Tehillim- Chap. 23
Monday, September 9, 2013
“Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
The Divine Name in this psalm is YHVH, and points to Tiferet on the Tree of Life; this rod is Gevurah-Severity and this staff is Chesed-Mercy, Tiferet being the union of Judgment and Mercy – hence, Compassion-Rachamim. The interplay of Mercy and Severity is Compassion, and according to the Kabbalah the sentimentality we might often call “compassion” is not compassion, but rather it is a dynamic and integral balance of Mercy and Severity that is Compassion.
This rod shatters the klippot – husks of darkness, liberating sparks of our holy soul so that we might integrate them. This is the nature of Judgment, or the Wrathful Face of the Shechinah; the consequences of negative karma are not “punishment,” but rather are for the sake of the education of the soul, the enlightenment and liberation of the soul – in a word, Compassion.
There is something extremely esoteric underlying this “rod” and “staff,” for we are speaking of ebb and flow, restriction and pure grace – the interaction of which allows the fields of sentient existence to come into being and sustains life as we know it. Indeed! Our existence is a “comfort,” for through this matrix of creation we come into being, and we grow and evolve towards the Highest of Life.
Until a certain point in the development and evolution of the soul, even death plays a role in this process, for through death we are liberated to a new life to continue our soul’s Self-realization; much that appears to be the “enemy” might well be our friend.
Traditionally, the Valley of the Shadow of Death is Malchut-Kingdom, and is this world; and so we must enter into material incarnation until we no longer have need of physical incarnation for the soul’s development and evolution – until we realize consciousness beyond the body, and develop the presence of awareness throughout all states of consciousness. The rod and staff, as defined, are what facilitates this process of Self-realization.
“That Which Was, Is and Shall Be” (YHVH) is my shepherd – this is a delightful contemplation, for rather than a noun, this word is more akin to a verb, reflecting something of our contemplation. Perhaps we ourselves, as beings, are more akin to a fluid flowing stream of being-consciousness-force than we are to anything fixed or static; perhaps we also are verbs rather than nouns – if we actually realize this, it might prove quite comforting, and I’d dare say liberating!
And I shall dwell in the house of “That Which Was, Is and Shall Be” forever!
The Divine Name in this psalm is YHVH, and points to Tiferet on the Tree of Life; this rod is Gevurah-Severity and this staff is Chesed-Mercy, Tiferet being the union of Judgment and Mercy – hence, Compassion-Rachamim. The interplay of Mercy and Severity is Compassion, and according to the Kabbalah the sentimentality we might often call “compassion” is not compassion, but rather it is a dynamic and integral balance of Mercy and Severity that is Compassion.
This rod shatters the klippot – husks of darkness, liberating sparks of our holy soul so that we might integrate them. This is the nature of Judgment, or the Wrathful Face of the Shechinah; the consequences of negative karma are not “punishment,” but rather are for the sake of the education of the soul, the enlightenment and liberation of the soul – in a word, Compassion.
There is something extremely esoteric underlying this “rod” and “staff,” for we are speaking of ebb and flow, restriction and pure grace – the interaction of which allows the fields of sentient existence to come into being and sustains life as we know it. Indeed! Our existence is a “comfort,” for through this matrix of creation we come into being, and we grow and evolve towards the Highest of Life.
Until a certain point in the development and evolution of the soul, even death plays a role in this process, for through death we are liberated to a new life to continue our soul’s Self-realization; much that appears to be the “enemy” might well be our friend.
Traditionally, the Valley of the Shadow of Death is Malchut-Kingdom, and is this world; and so we must enter into material incarnation until we no longer have need of physical incarnation for the soul’s development and evolution – until we realize consciousness beyond the body, and develop the presence of awareness throughout all states of consciousness. The rod and staff, as defined, are what facilitates this process of Self-realization.
“That Which Was, Is and Shall Be” (YHVH) is my shepherd – this is a delightful contemplation, for rather than a noun, this word is more akin to a verb, reflecting something of our contemplation. Perhaps we ourselves, as beings, are more akin to a fluid flowing stream of being-consciousness-force than we are to anything fixed or static; perhaps we also are verbs rather than nouns – if we actually realize this, it might prove quite comforting, and I’d dare say liberating!
And I shall dwell in the house of “That Which Was, Is and Shall Be” forever!
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