Matza-coated Mitzraim

Do we indeed leave Egypt this year or we just adorn our personal Mitzraim with a pretty Pesach theme?
The picture here is the unfortunate symbol of many Seders that might be conducted this year… Kosher-style, mehadrim min mehadrim, comfortably staying in personal bondage… Untouched pyramids of slavery coated with matza…

or

we can really make a difference in our lives…

by truly changing and Leaving Egypt for Good

The choice is ours.

We can really learn how to effect the Tikkun by eating at the Pesach Seder

and look deeper into The Kabbalistic Psychology of Pesah

We can learn Pesach Korbanot, Mishnayot and Zohar

or Follow 15 Step Program The Passover Seder

We have all the tools… The Choice is OURS

Energy · Kabbalah · Pesach · Sefirot · Tefillah · Torah · Zohar

Tefillah at the Kotel

Tefillah is extremely potent spiritual tool, however like every tool it needs proper tuning and usage skills – that’s what we’ll try to cover in this posting.

There is a tremendous amount of literature dealing with the topics of prayer and meditation, however there is a lot of ambiguity in the meaning people give to those terms.

Here is the Wiki definitions:

“Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional connection to some greater power in the universe through deliberate practice”

“Meditation is a holistic discipline by which the practitioner attempts to get beyond the reflexive, “thinking” mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness”

Those definitions might be culturally accurate but they give little insight into the principles of how Tefillah and Meditation work.

The working definitions that help us would be:

“Prayer is an active act of changing the reality through changing yourself”

This definition is the resolution of the Paradox of the Prayer.

The paradox is frequently presented as this argument:

“If G-d knows what’s good for me, he will give it to me anyway as loving Father would – why would I need to pray? On the other hand, if something is not good for me, he won’t give it to me anyway even if I ask for it, so why pray?”

This simplistic approach doesn’t take into account that our life is a reflection of who we are on all levels of our soul and our body; our experience is a mirror of our entire self, which is the sum of all levels of our consciousness.

Since Hashem reflects to us exactly who we are, the way to change our reality is to change ourselves. The Change takes energy – the deeper is the level of the change, the more energy it takes.

Tefillah, prayer, is the primary tool for any change, spiritual and physical.

In order to use Tefillah, we need to focus and channel energy along the pathway of our desire, desire to change ourselves.

So our desires define the channels along which the energy of the Tefillah is directed and flow, the more refined and holy are the desires, the deeper and more elevated will be the change.

Ideally, during Tefillah our Higher Self, our soul takes over and gives us the direction to pray.

This is the meaning of short verse from Tehillim (51:17) we say before the Amidah prayer:

“Hashem, open my lips that my mouth may declare your praise”.

Our Lower Self (body/nefesh) supplies the energy for the Tefillah, our Higher Self gives us the desire/direction, and the process works in the unison towards the same goal of elevating the world, changing all of “me” and all of reality.

In a wider sense we can view “me” as the handle to the reality. Since everything is connected, our self is an integral part of the entire creation and the entry point into all levels of existence.

This is another perspective why changing the “self” is the only way to change the reality:

We can’t open a door by banging our head against the wall (unfortunately that’s how most people are trying to change the reality), we have to find the door (realize there is a proper way of changing the reality – Tefillah), grasp/turn the handle (learn to use Tefillah dynamics), open the door and come through.

The energy for Tefillah sometimes might come from above as well – particularly on Moadim and Hagim – Jewish holidays, so we can use the tremendous wave of holiness descending on those days to power up our Tefillah. Every special time (Moed) has it’s own energy flavor and helps to rectify/change the respective area of our soul (Pesach supplies energy of freedom, Shavuot is great for “upgrading” to higher level of consciousness, Succot allows us to achieve the state of joy, etc. )

Speaking about receiving energy from above, brings us to the second part of the whole -

Meditation and the role it plays. Without getting into the definitions and semantics of what word “meditation” means to different people, we’ll say that meditation is conducive to entering into the state of internal balance, the state of being connected to the subconscious part of mind, state of being nullified and open to receive from above.

If Tefillah can be very forceful, pushing and channeling energy with one’s will,

This state of meditation is completely opposite – it doesn’t allow any tension or forcefulness, it’s completely let go, opened and relaxed, like a flower under the sun,  all one’s body, mind and soul tuned in to receive.

