Our thoughts are incredibly powerful. The cycles of birth and death are powered by habits of mind and heart that build up over our different incarnations. How do our modes of living and thinking build up inside us? How do we change the way we interact with them and the manner in which they affect our lives? How do we engrave new grooves in our consciousness and break the hold of the old patterns on our hearts and minds?

The Power of Negative Thoughts

Let’s begin by trying to understand how these thoughtforms are created. The formation of thoughtforms are energy impressions that become habits. The Baal Shem Tov, the great mystic who founded the Hasidic movement, had a profound understanding of the human psyche. He recognized the tremendous power of our thoughts. Thoughts, he taught, are energy impressions that create tangible forms on the mental plane. Good thoughts build positive thoughtforms. Bad thoughts generate negative thoughtforms.

The Baal Shem Tov realized from his own inner experience that these thoughtforms can be transmitted from one person to another. Based on this understanding, he advised his Hasidim to never criticize others. When someone is criticized, he explained, both the speaker and the listener are responsible for perpetuating the wrong that the person has done.

Why is this so? When the first person does a wrong, he explained, a klipah, a negative center of force or energy, is created. This klipah has a certain livingness that gives it life and power. Now, if the wrong ends there, the energy of the klipah will quickly dissipate and it will die. However, if someone picks up this thoughtform again and begins to speak about it, he or she breathes new energy into the klipah or negative thoughtform, and brings it back to life.

Once again, if no one listens to the criticism, if they refuse to take up its negative energy, then the thoughtform will quickly lose its power and dissolve. However, if someone takes it up again, by listening and focusing on its negative energy, then the klipah will again be given renewed strength and power. In this way, the klipah can pass from person to person until it grows into a powerful thoughtform or vortex of energy that influences the minds of hundreds or even thousands of people. ¹

Creating our Reality

In our homes, in our workplaces, in fact wherever we go, there are thoughts and emotions that fill the air with their energy. Each time we enter into another space we are impacted by its energy field and unconsciously respond to it. These energy impacts affect our own state of consciousness and shift our mood and state of mind.

We need not be passive recipients of all the sensory, mental, and emotional input that impacts our being from the world around us. We have free choice to decide how we will interact with the world. We are responsible for creating our own reality.

Every thought, word, and deed makes a difference. Each can either be a vessel for immersing our consciousness in the mundane occurrences of our daily life, or they can be transformed into a vehicle for lifting our minds into the higher worlds — a vessel for holding the holiness of the supernal light. The choice is up to us. The challenge for each of us is to learn how to discriminate which thoughts and energies we want to take up and which we wish to cast aside — to learn how to control the workings of our mind.

Combating Unwanted Thoughts

1. Be a Soldier in the Royal Court

The Hasidic text, Or Haganuz, compares our challenge to that of a soldier standing guard in the king’s court. If something suddenly occurred at court that was a great distraction and temptation for him, the soldier would never allow it to disturb him, because he would not want to arouse the king’s displeasure. He would simply ignore what was happening around him and keep his mind concentrated on his task, for fear of losing the precious opportunity of being in the royal presence. ²

We see a living example of this in the protocol for the guards outside Buckingham palace in London. They are not supposed to let anything disturb or distract them. People come up and try to irritate them or simply get them to react, but they just hold their ground and continue standing guard with calm and serenity.

We want to treat all the distracting and negative thoughtforms that confront us as we go about our lives — both our own and others — in a similar fashion. This is a form of mindfulness training. You strive to be aware of the thoughts and ideas entering your consciousness. You do not dwell on the thoughts or pass them along to others. You simply ignore the thoughts.

If we keep our attention focused on the Sovereign of Sovereigns, then our minds will not be distracted by the clamor of the world around us. We will remain calm and tranquil, and the negative thoughtforms will not gain a foothold in our heart.

2. Build a Higher Imagination

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov offers us an alternative approach to ignoring negative thoughts. He teaches that it is our desires that create thoughtforms in our mind. These thoughtforms then become transformed into patterns of thinking and behavior, which finally become habits of being that are very difficult to change.

Rebbe Nachman believes that the key to initiating change in these mental processes is to redirect the power of our imagination. The imagination is the place where desire becomes patterns in the mind. The sensory, mental, and emotional input that we receive

play on all our desires — from our purely physical desires to our desire for love, recognition, wellbeing, and peace.

Our mind takes in all this powerful input from our environment and converts it into images in our mind. Those images build whole worlds of fantasy and illusion that draw our mind into their web and distort our view of reality and ourselves. They block out our awareness of, and connection to, our true Divine nature and cause us, instead, to think that we want all the material and emotional gratifications that they offer us. Thus, all our energies become channelled into fulfilling those desires.

Rebbe Nachman believes that the key to countering the effects of this lower imagination that focuses on our desires and fragilities is to replace it with a higher imagination that will reconnect us to our true identity as spiritual beings — as divine sparks of consciousness and light. We counter the illusionary reality that our world feeds us by constructing a spiritual vision of our world in its stead.

We all know the power of positive thinking, but this is not just positive thinking. My teacher used to say: “energy follows thought”. We use the power of our mind to create a higher reality where we connect with the Eternal One and our soul. We focus our thoughts on spiritual images and ideas. We look toward what is holy, beautiful, and good. We affirm that we are immortal souls and not animal creatures, until that is the consciousness where we actually dwell.

For example, Rebbe Nachman suggests that if we find ourselves becoming angry and irritable because of unfulfilled expectations or desires in the mind, we should immediately turn our thoughts toward uplifting ideas — think about the lives of great spiritual masters, or about the ancient land of Israel with the Temple and the schools of the prophets, or about a powerful spiritual experience that we have had in our lives.

If re-directing our thoughts doesn’t break the hold of these negative feelings, then we should take positive action — like reading a holy book or watching an uplifting video, listening to sacred music, or singing a beautiful song or nigun. Or we can choose to have a really God-centered conversation with a friend or spiritual companion on the path. ³

In this way we will shift the flow of our imagination and re-anchor our mind in our higher self. Once we have reconnected to our higher self, we will be able to harness our inner power to change the grooves that run through our mind.

3. Enter into the Fortified Place Within

There is a third way of protecting ourselves from negative thoughts. According to the Hasidic Master, Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, one of the functions of the Torah and mitzvot (commandments) is to protect us from the negative vibrations that surround us. Every part of the Torah and mitzvot, he explains, embodies a spark of divinity. Therefore, when we immerse ourselves in the life of Torah, a garment of holiness forms around us created by all the divine sparks we have liberated. This garment blocks out the negative emanations around us while simultaneously bringing us into direct contact with the Higher Power. What a wonderfully graphic idea: a cloak composed of sparks! ⁴

This teaching is easy to understand if we look at it from the point of view of spiritual science. All the spiritual practices that we do build a subtle structure — an energy field composed of refined mental matter — that resonates at a high rate of vibration.

If we envelop ourselves in this sacred garment of spiritual livingness, it will protect us from the negative influence of material consciousness by insulating us from the harsh effects of physical existence. It will transform our perception of the events in our life, by passing all our experience through the filter of higher consciousness — through our cloak of sparks.

Different Cloaks for Different Folks

Just as in life, everyone does not wear the same clothes, similarly, in the spiritual life, the specific composition of each person’s inner garment will be different. For some, the garment will be composed solely of the traditional cloth of their religion. For others, threads of color from other faiths will be woven into the traditional fabric. For each and every garment, however, there is one essential component: it must bring the living presence of God into our daily life. Only then will it enable us to hold on to a higher state of consciousness. Only then will we learn to live in the light of the soul.

Copyright © 2025, by Yoel Glick

Acknowledgments

1. Moshe Delinah, Devrei Moshe, Torah portion Mishpatim, quoted in Dunner and Wodnik, Baal Shem Tov al HaTorah, Torah portion Kedoshim 9

2. Yehuda Leib Hacohen of Selikov, Or Haganuz, Torah portion Vayashev

3. Nachman of Breslov, Likutei Maharan, # 21, 11; 56, 6; ibid, 56, 6–7; 155; ibid, 66

4. Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, Prei Ha’aretz, Torah portion Vayashev

The Power of Thought was originally published in Daat Elyon Teachings on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The 16th-century Kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Ari, is famous for his teaching about the shattering of the vessels — shevirah hakeilim — that took place at the beginning of Creation and the consequent need for the repair of our universe — tikkun. This teaching is not just a tragic statement about the imperfection and brokenness of the Creation. It also holds a powerful optimistic message about the unique potential of life in this world.

