Thursday, May 7, 2020

THE LESSONS OF A PLAGUE

A well known Rabbi in Israel recently said that the crisis derived from the Corona virus would pass when people learn its lessons. Yet, he didn’t elaborate on such “lessons”, as if he would let everyone to figure them out. As an observant Jew, my first thoughts about this Rabbi’s admonition took me to the Ten Plagues of Egypt, and their impacts as the prelude of the people of Israel’s Exodus from that land. These had their inner and outer effects according to the Jewish people’s nefarious circumstances under a kind of slavery without precedent.

If the Rabbi’s words had any connection with that pivotal moment in Jewish history, I should inquire about what are the current circumstances that may relate to the Corona virus pandemic. Particularly, about the measures globally taken to prevent or mitigate its effects or dying from the virus. These are generally identify as fever, cough, shortness of breath with difficulty breathing, muscle pain, headache and loss of taste or smell.

In one way of another, most people have the same symptoms with the seasonal flu, except for the loss of taste and smell. So, in general, we all have probably experience those in an intense or less intense way, without thinking or pondering about the “lessons” we should learn or not from them. Still, the Rabbi’s words suggested we should.

Fever may invite to reflect on how obsessed one can become about that he lusts or desire that he is not able to get. Coughing as a compelling reaction to expel or remove something that obstructs the proper function of an organ of the body, as one should do with thoughts, feelings and emotions that negatively affect a well balanced consciousness.

Shortness of breath shows one’s inability to acquire the necessary vitality to move and act, like being deprived with the desired ability to live. Breathing easily is fundamental to feel alive. If one is not taking “in” what is essentially vital in life, sooner than later he will perish. The question here is, what one values as “essential” to be alive, besides breathing easily, eating, sleeping and being clothed under a roof. What one has become “shortened” to live is the point. Body or muscle aches can be translated as the excessive and unwanted pains one suffers by being “shortchanged” with the life he has, either by their wrong choices and decisions or not.
 
Headaches seem to appear as the effect of over thinking or obsessing about something one can’t get the way he wants. These may be an extreme physical reaction to unhealthy neurotic reactions, for not all of the latter are unhealthy. Mental or emotional discomfort do not necessarily have to be labeled as neurotic, when the minimal norms of decency and decor are broken and cause one’s spirited reaction.

Losing the sense of taste and smell is a hard way to learn how precious is the “taste of life” with its scents and fragrances we can call the good times to be gladly enjoyed when living the best way possible.

These reflections are about the symptoms of the Corona virus. Let’s now focus on the treatment or measures taken to cope with it.

Social isolation has been indicated as the way to “mitigate” (another term to say “avoiding” being infected), as well as “social distancing”. In an “inner” level, this is about avoiding getting infected from others who may be. By association, what we already said about the symptoms is what we are supposed to avoid from others. Yet, we are not holier than others to believe that we may become exempt from having negative thoughts, being obsessed, lusting, and feeling frustrated.

In this sense, the “isolation” and “distancing” are more a about us individually than others around. This is probably what the Rabbi may have meant to say. The lessons of this plague are about what one has to identify as the “symptoms” inside consciousness, in order to avoid them, correct them, and later procure to live the well balanced consciousness we mentioned above.

The case we also must consider is the “asymptomatic” that is not aware of what is going on in his consciousness and infect those around him. This one requires a much deeper reflection, for most of the hideous crimes committed in history were made by those who became totally insensitive about the preciousness of life, its diversity, its beauty, and above all, its goodness. Hence, “testing” them for the virus of evil is utmost necessary, so they may be isolated until the rest are not at risk to be harmed by their “hidden” symptoms.

In sum, the encompassing “lesson” of this plague is to frequently take some time in “isolation” and “distancing” ourselves from the threats of negative ideas, thoughts, emotions, feelings, speech and actions, either inside or around us. This may keep us “away” from harming ourselves and other as we interact with each other.

