Long Live King Solomon

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Long Live King Solomon

We met in Santa Monica, 4 blocks from the edge of the continent, cool sea breeze blowing through the open patio door.  Personal check-ins connected us in our various states of enthusiasm, stress, emotional exhaustion, and joy.  We all shared a certain nervous anticipation about what path we were about to embark upon with the beginning of our study this year.  We discussed our options: Kings, return from Babylon, circle back to Judges, and decided to read from each and see how they feel.  We never got past the first, as we were quickly immersed in the story of the succession of David’s throne, the palace intrigue, the family dysfunction, and the joy of learning together.

Kings I:1:1  “King David was old . . . they covered him with garments but he did not become warm”

David, after a life of struggle leading to political and spiritual accomplishments is in his final decline.  His servants bring him Abishag, a young, beautiful woman to warm him, and she becomes his caretaker.  The text is unclear whether the intention was to provide David with Abishag to provide sexual relations, but it is clear that David did not “know” Abihshag, and that her role was one of tending to his needs and providing human warmth and comfort.  One wonders, where were all his queens?

Kings I:1:6.  “Adonijah, son of Haggith, exulted himself saying “I shall reign!”

Adonijah, David’s eldest remaining son following the death of Abshalom, attempts to usurp the throne and is joined in this coup de etat plot by several key, powerful people including Joav, David’s most powerful general.  We are told that Adonijah was “never scolded” by his father, perhaps explaining the arrogance which leads him to try to grab power despite the past prophecies and promises that Solomon would inherit the throne.  We see again, as so often in Judaism, that the “right” of the first born at times of transition of power is often (perhaps always?) supplanted by the meritocracy of who is the one that is spiritually appropriate to lead the people forward.  Thus, Isaac not Ishmael, Jacob not Esau, Joseph not Ruben, Moses not Aaron, all the way to David rather than his older brothers.   Up until this moment, there has been no established hereditary kingship either, as David from the tribe of Judah had supplanted Saul, the first king of Israel, who was a Benjaminite. 

Relevance to Passover Village is apparent, as we consider the theme of family.  How do we build our own community “family”, increasing levels of connection, intimacy, consideration?  Who are the kings and queens, sons and daughters of PV?  The process of “Circle Work” comes to mind, placing youth in the East, young adults in the South, etc, and consider possible ritual expressions this could take in our future gatherings.

Kings I:1:11.  “Nathan spoke to Bath-sheva saying, Adonijah has beome king, and David does not know”

Why does the prophet go through Batsheva, rather than directly to the king himself?  He knows that Solomon is prophetically named to be king, as does Batsheva his mother.  But she would be the most directly aggrieved party if Adonijah’s coup were to succeed and Solomon be supplanted.  Indeed both of their lives would likely be at stake.  So the lesson seems to be that if we want to accomplish what is needed, don’t rely on a prophet to speak for us, but on ourselves to communicate our intention and act through the people in our community to bring what we need into reality. 

This section also raised the question: what was the contemporary role of the prophet?  Were they recognized as prophets at the time, or is this designation one that is arrived at later, in hindsight?  Do we “see” the prophets among us, even within ourselves, or do we dismiss them?

Kings I:1:29: “The king swore ‘As YHVH lives . . . Solomon your son will reign after me . . . so shall I fulfill it this very day.” 

The double-team effort of Bathsheva and Natan rouses the king to the challenge, and you can sense the blood flowing as he steps forward to quash the coup and install Solomon.  We note that he invokes, and presumably speaks, the name of God as YHVH, whereas we know that generally this name is spoken only once yearly by the Cohen Gadol in the Holy of Holies during the Yom Kippur service.  Does David really say the Name?  Does he pronounce it in the sacred, hidden way?  Or does he use, as we do today, a euphemism (such as Adonai, meaning “my Lord”)?  But the text indicates YHVH as the nature of God that he is invoking.  For as opposed to Elohim, which is the creative Wellspring aspect of God, YHVH is that ever-flowing essence of Presence and Consciousness, moving always through nature, space, and time, the unification of the Masculine and Feminine principles of the Universe, the Unity.  It is this that David invokes, whether pronounced in its most sacred form or not. 