Our lives are not random and meaningless events. Each of our lives has a purpose and meaning. We are here to fulfill the profound work of change, growth, and healing. And we have been given the tools that we need to accomplish this task. We have incarnated into this world to repair, heal, and transform — in Hebrew, letakain — a specific part of our being. And in the process of this self-transformation, we add one more brick to the edifice of transformation and evolution for our world and universe.

How do we accomplish this work of self-transformation? How do we discover what our particular repair or tikkun is in this life?

The beginnings of an answer can be found in the teachings of Rebbe Asher Tzvi of Austrich, another disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch, the successor to the founder of Hasidism, the 18th-century Baal Shem Tov. Rebbe Asher Tzvi teaches that if we want to discover the purpose of our life, then we need to look for the attribute that is our greatest weakness. Fixing this weakness lies at the center of our spiritual evolution. ¹

This is an amazing idea! Everyone is a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. Everyone has his or her imperfections and faults. But most of us concentrate on developing our strengths and try to hide away our weaknesses. Rebbe Asher Tzvi is telling us that even though this approach may make perfect sense from a material point of view, from a spiritual perspective, it has everything completely wrong. Our strengths have been developed in other lives and do not require our attention. It is our weaknesses that are the key to our spiritual growth; they are the reason that we have come into this world.

We are here to fix what is broken in ourselves and the world. We are here to transform reality, beginning with ourselves. This is the Ari’s great insight about life in this world and the nature of the reality of this universe. It has a profound effect on how we view life and how we see ourselves and others. It shifts our perception of the nature and purpose of our existence.

Although Rebbe Asher Tzvi’s insight is profound, it is very counter-intuitive and perplexing. It seems to beg the question: Why is our life and this world constructed in this way?

The reason why this is so lies hidden in the mysteries of another cosmic process that also holds a central place within the teachings of the Ari. According to the Ari, at the very beginning of Creation, God withdrew within Him/Herself and contracted His/Her Being in order to make space for the universe to exist. Into the vacuum — in Hebrew, chalal — left by the divine withdrawal, God sent a ray of divine light direct from His essence to create the Primordial Human — Adam Kadmon — the first Being in the universe. From there the Creation unfolded as we have learned.

This idea of tzimtzum or divine contraction, is a central pillar in the teachings of another important Hasidic Master, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, the grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. Rebbe Nachman uses the concept of contraction, or tzimtzum, to explain his fundamental understanding of the reason why human beings were created with free will.

Rebbe Nachman explains: God was faced with a problem in creating the universe. God is infinite consciousness, so how could there be room for anything that has a consciousness apart from God Him or Herself? Anything that might be created would just automatically be submerged in the One consciousness of the Creator. Therefore, Rebbe Nachman further elucidates, God placed veils between Him/Herself and the creation, to tone down the intensity and power of the divine light, and thereby make space for other beings to exist.

Nonetheless, Rebbe Nachman continues, All the creatures and Beings that were created did not have a consciousness that was truly separate from God’s. Despite their creation as separate creatures, they still remained bound in the consciousness of Oneness and were compelled by that bond to do the divine Will. The sun rises and sets, the birds fly in flocks, and cattle move in herds, the plants flourish profusely in all directions without a will of their own. All the universe works by following the Divine will — all are part of a collective consciousness. Even though they’re created and separate, their will is not their own. They are extensions of the Eternal Will. This is the reason why the angelic beings are the ones that oversee all of creation — because they are merely messengers — direct extensions of the Divine that have no will of their own.

Therefore, Rebbe Nachman continues, the fulfillment of the process of Creation, of forming vessels or veils where truly conscious life could emerge, was only fulfilled with the creation of human beings — creatures with separate individual consciousness, with free will to do as they please, to either fulfill or reject the Will of God.

This teaching is very similar to the filter theory of consciousness that has been put forward by scientists and philosophers who are trying to understand the nature of human consciousness. Rather than see human consciousness as arising from, and limited to, the brain, the filter theory posits that there is a universal consciousness that underlies all of existence. Our brain’s role is to create a filter that blocks out a vast majority of that consciousness and allows only the consciousness that we need to function on this physical plane of existence to come through into our minds. This is how we can function as a distinct individual awareness without being absorbed into the universal consciousness.

This is exactly what Rebbe Nachman is telling us about tzimtzum. Our separate awareness is the fulfillment of the whole process of Creation because, paradoxically, it enables us to have a relationship with God. We alone of all creatures, have the ability to see and recognize the ‘other’ — to pray, converse, and argue with the Source of all Life.

On one hand, the Creation process comes to fruition with human beings who have the free will to choose between right and wrong. The divine contraction or tzitzum creates within us both a higher self — a yetzer hatov and a lower self — a yetzer hara. Yet, on the other hand, our spiritual journey only really begins when we start to take an honest look at ourselves — to recognize the tugs and pulls of our lower self — the yetzer hara and the aspirations and beauty of our higher self — the yetzer hatov and choose to follow the path of the higher self and align our life with the divine.

The higher self embodies the part of ourselves that has discovered that there is more to life than just fulfilling our own desires. It is the aspect of our being that had begun to remove the veils and reconnect to the Divine Source. Our lower self is the part of us that remains tied to our ego desires. It is the part of us that is still heavily veiled and disconnected from our higher self — from our soul — from God.

Our work in each life is to take one more part of our lower self and link it to our higher self — to remove the veil and reverse the process of the original tzimtzum, so that the divine light within that aspect of ourselves can shine forth in all its glory. We are repairing one more broken bit of this world and adding one more spark of divine power. As we evolve, increasingly fundamental aspects of our character are placed before us to work on and uplift into the light.

Another way of saying this is: our seeming weaknesses have the potential to become potent spiritual strengths. Because when an attribute is more veiled and hidden, it is less accessible and therefore expresses itself in a weak or lower form. The veil is there to contain and dampen the divine power. Therefore, the more veiled, the more hidden, an aspect of ourselves is, the more powerful that aspect is. We need to find the great strength, the higher form, hidden behind this weakness — to unleash the power that, until now, has not been revealed.

It logically follows from this teaching that the part of ourselves with which we have the greatest difficulty is the most veiled aspect of our nature, and therefore, it must conceal our greatest spiritual power as well. Therefore, a corollary to Rebbe Tzvi Asher’s first teaching that our personal work of tikkun lies in confronting our greatest weakness, is the teaching that our challenge is not merely to confront our weakness, but to actually transform it into the attribute that is its polar opposite, and in that virtue, we will find our greatest strength. When we have the fear of God, we will be afraid of nothing in this world, for we will rely wholly on the Holy Blessed One’s protection. When we have the love of God, our heart will expand to love all living creatures, because we will see them as part of one single eternal reality. ²

This is the most profound type of personal repair or tikkun where we actually transform a fundamental part of our nature; where we heal a deep crack in our being, by filling it with divine light. We hide our weaknesses because we have been taught that weakness is shameful — that we need to be strong. But we do not realize how much power is hidden in this part of ourselves, just waiting for us to liberate its spiritual might.

copyright © 2025, by Yoel Glick

Acknowledgements

1. Asher Zvi of Ostraha, Maayan HaChochmah: Torah portion Ki Tetzah

2. ibid, Torah portion Metzorah

Divine Contraction and Personal Transformation was originally published in Daat Elyon Teachings on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In one of the classic Hasidic stories, Rebbe Dov Baer of Mezeritch, the Baal Shem Tov’s premier disciple and the person who was to become his successor, asked the Baal Shem about the Zohar’s contention that the Torah portion of Mishpatim (Judgements) that deals with all the laws pertaining to slaves, personal damages and commerce, is actually teaching us about the laws of gilgul or reincarnation.

