Click Here For Article On Parasha!
- Noahides and Shabbat
- It's Like Ger 21 - Only Clearer!
- Solomon's Wisdom
- The Ger "Code" - Gaining Clarity
- Names and Torah
- Gefilte Fish - and More!
 |
| Click Here To Help Today! |
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Keeping Up With The Noahides - Live On Shabbat!
Click Here For Article On Parasha!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Le' Chaim Holy Brother!
Parashas Vayakahel
Covenant [Brit] of [Shalom] Peace
Rabbi David Katz
The
Ger/Noahide Shabbat is a reality that will one day dominate the Seventh Day
Worldwide in the Days of the Messiah. Gerim all over the planet will be able to
rest, gain spiritual gifts throughout the week, and simultaneously keep the
World going better than ever. They are destined to take their gift from the
bitter waters of Marah, and turn it into the eternal delight of God's holiest
day. This is a big difference from the antiquated party line that echoes death
sentences and calls for the blood of the perpetrator of God's Covenant; this is
the Covenant of Peace, one that the Bahir sates as, "a great source of Joy
for the King." Shabbat is the fractal code that completes creation, and
very much a proper covenant; it also just happens to be the first and most
essential step in leaving behind what was, and entering the World [of the Ger]
that came out of Sinai. In that World, the knowledge of God fills the air, and
the World would be deemed as complete; Shabbat then is the motor that drives
this mission into fruition.
The
pre-present-post Sinai experience and revelation to some extent is an
historical banner of the Shabbat. From being commanded and given Shabbat at
Marah [pre-Sinai; bitter waters – over the Shabbat, and thus being proven to
"the People" how sweet it is, as Moses placed "it" there
for "him" as law. "Him" refers to every human there, and
the words "placed for him" conveniently spells "Shalom," as
the Shabbat is the main focus.], educated in Shabbat through the 10
Commandments, and the entire Mishkan [post golden calf] ensemble is one long
strand of the evolution of time into a Shabbat mentality and inclination. One
could say in a sense, this is where everyone involved realized and connected to
their own innate holiness, something that the Book of Genesis "already
knew" from Adam to Seth, Hanoch, Noah, Shem, Avot, and the Tribes. Greater
Israel is now ready to take its mantle as the World's flagship in promoting God
[Jews and Gerim] through the perpetual holy day in our lives that changes the
World – Shabbat.
Our
up to date status is our Parasha, for the aforementioned details have led us
directly into the Mishkan, which ultimately is the Talmudic [scholastic] definition
of Shabbat; a practical and technical approach to responsibly understand the
minute details of the Shabbat. The Mishkan was made from thirty-nine creative,
thought provoking labors or crafts. These crafts are the same practices by
which God created the World; ergo the Mishkan is a microcosm of the World. Now
that we are leaving the first half of the Torah in our wake, and soon to progress
to actually function in the Mishkan in the Book of Vayikra, now is the most
opportune time to explain the inner dimension of the Mishkan, the face of the mission
of Israel. The master bolt that holds everything together is the Shabbat, and
concordantly we are addressing it now in Vayakahel.
The
Parsha takes of these matters into account, without wasting any time, as we are
immediately initiated into the concepts of the labors and parameters of the
basic and essential Shabbat for the Jews and Gerim. On a profound note, the
Torah takes liberty in just three concise verses, to outline the extremely
complex issues of the "how to's" of Shabbat, through taking the discussion
to a place of sublime simplicity. The text reads as follows, "…these are
the things [39 labors] that Hashem commended to do them: 'On six days, you are
to do labor [39 –ish], and on the Seventh Day should be for ya'll Holy, a total
Shabbat for Hashem; all who engage in Labor [39-ish] shall surely be put to
death.' Do not kindle a flame in any of your locations on the Shabbat Day.'"
This text may seem straightforward at first glance – either speaking to Jews or
Gerim; yet what we find is a classic case of "From the Mouth of God – We heard
two/too." We are standing before a perfectly woven tapestry of a
simultaneous dialogue, such that we are receiving the tradition of Shabbat for
the Ger and Jew in one ear shot! Rightfully so, the Oral Law clarifies these
matters, and explains these three verses in laid out terms that anyone alive
can find their place in the Shabbat World, and yet remarkably, it all still is
sourced right here, in our Parasha's opening words.
The
Jew and the Ger, as many know, have two distinctively different streams of the Shabbat;
this stems from the Command vs. the Gift. As a Jewish Command, the Jewish
People are prohibited in the performance of thirty-nine labors on the Seventh
Day. From this level of observance, quite literally an entire culture has been spawned,
and accordingly has been the face of the Jewish People practically since the
inception of the Mishkan itself. Jewish Orthodoxy goes as far as to say any
religious person is defined through "Shomer Shabbos" – a keeper of
Shabbat, an objective display of one's place with God. For the Shomer Shabbos
Jew, our three verses seem pretty straight forward, and seem to serve as a nice
rudimentary introduction or basis of all Shabbat ritualistic behavior. Although
this has served many through the perpetuation of time, Israel has a Brother,
who also is rooted here – The Ger [Noahide]. As we will see, the other side of
the coin equally contains his path, alongside The Jew, yet his is fantastically
unique to him and his soul as well.
