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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
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Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
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The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
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The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Feb. 23, 2007
/ 5 Adar, 5767
Your Sacred Self Worth
By
Rabbi David Aaron
Humanity and the Divine are not separate and in conflict
“And let them make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell amongst them.”
— Exodus 25:8
People are accustomed to thinking in terms of time, space and comparisons, so they automatically conceive of G-d as the one and only Almighty being, who has no body, is eternal in time and is infinite in space. This image is not only wrong but it can also be destructive. It is this kind of confusion that contributes to the mistaken thinking that humanity and G-d are separate and in conflict. We end up concluding that if G-d is infinite and we are finite, then we are opposites and mutually exclusive; if G-d is eternal and I am temporary, then we are opposites and mutually exclusive.
The Kabbalah teaches that the Jewish proclamation that "G-d is one" really means that G-d is non-dual. One is the opposite of many; it is limited. Non-dual is free of the confines of "one" or "many." Therefore, G-d is beyond you, me and everyone else in this world, yet mysteriously within us as well.
There is no reality separate from G-d—G-d is reality, we exist within G-d, and G-d seeks to be manifest through us. So except in our minds and actions, we can never really separate ourselves from G-d. When we deny this truth by thinking and acting in discord with it, we experience pain—the pain of separation from G-d who is our true source, ground and essence.
The Book of Isaiah addresses this point: "G-d says to the Jewish people: 'It is only your wrongdoings that are separating you from me.'" This is teaching us that if we experience separation from the source, then it is only because of our mode of consciousness and the lifestyle we have chosen.
Because G-d is absolutely one [non-dual] He is free to be manifest as 100 percent beyond us and yet also as 100 percent within us.
While this statement seems illogical and contradictory, we have to remember that these concepts can only be explained from our own perspective. From G-d's point of view, there are no two aspects to Divinity. It is only when we describe Divine truth with our limited language that we have difficulty understanding the paradoxes.
The Kabbalah metaphorically describes that there are "two faces to the one G-d"—the face, or aspect, of transcendence and the face of imminence. The aspect of Divine transcendence is identified with the power of masculinity and is referred to in Jewish texts as, "The Holy One, Blessed Be He." The aspect of Divine immanence is identified with the power of femininity and is referred to as the Shechina, meaning "The Divine Presence" or "Indwelling Spirit."
Of course, G-d is not male or female, and G-d is beyond the either/or. The manifestation of G-d outside of us is described as masculine. The manifestation of G-d within us is described as feminine.
The Torah generally refers to G-d in the male gender, while the truth about the feminine side of G-d was left for the oral mystical tradition and shared only with a select few. Later in Jewish history the sages revealed this truth to the public.
There is a good reason for this. Jewish tradition aims to instill within us a clear understanding that G-d is beyond us, and that we are not G-d. If the mystery of the "Divine Immanence" were taught to the public prematurely, then there would be a dangerous risk that people would mistakenly think they were G-d. We must first firmly believe that G-d is beyond us before we can be introduced to the truth that G-d is also manifest within us.
THE ETERNAL AND INTERNAL REWARD OF COMMANDMENTS
One of the objectives of living a life of mitzvos [religious duties] is to empower us to make choices that liberate our true inner self and reveal our holiness, the Divine within us. This feat, however, cannot be accomplished until we overcome our selfish, egotistical concerns and control our lustful, animal drives.
Observing the mitzvos helps us access and express our true selves—the Divine Presence, the Shechina, within. To this end, the commandments of the Torah direct and discipline us toward submission and obedience to G-d. Ironically, however, our submission and obedience to G-d becomes an expression of our own Godliness and freedom. We then enjoy the euphoric experience of feeling G-d manifest as the essential power within us.
Often, when we first start observing the mitzvos, we only hear the voice of the transcendental G-d, emanating outside of us from atop Mt. Sinai, who commands us to obey His will. However, after we humbly accept, submit and obey, we eventually hear this same voice coming from within us. It is as if the Divine voice that we heard speaking to us is now also speaking through us. We become attuned to the voice of G-d speaking through our soul. At this point, we no longer experience the commandments as acts of obedience, but rather as the free expression of our true inner divine self.
In other words, after we obey G-d's will, we discover that His will is actually what we want as well, because our will is really an aspect of G-d's will; a ray of divine will.
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The Kabbalah teaches that when we do not fulfill the commandments, it is as if we are divorcing the manifestation of the Divine within (the Shechina) from the manifestation of the Divine beyond (the Holy One Blessed Be He). The Kabbalah describes the Shechina as being cast away into exile. When we observe the commandments, however, it is as if we are redeeming the Shechina and uniting the manifestation of the Divine within us with the manifestation of the Divine beyond us. Therefore, the Kabbalah instructs us to recite the following sentence before performing a commandment: "I am doing this mitzvah for the purpose of uniting the Holy One Blessed Be He and the Shechina."
When we perform the commandments with this clarity, then we experience the mysterious unity of the manifestation of the Divine within us and the Divine beyond us. We are then able to feel how our individual soul is plugged into the "Universal Soul," and we become energized with an incredible life force and awareness.
A word of caution: These ideas and can be easily misunderstood. We must always remember that we are not unifying different parts of G-d. G-d has no parts. G-d is one, was one and always will be one. Certainly for us, this truth of Divine oneness is hidden and not easily recognized or experienced. But from G-d's perspective, there is only oneness. There is never a separation between the transcendental and the immanent. Our goal is to become conscious of it and experience this ecstatic truth.
When you do a mitzvah, your aim, simply, is to accord and unite your will with G-d's will. You are then a true a servant of G-d; a channel for the flow of divine presence into the world.
This may be a very different understanding of the commandments than most of us had as children. Observing the mitzvos is not about collecting merit points to be cashed in after we die, an approach that may have been good for us when we were five years old (how else could our parents and teachers have explained it to us?). Now that we are older, we need to understand that Judaism is a very rich, deep and transformative lifestyle that gives us access to divine life force, awareness and freedom.
In truth, Judaism empowers us to become a living sanctuary to accommodate G-d's loving presence in the world.
— Get Ready for Purim— Read Rabbi Aaron's latest best seller: Inviting G-d In: Celebrating the Soul-Meaning of the Jewish Holy Days
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JWR contributor
Rabbi David Aaron is the founder and dean of Isralight, an international organization with programming in Israel, New York South Florida, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Toronto. He has taught and inspired thousands of Jews who are seeking meaning in their lives and a positive connection to their Jewish roots.
He is the author of the newly released, Inviting G-d In, The Secret Life of G-d, and Endless Light: The Ancient Path of Kabbalah to Love, Spiritual Growth and Personal Power , Seeing G-d and Love is my religion. (Click on links to purchase books. Sales help fund JWR.) He lives in the old City of Jerusalem with his wife and their seven children.
© 2006, Rabbi David Aaron
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