In answer to Rav Dov Baer’s question, the Baal Shem told him to go to a certain forest and locate a specific tree which has a spring nearby and spend the day there, remaining in the area until six in the evening and then return to him. “Whatever happens”, the Baal Shem warned the Maggid, “you are not to interfere. You are only to stand back and observe what takes place and then come report everything to me.”

So the Maggid went to the forest and found the tree by the spring. Not long after he had settled into a position with a good view of the tree, the Maggid saw a man come into the forest leading a horse. The man was exhausted. He got off his horse, sat down under the tree, had something to eat and drink, and then he lay down to sleep. An hour or so later, he woke up, gathered his belongings, and continued on his way.

A short while after he left, Dov Baer looked over where the man had been sitting and saw that the man has forgotten his wallet, which was clearly filled with money, under the tree. His first instinct was to go pick up the wallet and run after its owner, but he remembered the Baal Shem Tov’s instructions about not interfering, so he held himself back and waited to see what would happen next.

A few hours passed by, then a second man turned up and lay down to rest under the tree. He immediately saw the first man’s wallet, picked up the wallet, claimed it as his own, and then headed off into the forest. Again, the Maggid wanted to run after the man and tell him that he was committing an aveyrah a wrongdoing by taking someone else’s possession, but remembering the Baal Shem’s injunction, he held himself back again and just let the man go.

Another few hours passed by, and then a third man turned up in the forest. This man looked more impoverished and downtrodden than the other two. He was also very tired and weary. He sat down and ate the little food he had, drank some water from the spring and lay down to sleep. As he was sleeping, the first man, who lost his wallet,

turned up and shook the poor man awake and sternly interrogated him about the whereabouts of his wallet. The poor man stared at him blankly, as he had no idea what the other man was talking about. Assuming that the poor man was feigning ignorance, the rich man started beating the living daylights out of him to force him to give the money back.

When Rebbe Dov Baer saw the rich man beating the poor fellow he jumped up and was about to rush over and intervene, when suddenly he realized that 6 o’ clock had arrived. Torn between saving the poor man and obeying the Baal Shem, Dov Baer was unsure what he should do. After a few moments of internal struggle, he decided that he must trust his rebbe words, so he ran out of the forest and headed back to report to the Baal Shem.

When Rebbe Dov Baer told the Baal Shem what he saw, the Baal Shem nodded his head and smiled, then he said to Rebbe Dov Baer: “Let me explain to you what you just witnessed.”

The first man, he said, had a court case with the second man over a sum of money in a past life, which was exactly the amount that was in his wallet. The court awarded the money to him, even though it rightfully should have gone to the second man. Therefore, the first man repaid his debt to the second man in his present life.

The third man that came later, was the rabbi and judge in the hometown of the other two, to whom they had come for judgment in their past life. The third man acquitted the first man of the debt without making a proper investigation into the matter. Therefore, he was punished for this travesty of justice in his present incarnation with the beating that he received.

This, however, the Baal Shem continued, is not the end of the story. Gilgul makes clear to us how every action has its consequences, creating a chain of cause and effect that reaches from life to life. For the three men you saw today, justice has been meted out for their deeds in their past lives. The present actions of each of them, however, has already set in motion a fresh chain of cause and effect with further future consequences.

The second man who found the wallet, had his money returned from his past life. However, he still has to deal with how he responded to these events in this life. Everyone knows that we are obligated to return a lost item to its owner, or at least make a serious attempt to do so. The fact that this man simply kept the money for himself without making any effort to find its owner, will have its consequences for him, either later in this life or in his next incarnation. The first rich man, will also have to pay for his actions. He beat up an innocent man who stole nothing from him in this life. He will have to answer for his lack of control and cruelty at some point in his journey. And the third man, who was beaten for actions in a past life, will be cleansed of his past culpability and will create or not create new consequences depending on how he responds to what happened to him today. If he becomes bitter and angry and goes home and takes his suffering out on his wife and children, then it will set in motion a further chain of consequences. But if he accepts the whole episode as something coming from God, and lets go of it, then there will be no further cause and effect from his past or present deeds.

Astounded by everything his teacher the Baal Shem Tov had revealed to him, Rebbe Dov Baer was now convinced that the Torah portion of Mishpatim — judgments — was a real and appropriate place to learn about the laws of reincarnation or gilgul. ¹

This story illustrates the traditional understanding of the laws of reincarnation: there is an essential interconnectedness between every aspect of our existence that sets in motion a chain of cause and effect, which determines how this life, as well as our future incarnations, will unfold. The fundamental features of this law of cause and effect, what the Hindus call karma, are laid out for us in Chapter 3, Mishna 20 of the rabbinic text, Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of the Father.

Rabbi Akiva declares: Everything is given on collateral and a net is spread over all the living; the shop is open, the Shopkeeper extends credit, the ledger is open, the hand writes, and whoever wishes to borrow, let him come and borrow; the collectors make their rounds regularly, each day, and exact payment from man [or woman] with or without his [or her] knowledge, and they have what to rely on; the judgment is a judgment of truth; and everything is prepared for the feast.

So this, then, is the Jewish model for the law of cause and effect or karma, the eternal principal that governs the workings of the cosmos. Let us look at this teaching in more detail.

Everything is given on collateral and a net is spread over all the living;

Nothing comes for free. God is holding our soul as collateral, so to speak, for our actions in this life.

the shop is open, the Shopkeeper extends credit,

God gives us the free choice to decide how we want to act. Others might translate this first line as: God gives us a long rope.

the ledger is open, the hand writes,

We can’t fool God. He/She sees everything. Everything we do is recorded. Nothing, even the smallest detail, is missed.

and whoever wishes to borrow, let him come and borrow;

Those that want to play the game, let them borrow now and pay later. Let them eat, drink and be merry.

the collectors make their rounds regularly, each day, and exact payment from man [or woman] with or without his [or her] knowledge,

We shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking that there are no consequences for our actions. Everything has been calculated and will need to be paid for — daily, and over lifetimes — whether we are aware of it at the time, or not. So we should not think we are getting away with something because there does not seem to be any payback now. Eventually the consequences of our actions will come back to us, in God’s good time.

and they have what to rely on; the judgment is a judgment of truth;

There are laws of cause and effect that underlie the universe and that provide ultimate justice, balance, and harmony. Everything is seen. Everything is watched over. Everything will be set in order by the celestial divine hand.

and everything is prepared for the feast.

If we choose to live a God centered life, following the path of righteousness and holiness, then a great feast awaits us of spiritual blessing and divine emanation or shefa, as the natural result of the way we have lived our life.

So what exactly is this passage coming to teach us? Are we all mere powerless puppets? Is everything already pre-ordained?

On the contrary, the acceptance of the law of cause and effect is not a surrender of our lives to a predestined fate. Rather it is a recognition that everything we do has an effect on ourselves and on the world around us. Every encounter changes us and those with whom we have interacted. We are responsible for our past, present, and future reality. We are the architects of our own destiny!

Copyright © 2025, by Yoel Glick

Acknowledgements

1. Baal Shem Tov al haTorah, Torah portion Mishpatim # 1, footnote 1

Mishpatim: The Kabbalah’s View of Karma was originally published in Daat Elyon Teachings on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

“And Jacob was left alone.” (Genesis 32:21)

After twenty-one years of working for his Uncle Laban, Jacob decides to return to Canaan. Originally, Jacob had fled to Paddan Aram in fear of his brother Esau. Esau had sworn to kill Jacob, because he had stolen their father’s blessings. Now, as Jacob gathers together his wives, children and his household, and heads back home, he sends out messengers to greet his brother Esau and tell him of his coming.

While Jacob is on his way back to Canaan, his messengers return to warn him that Esau is marching towards Jacob with four hundred armed men. Clearly, Esau has revenge on his mind and not greetings.

When Jacob hears the messengers’ news, he is thrown into a panic. He has no army to defend him and is at the mercy of his brother. To try and protect whatever he can, Jacob divides his household in two; hoping that if one half is destroyed, the other half will escape to safety.

After he has finished the sorrowful process of dividing up his family and belongings, Jacob heads back to his empty camp to recover a few forgotten items. As he is crossing through the wadi in the dead of night, he meets a “man” standing ready to confront him. Alone and at the end of his strength, Jacob must face his darkness.