The
Talmud Krisos 9a gives the Torah's most accurate outline of a proper Ger
[Toshav] Shabbat. The nature of the Ger Shabbat is one that traverses many
planes, namely his turn away from idolatry from adhering to Ger ideals in the
Torah and from the Divine Inscription within the Ten Commandments to name a
few. In the Talmud it is listed there three categorical decrees of observance
[from that of a holiday, intermediary days, and a mundane day – although aware
of the Seventh Day], and the Ten Commandments consistently shows the bestowal
of the Shabbat gift to the Ger [Toshav, Tzedek – both non-Jews with subtle
distinctive differences], an expression of his relationship with the Commanded
Jew. Granted there is a level of relative simplicity in the Talmud, however the
Ten Commandments offers an endless array of scenarios and logistics, that with
creative thought [such as to our "Melacha" of the Parsha – craft/work
from creative thought] one can see the true Divine nature of the Shabbat of the
Ger.
The
Ger Shabbat as brought down astutely in the Parasha has one massive sign post
that this is definitely a discussion for the Gerim – the transfer/kindling of
fire. The Jewish holidays [not Shabbat] offer a leniency that allows for
cooking under the pretext of "soul food" – "allowing the body to
benefit," even through normally prohibited measures, such as cooking. In
fact, the entire nature of these three verses openly compares and contrasts the
Shabbat in face of the holidays, yet the discussion is without question a
Shabbat discourse; ergo this is to highlight the participation of the Gerim in
Shabbat as brought down in the Talmud.
Throughout the rest of the Parasha the inclusion of the Ger [and on a
very serious spiritual inclination] is utterly profound, and there are
impressions [such that are appropriately in reference materials] of the
magnitude of the Ger in Vayakahel.
Some
of the more penetrating ideas and concepts are as follows: the ability to study the Melachot [creative
labors] in order to know how to keep Shabbat [with Jews or as a convert or to
develop one's knowledge within the realm of Ger Tzedek], ability to identify
the material in both the Oral and Written Torah with Divine predictability, the
prominence of the "Ger Code" – concerning the Mishkan/Mikdash
dimensions, the concept of Soul Mazal of one's name – such that on Shabbat our
Soul/Mazal is more pronounced [the Prophet Is. Ch. 40 details mazal and names,
and lists Abraham as the prime example], the concept of perceiving the
Shechinah on Shabbat [as the Prophet Is. States 58:13-14], the Kabbalah of the
spiritual Worlds in association of the Mishkan and Shabbat, Derech Eretz and
hard [allowed] labor on Shabbat [along with Creative thought], and the ability
to defeat the evil inclination – while taking one's position in the highest
spiritual realm as a rectified being. The vernacular of the Ger and
"code" if you will, are the lent vessels in transmitting these
precious secrets; perforce the Ger has inherited them.
We
have just gone through many Parshiot that all look the same, when in fact they
are all very different. In order, they are as follows: 1) Trumah – post Sinai
and commanded in the Mishkan and concept 2) Tetzaveh – the priests who operate
such an apparatus 3) Ki Sisa – the episode that called for the Mishkan 4)
Vayakahel – the construction itself 5) Pekudei – the receipt. This is the
perfect example of cause effect, prophecy and wisdom, and brokering/executing
spirituality from a place of power to implementation. Combine this with the
Messianic secrets within, such that define Moshiach and the Third Temple, and
this is yet another unique hotspot [of Mochin/Intellect] in the Torah.
The
Torah has many flavors, whether it is in halacha, midrash, scripture,
redemption, characters, plotlines, etc. In Kabbalah the intellect shines
through the tools of Pardes [the mystical orchard], and shows exactly what is
underneath the Torah on a Divine Level.
However that is all on the sublime microcosmic revelation. If we step back
for a change, we can see a vast macro image, and this collage is none other
than the Shabbat. To summarize the Parasha, and for that matter life, it all
boils down to one thing: repair our souls and have a relationship with God, The
Creator. How nice, and even glorious it will be, when Jews and Gerim will sit
together, and take in one Universal Shabbat, in a Covenant of Peace….I'll even bring THE gefilte fish
if you bring the chrain….הנה מה טוב ומה נעים שבת אחים גם יחד - "Behold, how
good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
Audio/Visual In-Depth Lesson From Article Wednesday 11 P.M. Tzfat Time!
 |
| Click Here To Help Build Yeshivat Shem V' Ever! |
Monday, February 24, 2014
You Don't Know Your Enemy Until...
- Recognizing Evil Through Making Gerim
- Secrets of Tzedakka
- Kind Justice
- The Whole Torah In One [Two, and Three]
- Mazal and The Ger
- Mitzvah of Vitality
- etc.
 |
| Click Here To Help Yeshivat Shem and Ever |
Friday, February 21, 2014
A Taste of Shabbat! HD
- Elijah Power!