This story is playing out like a political scandal, and one wonders who knew what when?  Does Solomon know he’s been prophetically indicated to be the next king?  Did Batsheva know that?  Clearly David and Natan did, for Natan had received the prophecy and communicated it to David.  But how was it to happen that Solomon will succeed David, what will be the story of that succession in what is being played out now.  This is an example of what the first chapter of Sefer Yetzirah teaches regarding Sefer (the fixed laws of the Universe, what is destined), the S’far (the number or process, how things work to be manifested), and the Sipur (the story, how free will acts on the process to change it, alter it, determine the path by which the destiny will ultimately be manifested).  This was apparent earlier in the story of the union of David and Batsheva.  While the commentators state that David and Batsheva were destined to be together, the way in which David went about acquiring her by sending her husband to his death, was his choice and was one of his greatest errors and led to grave consequences. 

Kings I:1:32.  “King David said . . . mount my son Solomon on my mule and take him down to Gihon . . . and anoint him as king over Israel”

King David orders the ritual of anointment immediately and firmly.  It will be accomplished publicly by the high priest, Tzadok, and the prophet Nathan.  David is moving with a firm, clear step to quickly put the coup de etat to rest and establish Solomon as the rightful heir, in plain site of the people. 

Why the mule (Hebrew:Pirdah)?  The horse is often a symbol of war, while a donkey that of a peaceful servant.  Perhaps the mule, the infertile combination of the mating of those 2 species, symbolizes the transfer of power from the warrior David, to the peacemaker, Shlomo (meaning: “his peace”).  The commentators state this was an  incontestable demonstration of Solomon’s choice to be successor, and a sign that David did not consider Adonijah, who had gathered horses and chariots and warriors, a serious challenger.   

Kings I:1:39.  “Tzadok . . . anointed Solomon, they sounded the shofar, and all the people proclaimed “Long live King Solomon! . . .  and the ground burst from their noise!”

Solomon is publicly anointed at the spring of Jerusalem, and there is no doubt who is king.  The shofar blast shifts the spiritual energy to its new state of being, as it has done at almost every momentous event and transition of power in our peoples’ history.  He is brought up from the spring, and the people rejoiced and played flutes, and there was such a joyous commotion and celebration that “the ground burst from their noise”.   What a site and sound this must have been!

This clear political power play has its intended effects.  The coup dissolves around Adonijah, who then seeks refuge by grasping onto the horns of the altar, and is pardoned by Solomon in his first act as king. 

Solomon was 12 years old at the time he took the throne, and the story of his rise and his reign will fit in well with our stated intention to include youth in our next Passover Village. 

Next Meeting: Saturday, July 6, 10 AM, location to be announced 

Passover Village 2013: Kavannah

1/31/13

Shalom Chaverim,

"Old myths, old gods, old heroes have never died.  They are only sleeping at the bottom of our mind, waiting for our call.  We have need for them.  They represent the wisdom of our race"

Stanley Kunitz, American poet laureate

There is something stirring in the air and in the bones this year . . . do you feel it?  It is the call to community, the call of our ancestors wanting us to gather in the old ways.  There is much trouble afoot in the world – fear, greed, terror, death, guns, broken economies – what to make of it all?  Our teachings tell us that where there is much chaos, that is the place of Creation.  But what is it that we are to birth, in this moment, at this time? What is it that humanity needs? 

A Guatemalan shaman once said (paraphrasing) that we need to raise new sap with old roots. 

For us in Passover Village, this will be our 18^th journey to the wilderness seeking to reclaim our old roots – our ancient tribal, indigenous wisdom traditions.  Looking back, it seems inconceivable that this is our 18^th year together - our “Chai” year.  This year we will again be returning to Joshua Tree, where the rocky amphitheater of the land is calling us to another year of earth-based ritual, prayer, camping, and being together.  We go out to the desert, the MiDBar, the place of M’DaBer (speaking), to listen closely for the whispered message that trying to get through to us right from that “still small voice” that once spoke to our greatest prophets.  Pesach is the time to renew our connections with our ancestors and explore our indigenous roots with ritual, song, and community.  We are instructed to tell the story of the communal Exodus from Egypt as if we ourselves had gone out from that “narrow place” over 3000 years ago.   Tell the story, tell the story, always we must tell the story.