We come into this world alone and with nothing and we leave this world alone and with nothing. We try to gather people around us to buoy us up and make us feel that we are not alone. But no matter how much we may surround ourselves with family and friends, we cannot escape our existential isolation. Each soul faces the universe alone.

Death can touch those around us at any moment. Our wealth can be taken away in a flash. Friends and family may turn against us and desert us. In the end, there is no one that we can rely on but God. Only God is there together with us in the abyss of aloneness.

“And Jacob was left alone.”

When Jacob meets the angel and wrestles with him through the night, he knows that this struggle is his to fulfill and that no one else can help him. He knows that he must find the strength within himself to achieve victory in the battle or perish.

In the morning, Jacob is injured and limping, but he emerges as a new man with a new name and the blessing of the Lord. He calls the place of his inner awakening Peniel, because “I have seen God face to face.” (Genesis 32:31)

We may set out on the spiritual path searching for the praise of others or the approval of friends and family, but if we are to succeed, then we need to come to the place where we act because of our own sense of purpose and mission. We want to serve God for our own spiritual growth and evolution. We want to act because we feel that this work was given to us and no one else.

According to the Baal Shem Tov, this is the inner meaning of God’s warning to Moses as he prepares to ascend Mount Sinai, “and no one shall come up with you.”(Exodus 34:3)

If we want to ascend unto the Lord, then we need to act as if there is no one to see what we are doing, no one to advise us or praise us, no one whose opinion of us matters at all — all our actions must be done for God and God alone. ¹

Rebbe Ephraim of Sadilkov, the Baal Shem’s grandson, teaches that recognizing our aloneness can be incredibly empowering. The Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a, says, “Each person must say that the world was created for him alone.”

If we are the only person in the world, then everything we do is of the utmost importance. If we alone exist, then the well-being of the whole world depends on how we meet the challenges of our life. If the world was created for us, then we cannot and will not fail to achieve our goals. ²

The Baal Shem taught his Hasidim not to fear the place of aloneness inside them but to enter into it, for it is in their aloneness that they will find God.

The first commandment that God gives Abraham is, “Lech lecha me’artzecha, umimoladetecha, umibeit avicha el ha’aretz asher arecha” (Get you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you). (Gen. 12:1) The Baal Shem explains that what God is telling Abraham and every other spiritual seeker is, lech lecha, go to your Self; me’artzecha, umimoladetecha, umibeit avicha; forget your people, your background, and your father’s house; el ha’aretz asher arecha, go deeper and deeper into solitude until you are alone with your Self, then God will reveal to you the inner “lands” of the spiritual realm. ³

This teaching doesn’t mean that we must go into physical solitude, rather it telling us that we need to face our inner place of aloneness. When we have stripped everything away — our land, our people, our father’s house — then, we will reach that place of total aloneness, and in that place we will find “the land which I will show you” — the supernal worlds of the Lord.

Still, one powerful way to find that inner place is by living in solitude. In solitude there is no one to distract us, no escape from ourselves. In solitude, we are forced to face our imperfections and failings, forced to confront our own mortality, forced to look at the great emptiness inside us from which we are always running away.

Most of us cannot live our life in solitude. We lead busy lives in the midst of the world, with children, work responsibilities and all kinds of other obligations. Yet though we are unable to live in solitude, we can still create a place of solitude in our lives.

Sri Ramakrishna used to advise his householder devotees to, from time to time, go off into a place of solitude and commune with God.

“To get butter from milk, you must let it set into curd in a secluded spot: if it is too much disturbed, milk won’t turn into curd. Next, you must put aside all other duties, sit in a quiet spot, and churn the curd. Only then do you get butter.

“Further, by meditating on God in solitude the mind acquires knowledge, dispassion, and devotion. But the very same mind goes downward if it dwells in the world…

“The world is water and the mind milk. If you pour milk into water they become one; you cannot find the pure milk any more. But turn the milk into curd and churn it into butter. Then, when that butter is placed in water, it will float. So, practise spiritual disciplines in solitude and obtain the butter of knowledge and love. Even if you keep that butter in the water of the world the two will not mix. The butter will float.” ⁴

Even if we cannot build a place of solitude in our lives, we can always set apart a time of solitude during the day. A good time is late at night when everyone else is asleep, or early in the morning before the day’s duties have fallen upon us. Once we are on our own, we can turn inward and immerse ourselves in the following practice.

Begin by imagining that there is no more work, no more career, no more friends and colleagues. Our house has gone, so have all our possessions. Our parents and siblings are gone, our children and grandchildren are no more — even our companion or spouse do not exist: there is no more city, no more country, no more world; nothing else exists in all the universe except the Infinite and Eternal Lord.

Let yourself sink into this consciousness of total solitude. Rest your heart and mind there. Dwell in this place of “living emptiness” and be alone with God.

This is another way to understand the meaning of the verse “and Jacob was left alone.” First, Jacob was stripped of all his worldly crutches, everything that he had accomplished and everything that he possessed was placed in jeopardy. Then, alone and empty-handed, he was ready to meet the Lord.

There is a passage in the Talmud, Hagigah 14B, which describes the mystical ascent into the Pardes or heavenly orchard by four great rabbis of the Mishnaic period: Akivah, Ben Zoma, Ben Azzai and Elisha ben Abuyah. Of the four that entered the Pardes, Elisha ben Abuyah became a heretic, Ben Zoma went mad, Ben Azzai died in ecstasy and only Akivah returned to life in this world in peace.

The Baal Shem asks: Who is greater, Ben Azzai, who died in ecstasy, or Akivah, who returned to the world? Ben Azzai died with a Divine kiss; he expired from overwhelming love and devekut (attachment to God). Is this not the highest possible state?

The Baal Shem answers: No, it is not. Although our goal is to reach God union, Rabbi Akivah is on a still higher level, because he entered into the realm of the Divine and then returned again to this physical world to uplift the lives of others and lead them towards God. ⁵

Our search for solitude is not an attempt to disappear from the human race. It is a search to transcend the limitations of this finite physical existence and then bring the gifts of infinity and pure Divine love back into the world. Our goal is to reach God union, but after we have reached this state of union, we no longer are afraid of being alone. For once we have touched that inner place; God is always with us. Then our existential aloneness completely evaporates and all that we see is permeated with God’s living presence.

Then our task is different. Our spiritual mission is to become a lighthouse that gives to others from the “hallowed place within;” a beacon that lights the way out of the darkness and fills those around us with hope and faith.

Copyright © 2009, by Yoel Glick, Seeking the Divine Presence

Acknowledgements

1. Yaacov Yosef of Polonya, Toldot Yaacov Yosef, Torah portion Amor
2. Ephraim of Sadilkov, Degel Machaneh Ephraim, Torah portion Vayeshlach
3. Yaacov Yosef of Polonya, Ben Porat Yosef, Torah Portion Vayechi
4. ‘M’, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrisna, translated by Swami Nikhilananda, p. 82
5. Yaacov Yosef of Polonya, Toldot Yaacov Yosef, Torah portion Acharai Mot

Alone was originally published in Daat Elyon Teachings on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

In the Kabbalah, the sukkah is called tzila demehemenuta — the shelter of faith. In the Talmud, we are told that the sukkah is symbolic of the clouds of glory that followed the people of Israel in the desert, watching over them as they traveled. True faith is a shelter that watches over and protects us as we walk through the desert of this world.

The prophet Habakuk (2:4) declared: “a righteous human being lives by their faith.” This true faith, however, is not easy to achieve. A strange passage in the Talmud (Tractate Avodah Zara 3a) about building a sukkah in the End of Days makes clear just how hard, in fact, it is.

In this passage, God comes to the people of the world carrying a Torah under his arm and declares: “Whoever has kept My Torah; let them come and get their reward.”

The people come for their reward, including many who have not really kept the Torah. When the Lord sees them, the Almighty glares at them and says: “Only those who prepared on the Sabbath eve; can eat on the Sabbath.” But the Compassionate One sees the downcast look on their faces and relents and tells them: “I have any easy commandment for you to fulfill — the sukkah. Go and build a sukkah on the roof of your houses.”