- The Gerah Shekel
- Code - Pshat
- Torah Seen Through Emunah
- Crowns of Angels
- Kruvim In Atzilus
- The Repair of the Calf
- Secrets of Shabbos
- etc.
 |
| Click Here To Help Build The Yeshiva! |
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Shabbos Style
Parashas Ki Sisa
Among The Angels
Rabbi David Katz
The
Ger Code continues – as Moses keeps shape in his dialogue with all of the
different types of people who have left behind Egypt with Moses, as well as his
intense exchanges with Hashem. The profound nature of these discussions are
found in the ongoing "Ger Code" – a consistent vernacular of "The
Children of Israel" running alongside of the Ger, who is simply referenced
as "The People." This "code" as noticed and established by
Torah luminaries such as the Arizal, paints a hauntingly clear picture of the
exact dynamics in the desert between "Jews," "People," and
Moses, such that we now have well-defined characters to our once ambiguous
state of affairs in the desert. Not only does the Ger have a voice, and image,
and an identity through a simple code-identification, but the entire Torah now
opens her deep and mysterious vaults of leftover ink [after the Breaking of the
Tablets, which contained the Oral Torah – written, caused the Second Tablets to
be devoid of the Oral Law in written form, and thus Moses inherited the
"leftover ink" as explained by the Midrash] that was inherited to
Moses as an Oral Torah [the level of "Moses- Messiah"], and suddenly
every word and letter of the Torah becomes exceedingly more pronounced, and the
Ger suddenly finds himself on the winning side of history, after having been
previously led to believe in his non-existence. In fact, his disappearing act
can be traced through the code itself, for God says, "I will remove whom I
wish to [in reference to Moses' adjuring to be removed from the Book] remove;
this was spoken in clear context of the Ger, and history can speak for itself.
Suffice
it to say, the Golden Calf did happen, the People caused it [the
"People" we have identified as the Ger, and he is in close relation
to the Erev Rav, much like Israel has within itself "the haters of
Israel"] and the revelation is that this does not come down to finger
pointing, for there is a larger picture here, one of the Universal Mission, and
the agenda now directly transitions to repairing the Universe, an undertaking
by sheer necessity. From this debacle comes the National Mission, and by
association, Aaron IS involved, as is every Human who was there, and even
extending to those who were not there, i.e. Moses and Joshua were equally
effected. The sign of trouble rang loud and clear, at least in the spiritual
state of affairs, as they were all removed of their jewelry; the ornaments
signified the greats that everyone achieved before the haywire through the
return to idolatry. In short, for one brief moment, Man became imbued with the
exalted state that enables one to transcend walking like an Egyptian, opening
into a new reality of rising like an angel. It was precisely at this juncture
where the hammer dropped and they lost their "crowns" and the story
of Adam became de ja vu; Mankind fell again, and now the Torah was in motion to
fix according to the Divine Plan, among Jews and Gerim.
It
was in this aftermath, that the solutions would be first realized, as God emanated
into the Torah, and through Moses, the path to the Tree of Life. Suddenly,
everyone there would be exposed to Moses, Light, Shabbat, Mishkan, The Path to
immortality, Angelic association with the soul, Moses' leadership, Torat Emet
[Written and Oral, revealed], secrets of incense spices [symbolizing Jews and
Gerim through "7" and "4"], what and why idolatry
"is", revelation of identities in the Torah, even reincarnations
[through Aaron's involvement of the calf, the end letters onsite allude to his
previous life/sin as Haran, Brother of Abraham, and the association with the
furnace of Kasdim], the essential Levite – "ben Brit", and the true
nature of Jews and Gerim – stiff-necked; in short, the answer map is quite
simple, for the destination is purely the territory of the Holy Shabbat. In
fact, the whole story leads to the construction of the Mishkan, which in the
macro sense is an elaborate introduction to the star of the show – "The
Shabbat Queen." The salvation of Man is why the script was written in the
first place, going back to Bereishit Bara Elokim…and as the Tikkunei Zohar
points out, the Torah's first word "Bereishit" can be easily read as
"Yira – Shabbat [the awe and fear of the Sabbath." Shabbat is, was,
and always will be the goal of Man; a true rendering of Hashem [meaning is, was,
and will be] IS Elokim! [As the attack against God was in the calf and their
claims upon it of "another elohim"]
Under
the fallen conditions, Man is charged essentially to win back the crown of the
angelic; to once again proclaim "we will do and we will listen"
[which can be understood as "from the mouth of God we heard two/too" –
in fractal sense; the Jew and the Ger as well, through the hearing of two
voices in what is perceived to be one mouth speaking], removing death forever,
and bringing down The Garden of Eden [and the Tree of Life. For all intents and purposes, think of
everything bad from the calf, consider its opposite as the ultimate Good, and
this is the task given to Man through the Torah of Moses as commanded by
Hashem. We are obligated to win back the heart of God…and it starts with the
Messianic awakening, where the hearts of the fathers and the hearts of the sons
will reunite, as told by the Prophet Malachi regarding Elijah's holy mission.
One can easily identify this mission of Elijah [that is described as the level
of "remembering the Torah of Moses, my Servant, which I commanded him at
Horeb [Sinai]…as a reference to the Ger who was clearly [co-starring] there,
and is then perforce the subject matter that the prophet speaks of, and in
regard to the Final Redemption. Two separate Nations they are indeed – always were,
and always will be; the goal is to find the working arena that brings world
peace and removes the impurity that was dragged into existence by the
snake-like calf of destruction.
We
see in Psalm #73 that the Psalmist loathes this world by the utter dominance of
the wicked, that runs parallel to Moses' eternal question [which is also the
essence of Ger philosophy as seen in Job]
of why do the righteous suffer so
much, seemingly for naught? The answer spins its thread from the outcome
of the golden calf; we are living and repairing the punishment that God
promised Moses would come out of the idolatry. From our fall from grace, the
World was inherited to Amalek as his playground of filth, and we, the adherents
to God's Torah, are at his mercy, which clearly is the ultimate oxymoron. So what
gives?
