Gratitude as a Response to Love

In the Kabbalah, one of the ways that a person develops his or her character is through  taking on “middot” (spiritual qualities). The process involves that of taking a positive moral attribute, focusing on it consistently and incorporating it consciously into daily life.  By actively working with a particular attribute over a period of time, one not only begins to resonate with it on deeper and deeper levels, but is gradually able to assimilate it into their being and translate it into their way of life.

One of the most important attributes that a person can possess in life that is essential to spiritual development and the service of the divine is that of gratitude.  To gain an appropriate understanding of gratitude, one needs to realize that gratitude is actually an interplay between the forces of Hesed and Gevurah  (love and courage).

In the Tree of Life, the level of Hesed is understood to be love in the full, universal sense.  This is the level of complete expansiveness and embrace. The counterpart of Hesed, the level of Gevurah, courage,  is the realm of judgment, discernment and inner thought.

The interaction between the two levels, that of Hesed and that of Gevurah is the reality that produces relationship and generates energy.

In Kabbalah, there is a very intimate connection between energy and relationship. When you have two forces that stand face to face to each other in a relationship, energy is produced. When energy is generated, it fuels the relationship. When Hesed, love, expands outward it must be accepted, contained and held in order for it to find expression and fulfillment. This is the function of Gevurah, inner focus.  One loves in order to be loved. One is supported by being supportive. Thus, there is a genuine reciprocity.

The quality of gratitude has dimensions in both realms.   Gratitude originates in Gevurah and is expressed in Hesed. It is a process from inner to outer.   Gratitude is a response to goodness that has been received. For example, a person that you know realizes that you are having a hard time and brings you a gift to cheer you up. The act is unsolicited and very welcome. It is well thought out and coming from a place of the heart.

The appropriate response to such a heartfelt act is gratitude. From the level of Gevurah, we recognize the nature of what is being offered to us. We accept the kindness and we internalize it. If we have cultivated the quality of  gratitude, it gets expressed through Hesed, which encompasses the  dimensions of appreciation, gratefulness and joy. Because this individual has reached out to us, gratitude is the means by which we extend  our light and love back in response.

The energy being formed by an act of loving kindness, extended, accepted and appreciated nurtures a relationship between the two parties involved. It bonds them together. There is, in essence, a great interdependency between the giver and the receiver. For an act of love and caring to take place, it must be generated on one side by genuine concern and received with heartfelt sincerity, on the other.

An act of love is the extension of self, coming from the heart level. Gratitude is the opening of the heart by the recipient. The common denominator here is what is happening in the heart. The transmission of love and concern on the part of the giver is an  intentionally directed expansiveness, originating at the level of Hesed. The recognition and acceptance of that love on the part of the recipient is the acknowledgment that takes place within Gevurah.

True acknowledgment of the good we receive comes in the form of gratefulness.  Through gratitude, we recognize the goodness and the light that is being directed toward us. We are giving the love sent to us a validity first by holding it, then by internalizing it and finally, by being truly grateful for it.

Expressing gratitude is a very primal and necessary quality in life. When we express how grateful we truly are, we are moving the energy of the love and light we’ve received back to Hesed, its origin. We are bringing the energy full circle. To contain and accept the love being offered us is not enough, because relationships are reciprocal and the reciprocity is what creates energy.

Love received, but not reciprocated because of a lack of gratitude, loses a fair proportion of its strength.  Energy without support diminishes. That is the law of resistance. However, love that is sent to back toward its source because it is being reinforced by the light of heartfelt gratitude is magnified exponentially.

This is so, because without gratitude the light is received but not enhanced. No energy is being added to the original  impulse. Hence the energy is constrained and diminished. When one is truly grateful and the gratitude comes from the heart, the energy of the recipient is added to the original energy.  The two are bound together.

What happens is, the act of responding with gratitude  draws on one’s own energy, melds it to the love received, thereby magnifying the light and it’s force as  the energy is being returned to source.

So, in the cycle of love, gratitude and response, the movement is from the level of Hesed to Gevurah and back to Hesed. This cyclical movement of energy creates a bond of a relationship between giver and receiver. The bond, in response, energizes the relationship.  The whole gestalt is enhanced. Both parties in the relationship benefit.