The people then leave God and build the sukkah. Immediately, the Lord bears down on them a harsh sun, like the sun of midsummer. The people swelter and squirm from the heat. Finally, they get fed up, kick the walls of the sukkah and go running out.

To have faith is both the easiest of the easy and the hardest of the hard. Everyone says that they have faith, but how deep does that faith go? When God directs the intensity of the divine light towards us, showing up our imperfections and putting us through trial and tribulation, how will our faith hold up then? Will we collapse under the pressure of the suffering and turn away from God and the spiritual life? Or will we persevere through the difficulties and continue to work for God and the divine plan?

Yet, true faith cannot be reached all at once; it is something that we need to grow into. It has to be experienced on many different levels and expressed in many different ways. If we hold on to God and strive to live the life of the Spirit, then we will steadily advance from one level of faith to another, until finally it will become an attribute that is real and alive.

The process of attaining this true faith is intimately linked with the development of our spiritual centers and the nature of our state of consciousness. This link is reflected in the customs of the holyday of Sukkot. Each of the seven days of Sukkot is associated with one of the seven sefirot. And each sefirah embodies within itself a different level of faith.

The first day is the sefirah of kingship or sovereignty — malkhut, where we recognize the unity of Creation and understand that there is a directing hand that guides the world — a King or Sovereign for whom the world is their kingdom. This faith animates us with the strength and desire to set out upon the spiritual path, to forsake the ordinary values of the modern world and search for greater purpose and meaning in our lives.

The second day is the sefirah of foundation or yesod, which is associated with the quality of connectedness. Now we begin to sense that there is something more to existence than this material world. Suddenly, we understand that we are part of something larger than ourselves. We feel connected to a higher reality and a greater purpose.

The third day is the sefirah of victory/splendor or netsach/hod. Here we begin to see changes in ourselves, victories over our lower nature. We discover a new self that is beginning to emerge, one that has greater focus, confidence, and peace of mind. Others notice that there is a distinctive spiritual glow that shines from us, an inner splendor that is the outer reflection of the presence of our soul.

The fourth day is the sefirah of beauty or glory — tiferet, where we begin to experience the beauty and glory of the spiritual realm and touch upon the supernal emanation of the divine attributes. This experience takes us yet a step further in our faith, where we know God is real and that He/She is walking with us through life.

The fifth day is the sefirah of mercy/power — chesed/gevurah. Here we feel the power of God running through us and emanating out to those around us. Now, we not only feel God ourselves, but are able to give to others the experience of the divine presence as well. We become a divine instrument that spreads the grace and mercy of God in the world. We realize that divine grace is continually flowing towards us, guiding our steps and opening up the path ahead.

The sixth day is the sefirah of wisdom/understanding — chochmah/binah. Through the consciousness of this center, we finally understand who we really are and the true meaning of our existence. We see the world through the divine mind and understand the reason for the suffering and struggles of humankind. We receive the wisdom of the universal consciousness and are infused with new faith in God and the eternal divine plan.

Then on the seventh day, we reach the sefirah of the crown or keter, the highest level of the faith, where we are ready to relinquish our lower self and unite with the Divine consciousness; to find our true identity even as we lose our individual one. We break through the barrier of material consciousness and enter into the reality of the spiritual realm. We unite with the Timeless, Boundless One and become one with the divine will.

Our faith is unshakeable; there is nothing and no one that can disrupt it. The trials and tribulations of life cannot touch us. Physical reality with its limitations and illusions, no longer hold sway over us. Now, we can bear even the radiance of the midday sun.

This sukkah of faith is the one true refuge. Though we may find temporary shelter in other ways, only resting in God will bring us real peace. All other knowledge and achievements in the end come to nothing. It is only the direct knowledge of God that will give us lasting protection from the upheavals and uncertainties that we experience in our lives.

Copyright © 2024, by Yoel Glick

Sukkah: The Shelter of Faith was originally published in Daat Elyon Teachings on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

When the Baal Shem Tov was once asked why he came into this world, he replied:

“In former times, they served God through yirah — through the path of austerity, disciplines and awe. I came to this world to show another path, the path of service through ahava — love of God, love of Israel, and love of the Torah.” ¹

During the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot we count the Omer — the barley offering. In the Kabbalah, each of the seven weeks and each day of the week are aligned with one of the seven lower sefirot (chakras or energy centers) in the “Tree of Life.” The First night of the Omer is chesed shebe-chesed (mercy of mercies or love of loves) and the last night is malkhut shebe-malkhut (sovereignty of sovereignty). This movement symbolizes the descent of the Divine Presence from the heavens into this physical world until God is revealed in his earthly kingdom on Shavuot. If the beginning point of this process is symbolized by chesed shebe-chesed, then the revelation of the Divine Presence is the revelation of God’s Love and Mercy into the world.

Each of the seven sefirot symbolizes a different Divine attribute that we need to purify. Therefore, each day of the Omer we work on another aspect of ourselves. It is this daily work of purification over the period of seven weeks that transforms us into fitting vessels for the revelation of God’s Infinite Love.

The holyday of Shavuot, which means the Festival of Weeks, is also called Chag HaBikurim, the Festival of First Fruits. The Hasidic Master, Yisrael of Alexander, teaches that the mitzvah of bikurim is an expression of this awakening of Divine Love. How does the mitzvah of bikurim occur? He asks. He then goes on to explain:

A farmer goes down into his field and sees the first ripening fruit on his trees. Gazing at the fruit, he is suddenly seized with a profound sense of gratitude for everything that he has. He contemplates all that God has done in order for him to have a home, fields and trees of his own. His heart fills with an overwhelming love for God. He marks the fruit and sets it apart; then he places it in a basket, takes it up to Jerusalem and offers the fruit to the priests in the Temple. As he makes his offering, he proclaims:

“I have declared today before God our Lord that I have come to the land that God swore to our forefathers that he would give to us…my forefathers were subservient to an Aramean and went down to Egypt to dwell there…and there they became a great, powerful, and numerous people…and the Egyptians treated us harshly, torturing us and forcing us to do hard labor. And we cried out to God, the Lord of our forefathers…and God heard our cries and God took us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And He brought us to this place and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which God gave to me.” — Deuteronomy 26: 1–10

According to Rebbe Yisrael, the need to awaken this profound sense of gratitude and love is the reason why the mitzvah of bikurim was only incumbent upon the Children of Israel after they settled in the Promised Land. It was only once they were settled in their rightful place, once they had homes and fields of their own, that they could fully appreciate all that God had done for them: how He took them out of Egypt amid great wonders, looked after them in the wilderness, and overcame enormous obstacles to establish them in the land. When they went down into their fields and saw the first fruits, the Children of Israel all at once understood that their life in Israel was a Divine miracle, their whole journey a manifestation of God’s Grace. As a result, a great love for their Lord awoke in their hearts and a desire to offer Him their first fruits. ²

In the Midrash³, we are told that the first revelation was given in the desert because we need to become like a desert — austere and stripped down to the essence — if we want to receive the Word of God. In the future revelation, Israel is compared to a well-watered garden — a revelation where God will call Israel be’ulah (espoused), and cheftsibah (My delight is in her).

When Israel stood before Sinai and heard God’s voice, the mountain quaked and the heavens thundered. Trembling with fear, the Children of Israel asked Moses to speak with God alone and allow them to withdraw to the camp.

In the future revelation, Israel “shall go out with joy, and be led forth in peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you in singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” (Isaiah 55:12) And the Lord “shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaiah 40:11)

The revelation on Sinai was a revelation of smoke and fire — a revelation through awe. The coming revelation will be a revelation of life and water — a revelation through love.

When God appeared to the Children of Israel on Mount Sinai and gave them His commandments, they stood in awe and declared, “na’aseh venishmah” — we will do and we will obey (Exodus 24:7). A different objective stands before us today. Our goal is not to say “na’aseh venishmah” out of a sense of fear and awe, but rather to answer “we will do and we will obey” from a place of profound love and devotion.

This type of surrender arises out of the living experience of the love of God. When God descends from on high to overshadow us, the power of His/Her Presence is overwhelming. When Divine Love radiates into our hearts, we are willing to do anything.