The
answer is implied in verses 27 and 28 in Psalm 73; the wicked are far, though
life is horrible and almost killed me, ironically all I have is God, and it is
the closeness of God that truly is Good. When we delve into the dynamic
properties of King David's words, the story is profoundly clear, and shows how
the World is, was, and always will be on the threshold of repair, and through
time we are moving it along, until the time of the End.
Rashi
comments, that not only is the answer here in the Psalmist's words, but the
wicked have no portion of it, and those of Good will have to struggle at it
[think of the same dynamic and now ironic fractal again], this is due to Divine
Inspiration that comes from Loving God/Elokim – a direct rejection of the calf,
and therefore a most powerful correction. The perpetuation of time comes
through the repair of the calf, and the message is conveyed in a way that the
wicked are disinterested, and the righteous will have to toil to understand the
encrypted code. The sacred key that unlocks the Torah's Light is learning that
there is code, learning the code, and then implementing the code; as we
approach the End, the code comes clearer by definition, and thus every
generation is charged with its destiny in accordance with the Divine Mission in
progressing God's Grand Story of Life and Mankind. This tradition of
scholarship has led to a simple revelation to be seen in between the lines of
the Psalm – the sanctity and necessity of Shabbat, and its oasis status among
the evil and impurity of the calf's aftermath and destructive wake.
At
Sinai, the Brit came down, and this that descended was the Holy Shabbat, a gift
given to Israel. Shabbat would become the island of Holiness and abundance of
Good where Jews would take refuge from the World's plight against evil, and be
allowed to taste a hint of Olam HaBah. Essentially, 1/7 of Life would be the
opposite of a sorry existence that we know all too well. The Psalmist openly
says that this is enough to make life livable, merit eternal life, extend
Creation, deal with life and death, etc. Yet if we take that opportunity to
read between the lines [as proven by tools of Pardes; "Closeness" is
gematria 702 = Shabbat], there is a solution that solves all, it's realistic as
opposed to fantasy fix all solutions that dwell in a generic mantra and it is
logical – and right under our nose: The Universal Shabbat.
Through
passage of Torah [and code; true Messianic rabbinical lineage, AKA Zohar
consciousness – the Noah's Ark of the future that this time around takes
passengers, as expressed by the Zohar Chadash] and the revolutions in life, we
are promised to arrive at such a climatic event in history, and equally
surprising is that we are told that we will not only have to carry it out for
Humanity, but that we will actually be able to understand the Torah's hidden
Light that awakens from its slumber in the End of Days. The ornaments of the
angels are destined to come back, and catalogue needed to register has been
appropriated to the very Gerim who are coming back in the End; in other words The
Ger is code and brings code, and it all makes sense through what King David
calls, the Love of God/Elokim. The Messiah is the time that ushers in all of
these precious gifts, from angels to code, to dormant identities, etc…yet the
lens never seems to focus until we understand what it is that we are looking at
– and that is Shabbat. Just like the Parsha needed an acute focus, and when seen
properly, it becomes resoundingly clear that the message of the Mishkan (and
the Ger) [and thus the calf as well] is Shabbat, so too the End is all about
Shabbat, and again, the Ger must come to light.
We
saw the greatest evil with the calf, and Psalm 73 makes it very clear how
horrible this evil is. Yet through the trials of life, one element is
astoundingly clear: though Jews and Gerim may have issues and different points
of view, they are categorically not Erev Rav, and by fact they suffer the pains
of exile and a calf's evil as much as the Jews do in this long bitter exile.
God has delivered Noah's Ark to Israel in the guise of Torah, Shabbat,
code-tradition/language, etc. It would be sacrilegious in the highest order to
even fathom that this boat would not contain and board Gerim! If Israel takes
comfort in their given/commanded 1/7th of a Good life, and they avoid
the suffering in good merit of Shabbat, and we move aside from the knowledge
known about Gerim and Shabbat [which is allowed as written by the sages], it is
imperative that we board this vessel! The World need not exist mostly wicked,
and our Brothers have a salvation waiting with arms wide open in the Shabbat, a
refuge from the calf and an IOU after personal atonement that was placed on all
of Mankind. Shabbat is not just the salvation for Jewish Israel, but for Ger
Israel as well; we are and always have been on threshold of World Repair, and
it is called Shabbat! Imagine the exponential greatness that will commence with
like-minded mature societies that partake of the Sabbath as we approach the
promised and desired End – the Universal Shabbat.
Shabbat
is the repair of the calf, idolatry, Adam's fall, etc. and is the sanctuary of
the angelic man who dwells with God and learns to speak the language of Divine
Inspiration, such that we become the username and password to enter the Kingdom
of Heaven; this revelation is that this happens here in our World, and we will
merit to Bless God/(the name of) Elokim that Hashem hu Elokim truly is Good, that
life is truly Good, and that He is, was, and always be a God to "me."
We
seek to fly like an angel as we walk the walk with God, and the path to the
Tree of Life is actually set out before us all throughout time. The Shabbat is
the star of our saga and plight, and opens her arms to us time and time again.