It is said in Gemora that Chassidim Rishonim (Early Saints) would spend three hours each prayer service:

An hour for Pre-Tefillah meditation, an hour for the Tefillah itself, and an hour for after-Tefillah meditation. If we view meditation as the “recharge” operation and Tefillah as the energy-spending act, it is very probable that Chassidim Rishonim would accumulate energy before the Tefillah and restore it afterwards.

Hence Tefillah and Meditation have been two inseparable practices in Jewish tradition from the ancient times; those two are as breathing in and breathing out, being two sides of the same coin. Tefillah is working according to the male principle (in Kabbalistic definition), actively changing reality, Meditation according to female, passively receiving energy (to beused for the active stage). When one’s Tefillah/Meditaton is structured according to this male/female dynamic, the result is harmonious spiritual growth.

One of the reasons for the tremendous power of Tehillim (Psalms), is that they seamlessly combine both modes. They draw the energy from the spiritual realm and this energy is channeled towards the target of reading the Tehillim (being another person or situation).

Most people however have emphasis over one or another mode, frequently not even realizing the second mode even exists. So the neglected mode is happening subconsciously somewhere on the background, which greatly slows down one’s spiritual growth.

One has to be aware of this male/female dynamic to feel when is the right time for which stage. The high-energy stage is asking for the male Tefillah mode and energy-depleted or mellower state is conducive to the female Meditation mode.

Connection · Energy · Hitbodedut · Ish Tam · Jewish · Meditation · Prayer · Psalms · Tefillah · Tehillim

SpringBoard - always bounce back

Last posting we talked about the fact, that spiritual descent (which obviously causes emotional, mental and other “falls”) is necessary for the ascent that follows it.

The dynamic works exactly like a springboard – you always swing down in order to jump up.

It would be a mistake to think that we need some other external “positive energy” to swing us up.

The very momentum of descent should be used to ascend – that’s the core principle!

Again this can be illustrated in the springboard example – the very energy of the down swing is propelling us up – if we are ready to use it.

What is required of us is only to learn how to detect the start in upward move, connect to it, harness it and ride it as high up as it goes!

Now the practical part – how do we actually turn around?

First of all we need to understand that there is no harm in trying to turn around at any moment

- usually we can’t even conceive the idea of a turnaround while we are in a state of a free fall.

The fact that we are able to contemplate the thought of bouncing back means that the window of opportunity to do it is NOW!

It’s always best to catch the very first chance for the spring up. If we miss the first one, there will be the next, but it is going to be lower and the second one won’t let us jump back as high as the first one.

Once we realize that NOW is the moment, we should start DOING something that brings us UP. The actual practice can be very different for every person. Among general techniques that have intrinsic holiness and, hence, work for many people, are Tefillah (prayer), reading Tehillim, going to a Mikvah (if it is appropriate for our situation), learning Torah and more. (Torah learning can be very powerful tool if one knows how to engage the heart, not only the head).

Listening to the favorite upbeat music can be very powerful consciousness changer

(avoid negative dark music that can sent you flying way lower).

There is a pitfall in this situation however:

Since we have a lot of kinetic energy from the downward movement, we might be subconsciously tempted to release it in unproductive ways.

Typical things we frequently do in that situation:

Using eating, drinking, gambling and even drugs as an outlet for relieve

(The list here can run unfortunately long, those are just some examples).

This might even take a seemingly innocent form as eating lots of chocolate to feel a bit better.

I’m actually pro-chocolate, however I prefer to eat it in different circumstances, for Oneg Shabbat (enhancing pleasure of Shabbat)  for example .

In general, we should avoid resorting to lower-level pleasures – this only dumps the accumulated energy “into the ground”.

While the process may make you feel a little bit relieved for a short time (since the discharged energy doesn’t create the “downswing” pressure any more), it’s a dead end, since the turnaround does not happen, nothing constructive is accomplished and we get stuck with lower energy level in the “down” state.

Spilling negative emotions on someone.

While this may feel like a release, the energy is re-routed towards negative means creating unpleasant reality in our present and future.

Feeling the energy pressure can create very unpleasant feeling, however we need to recognize it as the moment of opportunity. This is the moment when we can call to Hashem in the manner beautiful Psalm 130 is teaching:

From the depths I called you Hashem (Psalm 130:1).