Once we have tasted this Divine love, we are changed forever. We can no longer continue our life as before. We are bound to God like iron filings are bound to a powerful magnet. In the light of His love we are ready to surrender the whole of our being, we are prepared to give everything that we have to Him.

The Talmud (Shabbat 88) tells us that at Sinai God held the mountain over the head of the Children of Israel and declared: “If you accept the Torah — that is well, and if not — then this spot will be your grave.” In the coming revelation God will not hold over us a mountain of stone but a mountain of love which will melt every heart.

Divine Love is a great cosmic force that lies at the heart of the Creation. It attracts positive to negative, male to female, and the manifest universe to the One Eternal Source of Being.

Humanity’s fall occurred through the sin of eating from the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Our redemption will come through the freely given offering of the first fruits of love from the living tree that is a human being.

Acknowledgements

1. Dunner and Wodnik, Baal Shem Tov al haTorah, Introduction 69
2. Yisrael of Alexander, Yismach Yisrael, Torah portion Ki Tavo # 5
3. Numbers Rabbah 1:7

Revelation Through Love was originally published in Daat Elyon Teachings on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Lord, You fill all worlds, and surround all worlds. And Lord without You, there is no world at all — the Zohar ¹

“The Lord does everything. My Divine Mother dwells in all beings, and they do as she wills.” — Swami Premananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna²

Everything which occurs — both the good and the bad — all comes from God. Whatever happens to us is the expression of the Divine Will. Whatever troubles befall us, whatever joys come our way — everything comes from the one omnipotent Lord.

The holiday of Purim is about touching this sublime state of consciousness. It is about becoming so deeply immersed in God consciousness that we no longer see the difference between “Haman is cursed and Mordechai is blessed.”

All of humanity has a role to play in the unfolding of the divine purpose: the hero and the villain, the king and the servant, the wise sage and the fool — all are part of the Eternal Plan.

If everything comes from God, then whatever we have achieved is not of our own making; rather all is the product of the Divine Power working through us. As Swami Premananda expressed it,

“Man by himself has no power to do the Lord’s work. What good work you see done is the manifestation of the divine power, it expresses the glory of Mother’s power, beyond thought’s compass.” ³

This realization leads us to a profound sense of humility on the one hand, and a sense of infinite possibility on the other.

We are humbled because, if everything comes from God, then we cannot claim credit for the results. As the Baal Shem says, “Does anyone praise the pot because it cooks tasty food?”⁴ And we feel a sense of infinite possibility, because anything is possible with the help of heaven — no matter what our difficulties, no matter how dire our situation may be.

If the Almighty desires, He/She can overturn a person’s destiny in a matter of seconds. In a single moment, the Omnipotent One can give us everything, or take it all away. This truth is portrayed in scene after scene throughout the Purim story: in an instance, Queen Vashti loses her royal position, and then Esther is elevated to take her place. Mordechai is singled out for death by the evil whim of a tyrant, and then lifted to the kingdom’s highest office in a moment of Divine Grace.

If we believe that everything comes from God, then the opportunities that life presents to us are not random events, granted to us to satisfy our own selfish needs and desires. They are Divine gifts that God has given us so that we might use them to serve other people — so that we can fulfill our part in the Eternal Plan.

This truth is poignantly expressed for us in the Purim story.

After Mordechai hears about Haman’s decree to annihilate all the Jews in the kingdom, he sends a message to Queen Esther asking her to intercede with the king on the people’s behalf. When Esther replies that she is afraid to go into the king’s presence without a royal summons, Mordechai sends her back a stern response:

“Do not think in your heart that you shall escape in the king’s house any more than all the other Jews”, he tells her. “For if you remain silent at this time, then shall relief and deliverance arrive to the Jews from elsewhere; but you and your father’s house shall perish. And who knows whether you are not come to royal estate for such a time as this?” — Esther 4:13–14

With these words, Mordechai is telling Esther that her royal position was not given to her for personal benefit or for her own safety. It is a spiritual opportunity arranged by the Controller of Destinies, in order that she might rescue her people and save them from disaster.

Knowing that everything comes from God breaks the hold of the feeling of “I and mine.” It removes the ego which declares, “I have worked hard to acquire these objects and I deserve them.” It softens our criticism of others who have succeeded less than us in their lives. It makes us feel more generous toward those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

As my own father once explained to me, after he lent a large sum of money to an old acquaintance from the early days, “There are a hundred thousand people just like me who never became successful. The only difference between me and them is that I was lucky and they were not.”

In recognition of this fact, we share our bounty with others as part of the celebration of Purim. We send mishloach manot, presents of at least two different foods to our friends and relatives. And we give matanot leaniyim, generous gifts to the poor. These acts manifest our understanding that everything we possess has come through Divine grace.

Knowing that everything comes from God also changes the manner in which we respond to the difficulties in our lives. If we truly believe that everything comes from the Most High, then in the same way that the Eternal One has created our difficulties, the All Merciful will also provide us with the means of overcoming them.

Rebbe Natan of Nemirov therefore teaches that the first step that we need to take when we are beset by troubles is to turn to the Master of the Universe and plead for help. After we have brought the Divine into the picture, then we begin to look for solutions. We use every means at our disposal to solve our dilemma.

This, Rebbe Natan explains, is how Mordechai responds to Haman’s evil decree. First, he tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth and ashes, and cries out to God for help. Then, he goes into action and contacts Esther, urging her to go before the king. ⁵

Living with the knowledge that everything comes from God is the essence of the spiritual life. It is a life that has many challenges, a life that demands patience, perseverance, and tremendous inner strength. If we want to tread the path, then we need to constantly work on ourselves and continually examine our motives. We need to surrender our plans and ambitions at the sacred feet of the Timeless, Boundless One.

Yet there is no more profound or meaningful way of life than to be a divine instrument. If we give ourselves over to God, He/She will respond to us in kind. The Holy Blessed One will be with us in all our trials and fill us with divine courage. The Source of All Life will bestow upon us the manifold blessings of the Spirit which are the unique gifts of the religious life.

Whenever they were struggling, Swami Premananada would exhort his disciples:

“Be strong in the strength of God and engage yourself in work as an instrument in his hands. That will bring peace and joy.” ⁶

The Book of Esther 8:16 declares: “And for the Jews there was light and joy, bliss and honor.” On Purim, we receive the light of knowing that our lives have purpose and meaning, the joy of understanding that all is part of the Universal Plan, the bliss of experiencing the unity behind the multiplicity of existence — the honor of a dedicated life of service as an instrument of God.

Copyright © 2024, by Yoel Glick

Acknowledgements

1. Zohar III, 225a

2. Swami Prabhavananda, Memories of a Loving Soul: Premananada

3. Swami Prabhavananda, Memories of a Loving Soul: Premananada

4. Baal Shem Tov, Tzavat Revash, p. 2

5. Natan of Nemirov, Likutei Halakhot, Hilkhot Purim

6. Swami Prabhavananda, Memories of a Loving Soul: Premananada

Purim Knowledge was originally published in Daat Elyon Teachings on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A Song of dedication of the House, by David.

I exalt You Lord, for You have uplifted me,

and did not allow my enemies to rejoice over me.

Lord, my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.

Lord You brought me up from sheol [the netherworld];

You have kept me alive, that I should not descend into the pit….

You have turned my mourning into dancing;

You have loosened [the cords of] my sackcloth and girded me with joy. Therefore, my soul shall sing to You, and not be silent;

Lord, my God, I will praise You forever. — Psalm 30

There are times in life when we are overwhelmed by fear and doubt. There are times when we are plunged into spiritual darkness. In this place of total crisis, we are stripped naked before God and all our pretenses and facades fall away. In this rock-bottom state, we discover the divine spark that lies at the heart of our being. The light of this spark is the light of Hanukkah.

Out of this pure and pristine place there arises a great joy. This joy brings with it the promise of renewed hope and a fresh beginning. It converts a moment of despair into a time of thanksgiving and celebration. This tremendous joy that uplifts and rejuvenates is the joy of Hanukkah.