As the repair would demand, is that we enter her sanctuary with responsibility
and ability to honor her Light. The Torah was thus given, and we have lived out
the ink to pristine detail; and we are promised that Moses-Messiah will sing
again, and lead us into the Promised Land, that becomes a World of Knowledge of
God. A World of God on our minds can only be a World of Shabbat, and as the
Rebbe of Chabad makes perfectly clear, basing his words of the Rambam concerning
the time of the Messiah, the world will be filled with [from the great mitzvah
of making] Gerim.
Who
needs to call it code when it is as obvious as our nose? The jewelry that Man
desires, is his Shabbat Queen, and as the Bahir states – she has friends, and
they are also desired by the King, for he tells them, would I not invite them –
for in preparation of them do I take effort, and ya'll glorify me as well as my
sign. This is the Brit that was commanded at Sinai, and kindly given to the
World by the word of Moses, God's Servant, through His Torah, to learn and grow
from, an eternal gift to Jews and Gerim…"a Ger who learns the Torah is
compared to The High Priest" and what better time to learn the Holy Torah than
in the domain of the Shabbat Queen, she who allows her people to dwell as among
the angels. Suffice it to say, She is ready, perhaps now more than ever, we are
too.
Audio Class Wed. 11 P.M. Tzfat Time [on Parsha in-depth]
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
The Psalm Series
Presenting: The New Psalm Series! [In-Depth]
- Averaging One Verse per Hour / Lecture
- Super Commentary
- Understanding "The Torah of David"
- The Torah in New Light!
 |
| Click Here To Help! |
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Building (a) Third Temple
Click Here For Article!
- The Breastplate
- Urim V' Tumim
- Ezekiel Revealed
- Building The Temple
- Chavruta Emet
- etc.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Chronicles of a Chasid in Exile
Parashas Tetzaveh
The Third Temple and The
Urim V' Tumim: Traditions of The Ger
Rabbi David Katz
Parashas
Trumah laid the down the eternal blueprint design of the Third Temple, by
following in the footsteps of King Solomon who by upon meditating on the
Mishkan, was able to reach the Messianic level of greatness necessary to
construct a proper House of God. The Third Temple is existentially different
from however from King Solomon's Temple; this being achieved by its destiny of
being an eternal structure, and of course, in that the very DNA is straight
from Olam HaBah – Wisdom from the [Torah
of] Ger. The Torah concludes that the story of six thousand years of Creation
can quite simply be told over as a tale of the Jew and the Ger – encapsulated
by twenty-four books of scripture along with the entire era of Oral Torah;
essentially, this all boils down to into a recipe that not only explains our
reality, but actually constructs the Third Temple to its completion. Yet what remains
a mystery to this elaborate scheme, is the proverbial, "how does this ever
get achieved"; and to that tune, one would need to get well acquainted to
the ancient fringe of authentic Torah's past. I welcome you all, to meet Ezekiel;
he is the star of the Haftorah [very apropos to the Parsha and its proximity] and
the father of [proverbial] time as it plays out – by
turning heads throughout the ages! In my best Sean Connery introduction that
could narrate a documentary film to the Temple [stay tuned for the audio
shiur], "This is the Temple. It is built by the Divine Ger Code in the
Torah. Let us take a journey into Ezekiel's mysterious Prophecy, and [finally] appropriately
LEARN [hint] about the Temple."
In
all seriousness, the Temple is no light matter, and it truly is built by the
Ger – Jewish cooperation in shared Torah endeavors. This partnership is one in
acute Torah study, covering every element and facet of the Torah and Torah
history that spans the spectrum of time. We have mentioned that the union
produces a sublime Ger / Messianic code that explains the deepest secrets of
the Torah; now in the very next Parasha [Tetzaveh] and Haftorah [Ezekiel] the
program that we must "run" is there staring us in the eye, once we
find the sensation to appreciate the task at hand and recognize it. The premise
is brought down in two distinct ways in the Parasha and Haftorah: a) How the
partnership works, rallying around a mutual priestly aspect b) and the learning
from the mouth that commences. King David describes in Psalms that this is the
prescription of building the spiritual foundation for the Temple, one that is
sure to quickly inspire and manifest a physical counterpart. The implication
from the Prophet is that once achieved and the people have locked down the
initial task, Temple – fever will erupt with supreme Hedva [profound joy] and
an awakening on Earth will take place. This is the proverbial arena for Gog
Magog [to contend these matters through false religion and immorality] in the
future; the victory is to gain excitement in a tangible new light coming to the
World. This is NOT the Tower of Babylon…for this is the game plan for God's Eternal
Temple, and it will succeed. All that is needed to do is to follow the golden
recipe, and the path to Zion will illuminate before our dreamy eyes.
The
Parasha [28:29-30] covers the High Priest's Breastplate that he wears on his
chest as remembrance for the Children of Israel in times of Judgment. This
formula appears quite simple: Priest, of the Nation of Priests [Jews] names of
the twelve tribes on his chest…this is a nice and simple Jewish story. The only
problem is, is that the story doesn't stop here, quite the contrary really. He
is to add a piece into the Breastplate, the mysterious "Urim V'
Tumim" – a sacred set of holy names [of God and such]; altogether this
produces the desired effect for the High Priest when he is to inquire of the
Breastplate what the nation should do in times of distress. It should be noted
that this dimension was missing in the Second Temple, due to Israel's lower
spiritual state, thus there was no Urim V' Tumim nor the Shechinah. There was
however one other BIG piece missing from the Second Temple and it ties all of
these factors together quite well; this is none other than the Ger. If one pays
attention to the language of the Parasha, noticing the difference in language
and context between the Breastplate and the Urim V' Tumim, we have yet again an
exquisite example of Ger Tzedek code, as elaborated in the previous article.