In comparison with the Ten Plagues, let’s all hope that, as the Rabbi warned, we learn the lessons of this current plague so that we may avoid others that may force us even further to finally separate human consciousness from all forms and ways of evil, and approach life the way it deserves to be lived: only in goodness.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

JERUSALEM IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS (XXXII)


“Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise in the congregation of loving ones. May Israel rejoice in his Maker, the children of Zion joyful in their King.” (Psalms 149:1-2)

The “new song” is the expression of the new consciousness that awaits us in the Messianic era, indeed a praise of the loving ones, for love is the reigning principle that bonding with God’s love will manifest new expressions of goodness in all aspects of life.

The goodness of love has the power to unite and assemble in congregation God’s gathered tribes, which will interact as the functional harmonic unity we have mentioned before.

We will rejoice in our Creator, for we finally will fully bond with Him, whose goodness is the utmost of all joys. This is the sacredness that we will praise forever, for we will be living in it for eternity.

“Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sacredness [Temple]; praise Him in the firmament of His power.” (150:1)

King David tells us for the final time in his book of Psalms that our relationship, bond and connection with God culminates in the sacredness of His house, the Temple of Jerusalem, Zion the place of His dwelling in this world for eternity, which is the firmament of His power.

We have seen in all the verses King David writes about Jerusalem the many facets of God’s house, to realize that this awareness called Zion is our bond with Him, in which we live the final redemption He promised us; as long as we embrace goodness as our essence and true identity.

This is the primordial message we are destined to live, for goodness is the cause, the purpose and the end.

Sunday, September 16, 2018

JERUSALEM IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS (XXXI)


“The Lord reigns forever, the God of Zion, forever and ever. Praise the Lord.”
(Psalms 146:10)

Eternity is the reward for bonding in God’s love through the blessings He constantly bestows in us with His goodness. Thus we realize that it is as eternal as Him, and this happiness beyond possible description is only manifest in Zion, Jerusalem; the utmost joy of all hearts. Hence we will praise Him for eternity, for this praise is as infinite as Him.

“The Lord builds up Jerusalem, He gathers together the dispersed of Israel.” (147:2)

This realization will be factual when all the dispersed children of Israel are gathered by their God. Our Sages understand this as the prelude to the rise of the Third Temple that God builds along with Jerusalem, for these are irrelevant without the entire gathering of the Jewish people in the land of their divine inheritance.

This last and eternal Temple and its city are rebuilt with spiritual materials and qualities that will reflect the new consciousness the Creator promised for the Messianic era. Hence the edifices and towers of the city are already made of light columns and beams with compartments made to last forever, as the verse suggests in regards to eternity. Likewise, human and material life will be also spiritual as it was originally created at the beginning of God’s creation in the Garden of Eden.

“Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. For He has strengthened the bars of your gates, He has blessed your children in your midst. He established peace in your borders; He fulfills you with the best of wheat.” (147:12-14)

These verses reiterate the previous ones in regards to Jerusalem, as it was originally created by God; and as is going to be in the Jewish final redemption and the advent of the Messianic era.

The strengthening of the bars that protect Jerusalem tells us about the strong spiritual qualities that dissipate wickedness in all forms, for evil will fade before them. Goodness is the blessing that spreads out in levels, aspects, dimensions and expressions of our new future consciousness dwelling in the city of God. Hence peace is the air we will breathe in its midst. Our food will be from the best of wheat that can only be God’s love.

Sunday, September 9, 2018

JERUSALEM IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS (XXX)


“Remember, O Lord, against the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem; who say, ‘Raze it, raze it, down to its foundation’.”
(Psalms 137:7)

The psalmist knows very well the enemies of Jerusalem, the children of the heathen nations descendant from Esau/Edom. They represent the lowest thoughts, emotions, feelings, passions and instincts, that prey on goodness to satisfy their insatiable materialistic fantasies and illusions, and fight to impose the rule of wickedness and the destruction of human dignity, making goodness subservient to evil. Here, the “day of Jerusalem” refers to the final redemption of the Jewish people, and the day when the Messianic era begins.