Interestingly the Psalm 130 is among others called “Psalm of Ascents” – Shir Hamaalot.

May Hashem always help us to find the right steps for the Ascent! And if we don’t see the steps we only need to ask Him to reveal us the way up, the “how to” of the upward swing, since the persistent Tefillah can achieve anything!

Shabbat Shalom!

ascent · chocolate · consciousness · Energy · HASHEM · Ish Tam · Mikvah · Oneg · Prayer · Psalm · Shabbat · springboard · subconscious · Tefillah · Tehillim · Torah

A friend writes:

“… the only problem or question is why after such a great [spiritual] reward and awakening… I get tested immediately and I feel like I not just fail, but fail miserably. And I feel like I am going backwards for some time before I get up and begin to slowly move forward. I feel like there is an explosion and a big drop before things get better and start going up. “

Well, the good news is, there is no such thing as “always steady spiritual growth” -
the real spiritual growth always have those wild up/down swings,
you usually can affect their depth and direction, but not to avoid them completely.

Moreover,  not only the descent is unavoidable, it is completely necessary for the ascent to happen.

This is connected to the non-homogeneous nature of time

Rav Akivah Tatz has great MP3 lecture you can download for free here:

Time and Timing
Same concept is explained in one of his essays in Living Inspired

Now the practical approach: How do you deal with it in real life?

This is best to explain by analogy with swimming in the sea or ocean in high waves. You can’t fight the waves and rise when the wave actually goes down – this will result in some unpleasant experience. Instead one needs to be composed and feel how the wave goes, follow it when you have to, slightly correcting your way within the wave as it goes up and down, up and down… When you tune in, this can be very enjoyable feeling.

Similarly in life “waves”, I try to stay detached and watch how it goes almost from a side. I know it’s difficult to stay detached from all that hormonal rush going along with emotions, however the key is to realize it’s not you – it’s the body, the body that goes into established patterns of reactions. Once you change the perspective, you can start changing those patterns of “guts reactions” as well.
The ”Restore My Soul” (Meshivat Nefesh) is compilation from Rav Nachman’s of Breslav teachings on the topic of ascent/descent dynamics, it explains those beautifully and gives plenty of practical advice.

ascent · descent · Energy · Ish Tam · Kabbalah · Living Inspired · Meditation · Rav Akivah Tatz · Rav Nachman of Breslav · Time · Tzaddik · Wave

Chodesh Tov!

Rosh Chodesh (Head of the Month) – New Moon Festival is described in the Torah as the day of rejoicing (Bamidbar (Numbers) 10:10) , the time of renewal. Even the word “Chodesh” – month – comes from the root “חדש” – “Chadash” – “NEW”.

Like all “moadim” – appointed times – Rosh Hodesh is the time of opportunity. The deeper meaning of Holidays and special times in Torah is not “commemoration” of some event, but an active opportunity to use the flow of energy that is descending at that time into the physical world. On Rosh Chodesh, the surge of energy that is creating the reality of the upcoming month is available to us – and the way to receive it is to be joyous!

This is because joy causes us to be expansive and enables us to receive Hashem’s light. On the contrary, negative emotions e.g., sadness, make us contract and unable to turn on our “receptive mode”
After ensuring that we do fulfill Torah’s directive to be joyous, we can harness that energy of Rosh Chodesh withTefillah. We can target specific issues in our prayer – because it’s much easier to change the month in its conception.

This can be compared to a garden hose that can create various shapes of a spout by twisting the nozzle – because it’s changing the shape of a jetstream of water in the place where it is forming.

Of course when we talk about “Changing the month”, we mean “Changing ourselves” in order to create the new month of opportunities for spiritual growth. The change is always easier when level of energy is high – if we direct the energy into changing ourselves in Tefillah, it will be used constructively, if we are oblivious to the chance, the energy can even destabilize us or dissipate inconsequentially.

In a sense, Rosh Chodesh is similar to Rosh HaShanah – just with a different scope.

Just like Rosh HaShanah helps us to create a new year full of opportunities, so does Rosh Chodesh give us a chance to break out of our routine and rise up.

Rosh Chodesh is also regarded as a special time for Jewish women. You can read the standard explanation “why?” here, but I think the deeper reason for women’s special connection to Rosh Chodesh, is that our ladies are much more in tune with the dynamics of time and renewal.

