The Sefirot (Part 3)

The next pair of Sefirot are Netzach, which can be translated as Eternity or Victory, and Hod, which literally means Splendor, but  is taken to mean submission, surrender, or sincerity. Kindness and Judgment are God-oriented, they describe God's ultimate goals in His interactions with man. Netzach and Hod account for humanity's ability to receive Kindness and Judgment. Thus, while God’s ultimate aim in a series of events may be one of great kindness, the person may not initially perceive it as such. Nonetheless, God can take the eternal (Netzach) view and His ultimate aim is always achieved. Similarly, while the wicked may seem at times to prosper, and the righteous must submit or surrender, this is only temporary. God is the true Judge and justice will eventually reign. 

Understandably, prophecy and prayer flow from these Sefirot. The prophet can foresee that what true today will not be true tomorrow. Isaiah foresaw the subjugation of Judea while it was a regional power under King Uzziah. He then foresaw the ultimate redemption after Samaria (the northern kingdom of Israel) and a large portion of Judea was exiled by Assyria. Prayer as well flows from Hod for the opposite reason. Prayer attest to both our submission to God, and our confidence that justice will prevail in the face of evil. Finally, fear and awe of God also grow from Hod. When we finally see justice, and realize that those who were so powerful do fall in the face of God’s judgement, we are filled with awe of God’s power and God’s justice. 

The Sefirot of Netzach and Hod are represented by Moses and Aaron, respectively. Moses is the ultimate prophet. When he first returns to Egypt the situation actually worsens for the Jewish slaves. Nevertheless, according to our Sages, this increase in workload was actually for their benefit as it allowed them to leave Egypt sooner. Moses is also the great lawgiver, bringing God’s Torah, which He gave to us out of His great kindness. 

Aaron is, of course, the first High Priest. In that role he oversaw the Tabernacle (or, in later times, the High Priest looked over the Temple) the ultimate place of prayer. It is also the place of repentance, inspiration, and learning through which Jews came to awe of God. 

The tribulations of the righteous before ultimate victory and the prosperity of the wicked before ultimate defeat, are classical themes in novels of all cultures. Added elements of the biblical figures, prayer and prophecy will transform the novels in our Jewish Narnia into works manifesting particularly Jewish themes.  

The Sefirot (Part 2)

After several attempts to identify a Jewish organizational structure to be used as a source of as thematic material for a Jewish parallel to Narnia, we have settled on the kabbalistic notion of the Sefirot. For our purposes, we approach the Sefirot as kabbala’s attempt to classify, from a human perspective, God’s interactions with man. Each Sefirah represents what in human terms is manifest as a character trait. While we dare not attribute such characteristics to God directly, we can still speak of His relationship with us from our (albeit limited) point of view. 

Hence, each Sefirah can, and does, have symbols and paradigms in this world. For example, each Sefirah has an associated human, biblical figure. The people were preeminent in the manifestation of the particular characteristic of the Sefirah. Abraham exhibited unparalleled kindness, Isaac, unsurpassed strength and so on. Each Sefirah is also symbolized by a color, body part, and more. These symbols provide a treasure trove of material to create a story in which the Sefirah provides the environment and thus tinges all its aspects. Previously, we explored the first two Sefirot, Kindness and Strength. In this post we explore the third Sefirah that of Tiferet, Glory. 

In kabbalistic lore, Glory is the harmonization of the first two Sefirot, Kindness and Judgement. As we saw in our previous post, such a fusion is necessary for the world to exist. God’s infinite kindness would leave no room for human independence and free will. God’s eternal judgement would leave no room for human error or repentance. A balance is needed which is Glory. 

The biblical figure that manifests Glory is our forefather Jacob. It is he who properly synthesized the Judgment and Strength of his father with the Kindness of his mother and grandfather. This is also the reason why Jacob is associated with Emeth, Truth. It is easy and convenient to declare a child or criminal worthy of pure kindness or unadulterated Judgement. One might think it kind to let such people off the hook for evil actions, or strong to enforce unyielding punishment. Truth, however, the best path to teach a child maturity or a criminal remorse, likely falls somewhere in the middle. 