Our profound inner experience alters the manner in which we perceive reality. We see the world around us with fresh eyes. New ideals and aspirations begin to awaken in our hearts. New dreams and visions burst forth to illuminate our minds. This radiance that transforms and renews is the spiritual illumination of Hanukkah.

The link with our soul that we have forged through our suffering and struggle gives us amazing inner strength. Because we know that God is with us, we have the courage to face anything. We feel that we can accomplish any task, surmount any difficulty, and solve any problem. This spiritual confidence comes from the energy of the divine will that is hidden within us. It is symbolized by the oil of the Hanukkah miracle that is “stamped with the seal of the High priest.”

Armed with this inner strength, we turn to the process of reconstructing our lives. We clear out all the ‘false gods’ from our heart and place the Lord at the center of our being. We reorder our priorities and re-orientate our life towards divine service. This rededication and reordering from a place of inner strength and wisdom is the divine rededication of Hanukkah.

Rebbe Natan of Nemirov teaches that the light of Hanukkah is really the hidden light of the seven days of creation — the supernal light of the Garden of Eden.¹ It is a divine light that illumines our minds and clears away the miasma that clouds our thinking. It is a redeeming light that breaks down our fear and shines forth a pathway out of hopelessness and despair. It is a transcendent light that raises us out of the material consciousness of this physical world into the sublime awareness of the heavenly realm.

There is another Psalm that we recite on Hanukkah, Psalm 133. This Psalm embodies the universal message of this holyday:

A Psalm of Ascension of David.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

for brothers [and sisters] to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,

running down the beard of Aaron:

running down over the hem of his garment.

Like the dew of Hermon descending upon the mountains of Zion.

For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

In the Zohar, this psalm is linked to the forces of divine compassion that flow through the ‘body’ of the Divine Countenances, the great beings Who unite all of reality into a single living organism.² These celestial workers come to the aid of humanity in times of great need, overriding all emissaries of judgment and destruction. Just like the anointing oil that runs down from the beard of Aaron in the Temple, these forces are described as thirteen springs of light and energy that flow through the supernal realms to illuminate all the lower worlds. And it is this same ‘anointing oil’, according to the Ari, that was responsible for the great miracle of Hanukkah. ³

In the history of humankind, there have been periods when the whole world has been enveloped in darkness. During these difficult times, the darkness was so thick that it seemed that the light would never return. The holyday of Hanukkah comes in answer to these human crises.

Hanukkah is a divine promise that the darkness will never be allowed to extinguish the light. This is why Hanukkah comes at the darkest period of the year and marks the approach of the winter solstice, when the light of the day begins to grow once more. It is a promise that no matter what setbacks evil creates, goodness will ultimately triumph. It is a promise that love and compassion are more powerful than fear and hatred.

This divine assurance is predicated not on the strength of human beings but on the power of the Kingdom of Heaven. Just like there is a divine spark at the core of every human being, so the Kingdom of Heaven is at the heart of the divine reality overshadowing all of humankind. When we turn our hearts and minds towards the Higher Power in aspiration and hope, we link ourselves with the forces of love and compassion that live on higher planes. This inner connection enables their supernal strength and will to enter our physical world. Once this door has been opened, everything is possible.

There is a custom that before we light the Hanukkah menorah, we recite Psalm 133 and the thirteen attributes of compassion as enumerated in the prayer of Moses:

“Lord, Lord, mighty, compassionate and gracious, longsuffering, abundant in love and truth, keeping truth to the thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin and He cleanses” — Exodus 34:6–7

In this way, we join our minds to the thirteen aspects of compassion of the Greater Countenance and the supernal hosts that carry its power into our world. We lift our consciousness out of the narrow confines of this physical plane of existence into the vast expanses of the heavenly Cosmic Temple.

Copyright © 2023, by Yoel Glick

Acknowledgments

1. Natan of Nemirov, Lekutei Halachot, Laws of honoring one’s teacher, law 3:10

2. Zohar III, Idra Rabbah 132b

3. Chaim Vital, Sha’ar Hakavanot, Kavanah for Hanukkah

The Light of Hanukkah was originally published in Daat Elyon Teachings on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Swami Adbhutanada, a disciple of the great 19th century Indian holyman, Sri Ramakrishna, used to say: “The mind craves the intoxication of worldly enjoyments.”¹ We are all very attached to the body and its cravings. We are engaged in constant activity to try and satisfy the mind’s longing for stimulation of the senses.

The purpose of all the disciplines on Yom Kippur is to stop this constant activity and break the link between the mind and desires — to silence the craving mind through fasting and other restrictions, so that we can create a space for God to come in. On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, we spend the whole day in synagogue in prayer and contemplation. This builds a vibration of holiness that clears the mind. This, in turn, sanctifies the heart and enables us to enter into the stillness of the Self.

According to the tradition, Moses was given the second set of tablets of the Ten Commandment — luchot — on Yom Kippur. The second tablets represented more than just a replacement of the originals. They symbolized the repair of our essential human brokenness — our ceaseless desire for worldly enjoyment — our constant running after a god made out of material form.

The story of the revelation on Sinai and the subsequent fall into the abyss of the Golden Calf reflect a pattern that often occurs in the spiritual life. When we first turn towards the divine and become interested in the spiritual life, there is an initial moment of great expansion and spiritual awakening. For most of us, this initial awakening is followed by a return to our normal way of life, with the assumption that we can simultaneously hold on to God and the world.

Later on, a time comes when the Omniscient One points out to us with searing clarity, the spiritual effect of the desires that fill our heart. In this manner, we come to realize that if we want the divine presence to dwell within us, we must rid ourselves of our material consciousness.

The Children of Israel underwent a similar process in the desert. After Mount Sinai, the people thought that they could return to a life just like that of every other nation. So when Moses disappeared up the mountain for forty days, they worshipped God in the physical manner that they had learned in Egypt. When Moshe came down from the mountain, smashed the tablets and destroyed the Golden Calf, the Children of Israel were jarred out of their spiritual complacency. Suddenly, they realized that it was not enough for them to have left the physical bondage of Egypt; they had to overcome the spiritual bondage of Egypt as well. They understood that despite the miracles they had witnessed during the Exodus and the awe-inspiring revelation on Mount Sinai, the one Who was the source of all purity would not dwell in their midst, unless they broke the hold of the ‘slave consciousness’ that they had brought with them from Egypt.

After the tragedy of the Golden Calf, the Eternal One told the Children of Israel to build a Mishkan — a tabernacle — a dwelling place for the Divine Presence; as it says in the Torah (Exodus 25:7), “Make Me a mikdash — a Temple — so that I may dwell among them.”

The Hebrew word for ‘among them’ is ‘betokham.’ ‘Betokham’ literally means ‘within them.’ The Baal Shem Tov teaches that this phrase is more than a command to build a physical structure; it is an exhortation for each of us to create a sacred space inside ourselves where the Holy Blessed One’s presence is alive and real.

“For on this day he shall provide atonement for you to purify you; from all your sins before God shall you be purified.” (Leviticus 16, 30)

What is a sin? It is a blockage in our spiritual body — a lack of spiritual clarity. Our goal on Yom Kippur is to purify our consciousness — to clear away the miasma and remove the blockages so that the Timeless Boundless One can be revealed to us. In Temple times, this was the purpose of the elaborate offerings on Yom Kippur. These offerings reached their climax when the High priest came out of the Holy of Holies and pronounced the “ineffable Divine Name”. In that moment, all the people’s sins were wiped clean.

From where did this great power of purification arise? The Hasidic Master, Klonimus Kalman of Cracow teaches that on each Yom Kippur, the people of Israel receive the energy of keter — the crown center. The energy of keter is the Will of God — the essential life force or driving impulse behind creation. On that day, the Eternal Will descends down from way up in the Kingdom of Heaven to flow through into the Soul of Israel and the people.

It was the combination of this energy with the Shekhinah energy in the Temple that created the great cleansing effect of that day. The conjunction of the holiest day (Yom Kippur), with the holiest place (the Holy of Holies), and the purest of human vessels (the High Priest) enabled a great influx of divine force to pour through the spiritual centers of all those standing in the Temple courtyard and clear away all the blockages that were there.