[Children of Israel compared to a general "they"…shall be on his
heart, as if to say in contrast – Jews and Gerim.] The Talmud makes clear
mention of the Ger who learns Torah is compared to the High Priest, and perhaps
now, more than ever there is light shed on this enigmatic statement.
The
Sforno in various places makes mention that the desire of God was not to have a
Temple, Mishkan, or even vessels in these structures [such as the Ark; sorry Sean
Connery], but that Mankind would become the Chariot to which God interfaces in
the World. The template to such a concept was Malki Tzedek, a Priest to God
Above; Man would be prophetic by nature, and Earth would serve God in the
highest order. Yet in the end it did not work out this way, and the Torah we
have is Absolute Truth; however we can still emulate these very concepts in our
service to God [aside from the fact that there is a strong belief that the Ark
still will NOT come back, and that we are to function as the receiver of God's
prophetic word in the times to come. A Temple, we are promised though, will
stand, and has served to this day as the ultimate sign of redemption.], and
even allegorically transform spiritually into spiritual technology. This is
called [as rabbi Nachman puts it in Likutei Moharan] the Torah of Faith, and is
the quintessential level of Chasidut Torah; it should be noted for this reason
the Gerim are often called "Chisidei Umot Ha-Olam" from their innate
spiritual abilities, along with their ability to break the laws of [their]
nature to become [reveal] something new.
At
this point we have a very simple program to work with: The task of the Jewish
"Priest" is to know the Torah – in Hebrew, and be prepared to
decipher code, as the traditional Breastplate operates by the same disciplines
of Pardes as the Ger Code in Torah. The job of the Ger is to function as the
Urim V' Tumim [help with names of God goes a long way, for the Urim V' Tumim
is composed of this, much like Shem's
task as the Priest to God Above; even in the Torah, the initial letters of the
words in the location of the Urim, is a cloaked – code name of God [the name
that is of value 17, same as the code in the first verse of the Torah by
"Heavens and Earth."] and be a vessel – priest that works in tandem with
his priest in partnership. Should they be of proper intent, their harmony in
Torah will produce an ability to draw down Torah revelation, and with the
pre-requisite knowledge and ability, they can decode the secrets of the Torah.
This is not only an amazing truth, but like the proverbial axiom states, "this
is what you [they] were created to do"; this is called "Building the
Temple" and serves as the perfect illustration of not only God's
intentions of creating them both, but just how holy their partnership is, and
precious to God. Remember, God Loves the Ger, and how could anyone not
"just Love" when this is the program were created to run. The
definition of true spirituality [and as we said in the original intent of Man]
is "The power of God in Man through the agency of Divine Providence";
enlightenment is the merit to see this as it happens, and is the purpose of
being Created – to know Him [Zohar].
Now
that we have the tools to harness God's Sanctuary of Light, Ezekiel gives first
shape to our destined Third Temple.
As
it says [43:10-11] "You, son of Man! Tell the House of Israel about the
Temple, and let them be ashamed of their iniquities and calculate the Temple's
design. If they become ashamed of all that they have done, then make known the
form of the Temple and its design, its exits and its entrances, and all its
buildings' forms, all its laws, all its designs and all its teachings, and
write all this down before their eyes, so that they may safeguard its entire
form and all its rules and MAKE/DO THEM!" It is not enough that this
powerful message gives tremendous inspiration and sense of command, yet when we
read Rashi on this verse it is as if the voice of God becomes thunder in our
hearts to run up and build his sacred Temple! Rashi simply explains the verse
to the end; but there at the end is where the profound nature of Rashi shines
brightest and all revealing, "and they will learn/teach the matters of the
design from your mouth – [by doing] THAT [you will gain, hear, understand,
realize the] EXPERTISE to make/do them [the building; by connecting to the
Torah inside, and speaking it, this causes revelation to come out of the mouths
of those involved, and subsequently this is the only way one can know how to
build the Temple – if we all are involved, share, etc. – Jews and Gerim. Like
the Sforno wanted to say, the Temple IS in all of us, and it is the task and
correction of Man to extract from our hearts/souls by Love of God/one
another/Torah and engaging in Tikkun Olam in this fashion prescribed and
inspired by the Torah.] to [awaken, make it] a Time of the End [stamped by the
actions of Man through his accomplishment of fulfilling God's will].
That
is why we are here. That is why we Love the Ger. That is why we are all
Priests. That is why God is awesome. As Sean Connery would say, in his documentary
voice, "This is the Temple. It was built by Jews and Gerim who loved God,
His Torah, and each other. Come with us on a journey, to the Temple Mount…"
for it says in Parashas Jethro, if we go up looking for God in the place that
He has chosen [the Priests] to say His name, he will come to us and bless us.
Amen, and so it is, and thus it shall always be, for God Loves the Ger, and
every second the High Priest dons the garments, it could not be any more
apparent to God what He created; Glorious it is to those with an awakened Heart
to experience the Power of God.
