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- Last month was about "surrender" and I was to explain
what it has to do with finding the “door” this month, but...
This approach is not going to work. There are several
people asking more direct and pointed questions on this
subject and they want "nuts and bolts" answers.
There are people who have experienced things and want
to know why, how, and what this is all about. There are seekers
who have heard stories, both glorious and horrendous, about the happenings when you open yourself up to
these "realms" of the mind.
Within the next 4 newsletters every bit of this will be addressed and if you want to, we can address your direct
questions and comments. By calling this column "Finding The Door", I am indeed referring to the inner door
which Yahshua stands at and "knocks". It is most easily associated with what is commonly called meditation.
There is, however, both more and less to this simple reference than you think. As usual we have to "unlearn" as
much, or more, than we have to learn.
Meditation describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or awareness. It usually
involves turning the attention inward to the mind itself. Meditation is often recognized as a component of Eastern
religions, where it has been practiced for over 5,000 years. It has also become mainstream in Western culture. It
encompasses any of a wide variety of spiritual practices which emphasize mental activity or quiescence.
Meditation can be used for personal development, or to focus the mind on God (or an aspect of God). Many
practice meditation in order to achieve peace, while others practice certain physical yogas in order to become
healthier.
Below is an quick look at some of the meditative influences in the history of Kabbalah. It directly ties in to the
many stories people have heard, read, and studied about the great unknown realm within...
There is plenty of evidence that Judaism has had meditative practices from the earliest times. For instance, in
the Torah, the patriarch Isaac is described as going "lasuach" in the field - a term understood by all
commentators as some type of meditative practice (Genesis 24:63).
Similarly, there are indications throughout the Tanach (the Hebrew Bible) that Judaism always contained a
central meditative tradition.
In modern Jewish practice, one of the best known meditative practices is called hitbodeidut or hisbodeidus is
explained in Kabbalah and Hassidic philosophy. The word hisbodedut, which derives from the Hebrew word
"boded", (a state of being alone) and claimed to be related to the sfirah of Binah (lit. understanding), means the
process of making oneself understand a concept well through in-depth study.
Kabbalah is inherently a meditative field of study. Kabbalistic meditative practices construct a
supernal realm which the soul navigates through in order to achieve certain ends.
One of the most well known types of meditation is /Merchava/, from the root /R-Ch B/ meaning "chariot"(of God).
Abraham Abulafia (1240-1291) wrote meditation manuals using Hebrew letters to achieve ecstatic states. The
meditative techniques created by Abraham Abulafia and his followers are unusual in several respects. First, they
are some of the clearest meditative techniques in all of the Kabbalah, and come with directions that even a
beginner may understand. Second, unlike most classical writers on meditation, Abulafia generally explains
precisely why the techniques work, based on his particular synthesis of Kabbalah and Maimonidean philosophy.
Third, and unlike most of the Kabbalah, Abulafia's practices are clearly intended to bring about a particular
mystical experience; they are not speculations on the cosmos, or elaborations on the commandments. Rather,
they are recipes for experience.
Abulafian meditation may be unusual for Kabbalah, but in some ways it more closely resembles the mystical
literature of other religions. Christian mysticism, for example, is often recorded in first-person narratives: I did this
practice, contemplated in this way, and then had this experience. Likewise with Sufi mysticism, though the
practices are often communal rather than individual. Kabbalah, however, is primarily composed not of similar first-
person accounts, but of abstruse literature which may or may not be about direct experience. Today, there are
excellent anthologies of Jewish "mystical testimonies" -- but these testimonies are not the primary form of
Kabbalistic literature.
The truth is, they are not even primary in Abulafia's writings. What has happened, in the last forty years, is that
Abulafia's meditation practices have been extracted from his books and presented as stand-alone exercises. In
fact, when one actually opens Abulafia's books -- none of which has yet been translated into English -- one
quickly sees that this extraction is a bit misleading, because Abulafia's prophetic techniques are tied to the type
of prophecy one receives. In general, the techniques involve manipulation and permutation of the Hebrew
language. What they bring about, in Abulafia's accounts and my own experience, is often a kind of stream of free
association which plays within the concepts and words being permuted. Notice, though, that if you don't have the
tools to interpret the "prophesies" you are receiving, they will be meaningless.
Rabbi Moses Codovero (1522-1570 CE). Kabbalist in Safed taught that when meditating, one does not focus on
the sefirot per se, but rather on the Hebrew vowels which are seen as the light from the infinite (atzmut). Keeping
in mind that all reaches up to the infinite- his prayer is "to Him, not to His attributes." Proper meditation focuses
upon how the Godhead acts through specific sefirot. The Essential Name of God represented by the four letter
Tetragrammaton - Yud- Hei- Vav-Hei, and has the Infinite Light clothed within it as the sefirot. This is indicated by
the change in the vowel-points (nekudot) found underneath each of the four letters of the Name in each sefira. "
Each sefira is distinguished by the manner in which the Infinite Light is clothed within it"
Rabbi Hayim Vital (c. 1543-1620 CE), major disciple of R. Isaac Luria, and responsible for publication of most of
his works. Here he presents the method of R. Yosef Karo.
Meditate alone in a house, wrapped in a prayer shawl. Sit and shut your eyes, and transcend the physical as if
your soul has left your body and is ascending to heaven. After this divestment/ascension, recite one Mishna, any
Mishna you wish, many times consecutively, as quickly as you can, with clear pronunciation, without skipping one
word. Intend to bind your soul with the soul of the sage who taught this Mishna. " Your soul will become a
chariot..." Do this by intending that your mouth is a mere vessel/conduit to bring forth the letters of the words of
this Mishna, and that the voice that emerges through the vessel of your mouth is [filled with] the sparks of your
inner soul which are emerging and reciting this Mishna. In this way, your soul will become a chariot within which
the soul of the sage who is the master of that Mishna can manifest. His soul will then clothe itself within your soul.
At a certain point in the process of reciting the words of the Mishna, you may feel overcome by exhaustion. If you
are worthy, the soul of this sage may then come to reside in your mouth. This will happen in the midst of your
reciting the Mishna. As you recite, he will begin to speak with your mouth and wish you Shalom. He will then
answer every question that comes into your thoughts to ask him. He will do this with and through your mouth.
Your ears will hear his words, for you will not be speaking from yourself. Rather, he will be speaking through you.
This is the mystery of the verse, "The spirit of G-d spoke to me, and His word was on my lips". (Samuel II 23:2)
And so on... there are many more references but you get the idea, it is not uncommon. As a matter of fact, it was
and is major part of Kabbalah.
- Next month we will cover the breadth and depth of meditative practices,
and then the following month will be entirely about Yahshua's instructions
on this and what he makes available to anyone who seeks him now.