A relationship has to exist between the two in order for the original concern and love to be directed toward the recipient, as well as for the recipient to be in a position to receive the energy. The energy created by the response of gratitude deepens the connection between both parties. It is good to care. It is good to receive the love. It is good to strengthen the love with the warmth and humility of gratitude.

This cycle of light, moving from Hesed to Gevurah and back, deepens the relationship between giver and receiver through a process that intensifies the energy that was set into motion. Love, strengthened through recognition and gratitude, upon its return, fortifies the bonds of relationship; the result for both individuals involved being personal growth and spiritual evolution. For as a result of this cycle and the accompanying process, the levels of Hesed (loving kindness) and Gevurah (strength) have been  significantly enlarged in both parties.

In relationship, what happens with one party has a direct effect upon the other and their response, in turn, creates a certain unity of experience  between them. The overall effect of their interaction, specifically when it is cyclical, impacts both parties and frequently in a similar manner.

This is particularly true in relationships in which the intention is outreach and bonding. The interaction between acts of love and concern and the response of gratitude, both magnifies the energy involved, as well as produces pronounced growth in the areas of Hesed, extension of self toward others and Gevurah, self understanding.

Understand that through the force of gratitude, both Hesed and Gevurah are fortified and stimulated to  develop, simultaneously, within each of the individuals separately and within the relationship itself, in general. That is the great power and benefit of  cultivating and incorporating within yourself the ability to be consistently grateful.

Rabbi Fisdel

March 3, 2011

About Light, Creation and Us

The view in Kabbalah regarding the nature of light and its function is founded on the Creation narrative in Genesis. Biblically, when the heavens and earth were created initially the earth was in chaos and amorphous. God’s command, “let there be light” not only brings light into existence, but makes it the very foundation upon which creation stands.

The light at first is implicit in the darkness. God refers to the light as goodness and this reference is made before God separates the light from the dark. The light is then made manifest in its own right. At the point where this occurs, dark and light become the revolving cycle of time and of life. There is evening and then morning as each subsequent day of creation emerges.

As God first makes heaven and earth, the earth plane is described as a deep, dark field of chaos and turmoil. Since the darkness is specifically associated with the earth level as it emerges, light by implication is confined originally at the higher level of the heavens. On the earth plane, light is still hidden within the darkness. The heavens are stable and the earth is not. Light and the divine will implicit in it are at first contained in the heavens, not yet manifest on the earthly plane.

The earth at this point has been created, but not yet formatted. So then God says, “Let there be light”, meaning that light is being extended from the higher planes toward the primordial commotion on earth. The effect on our level, the earth plane, is dramatic and vital. Once the light enters this level, it establishes itself here by separating the experience of light from that of dark. Once integrated into our reality, the interplay of light and dark becomes the experience of good and the cycle of life. The reality of light per se is the ordering principle of creation. The presence of light creates and sustains order. There is evening. Then there is morning and another day of creation is finished. Light emerges and follows the darkness in the flow of creative forces. By doing so, the principle of light progressively brings things into existence and then serves as the force behind evolution and development.

On each day of creation a new level of reality unfolds successively. Light follows
the dark. The waters are separated and dry land appears. Then there is darkness again succeeded by light and vegetation appears on the land. The cycle of dark and light repeats and animals begin to appear and so on. Light is the understood as the force that both brings order to chaos, creates the cycles of time and also directs the forces of life that cause progression, change and development in all that exists in the world.

In the physical universe, darkness is the primal matter, the unformed frenetic commotion, waiting to be acted upon and given form and meaning. The dark is the potential of life. In response to the dark and in fulfillment of it is the light. It is the light, which acts upon the deep, on the vast ocean of darkness and potential.

The word of God, the articulation of the divine thought, ‘Let there be light’ is the act of bringing creation, the universe, as we know it, into clear focus and explicit form. Light is the organizational principle that brings everything into definition and imparts function and purpose to all that is. Light is also the very driving force behind change and evolution, which are the central pillars of physical existence. Light represents the flow of life and the expression of our experience as created beings.

Light is the manifestation of the divine will on all levels of existence. The soul is an
eternal spark of the divine, an intense focal point of pure light. So, as long as we are present on the earth, we must remain fully conscious of our role and responsibility here. Our task is to continually bring through the light of creative genius and by doing so, create new levels of meaning and understanding in the world in order to further the evolution of life experience.

We must remain ever conscious of the reality that we as souls are the very embodiment of light on the physical plane, which implies enormous responsibility. That is the essence of the Biblical message. May it be in our hearts and in the forefront of our minds always.