For new Villagers coming this year, a bit of background: our community seeks to explore the connection to what it actually means to be a Hebrew - an   Ivri, a boundary crosser – a member of an indigenous, tribal, aboriginal people who once lived day to day connected intimately to the land, to nature, and to Spirit.  You say this is not the Judaism you know?  Probably not, but what other explanation do you have for a people who refer to heaven as the “place of fire-water” (Sha’mayim).  Each year we establish our “ Passover Village” for an extended weekend, where we enjoy each other’s presence and spirits in a cooperative, and heart-felt endeavor.  Our vision is to create a place in which we all dwell together as Brothers and Sisters, in which each Soul is fully seen, recognized, and acknowledged: creating a lattice of contribution in which each person serves a different role, a vital role in the community, aligned as much as possible to his/her core self. 

This Year’s Kavannah

Every year we also add a bit of additional kavannah  (spiritual intention) to our weekend, to help us explore more deeply our tribal history together. This year, our kavannah will be to continue the inquiry of community begun last year, adding to it a deep exploration of our tribal symbols, colors, character, and purpose – call this “Building Tribal Community”.  Our model is that of the 12 Tribes, which we have studied throughout the year, seeking to understand more deeply the way in which those 12 divisions can speak to us, speak through us, to guide us in this modern age of trouble.

There are 2 Hebrew words for tribe used in Torah: Shevet and Mateh.  Both words also mean “staff”.  A shevet refers to a shepherd’s crook that is used to guide the flock, while a mateh refers to a walking stick, a staff meant to be used for movement, action, creation (as in the staff of Moses, really the Staff of Elohim, which was used to initiate the wonders and miracles that brought the People out of Egypt and helped them in the wilderness).   So the tribes are our guides, and our means of walking on the Earth.  Forgetting their ways puts us in peril - remembering may lead us to ourselves.

What do the tribes of the South – Reuven, Shimon, Gad – have to say to us about the ways of the child, the ways of clarifying our intentions, the ways of Water?  And what of the Western tribes – Ephraim, Menashe, and Benjamin – what relevance do their majestic and fierce totems have to teach us today?  In the North, is the serpent of Dan to be feared or honored? The olives of Asher to be eaten or burned? And what does it mean that Naftali is likened to a deer?  Or Judah a lion?  Or the role of Zevulun relative to its brother-tribe Issaschar?  Colors, flags, standards, stones, totems – we did not learn about these in Sunday school when we were kids, yet they are our indigenous tradition, the tribal archetypes that organize our collective unconscious.  If we turn our attention to them, what message do they have to M’DaBer to us in the MiDBar this year?  If you identify with Naftali, what does that mean?  If you fear your “inner Shimon”, what might you actually learn form him?  What tribal energies in you are crying to be released, to be freed from their Mitzrayim?  What gifts do they bring to you, and in turn through you to the rest of the world? 

A very special request this year:

It is our intention to consciously engage the energies, wisdom, and consciousness of our tribal ancestors when we gather this year in Joshua Tree.  All year we have studied parts of Torah and other sources to learn about the Tribes of Israel, what each tribe’s character, purpose, and destiny was, as expressed by the blessings given them by Jacob and Moses.   We strongly encourage everyone who attends to read the notes written from each of our study periods over the year on our blogsite at http//passovervillage.blogsite.com     If you attended those sessions, this will remind you of the territory we have covered, and if you did not attend, it will provide you with much context for the material we will work with when we gather.  Also, feel free to explore the primary texts again, as indicated on the blog, or other materials having to do with the tribes.  The deeper our knowledge going in, the richer our encounter with the Mystery will be. 