Note the New Schedule:
Tues [of this week] 11 P.M. Parasha In-Depth
Wed 11 P.M. Psalms In-Depth #72
****Starting Next Week****
Psalms In-Depth will be SUNDAY NIGHTS 11 PM
and
Parasha In-Depth will be WEDNESDAY NIGHTS 11 PM
please note the changes, and God Willing this will be the order of events for this current cycle of affairs.
Also, God Willing, our classes will available as an MP3 download [as always] along with a new Video option [posted with link on YouTube]
The Mishkan Code
- Ger Tzedek HD
- Ramban Code
- The Cruvim, Two People
- Secrets of Mishkan
- Inspiration of Solomon
- etc.
Notice New Class Times To Begin Next Week!
Psalms In-Depth / Thinking Shabbat
[classes to infrequently alternate; focus will be Psalms]
11 P.M. Sunday Tzfat Time and Place
Parasha In-Depth [Noahide Focus]
11 P.M. Wed.
[Thurs. 11 P.M. is the default time change should there be need]
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
God's Love Story, A Tragedy - Non
Parashas Trumah
Searching For Rest on Zion
Rabbi David Katz
In
Parashas Trumah we are introduced to the first order of the Mishkan
[Tabernacle] following the Sinai revelation, and soon we shall learn of the
apparent core reason; that being the fall and sin of the infamous Golden Calf
incident. Yet according to Kabbalah the most paramount aspect of creation is
knowledge of Hashem [as the Zohar claims this is our whole existence in this
World], and as it turns out, we know with whole and complete faith that God is
truly and absolutely Good. With that said, the Golden Calf perforce must
produce a positive outcome, and it does, for the Ramban reveals that it is the
platform to take on board the Gerim. In essence, the Mishkan contains sacred
knowledge not only as a dwelling for God below, but the actual blueprint of
Creation [through God's Creating process towards Olam HaBah]. The Zohar says
that this blueprint extends as the basis of the First and Third Temples; the
first having been constructed by King Solomon and his wisdom taken from the
Mishkan's design, and is fully expressed in Song of Songs, King Solomon's
"Holy of Holies." It is said that the Moshiach will build the Third
Temple, and that it will be inspired by the Mishkan as well, producing similar
Torah to Song of Songs. This level of Revelation hints at the essential Divine
Story being told in the Temple [and Mishkan, Creation, etc.], expressed through
a heartfelt account of the Love affair with God that takes place between Jews
and Gerim.
The
Ramban opens the gateway to the discovery of the relationship that exists
between Jews and Gerim, by revealing the inner elements of the Mishkan. The
Ramban says the following: "Just as Hashem spoke with Israel face to face
through Ten Statements [10 Commandments] and commanded them through the hand of
Moses as 'some of the commandments' functioning as a primary system [avot] to
the commandments of the Torah. In a similar way the rabbis guide the Gerim that
come to become friendly with Judaism, and Israel accepted upon themselves to do…as
you shall be a Nation of Priests….and Israel is fit to be soaked with the
Shechinah among them. And thus the first command is to have a Mishkan among
them where Moses could command them…And behold the main desire of the Mishkan
is a place for the Shechinah to rest, and this is the Ark." To generalize
the Ramban, as explained in Kabbalistic works, and in absolute parallel within
kabbalah, the Ark contains two Cherubim [angelic entities] on the lid of the
Ark; for all intents and purposes, and within an ever micro – macro level, the
two Cherubim represent this desire of God, characterized as Jews and Gerim, as
evidenced by two partial systems of Law [Noahide – 7 and the 10 Commandments;
Noahides were given (devoid of command) a unique three in Marah to make an
equal measure; Shabbat, Red Heifer, and Statutes]. The Mishkan then came into
being through the Golden Calf, yet we see its very essence represents the Jews
and the Gerim working together in a perfect male-female [and thus Kabbalistic/micro-macro]
relationship and position.
If
the Mishkan indeed does represent the two peoples in our World, and provided
for a place of Service up and into the Land, it is only fitting to illuminate
the inherent pipeline that exists in the Mishkan, reaching as far as the
highest spiritual worlds. In kabbalah there are four practical and tangible
worlds that are related to the Mishkan[/Temple – for the Mishkan is a pre-Temple
infrastructure], and are the arena of Divine Service of God. The main service
is ultimately become righteous, gain pure faith, and know God; this is
epitomized as the defeat of one's personal evil inclination, a divine reality
that all of mankind partakes in. The evil inclination is the necessary evil
that God sends into the soul, inspiring one to achieve in this World, and thus
giving Creation substance, all as a disguise to the hand of God in His Creating
process. The ultimate goal then is to defeat evil, recognize God, and enter
inherit the Land of the Humble. That Land is inhabited by Jews and Gerim, and
they are working to build and serve the Third and final Temple for God to dwell
below. It is this Temple that will innately express the story of Creation,
while highlighting the Jewish/Ger "code" of Torah. Many are sure to
be surprised that this is essentially the story of the
final redemption and the ultimate Torah of the King Messiah. As Ezekiel the
prophet says, by learning "it" we merit the inspiration, like King
Solomon [in Song of Songs] to build the House of Prayer.
Thus
as a perfected service of God, we find two key issues to secure the Will of
God: the defeat of the evil inclination and revelation of Torah; coincidentally
enough they go hand and glove. The defeat of one's evil happens simultaneously
with one's ability to reveal the Godliness of this World. As we grow in Torah
revelation and gain an ability to grasp absolute Truth and Faith, the evil
inclination loses its ability to deceive, and upon identification, one is ready
to take his part in the eternal Jewish – Ger saga that exists for all of time.