Rabbi Steven Fisdel

Spiritual Emergence

There are periods within our lives, when we, as individuals, go through tremendous internal change and deep soul searching. During such periods of introspection, transition and self evaluation, whether or not we are consciously aware of it, we have made a commitment to God and to ourselves. We have undertaken to do great inner work. We have committed our inner being to laboring, diligently, toward achieving greater self understanding. Through this process of internal focus, we deliberately orient our conscious selves toward facilitating our own spiritual growth.

In Jewish tradition, this process of inner soul work is an annual occurance. It begins with the High Holy Days of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, and culminates on the festival of Sukkot and Simchat Torah. Having passed through a three week period of deep soul searching, rectification, repentance and atonement, an individual emerges from the most intense and most spiritually charged periods of the Jewish year.

If one has done the work self examination effectively, he or she has succeeded in transforming themselves internally. They have utilized, properly, the Days of Judgement (the High Holidays) for inner cleansing and spiritual realignment and have reaffirmed their relationship to God, through gratitude and joy during the season of Thanksgiving (Sukkot-Simchat Torah).

Deep inner work, when done in earnest, brings with it very practical consequences on the psychological, emotional and spiritual levels. If we have carried out, fully, the process of searching our souls, admitting our mistakes, rectifying the damage we have done and realigning ourselves to the good, the flow of divine love, we come out of this experience, holy, cleansed and reborn. For we have reached within and faced our own failings. We have reconciled with God and now, place our complete trust in God’s compassion and guidance. A great door has been opened.

Once a door is opened, many things can happen. You can find the morning paper or the dog can get loose. Guests and friends can arrive or an unwanted solicitor can. Regardless, the result is that by opening the door, fresh air circulates, connecting you with the greater world outside. You find that you are free to come and go. There are a lot of possibilities. Some anticipated and some totally unexpected.

The same holds true, when one opens the door of the heart. True return to God and to Self must come from the heart. Without emotion or without allowing for the meditations of the heart and the inner knowingness it provides, we would not be human. It is the heart, that makes us in the image of God. By allowing for the opening of the heart, much is brought to the surface and to the point of direct experience. Some of what comes forth from within, is anticipated. Some is accepted. Some is welcome. Some is overpowering.

During spiritual change, we are constantly being prompted to move forward, to move beyond where we were, to where we need to be next. Often, our conscious mind is the last part of our being to know this. It is the conscious mind that is also the most resistant to change, frequently. In the intensity of periods of deep internal transformation and due to their enormous potency, one can encounter a storm of powerful feelings. One can experience an upsurge of issues or an onslaught of events, which are, completely unanticipated and quite possibly, totally overwhelming. This is part of the process of spiritual emergence.

I would define spiritual emergence as an internal shift, prompted by the soul, that changes one’s life by altering one’s perspective. This type of change can be very abrupt and disconcerting. However, it will lead one to the next level of spiritual awareness and development, if one chooses to ride the process out.

When a spiritual shift takes place that is being orchestrated from within, emotions long suppressed or left unacknowledged, can explode to the surface in order to be recognized and dealt with. Events can occur, that shake the foundation of a person’s beliefs and disrupt the traditional ways one has looked at or approached something. What is happening is important to understand.

When you experience such a shift, your inner being has made a decision. It decided, that not only is it necessary for you to move on spiritually, but also that you are ready and able to handle it, whether your mind thinks so or not. It is laying the cards out on the table and you have to play out the hand. If you handle the situations presented to you, if you work out the life puzzles before you and weather the emotional storm, you will emerge a spiritually stronger and more integrated person.

There is no right or wrong way to handle what your inner self is impelling you to deal with. The critically important element is simply, that it is handled and processed. Then and only then, does one move on.

When one, successfully, works through this soul directed process of change, one passes through and moves beyond guilt and shame. One arrives, ultimately, at the point of spiritual maturation. Here, guilt and shame have dissipated forever. The choice one faces, here, is crucial. The choice is between learning to grow, spiritually, as a soul or delaying progress, indefinitely, by not facing one’s issues.