“I bow down toward Your sacredness [Temple], and give thanks to Your Name, for Your loving kindness and for Your truth. For You have magnified Your promise above all Your Name. In the day that I called, You have answered me, You have encouraged me in my soul with strength.” (138:2-3)

The Creator’s promised final redemption, to make goodness rule and prevail in the material world, is evoked again to the point that the psalmist calls it greater than His Name.

It is a clear allegory to the greatness of God’s goodness that He will reveal in the Messianic era. It will be bigger than what we already know about His goodness, which is His Name.

He hears David’s prayer and answers him with the assurance that encourages him to live with a strengthened soul for the Messianic era, when we will see the magnificence of unfathomable qualities of His goodness. Being the Jewish people the inheritors of this divine promise, led the psalmist to exalt this sublime reality.

“Happy are the people whose destiny is this, happy are the people whose God is the Lord.” (144:15)

This verse summarizes the origin, essence, purpose and fate of Israel, with the exact words in their exact meaning. In this awareness we only have words of thankfulness and praise, also stated in the next verse.

Sunday, September 2, 2018

JERUSALEM IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS (XXIX)


“Blessed is the Lord from Zion that dwells in Jerusalem, praise the Lord.” (Psalms 135:21)

Once again, the psalmist proclaims God’s presence in Jerusalem. He blesses Him, for He is the Source of all blessings. In this awareness we praise Him forever.

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and also wept when we remembered Zion.” (137:1)

In prophecy, the psalmist evokes the children of Israel’s exile in Babylon, where they lamented their estrangement from the house of their God. The remembrance of Zion was all they had, hoping to return to their permanent bond that will be fully fulfilled in the Messianic era.

“For there [in Babylon], our captors requested from us words of song. ‘Sing for us the songs of Zion’.” (137:3)

The captors of the Jewish people are aware of the qualities inherent in Israel’s spirituality. The nations can recognize them in the praises to their God. They know that these songs are a soothing balm that harmonizes thoughts, emotions and feelings, something unique to the traits of goodness all the nations covet. Yet, to subject them to their materialistic attachments, obsessions and addictions.

Ultimately, in Israel’s final redemption, they will appreciate goodness in its ethical and moral principles, aimed to elevate the dignity they owe to the human condition in this world. The fact that they recognize the beauty of the “songs of Zion” is a first step to later embrace the essence that makes these songs the way they are.

The “songs” that Israel sings are pure praise of the traits and attributes of goodness, when it manifests in life, making it an exultation of God’s love.

“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign soil? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her skill. Let my tongue cleave to my palate, if I don’t remember you; if I set not Jerusalem above my greatest joy.” (137:4-6)

God’s song is also Israel’s, therefore it must be sung for each other, and no one else; neither in a place other than His house. In the name of the children of Israel, King David wonders about the aberration of trying to bond with God’s love out of His Promised Land, Jerusalem, and the Temple, the place of His dwelling.

This bond is referred here as God’s “song”. Hence forgetting Jerusalem is equivalent to forget our Father in Heaven, which means to live without the goodness represented by the ‘skill” of the right hand. The same goes for our speech, for without God’s goodness in our thoughts, words are meaningless. These verses reveal why Jerusalem is the greatest joy, for His loving kindness dwells in her.

Sunday, August 26, 2018

JERUSALEM IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS (XXVIII)


Like the dew of [mount] Hermon that comes down on the hills of Zion. For there the Lord commanded the blessing of life for eternity.
(Psalms 133:3)

Mount Hermon is the highest peak in the land of Israel, and symbolizes another of the elevated positive traits and qualities of goodness, joining the ones that surround Zion, our connection with God.

In this bond, He bestows goodness for all as His blessing for life, eternally. The verse reiterates that the highest and most sublime traits, “hills” and “mountains”, particularly those around Zion, are inherent to her as the vessel of God’s love.

“Bless the Lord all servants of the Lord that stand in the House of the Lord in the nights. Lift your hands in sacredness and bless the Lord. May the Lord bless you from Zion, who made the heavens and the earth.” (134:1-3)

Those who stand in the Temple of Jerusalem in the nights are its guardians and watchmen. King David invites them to evoke His protection, for which they bless Him, knowing that He cares for them as they care to share the source of goodness that His house is.

