I have shown in a previous post in this series that Man and Woman were, according to our tradition, created simultaneously, with two bodies, connected at the back. The Biblical narrative of the creation of Woman is understood to mean that they were separated into two separate beings. At marriage, we are quite literally being united with our other half. But let's go deeper.
As I pointed out in my series on Kabbalah, not all Jews accept Kabbalah, and even among those who believe in it, many avoid studying it, even seeing it as "dangerous'. I do not share those views. To me (and to many others) the Kabbalistic understanding of life, and, as we shall see, love, is very fundamental to our everyday understanding of the mystery we call "life". I'm certain that many of those reading this, might not be comfortable with what I am about to say, but, I believe, I would be remiss in not putting it "out there".
As you may recall, according to Kabbalah, the Essence of G-d (called "Ein Sof", the Infinite) is unknowable, and has no Name. Ein Sof emitted a "ray" which divided into attributes, already present in Ein Sof in an inexplicable way, but now manifest. The Name which is forbidden to pronounce is actually a diagram of the flow of "light" through these attributes, known as Sefirot. The Kabbalistic understanding of Man being in the Image of G-d, is that these same attributes are reflected in Man's soul, his personality, and even in his physical being. (A section of the Zohar which describes the connection of the Sefirot and the human body is to be found in most Sephradic, and some Hasidic, prayer books) That is, we have "Understanding" which reflects, albeit distantly, G-d's attribute of Understanding (Binah). The human heart is a manifestation of Binah as well. When we speak of "the Heart of G-d", we do not mean an organ made of muscle that pumps blood. Yet, that is the paradigm of the human heart, infinitely more refined and exalted than we can imagine. The Kabbalah also speaks of a male/female relationship within the sefirot on several levels, especially between the ninth and tenth sefirot, which are represented in the Divine Name as the letters "Vav" and "Heh". A word of caution here. There were times and places where great errors were made in this, and people understood this in pagan terms of gods and goddesses. This is one reason why some great rabbis rejected Kabbalah. At the other extreme, there are those who say that male and female are merely expressions of "Bestower" and "Bestowee", unconnected to the human meanings of male and female. From the writings of the ARI, it is clear that what really exists is that there are aspects of G-d, manifest in the sefirot, that are reflected in the human soul, psyche, and physiology, much as the heart "represents" the Divine Binah. Therefore, Man and Woman reflect the Vav and the Heh. The Zohar explains how the Vav and Heh of G-d's manifestation became severed, causing the "Exile of the Shechinah" (Divine Presence, Divine Feminine [Nukva]). Through our actions in performing mitzvot, we can reunite the Masculine and Feminine principles. But a great Cosmic yearning exists for reunification. That is reflected in Man's and Woman's deep-seated desire and yearning for each other. The mating of husband and wife both REFLECTS the cosmic drama, and actually BRINGS ABOUT divine Unity. So, when we make love to our spouse, we are participating in something far beyond ourselves. Yet, ironically, this is how we may, at last, find ourselves. What should we be thinking at the time of love making that will transform the physical act into a transcendent mystery? Why can we not accomplish this with random sexual acts, outside of marriage? That will be my next post.
As I pointed out in my series on Kabbalah, not all Jews accept Kabbalah, and even among those who believe in it, many avoid studying it, even seeing it as "dangerous'. I do not share those views. To me (and to many others) the Kabbalistic understanding of life, and, as we shall see, love, is very fundamental to our everyday understanding of the mystery we call "life". I'm certain that many of those reading this, might not be comfortable with what I am about to say, but, I believe, I would be remiss in not putting it "out there".
As you may recall, according to Kabbalah, the Essence of G-d (called "Ein Sof", the Infinite) is unknowable, and has no Name. Ein Sof emitted a "ray" which divided into attributes, already present in Ein Sof in an inexplicable way, but now manifest. The Name which is forbidden to pronounce is actually a diagram of the flow of "light" through these attributes, known as Sefirot. The Kabbalistic understanding of Man being in the Image of G-d, is that these same attributes are reflected in Man's soul, his personality, and even in his physical being. (A section of the Zohar which describes the connection of the Sefirot and the human body is to be found in most Sephradic, and some Hasidic, prayer books) That is, we have "Understanding" which reflects, albeit distantly, G-d's attribute of Understanding (Binah). The human heart is a manifestation of Binah as well. When we speak of "the Heart of G-d", we do not mean an organ made of muscle that pumps blood. Yet, that is the paradigm of the human heart, infinitely more refined and exalted than we can imagine. The Kabbalah also speaks of a male/female relationship within the sefirot on several levels, especially between the ninth and tenth sefirot, which are represented in the Divine Name as the letters "Vav" and "Heh". A word of caution here. There were times and places where great errors were made in this, and people understood this in pagan terms of gods and goddesses. This is one reason why some great rabbis rejected Kabbalah. At the other extreme, there are those who say that male and female are merely expressions of "Bestower" and "Bestowee", unconnected to the human meanings of male and female. From the writings of the ARI, it is clear that what really exists is that there are aspects of G-d, manifest in the sefirot, that are reflected in the human soul, psyche, and physiology, much as the heart "represents" the Divine Binah. Therefore, Man and Woman reflect the Vav and the Heh. The Zohar explains how the Vav and Heh of G-d's manifestation became severed, causing the "Exile of the Shechinah" (Divine Presence, Divine Feminine [Nukva]). Through our actions in performing mitzvot, we can reunite the Masculine and Feminine principles. But a great Cosmic yearning exists for reunification. That is reflected in Man's and Woman's deep-seated desire and yearning for each other. The mating of husband and wife both REFLECTS the cosmic drama, and actually BRINGS ABOUT divine Unity. So, when we make love to our spouse, we are participating in something far beyond ourselves. Yet, ironically, this is how we may, at last, find ourselves. What should we be thinking at the time of love making that will transform the physical act into a transcendent mystery? Why can we not accomplish this with random sexual acts, outside of marriage? That will be my next post.
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