To expand and develop spiritually is the essence of existence on all levels of being. Spiritual evolution is the very core of life. Sometimes, we are lead to seek the path and walk it diligently. We are prompted to make changes and are given the insight and courage to embark on the journey. At other times, the door is suddenly thrust open and we are booted out, finding ourselves on the road, de facto. Sometimes, that is the way it has to be. The choice to move on spiritually can come from conscious choice or it can be thrust upon us from deep within. The former path is that of spiritual quest. The latter one is the route of spiritual emergence. Either way, one finds themselves on the road to soul development.

Whichever way one comes to embark on the path, it will eventually be the cause of great excitement, anticipation and joy. For the road leads to God. It is the path of life improvement on all levels. It is the way of peace, if walked in honesty and integrity. Spiritual emergence is one’s arrival at a new crossroads in life. This is a sacred event. It is not to be feared. It is to be welcomed.

Travel the road of spiritual emergence and pursuit with earnestness and devotion. Always bear in mind, that the conflict, pain, anxiety and confusion, you may encounter, are only signs along the roadside. They are, by no means, the road itself. The way of the spirit is the path of inner peace.

Recognizing Spiritual Transformation

In human experience, we tend to recognize change far more quickly when it is dramatic, rather than gradual. If something suddenly emerges or rapidly collapses, we are struckby the change and as a result, we feel a need to deal with it or at least cope with it. Change that takes place more gradually, however, such as the maturation processor the aging process, takes more time to notice. After the change has long since established itself, some event or observation occurs that triggers our awareness that a transformation has already taken place and we are first becoming aware of it.

The reality of spiritual change is that not only is it often a gradual process, it is also generally very subliminal. When physical changes take place, there are obvious external signs as well as changes in ones abilities. One cannot avoid noticing these types of developments. Spiritual change presents a greater challenge.

For one thing, we are all aware that both physical maturation and physical aging take place at certain points in our lives, and that these changes are going to effect us; that we will have to accommodate nature. Not as many of us are as keenly aware that as human beings we go through spiritual evolution, as well, in the course of our lives. When the spirit transforms, there are rarely too many obvious external manifestations.

Ironically, spiritual changes are often transformations that are at least as profound as physical changes are, though they are much harder to recognize unless one attunes oneself to them; something a person must train themselves to do. In actuality, the process of spiritual evolution is of far more long term import than its physical, emotional or intellectual counterparts. It is from the spirit, the level of the soul, that the intellectual, emotional and physical spring. It is the soul that is the core of our lives in This World. It is the soul that survives into the Next World. Therefore, what happens to the soul in its evolution of the utmost importance.

Interestingly enough, most people are most cognizant of, and attendant to, physical change. If we are suffering from a physical illness, we seek relief. If we experience physical discomfort, disability or change, we tend to pay attention to it and to seek rectification or rehabilitation.

Many people are attuned to intellectual and emotional distress or dysfunction. When we are confused or having a difficult time psychologically or emotionally, we tend to process with close friends, trusted relatives, or professionals in these areas. We confide in those close to us, who we feel can understand what we are going through and who can offer us sympathy, support and guidance. In the case of spiritual growth that is taking place within the individual, far fewer people recognize the change, let aside have any clear idea of how to manage it effectively.

Emotion and intellect function as processes. As we experience things emotionally and as we learn, we undergo a process of experience, internalization, integration and assimilation. By going through things experientially, we are provided with the raw material for growth. By emotionally and intellectually processing what we have experienced, our personality develops and evolves.

What is not clearly understood often, is that our emotional and psychological maturation leads directly to yet a third and most critical process, that of spiritual growth. When we have gone through developmental breakthroughs and reached new psychological and emotional levels, the internal material is provided for spiritual growth. At this point, processing begins on the deep level of the soul itself. The soul begins a process of deep self evaluation, self redefinition and transformation, for spiritual change is actually the evolution of the soul.

On a spiritual level, this level of processing is in many ways very subtle. Yet, there are ways to recognize that the process of spiritual change is taking place. As the soul begins to redefine itself and its context in the world, there are several manifestations. First, there is a full, general withdrawal into oneself. One can find himself or herself feeling very distant from everything that is going on around them. It begins to get difficult, trying to handle more than than one thing at a time.

Moreover, communicating with others may also become harder. There is a strong sense of needing a great deal of space and a lot of quiet. At the same time, one finds themselves operating with very low energy levels. It often seems like a great effort to get anything done at all, regardless of how small the task.