The
war with the evil inclination naturally takes place in our world, and while
unengaged in this indoctrination to evil, we appear utterly divorced from our
spiritual identity and reality that we are destined to inherit upon success
against evil. As the Zohar points out, through the struggle we endure in our
plight, God actually engineers a whirlwind for us to cling to the Divine roots
of Creation, even if unbeknownst to ourselves. By conquering the inclination,
we rise up, and go from World to World [from Asiah – to Yetzirah – to Briah –
and onwards towards a World without evil, Atzilus] by the angelic – Cherubim intervention,
occupied by the souls of Elijah and Hanoch. Together, they act as Priests whose
numerical value is the same as "voice"; it is as if they announce the
righteousness of the soul who conquers his evil, and these two priestly youths
project the soul upwards, through passage of "Heavenly tabernacles"
until the soul reaches its original home, or soul root. Along this journey,
many spiritual realities happen to the victor; from interacting with the
Archangel Michael, and gaining the most sublime Torah revelations, his life on
Earth is destined to transform itself from a dungeon of death into a Garden of Eden
flowing with fantastic and attainable true Joy of spirit.
The
nourishment of this journey [called Life] is the influx of profound Torah, and
what should not be surprising by this point, comes in the vessels of the Love
between God – Jews – and Gerim. As the revelation intensifies, our perceptions
change, and as we can begin to recognize the beauty of Humanity, God's Hand of
Providence [Mazal] becomes ever more pronounced in our lives. The Torah [even
in its original form and perception] serves as the discipline and language
[among all of its other infinite Divine cause and function] to decipher the
communion that God has with man, and with proper concentration and focus, a
harmonious language of God begins to manifest; for all intents and purposes,
one could say that the meaning and purpose of Life begins to show its colors. A
code exists on Earth, and as Kabbalah calls it, it is the "Voice of the
Turtledove" – the Torah of our Righteous Messiah. Several key themes
compose its content, and it profoundly takes up Song of Songs' cause, as the
mysterious Love affair becomes an audible display of the love between the Jew
and the Ger. This is where the Mishkan takes the stage as the sacred key to
this dynamic.
When
we look into the vernacular of the Mishkan [and all the more so Ezekiel's
temple prophecy] one need not stress his eyes too much to see that the language
is a bit peculiar in that seems as if every step is a double entendre; this
implies that multiple layers are ever present within the actual design of the
Mishkan. Indeed it is so, for from a spiritual angle, the words double as
vessels to God's Divine Code/Language. This is the same inspiration that
Betzalel [who actually constructed the Mishkan] drew in his design, followed by
King Solomon; the story of Creation and its Redemption is staring us right in
the eye, and has been for thousands of years.
The
Torah has been slightly concealed since its inception, and as the End draws
near, witnessed by unprecedented returnees to enjoy the Light of the Ger, the concealment
yields to unprecedented Light. The light is enveloped within a code that is
laced throughout the Torah that once revealed, it is the chronicles of the
episodes between Jews and Gerim. Jews are often depicted as "the Children
of Israel" while the Gerim are considered "the People." Although
not a perfect science, at least in revelation at this point, the Torah steadily
becomes a profound testimony between Jews and Gerim; this spans all of time,
and sheds particular light on the Torah's most righteous [and their saga's],
especially the exchange between Shem and Abraham. Thus when we have a mastery
of the "Entire Ger Tzedek / Messianic [Kol HaTor] Code" the Mishkan becomes
a huge magnifying glass and decoder to the ultimate revelation of God's
Blueprint to the Third Temple, and that is Ezekiel's Messianic Prophecy.
In
simple terms, the Torah has code, and the path to righteousness opens the code.
Righteousness is defined by the conquering of evil, and key to victory is held
in the unity that must exist between Jews and Gerim, thus their imprint is
stamped onto eternity's walls. Each side possesses the illumination that the
other one needs. For thousands of years each side continuously comes up short;
either too solely Jewish, or too unfamiliar with Torah discipline and Wisdom.
The Noahide Laws that can blossom into a life of a Ger, provide the bridge
between these Worlds, and contain enough firepower to vanquish evil forever,
even to the extent that King David promises that this is the way of defeat over
Gog V' Magog.
With
World-wide unity between Jews and Gerim, the Torah reveals that evil doesn't
stand a chance against the Brotherly image that is draped over the Jewish-Ger
bond. The Divine Code – Mazal is the universal language that these long lost
lovers mutually speak, for it is the language of the Torah itself. By learning in
this way, along with all types of communication [Prayer, Friendship, etc.], we
are on the way to open the treasure troves of inspiration within Ezekiel, the
Mishkan itself, and the pathways of the heavens, as all roads lead to our soul
root, in that we should better recognize our Creator. The Zohar says that this is the meaning of
Life itself, and we trust that this builds Zion soon in our day, as we pick up
where David, the King of Israel and Aravnah, the Ger Tzedek left off, and
represent so many before them – standing on Mt. Zion waiting for God's
Salvation over the Torah's secret issue. I guess it's kinda simple, Jews and
Gerim getting along, finally, and without the yetzer, standing together in the
Temple? I think someone said that that would be on Shabbos too, maybe. What do
you think?