On Rosh Hashanah we reach into the Heart of the Sovereign of Sovereigns, where the divine plans and desires are revealed. On Yom Kippur, we touch the place in the Universal Consciousness where the Eternal Purpose is enshrined.

On Rosh Hashanah, we are given a glimpse into what we have to do in the coming year. On Yom Kippur, we receive the will, strength, and courage that we need to fulfill the vision we have been given and bring the promise of Rosh Hashanah to fruition in the New Year.

The touch of the Will of God will have a tremendous effect on a person — it will stimulate everything inside him or her— both the good and the bad. Similarly with a people or nation — everything inside them both good and bad is awakened.

This past year has been a divine touch that brought all the impurities of Israel to the surface. Yom Kippur is the divine touch that will break open the boil and clear all the impurities away.

The energy of keter is linked into the essence of Israel. On Yom Kippur, the people of Israel have an opportunity to tap into the supernal source from which they have come and reawaken their awareness of who they are and why they were created.

Yom Kippur is the spiritual moment when Israel realigns itself with its collective Soul, Knesset Yisrael, and firmly establishes herself in the Divine Will. The energy of Yom Kippur empowers Israel to be more than themselves — it gives Israel the strength, courage, and vision that it needs to strive for the highest ideals both as a people and as a nation. It is the power of the Will of God that has upheld Israel in the past, and we must return to that “way of Divine illumination” if we are to survive our present national crisis.

Psalms 24:3–5 declares: “Who may ascend unto the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand within His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart; he who strives not after vanity and swears not deceitfully.”

Yom Kippur is not simply an isolated event; it is the culminating moment of a long process of inner purification. The revelation of Yom Kippur is only made possible through the work of purification and preparation that takes place during the month of Ellul, and on into the ten days leading up to the day of Yom Kippur. If we go about our daily lives after Rosh Hashanah, behaving as if ‘business is a usual’, then we cannot expect the Most High to reveal Him or Herself to us on Yom Kippur.

On Yom Kippur, we receive divine grace according to the vessel that we have brought with us: if we approach the All-Merciful One having prepared a large vessel, then we will be filled with abundant blessing, but if we come before the Almighty with a tiny vessel, then all that we will receive is the barest of spiritual benefit.

During the Temple period, as Yom Kippur approached, people would ascend to Jerusalem from all over the land of Israel. This pilgrimage to the Holy City did not follow a random pattern; it was a carefully orchestrated Divine event. Of those who came up to Jerusalem, only those individuals who had labored to prepare themselves beforehand found themselves in the Temple courtyard on Yom Kippur day. And of those that entered the Temple, only the people who were spiritually ready to receive were cleansed of all their sins at the moment when the High Priest pronounced the Divine Name.

As we approach the last few days and hours before Yom Kippur, let us make a final push to turn our hearts and minds towards That which is Infinite and Eternal. Let us strive to detach from the worldly attachments that preoccupy us and invest all our energies into fulfilling the true purpose of life.

copyright © 2023, by Yoel Glick

Yom Kippur: Day of At-One-Ment was originally published in Daat Elyon Teachings on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

On Rosh Hashanah, New Year’s Day, we acclaim the kingdom of heaven. It is a day when this world fades into the background, and the kingdom of heaven becomes a tangible reality. The whole period of the Days of Awe is animated by this truth. During these ten days, we put aside all our physical desires and our material concerns, and we focus our hearts and minds on eternal questions. There is no other comparable time of year when God is so close and our attachment to the Eternal One so great.

In Jewish communities around the world, there is a turning inward in self-introspection and a turning upward to look towards God for help and forgiveness. There is a powerful aspiration to start anew; to clear away our past mistakes and animosities, and begin the New Year with a clean slate. On the Day of Atonement, even many people who do not think of God the rest of the year go to synagogue. There are millions of people with goodwill in their minds and contrition in their hearts. It is an extraordinary phenomenon that creates a tremendous opening for God to intervene.

On higher planes, the kingdom of heaven is mobilized to respond to this outpouring. From way up into the Soul of Israel there is a focusing of mind and energy towards those on this plane of existence. There is a great organization that works to see that those who turn towards God with sincerity are answered. Consolation and inspiration are poured forth upon Israel to strengthen and uphold the people in the year ahead. Those individuals who are capable of receiving guidance in the direction of their lives are overshadowed and put in touch with the Universal Mind of God. Where there is purity and humility, energy is poured through to wipe away the stains of past sins on the soul. Love and protection, wisdom and illumination, flow down from the Kingdom of Souls to the Kingdom of Humanity.

It is the power and majesty of this event that the Rabbis express to us through the concept of God as Sovereign on Rosh Hashanah. More than simply God as Ruler, it is an imagery that awakens us to awareness of the divine kingdom. God is sovereign, and only the divine kingdom is eternal. All else is transitory.

In the Sephardic prayer service, when the ark is opened and the Torah is taken out, the following phrase is repeated twelve times, “Your Word, O Lord, stands in the Heavens.” This phrase is an affirmation that in the heavens, in the kingdom of God, there is an eternal reality that stands in wholeness and power. The divine plan and purpose are engraved in the kingdom of heaven. Those who live in this kingdom are ever present to watch over the events of human history. The eternal plan will come to fruition on this plane no matter what mistakes we make, despite the setbacks our actions create. They are an immovable truth that we attest to on New Year’s Day.

These central themes are expanded upon in the Rosh Hashanah musaf or additional service. The Musaf prayer is divided into three parts: malkhiot, zichronot, and shofarot or sovereignty, memory, and the sounding of the shofar:

The first section is Malkhiot, Sovereignty. This section portrays to us the revelation of the kingdom of heaven upon earth. In this vision, the Will of God overpowers the will of man so that all of humanity recognizes the existence of the higher spiritual planes. As a result of this new reality, the whole world turns to God and His service, and all hearts are lifted up in praise of the holy Sovereign and the divine kingdom.

The second section, zichronot reminds us that the all-seeing Eye of God records and remembers everything that happens in the world, and He/She oversees all that is yet to come. Zichronot, therefore, is an affirmation of our belief in the existence of an all-encompassing, eternal divine plan. On Rosh Hashanah, this plan becomes alive and vibrant in our minds, and we find ourselves urgently asking the question: what is our place in the Divine scheme? Suddenly all other matters seem unimportant, and discovering the purpose of our life becomes the only worthwhile endeavor.

On Rosh Hashanah we rise above the petty concerns of the moment. We are lifted up into the universal mind of God and given a small glimpse of the heavenly blueprint. The Days of Awe present a unique opportunity for us to link into the plan. It is a time when our individual role within the greater whole stands revealed.

The last part of the prayer is shofarot — trumpet blasts. The blowing of the shofar is the call of the soul. Its sound has the intensity of an urgent appeal. It is a rising note, striving upward that awakens the yearning for the divine that lies in our heart. It is a call to see beyond material existence and recognize the one true reality that lies behind this physical world.

The sounding of the shofar heralds the moment of revelation. It stirs the divine spark that lies buried inside each of us. It begins in the depths of the soul and reaches out towards our consciousness awareness. Its influence builds and builds, until finally it shatters our material consciousness and the higher reality comes flooding in.

The blasts of the shofar build a bridge of sound and energy upon which we can ascend into the spiritual realm. The sincere invocation of our hearts combines together with the responding approach of the kingdom of heaven to make this holyday a time of tremendous spiritual potential.

Because the Soul of Israel draws closer to us on the Yamim Noraim — the Days of Awe — there is a special livingness to its presence. We can receive enormous spiritual benefit from this time period, if we make a conscious effort to link up with this great soul. Meditation is a powerful spiritual tool that we can use to connect with this vast vortex of energy and consciousness. If we reach out with our minds to those who dwell in the higher realms, their immense power will flow toward us to fill our hearts and minds.

This time of great approach is a tremendous spiritual opportunity. If we seek God with sincerity and intention, then this holyday will transform ourselves. It will align our lives with the vibration of our soul and the eternal pattern that emanates from the heart of the kingdom of heaven.

Copyright © 2023, by Yoel Glick

The Days of Awe was originally published in Daat Elyon Teachings on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.