This is all due to the fact that the soul is working on the deepest inner levels of self, which require a great amount of energy. Subsequently, energy is pulled from all three of the other areas of the conscious self. We are drained physically, emotionally
and mentally, temporarily. It is very important to realize when going through spiritual transformation, that there is nothing wrong. One is not falling apart. What is merely happening is a massive transference of energy to deep within oneself. Accept that fact and you can flow with the process.

Second, as a result of the work being done on the deep inner levels of self, a great deal of shifting will take place. One finds many of their attitudes and perceptions changing. One’s beliefs and views about themselves, about their lives, about their relationships, about the world in general, are suddenly in flux. This often leads to a state of psychological and emotional discomfort. One can feel very confused and disoriented.

This is not surprising. If one is going through spiritual change, one is going through inner transformation on the deepest levels.

Many of the old structures of perception and belief are being dismantled, and disposed of, by the psyche. This creates an emptiness. In the void that is produced, there is not very much that is familiar. There is precious little to hold on to. Consequently, this can be very disconcerting. One simply must be patient and wait for the soul to build the new structures it needs. Keep in mind, that the process of spiritual transformation is one of restructuring for the future. One’s energy is diverted only as long as the reconstruction process requires it. It is not a permanent state of affairs. Let it run its course.

Third, the soul must also communicate to the conscious self what is transpiring, what transformations are taking place and what these changes mean. This is a purely internal interaction of the soul communicating with the mind. What happens in this communication can manifest in several ways. While one is going through this inner process of spiritual change and transformation, dreaming may be intensified. One’s dreams will then come to consciousness more forcefully and more frequently than normal. The dreams become very vivid, and easier to remember. These dreams are often very important messages from the soul to the conscious mind. There is usually heightened awareness during spiritual transformation. So, one also experiences deep insights, a series of intuitive flashes of understanding, and the periodic realization of changed perspectives.

Bear in mind, that spiritual transformation is not a regular, fixed occurrence. Unlike physical development, it does not come automatically as a function of time. It comes when we have grown sufficiently emotionally and psychologically and have reached a point in our lives when we are truly ready for soul growth. When that happens the soul itself takes over. On a conscious level all we can do is acknowledge what is transpiring deep within ourselves, and allow ourselves to flow with it.

To paraphrase a great rabbi; To have a door of opportunity open and not seize it is a great transgression. To not be aware of our spiritual state and not seek to develop it, is a tragic oversight. To go through the profound process of spiritual shifting and transformation of the soul, choosing not recognizing it when it occurs and not honoring it as a result, that is truly a sin.

Whether we acknowledge our spirit or not, the soul grows regardless. We all evolve spiritually whether we care to recognize it or not. There is no way to interfere with soul development. It is beyond conscious control.

The difference is that when a person learns to recognize the signs of spiritual
processing, he or she comes to a point of accepting their essence. When one embraces their own inner evolution, one connects with their soul and with the innermost core of who they are. That experience, which is voluntary and is directed by conscious choice, is the act of willfully uniting mind and heart with the soul. That experience is an act of moving toward God. It is an act of self realization and of self affirmation on the highest level. When we come to know ourselves better, we come to understand the Creator better. The road to Self is internal. The way to God lies within. They are parallel. They are the same.

Rabbi Fisdel

On Being Present and Conscious

Many people have remarked to me over the past few years that, in their experience, time seems to be speeding up. Their lives seem, somehow, to be in a fast forward mode. The feeling is that time is going by very quickly and yet, not enough, if anything, is really being accomplished. Either, there is an increasing amount to do with a shrinking time frame in which to do it or a lot of time has passed, in a flow of fog, and one is not sure how exactly this happened.

Much of the reality of time is how we experience it. If time seems to have disappeared, evaporated or have passed unnoticeably, the problem is not time. The problem is distraction. Distraction is the loss of focus. It is the loss of our sense of direction. It occurs when we become so rapped up in the events of our lives, that we lose track of the reality of our lives. When we become enmeshed in the process of earthly existence, we end up disconnected and distant from the purpose our souls have for being here.

To live our lives to the fullest, it is most important that we are not distracted. We must be vigilant in making sure that we are not thrown off track in the course of our everyday life. For, if our daily life is impaired, damaged or negated, it impacts heavily on the entire fabric of our existence. If the course of our lives is diverted from its true path, our potential is not being fulfilled, and our life purpose is not being achieved.