Men need rigorous halachic times laws just to be basically in sync with spiritual reality,

while women are exempt from those laws – because they are generally already in tune with times and do not need specific Halachah for that. Interestingly, many Chassidic Tzaddikim were known to be very liberal with halachic times – perhaps because they reached the level of being in tune with times – similar to what most women have from birth.

So while women might be more in tune with the energy of Lunar renewal, men also try to catch up with Kiddush Levanah – another wonderful mitzvah using the Lunar energy of growth and rejuvenation. B’Ezrat Hashem we will discuss it in one of the future postings.

Today is the first day of Sivan and in 4 days we have Chag Shavuot – holiday of receiving the Torah. The energy needed to form the Holiday is also descending today – so we start defining our receiving of the Torah already today!

Good Month Sivan to everyone!

Chassidic · Energy · Halacha · Ish Tam · Jewish · Joy · Kiddush Levanah · Mitzvah · Moed · New Moon · Prayer · Rosh Chodesh · Shavuot · Tefillah · Tzaddik

Mezuzah box with parchment

Mitzvah to hang the mezuzah on the doorpost is one of the 613 mitzvot given in Torah to Jewish people.

Mezuzot are completely amazing creatures – I can’t call them things as they seem to have their own personality and will.

Mezuzah is an energy creature with two-way connection to the area (room or house) that it is protecting -
it infuses the area with energy of holiness and it takes a hit from the negativity that is happening in that room (house). This is a primary reason Mezuzah can become posul (invalid – if even one letter breaks on the parchment it’s written on). If Mezuzah is posul, it not only does not protect, but it projects into reality the very defect that is imprinted into it. That’s why the Halacha is to check mezuzot at least twice in 7 years – some people do it every year.
There is a well known in Rav in Yerushalaim  (Rav Yom Tov) called “Mezuzah-Man” – his interesting ability is to tell people their issues by looking at their mezuzot – because when mezuzah hangs in a house long enough, it takes an imprint of everything that is happening inside (The breaking down is an extreme case when it can’t “hold it” anymore.)
Now interesting discovery I made recently – if the mezuzah is kosher and you channel energy into it (I read Tehillim with my hands on mezuzah and feel the energy flow into the mezuzah), it has tremendous positive impact on the room (and everyone inside) – much more than if you would read Tehillim or channel energy into the people directly. It works like a spiritual amplifier and a battery, so if you “recharge” it daily (or once in a few days – see how long does it “hold the charge” in your case), you can create really powerful healing environment in your house or the room where you live or sleep (I usually do it when kids are asleep – they are most open at the time).

Feeling the energy isn’t a prerequisite however. It’s enough if you focus your attention on mezuzah while reading the Tehillim, or simply focus on it with thoughts of love and affection.

The custom to kiss the mezuzah as we pass through the door accomplishes exactly that – if done properly. In fact this is how I made my discovery – when I asked a question why do we do it? Unfortunately many people barely notice the mezuzah when they enter – we need to give it more of our love and awareness!

Just to mention that in order to work, the mezuzah must be kosher (e.g. written on the parchment by qualified Sofer observing all the Halachic specifications) and bought from a reliable source.

Putting a zerox copy on the doorpost is like taking a picture of the radio-receiver and expecting it to play music. If the radio-receiver is assembled not according to the spec, it simply doesn’t work, or worse, creates distorted sound.

The reason some people go for larger or more beautiful/special mezuzot is that not all kosher mezuzot are created equal. The energetic capacity of the mezuzah depends on the care with which the Sofer writes it, his purity of thought and generally what kind of a person he is. In modern manufacturing-style resale system it’s difficult to ascertain those factors, so most people look at the external things like size, style of the ktav (writing) and beauty of the ktav. Many good mezuzot come with certificate of quality, certifying those parameters. I usually like to go through a few mezuzot on sale, touching them gently and feeling them. I still smile as I recall my latest buy – the mezuzah just didn’t want to leave my hands once I picked it up

I however had seen good results with “recharging” procedure even with regular 12 cm mezuzot – they just need to be real kosher mezuzot.

Hope it helps!

How to Affix a Mezuzah

Practical Spirituality: Touching the Mezuzah

Energy · Halacha · Ish Tam · Jewish · Kosher · Mezuzah · Mitzvah · Sofer · Tehillim