga has awakened my bones, lengthened my spine, and grounded my stance than when I stand and prepare to say the Amidah.

In the twentieth century, Rav Kook went much further in connecting physical and spiritual health. He claimed that physical health is in itself a value inthe process of repentance and that, in each human organism, there is a constant reciprocal relationship between body and spirit. Rav Kook promoted a Zionismthat strove to restore health to the body of the Jewish people so that its spiritual life could flower to its fullest. He intended this restoration to occur not only on the metaphorical level in terms of the strength of the State of Israel but also with respect to the strength of every person:

"Great is our physical demand. We need a healthy body. We dealt much with soulfulness; we forgot the holiness of the body. We neglected the physical health and strength; we forgot that we have holy flesh; no less than holy spirit..." He continues: "Our teshuva (repentance) willsucceed only if it will be--with all its splendid spirituality--also a physical return, which produces healthy blood, healthy flesh, mighty solid bodies, a fiery spirit radiating over powerful muscles..." A proper emphasis on physical health is linked with how and what we eat. Jewish tradition has elaborate guidelines for how we are to approach food: what we are permitted to eat, when we may eat it, how it must be prepared, and what types of blessings we are to recite over each bite that enters our mouths. Given this religiousframework, one might assume that Jews would have a healthy relationship withfood.

However, we fall victim to the same food fads and eating related healthproblems that plague society at large. When the words "Jews and food"are mentioned together, the reverence our tradition has historically had forfood is not the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, we recognize, often with humour, how linked our holidays and celebrations are with food customs and with eating. No significant date in the Jewish calendar is properly observedwithout either an overwhelming abundance or complete absence of food. Ourcelebrations are famous for fare ranging from bagels, lox, and rugelach tofull-blown, all-you-can-eat smorgasbords.

Ironically, we now scour specialty food markets for exotic ingredients toprepare the "traditional" foods that were once simply the local fare of our dispersed Diaspora ancestors, valuing the wisdom we find in a recipeover our own fresh and local ingredients. There are modern secular foodmovements called "slow food" (a counter to "fast" food) and"local food" which urge people to know and appreciate how food is grown and harvested, and if possible, to participate in these activities themselves. Like fitness trends, Jewsare not at the forefront of these food movements. However, one can argue that the blessings that we recite over food in our tradition promote the same type of awareness and reverence these movements encourage.

The questions of how and what we eat and how we treat our bodies are both physical and spiritual, and they are definitely Jewish questions. Both our tefillot (prayers) and our berakhot (blessings) would be more meaningful and our eating would be more healthful if we took the time to explore and consider these issues seriously. At the same time we should recognize that our religious traditions do give us a framework for relating properly to our physical selves.

Euthanasia and Judaism

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 06:53:00 +0000

From The Times - August 5, 2009

Why preserve a life with no meaning?

A leading rabbi describes his wife’s painful decline and how he felt sure he should help her to die

Tony Bayfield

I haven’t been able to talk or write about the so-called “right to die”since my wife of more than 30 years died six years ago. For several years Linda had been complaining about severe pain in her right side. Investigations had led nowhere. She was sent for a routine ultrasound and I can still see the lookon the doctor’s face and hear the sound of hospital panic. This time there was no missing the huge soft-tissue sarcoma that had strangled a kidney and attached itself to her aorta.

The seven-hour operation was successful. For a brief spell all seemed well.Then they scanned her chest again and discovered that the cancer had spread to her lungs after all. It was inoperable. The specialist told her with genuine kindness that soft-tissue sarcomas are only treatable by surgery and that chemotherapy rarely helps. He suggested that she enjoyed life while she was relatively without symptoms and then came back for palliative treatment.

Linda would have none of this. If chemo could help in 5 per cent of cases, why shouldn’t she be one of the 5 per cent? It did help and bought her two more years of life. She never complained about the treatment and showed an indomitable will to live.

She was also extremely angry. She was furious at being deprived of the opportunity of seeing our first grandchild grow up, at not seeing our son marry his fiancée, of not being present when our younger daughter graduated from rabbinic training college and of never knowing our son-in-law to be. Two years or so after the operation, she had a slight accident in her car, which damaged the wing mirror. She knew something wasn’t right. The cancer had spread to her brain and she agreed to a further operation. The surgeon was sure he had successfully removed the tumour. Linda knew otherwise.

What followed were episodes of loss of balance, passing out and growing disorientation. For the first time she wasn’t sure that she wanted to fight on.But she did. And then her condition deteriorated. She was taken to hospital. Nobody could say quite what was wrong. She came home. She knew that she was dying.

She spoke one by one to the people that she wanted to speak to, telling them how they could, in some small measure, compensate for her children’s loss of their mother and for her future grandchildren’s loss of their grandmother.

And she made me promise. “I feel horrible, wretched,” she said. “There will come a point where I won’t want to go on. Once that point is reached,” shesaid, “make sure that I have the necessary dose of diamorphine to go quickly.” I promised.

Not many days afterwards she began to lose consciousness and lapsed into meaningless, rambling speech. I called the doctor. He examined her perfunctorily and said: “Do you want me to take her into hospital?” Before I could reply, she said the only coherent words she had said in several hours: “Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad” (Hear, Israel, the Eternal is ourGod, the Eternal is One) — the final affirmation of a dying Jew. I knew immediately what she was saying to me. She had had enough. She wanted to die.The doctor left. She fell into a coma. I panicked. I had made her a promise and now I must keep it. Where do I go for help? Where would I get the drugs from?

Fortunately she died within 12 hours of losing consciousness.

Linda and I were/are (English tenses fail at this point) both religious people. We took God and the sanctity of life really seriously. We are part of a religious tradition that is strict about the sanctity of life but also compassionate. It never occurred to either of us that what Linda wanted was wrong, unethical or irreligious. What kind of God would want life to be prolonged beyond the point of endurance and meaning?

Six years later, it seems clearer and clearer that this is a widely held view, both among those of faith and those who are not religious. The ability to prolong life has brought with it many benefits but it has also brought with it largely unforeseen consequences — the many ways in which we can keep people alive beyond the point where that life has any meaning either to the person dying or to those around them.

Medical progress has heaped upon us huge responsibilities and profound dilemmas. I would have kept faith with Linda had it been necessary and administered the fatal injection. Had it meant prison, then so be it — though it’s hard to believe that sending me to prison would have been of benefit to anyone. It isn’t reasonable to ask doctors, dedicated to saving life, to take the responsibility on themselves if they have personal ethical qualms.

I can also understand that there are elderly people who fear becoming an intolerable burden. But the person who mattered most was Linda.

Linda was convinced that there are circumstances in which people can andmust be trusted; that to hasten death when life is not life is an act of compassion, not a sin. As always — well, almost always — I agree with her.

Rabbi Dr Tony Bayfield is head of the Movement for Reform Judaism