As we gather again this year among the stone beings of Joshua Tree, among the memories that we have built over the last 17 years, we will celebrate the freedom that we hold so dear, and again learn from one another what it means to be a community connected to the earth, to our ancestors, to Spirit, and to the best within each of us and each of our fellow human beings.

 Please feel free to Email with any questions, comments, etc.

Shalom U’L’hitraot – see you in Joshua Tree!

Marc

TO REGISTER FOR THIS YEAR’S PASSOVER VILLAGE RETREAT GO TO:

http://passovervillage.blogspot.com/2010/01/registration-is-open-for-passover-2010.html      

Purple Rivers

Purple Rivers

1-05-13

BaMidbar Rabbah II:3

With great love did the Holy One, blessed be the One, love them [the tribes] for The One organized them under banners/flags like the ministering angels, so that they might be easily distinguished. How do we know that this was a sign of love? Because Solomon says: "He has brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me is love." (Song of Songs 2:4). 

Shemot 1:1 (today’s parasha, the first chapter of the Book of Exodus):

“And these are the names of the Children of Israel who were coming to Egypt; with Jacob each man and his household came.  Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah . . .  Gad, and Asher.”

We held a technologically challenging study group this month.  As several could not attend in person due to illness or other reasons, the group included participants on Skype and conference call.  We worked initially with the last part of Louis Ginzberg’s translation of  Midrash Rabbah relating to tribal symbols in the desert, then concluded with Moshe’s blessings for the tribes in Deuteronomy.

P 236: “the purple color of the cloud of glory was reflected in the waters of the rivers”

The midrash is full of images of beauty describing the encampment of the Israelites in the desert.  Multiple colors, dominated by the purple of the Cloud, rivers, and garments.  Color – the antithesis of the tza’a’rat described as the pale white skin manifestation of the spiritual sin of slander, as afflicted Miriam.  This passage also contains extensive descriptions of the sacred geometry of the encampment, with the Mishkan in the center, encircled by the Levites in the 4 directions, they in turn encircled by the 12 tribal encampments in the 4 directions, they in turn encircled by their cattle and other animals, with purple rivers separating the humans from the animals, and each directional encampment from the other.  Also, 4 rivers dividing each directional division of tribes, like the 4 rivers that flowed from the 1 out of Eden in Genesis, with wooden boards used to bridge the rivers and connect the tribes.  The unity in the diversity, the echad in the all.  And a focus on the miracle of their garments, that grew with them like a skin, never soiled, always new, for the 40 years of journeying in the desert.  Fascinating.  The importance of clothing to the tribe, and to the individual.

p.237: “ . . .  each individual tribe had its own special flag and symbols . . . “

The symbols described on the flags speak to the character of each tribe, as in Asher’s symbol of the olive tree, representing all the olive trees and olive oil on the territory of Asher.  But wait!  This is in the desert during the Exodus, and Asher’s olive trees are at least 40 years away.  But our ancestors lived in times of prophecy, and proximity to the Divine, where past is future, and vice versa.  So that Jacob’s blessings of his sons, and Moses later blessings of the tribes that came from those forefathers, speak to their future but also reflect their intrinsic natures and past actions.  This is a repeated theme of our tradition, as in the name of YHVH – that was, is, and will be all at the same time - flowing and moving through every aspect of creation. 

From what we know of the tribes, it would seem there were leaders and followers, tribes who were the haves and those that were the have-nots.  So were these characteristics of the tribes true of all tribal members?  What is the relationship between the destiny within the tribe vs our usual Western concept of  the “freedom” of individual free will?  It could be that having a tribal destiny or purpose brings with it a different form of freedom  –  the freedom to get IN rather than get out.  As it is in some African tribes, where the spiritually divined purpose of a newborn baby is supported by the entire tribe, so that the infant can grow and fulfill his/her destiny with the encouragement and guidance of all tribal members.

We found ourselves asking how we might work with this issue of tribal character and purpose in Passover Village this year, or even from now until PV.  One suggestion: meditate, pray, contemplate the tribes, feel which one calls to you, wants to teach you its lessons.  Another suggestion: let us use all 5 senses to fully experience these archetypal patterns of our ancestors.  Another suggestion: pick tribal flags out of a hat and take on the lessons of that tribe, as an actor takes a part.  Whatever we choose to do, it is clear that these 12 tribal archetypes, or 13 depending how you count them, are all present in each one of us, and whichever route we choose to explore, the teachings will be there.