If we are not in touch with our true self, our true feelings and our soul’s purpose, we are not really alive. We are merely subsisting in an illusion. We are functioning, but we are not fulfilling. We are struggling to exist, but we are not truly living. The result of not living one’s purpose is to end up existing in a state of distraction.

Whether one is numbed or obsessed, blown away or driven, euphoric or in great pain, it is all distraction. Daily life with its survivalist pressures, its peaks and valleys, its mercurial demands, its conflicts and its pain can often draw much of one’s energy, concern and attention into the heart of the storm. The more one is pulled into the tempest of earthly struggle, the farther one is drawn away from self. One becomes lost in the maelstrom of need and desire.

The real You, the soul, cannot be heard through all of the noise nor be felt through all of the commotion. The still, small voice within is simply overpowered. The result is that we either identify with the storm, making our lives intense and dramatic or we seek to escape the turbulence altogether. The sense, that time is moving very quickly, is often the result of being lost in space, emotionally, psychologically and psychically.

How do we reconnect with our Self? How do we reestablish our link to life purpose? How do we learn to disengage from the level of duality, the level of psychological and emotional turbulence and to live our lives from the perspective of the soul?

In the Mishnah, in Tractate “Pirkei Avot”, we are advised, that to truly experience life, to live life from the soul’s perspective, one should live every day of one’s life as if it were one’s last day on earth. Live each day of your life as if it were the day of your death. That is the instruction. It is a profoundly important and transformative approach to life.

Judaism teaches that the soul is the essence of each individual, that the soul was formed before we were born into the earthly realm and will exist eternally in higher worlds, when the soul finally departs from the mortal coil. Death is the transition point between mortal life and eternal life, Between this world and the next world, is the eternal moment.

If we experience each day as the last day of our lives, each day has a totality and a finality of it’s own. It is the culmination of everything that came before it and it is the very focus of our life, for there is no future as we have understood or experienced it. The past is fully absorbed in the present and the future is fully nascent in the self same present. It is all one. There is only today. One comes to live in the reality of every moment, because the reality of the moment is all that is.

By living one’s life as if each day was the last, each day of our life becomes a day of judgment and a day of salvation. One’s life becomes one long day of truth, of focus, of light and of life purpose. This day of fulfillment is the day of salvation. On this day, illusion disappears. On this day, distraction ends. On this day, time no longer regulates nor dominates your life. Rather, it melts away into timelessness. One is free. One is free to simply be.

May we all heed well, the words of our sages and return to our essence, reconnecting with our purpose, living our lives from the perspective of the soul and daily expressing the true nature of  our unique spirits. In this we receive direct assistance from God. There is no human endeavor, that God is more interested in.

Rabbi Fisdel

Coping With Darkness

With the coming of winter, we embrace not only the beginning of a new year, we are also faced with having to work through the season of darkness. During this season, days are still short and the nights are, determinedly long. The ground turns cold and vegetation is in stasis. There is no growth in nature, just extended darkness and cold rains.

There are seasons within our own lives when similar conditions prevail. Unexpected events, sudden change or misfortune, trauma or distress can affect us emotionally the same way. The loss of a job, the departure of a loved one, dashed hopes or broken dreams can send us into our own personal winters. That is part of the cycle of life.

For human beings, winter represents an end point. It represents the termination of an element or phase of our lives. There is a distinct finality to such moments, be it the conclusion of a relationship, be it the death of a loved one or be it the end of a personal era, manifested as a career change or a transition into middle age.

We humans, as sentient beings, have an option that neither the natural world nor the animal kingdom possesses. We have choice. We have the freedom and ability to alter our focus, to change the perspectives we have on our lives and our situation. We can perceive things differently, if we so choose to. An end can be mourned or it can be honored. The past can be pined for as an irretrievable loss or it can be cherished as valued experience. The decision is in our hands, exclusively.

During times of difficulty or pain, we can choose to sink into our own void and let the darkness overcome us. We can surrender to despondency, despair and melancholy. We can yield to anger, recrimination and aggression.

Surrendering to despair comes as a result of inaction. Outbursts of anger and hostility are reaction patterns to pain. Both approaches, one passive and one overt, lead to the same place, to a deepening of the darkness. Both stem from emotional investment in our own limited egos.

Winter, if properly understood, offers us a great opportunity. It is the season of regeneration, the season of rest. Darkness, in its truest sense, is not an absence of light nor is it the negation of light. It is the partner of light. Light is energy, growth and movement. It is joy, desire and achievement.