Balance, both on Earth proper and in the cosmos as a whole, is necessary for life to exist. The planet must not be too hot and or too cold. The sun must not only be a certain distance away from Earth, but also the proper type of star. Thus, not surprisingly, other symbols that represent Tiferet including the sun, the color green, and the human spine, demonstrate the life bearing character of God’s glory. 

Balance is also necessarily for a proper spiritual life. This is highlighted most brightly by Maimonides’s golden mean:

The straight path is the mean disposition found in each and every tendency of all the human tendencies. Such tendency is removed from both extremes an equal distance, and is not nearer to one than to the other. Therefore have the wise men of yore commanded that man should ever review his tendencies, estimate them, and direct them toward the middle-path so that he will be sound in body. How may one do it? He should not be an excitable person, easily angered; nor like the dead without feelings, but adopt a middle-course, not to become indignant, save only at something big which is worthy enough to be angry at, so that the like should not be done another time. (Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot De’ot 1:4)

In our third book of a Jewish Narnia our characters from the books of Kindness and Judgement must somehow find the balance between these two extremes. They must demonstrate mercy where appropriate, but also severity. They must learn that truth on Earth is complex and man must find his own way. Resolution of the third book must come via heroic balance and not heroic extreme.

Post-Holiday Post

A little flat and dreary after all they had been through, but also, unexpectedly, nice in its own way…

The end of the “Jewish Holiday Season” is always one of mixed emotions. One the one hand, we are ready to get back to normal. But, on the other hand, saddened that we have another whole year before the time returns. I feel, perhaps, a bit like the Pevensie children do upon their second return from Narnia as described above. Let me try to elaborate.

Our anticipation for the coming Days of Awe begins in the Jewish month of Elul, a full month before the Jewish New Year. At that time the shofar begins to be sounded daily, awakening us to the upcoming Day of Judgement, Rosh HaShana. Rosh HaShana itself is a day of dread, but also of joy. We rejoice that we have the merit to crown God as our King, yet dread His judgement we then accept upon ourselves. The blowing of the shofar on Rosh HaShana encompasses both themes. It is our trumpet signifying the coronation of God, and the final wake up call to be judged.

The following days, from Rosh HaShana to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are those during which God is close and is found as in the verse (Isaiah 55:6), "Seek God while He can be found, call to Him while He is near." These days are a time when repentance and prayer will more likely be accepted.

Yom Kippur is then the climax of this journey. We attempt to divorce ourselves from all that is material, eating, drinking and the like, to concentrate on our spiritual well-being, assured that God is with us and will look favorably upon us.

The shofar blast at the end of Yom Kippur is our way of saluting God as He ascends back to the Heavens. His presence is no longer near, we return to normal human existence, and the evening service after His departure is, for me, the saddest of the year. 

But, the holidays are not over. Agriculturally, we have now entered the harvest season and to counterbalance the possible arrogance that may arise when we see our bountiful harvest, we spend the holiday of Sukkot outside of our houses, in temporary shelters. However, these shelters also represent the Clouds of Glory that surrounded the Jews in their wanderings in the wilderness between Egypt and the Promised Land. They are a conduit to Heaven reminding us that, though He may have returned to His Heavenly abode, we can leave the confines of our routine existence and follow Him there. 

Then the holidays are really over. Winter is fast approaching. Kids return to school and adults to work. All of the tasks we’ve been pushing off until “after the Holidays” now need our attention. Perhaps we refocus away for the great spiritual heights we hoped to reach under the influence of the holidays. Instead we turn to the dull, mundane tasks of everyday life. 

Yet, the “normal” world is nice in its own way. There are positive goals to accomplish, and constructive aims to fulfill. There are people to help and an imperfect world to improve. Hopefully, we have been influenced by our holiday experiences to transform even mundane tasks into spiritual opportunities. And though His presence is no longer on Earth, perhaps what we have learned will allow us to see Him more clearly in our normal (hopefully spiritually improved) routine. 

The Pevensies, Aslan explains at the end of Voyage of the Dawn Treader, were brought to Narnia to know Aslan better in their own world:  “This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there." And so too with us. Every year God allows us to get a glimpse of His glory, in hopes that we will use that experience to know Him better even as we enter the cold and darkness of winter.