The action of sharing is represented by the lifting of their hands, by which we receive goodness and give it. This becomes a sacred action, for all related to goodness is certainly sacred due to its Source.

“Praise the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord. Praise Him servants of the Lord. [Those] standing in the house of the Lord, in the courtyards of the house of our God. Praise the Lord because goodness is the Lord. Sing to His name because He is pleasant.” (135:1-3)

We truly praise the name of God by emulating and manifesting His ways and attributes, His “Name”, by which we know our bond with Him. Hence we are His servants to do what He wants from us. Thus we “stand in His house and its courtyards”.

We also praise Him for His goodness that is pleasant to us. Reciting and singing His praise are an individual or collective token of our constant exercise of living in and for goodness, as He wants us to.

Sunday, August 19, 2018

JERUSALEM IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS (XXVII)


“We come to His sanctuaries, we bow at His footstool. Arise, O Lord, to Your sanctuaries, You and the ark of Your might. Your priests clothed with righteousness and Your loving ones singing of joy.” (Psalms 132:7-9)

Our Sages refer to the Temple of Jerusalem as God’s footstool, where the majesty of His goodness rests and touches the world. In this context, the Temple is where His “sanctuaries” are, and these are indeed His ways and attributes. Their sacredness is such that they are actually sanctuaries for us to meditate, contemplate and to dwell in.

When we allow God’s ways to inspire us in every mode, we pray to Him to take charge and turn us into vessels, worthy enough to keep up to His goodness, in order to make it ours to be, to have and to manifest it. This is the way God “arises” in us.

We have to call our Creator to dwell again in the sanctuaries of the Temple He once built in us, and for us to bond permanently with Him. This bond is the “ark of God’s might”, understood as the covenant that He sealed forever with His people.

The priests represent our connecting good traits that establish the bond, and these are good as long as they remain loyal to their ethical ways, mentioned here as righteousness, for they must be righteous as part of what goodness is.

God’s “loving ones” (the term is usually translated from the original Hebrew as “pious”) are the complementary qualities for being righteous, for they go hand in hand when true love is given. A loving action is expressed in the same way a joyful song is chanted, as we will see it in the next verses.

“For the Lord, He has chosen Zion for a seat for Him: ‘This one of My eternal rest, here I shall dwell because I desired it. Her provision I have blessed and shall bless. Her needy ones I satisfy with bread. And her priests dressed of redemption, and her loving ones singing of praise. There shall soot the vine for David, I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one’.” (132:13-17)

These verses reaffirm what Jerusalem and its Temple are for the Creator in relation to His eternal bond with Israel. The psalmist remarks the city of God as the vessel where He bestows His sustenance for the world.

This is the reason for His continuous blessings to her, and those who keep it sacred for Him. These are the priests that represent our best traits and qualities in the highest level of our consciousness, for these are the means through which we find our redemption.

Here redemption is called the vine of David, which represents the Messianic consciousness, destined to prevail for eternity. It is also the lamp that will enlighten all aspects and expressions of life, all dedicate to pursue the endless knowledge of our Creator.

From the Book's Foreword

Let's reexamine our ancestral memory, intellect, feelings, emotions and passions. Let's wake them up to our true Essence. Let us engage in the delightful awareness of Love as the Essence of G-d. The way this book is written is to reaffirm and reiterate its purpose, so it presents its message and content in a recurrent way. This is exactly its purpose, to restate the same Truth originally proclaimed by our Holy Scriptures, Prophets and Sages. Our purpose is to firmly enthrone G-d's Love in all dimensions of our consciousness, and by doing it we will fulfill His Promise that He may dwell with us on Earth forever. Let's discover together the hidden message of our ancient Scriptures and Sages. In that journey, let's realize Love as our Divine Essence, what we call in this book the revealed Light of Redemption in the Messianic era.