True darkness is the quietude of rejuvenation. It is the rebuilding process, by which the universe strengthens itself. It is the time, when the hidden forces of nature are busy regrouping. When there is darkness, life force is regaining it’s integrity, so that at the proper season it will reemerge and produce growth and revival.

Understanding this, we should look at the difficult periods of our lives in the exact same vein. When loss or disruption, misfortune or defeat affect our lives, we must embrace it. Such times are, in essence, an opportunity to close down what can no longer be, to relinquish what has already spent it’s energy or that which, simply, has finished running it’s course.

For spiritual, emotional and psychological growth to take place, we need to make room for it to happen. This involves a process of release. We have let go of what we no longer need. We have to relinquish that which we are still carrying within us, which may have been necessary and important at an earlier stage of our lives, but now has become either useless and burdensome to us or worse, detrimental.

This emptying process, though of great importance, produces a sense of loss and with loss comes grief. The aftermath of experiencing either a loss or a release is the process of grieving. It is, truly, necessary to grieve a loss. Grieving is essential to the process of letting go on all levels, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. To grieve is to empty oneself out. By so doing, one leaves the cup empty, so to speak, making room for endless, new possibility.

Once an individual empties out the old psychological constructs and disposes of the accompanying emotional contents, the way is open to internal regeneration and eventually, to the attainment of a new state of consciousness. There is a critical stage of transition between one’s past, completed experience and a new expression of one’s life. It is achieved by passing through the grief.

The stage beyond grief is that of neutrality, rest and peace. Our periods of darkness should be times of release, inner quiet and restoration. True darkness is the season of renewal. As such, we should accept it with open mind and embrace it with a tranquil heart. It is the gateway to spiritual evolution.

Periods of darkness, when understood properly, are the times of post-completion. After we have let go and released what we have finished with, in our life experience, there is a sacred time of peace. There is a period of great quiet when we become whole. During this sacred time, if we are using the darkness properly, we avail ourselves of the opportunity and the need to focus on the hidden resources deep within us. The season of darkness is the time to attune ourselves to the deep wells of spirit within and let the waters, there, be replenished by our connection to God.

The season of darkness is not a time of barrenness. It is not a time of death. The season of darkness is the time of restoration and regeneration. It is dark, not in the sense of the absence of light, but rather, that darkness is the manifestation of the hidden, the secret and the sacred. It is peace.

May God who establishes peace in the highest heavens, grant us the courage to forego what has past, to dwell securely in the quietude within and to embrace its potential for the future. And we say, Amen.

Rabbi Steven Fisdel

The Human Dichotomy: Good and Evil

The reality of Good and Evil expresses itself differently in Judaism, than in other religious traditions. Good and evil is not a strict duality in Jewish belief. Rather, they are seen as coming from the same basic source, God’s Will.

Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thereby bringing them both into the world, by their actions. The act of assimilating the knowledge of good and evil produced its emergence in the world. In other words, good and evil was a potential that was brought into the world by man’s conscious decision. It was an act of will on mankind’s part. It did not have to be made manifest. In fact, God specifically had told the couple not to do so.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil stood at the heart of the garden of Eden. Therefore, it had a legitimate place within the structure of Creation. However, that was not meant for mankind to assimilate. God says so directly. He prohibits them from eating of the fruit of that tree. The Knowledge of Good and Evil, the full understanding of the polar principles that govern the functioning of the universe, was not meant for human beings to take upon themselves.

Once, having done so, the basic polarity of existence was fundamentally changed, as far as human experience is concerned.  Now, humanity was able to make subjective determinations. Everything would be seen through the focus of positive and negative, good and evil. Yet, much of this viewpoint is purely subjective. What is good for one person, may be evil for another. What is beneficial to one group of people, may be detrimental or devastating to another. What benefits one group, may be doing so at the expense of another.  When we make value judgements, we are overlaying connotations of good or bad on the basic duality of the world.

Everything in Creation is polarized into dualities. Living beings are either male or female. Space is polarized into left and right, forward and backward, up and down. Energy is the dualism of electricity and magnetism. Life takes place by movement within time and space. The basic duality of existence is inescapable.