Deuteronomy 33:2: “From his right hand He presented the fiery Torah to them  . . . “

So says the English translation of one of the verses leading up to Moses’ blessing of the tribes near the end of his life.  But looking at the Hebrew, one does not find the word for fire or the word for Torah.  There is a single word - Esh’daht  - Aleph-Shin-Dalet–Taf.  The commentaries tell us the rabbis do not know what this means.  What!?  All of our sages throughout history, and nobody knows what this means!  We humbly seek some meaning in the letters.  This is an Alef-Taf word, like Et” the marker of the direct object of a sentence, or “Emet” which means truth.  These words contain everything that lies between the Alef, the first letter of the Aleph-Bet, and Taf, the last letter of the Aleph-Bet.  So in other words, these words contain everything.  And what is between them in this word is Shin-Dalet, Shad, which has the meaning of hill, or breast, or sufficiency, as in El Shaddai, the God of Sufficiency.  So our translation could be that from His Right hand, the hand of Hesed, lovingkindness, He gave them everything, with sufficiency and nourishment in between.  Another way to look at the word Esh’daht.  It begins with the word Alef-Shin, or Aish, which means fire.  This must be the source of our translation.  We know the element of Fire as one of the 3 Mother letters, corresponding to the Sefira of Binah, understanding, which gave birth to all of subsequent Creation.  But what of Dalet-Taf, Dat?  Shorthand for Da’at, Knowledge, the pseudo-Sefirah which follows Binah in the Tree of Life?    Isn’t Hebrew fun?

Deuteronomy 6-24: “ . . . Reuven . . . Judah . . . Levi . . . etc ” 

The blessings of each of the tribes by Moses serve as bookends to those Jacob gave directly to his sons centuries earlier, the personal character of those sons now having matured into the character of an entire tribe.   Thus, while Jacob highlighted Reuven’s impetuous nature that got him into lots of trouble and lost him his birthright, Moses prays that his enemies may not wipe him out, and that he should always be counted among his people.  Jacob’s blessing that Judah will be the warrior, king, leader of the people is echoed by Moses, emphasizing this tribe’s future role as interlocutor for the people with HaShem.  The priestly tribe of Levi is described as being so focused on their spiritual duties as to be disconnected from parents, brothers, and children.  Are these the necessary boundaries and level of dedication needed for the priests to guide the entire people in its spiritual development, or, on the shadow side, are these the potential seeds of a destructive zealotry? Joseph will bring bounty to the people, as he provided food during famine in Egypt.  Gad and Dan are acknowledged as lions, in addition to Judah, the warrior tribes.  And Asher will be awash in oil.

Deuteronomy 33:26:  “There is none like God, Jeshurun!”

Who is Jeshurun?  This is one of many names used to describe the Children of Israel, including B’nai Yisrael, House of Jacob, etc., each likely emphasizing a particular attribute of the entire people.  So Jeshurun comes from the root Yashar, meaning straight, perhaps indicating the people that follow the straight path of direct connection to HaShem inspired and characterized by the revelation at Sinai, the giving of the Torah, the Mishkan, the Tribes, the flags, and the purple rivers.

Post-script: There are other mentions of the tribes, their actions, and characters in other parts of Tanach that we have not yet studied.  For instance, in her song of glory (Judges, Chapter 5), Devorah sings praises of the tribes that fought with her in the defeat of Sisera, while castigating those tribes who did not come to help her when she called.  There are mentions of the tribes in Psalms, Chronicles, and no doubt many others.  Further descriptions are found in the books of Kabbalah, such as Sefer Yetzirah, where the tribes are associated with the months of the year and the constellations of the Zodiak.    We will continue to mine our source materials for more information and more understandings of our tribal ancestors, and how they live through us even to this day.

Next Gathering: Saturday, February 2   

Location: To be determined