So, what did Adam and Eve do when they ate of the Tree? They introduced subjective value judgment into the equation. Now, instead of seeing right and left or this and that as neutral and natural, they saw everything as good or bad. This added perception produces great distortion.  If one is looking at two apples, one fresh and one that is rotting, it is not necessarily true to assume that the former one is good and the latter apple is bad.

The rotting apple may fall to the ground and serve as badly needed fertilizer, which is good from nature’s standpoint. Whereas, there may too many apples on the tree, and the ripening one being considered, is draining off much needed resources from the other fruit. This prevents the apples on the tree from coming to full fruition. Hence, the whole crop of apples ultimately, will be ruined.

Goodness and Evil, good and bad are not always appropriate considerations. Much in life is actually neutral or a balanced admixture of positive and negative. Good or bad is merely a function of how something is being viewed.

Very little in nature is either good or bad per se. Rather, something becomes good or bad based upon how it is used. Enormous harm and tremendous evil have been done to countless people and nations over the millennia, in the name of what was thought to be the ultimate good.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil stood in the Garden of Eden to regulate the balance of the opposing forces, that constitute the very makeup of the world. That force of regulation was planted by God. The Tree was meant to serve Creation on a level of its own, beyond the pale of human comprehension and human thought. When Adam and Eve ate of the Tree, they took it upon themselves to decide, what in the world was good and what was evil. The making of such distinctions would inevitably derive strictly from their own narrow frame of reference. This was the sin of mankind. We set ourselves up as the ultimate judges of what is and what is not reality. Moreover, we continue to make such decisions, and we are doing so through the distorted lens of subjective value judgment.

By setting ourselves up as judges, we are preempting God, the true, eternal judge. Our distorted perceptions lead to inappropriate action, causing harm, damage and destruction on many levels. We are bringing evil into the world, through actions precipitated by confusion and misconception.

How do we escape this unending cycle of good and evil, progress and retrogression? The answer is implied in the Book of Job. At the end of the story, at the point where Job admits he cannot fathom evil and suffering, God forces the issue. God demands to know why Job or anyone else, for that matter, thinks they can know the mind and intent of God. The true roots of good and evil lie deep in the very fabric of Creation, in the Will of God. This is far beyond the scope of human comprehension. No human explanation will ever be adequate to even remotely approximate the true reality. Why does man persist in distorting the world and human experience by playing God and making subjective judgments and then casting them in terms of good and evil?
A return to Eden involves the surrender by humanity of this dualistic view of the universe, and the permanent release of judgmentalism. Mankind must move beyond the cycle of good and evil, that has dominated human experience from the beginning. We need to return to the original pattern of experience, symbolized by Eden. Mankind must allow itself to be guided by God directly, rather than by the limited insight of our own reason.

The question then, is how exactly is this achieved?  Before mankind was created, God judged all of Creation to be good. The universe is innately good, according to the Torah. No mention of evil is made at all, in the description of Creation.This suggests, that there is a universal Good that transcends both good and evil as we understand it. There is a transcendent Good that is at the core of all Creation. Good and evil are relative to each other. They are interdependent. Without one, the other ceases to exist. This relative good, that we usually experience then, is only a reflection of the transcendent Good that underlies Creation.

The dichotomy of good and evil that mankind brought into the world interferes with our ability to experience the true Good.  According to the Book of Deuteronomy, good and evil is really a set of choices that we are forced to make continually. Choose life and good or death and evil. Choose to serve God or choose to abandon God. Do not assume that understanding what God wants from us is hidden away somewhere or far beyond our reach. That is not the case. God’s Will is very near to us. It is within our hearts and souls.

This is what the Torah teaches us.  To reach the Good, we must pass through the dichotomy of good and evil. We must first strive for the good, listen to our hearts, study the Torah and work to serve God. We must remain firm in our convictions and resist the temptations of ego and misplaced emotion that lead to sin and destructive behavior. By working through the good and resisting the inclination to do evil, we move in the direction of connecting with the transcendent Good, the light of holiness and joy, that is beyond good and evil as we understand it.

The Transcendent Good stands alone. It is eternal. It is the underlying force in all Creation. This is the goodness, light and love that will one day rule all life on earth, when evil has passed away and the Kingdom of God is finally established. May our lives reflect that coming reality. May our daily existence be filled with a striving for the good, so that we each lay down a small part of the foundation of God’s everlasting kingdom, little by little, in our everyday life. If we do this, we become one with God and God’s Will.

Rabbi Fisdel

www.classicalkabbalist.org