Earth Blessing #1: Sheh-ka-khah Lo

Earth Blessings

Bill is offering a series of blessings for earth as part of our study this year.  This is his first offering, a general blessing for the discovery of wonder in nature all around us.  His comments:

1. This blessing is for “on seeing the small-scale wonders of nature, such as beautiful trees, animals, and people.”  There is a different blessing for big stuff, such as oceans and mountains.
2. As Jews, we do not bless the spirits of the tree, or the animal; we bless G*d who creates all beauty in the world.  Beauty is a way for us to connect to the holy expression of G*d in this world.
3.  One way of reading the Hebrew is that this this beauty is for Him (G*d).  There is a teaching that G*d created Creation for His joy.
4. Typically the translation says “Who has things such in His world,” but a closer reading of the Hebrew eliminates “things” and says just “such in His world.”  This implies you must be in the presence of the thing of beauty to say the blessing.  While the object of beauty remains third-person (I/they) in the blessing, saying “such,” instead of “such things” creates a more intimate, personal relationship with the object.
5. The last two words, “lo b’olamo,” rhyme.
6. The last sound of the last two words is “o.”  This is the sound people make when they encounter wonder, which is one reason why this blessing is a good one to use when you are feeling awe in the presence of beauty. 

This too is pursuit of wind . . .

Saturday, July 6, 2013

This too is pursuit of wind . . .

We met in Santa Monica in the shade of the awning, to continue our study of the transition of the throne from David to Solomon. 

Proverbs 1:1: The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel  . . .

1:8 My son, heed the discipline of your father,

                 And do not forsake the instruction of your mother;

            For they are a graceful wreath upon your head,

A necklace about your throat.”

Kings I: 2:1  “. . . be strong, and become a man”

David gives his deathbed instructions to the youthful king Solomon.  His words are clearly designed to build backbone into Solomon to allow him to face the lifetime of challenges that lay ahead, particularly in the immediate future to consolidate his fragile hold on the throne.   David’s instructions are very Gevurah in nature – be strong, become a holy man, follow and guard the ways of YHVH, and be sure to lead your people in those ways in order to fulfill the promise that the kingship will not be cut off from the Davidic line.  After these general instructions. David gets down to realpolitik, brass tacks on how to deal with those remaining who would undermine and usurp the leadership from Solomon (Joav and Shimei – “do not allow his white hair to go to the grave in peace”) as well as those who will support him (the Barzillai clan – “they shall be among those who eat at your table”).   These are huge responsibilities put on the young king, as the Talmud tells us the importance of government is to keep the people from being at each others’ throats.  But the early passages of this chapter only begin to raise the question of how do we reconcile David’s counsel to seek vengeance on his enemies with those of a moral justice found in the Torah of Moses?  These questions grew more urgent as we proceded into the text.

Kings I: 2:13.  “Adonijah, son of Haggith, came to Bat-Sheva, Solomon’s mother.”

Adonijah, half-brother of Solomon, his earlier coup attempt thwarted, now asks Bat-Sheva to ask Solomon to give him Abishag, David’s former young concubine, for a wife.  When Bat-sheva requests that Solomon give Abishag to Adonijay, Solomon immediately sees this as a renewed first step of a new attempt by Adonijah to reclaim legitimacy to the throne for himself.  While Solomon spared his life the first time around, this time he quickly dispatches his “hit man” Benaiah, who quickly kills Adonijah.

We begin to sense we are smack in the middle of an episode of “Game of Thrones” or “The Godfather”. 

We wonder at Bat-sheva’s motivations for relaying Adonijah’s request to Solomon, in what was a not so subtle move to undermine her son.  Is she so politically naïve?  But we remember the power she held – the prophet Nathan had come to her to inform David of Adonijah’s initial coup attempt.  And she stood to the right of Solomon in offering her suggestion, the place of the advisor to the king.  And we wonder: was it her conscious intent to communicate the subterfuge of Adonijah in such a way that Solomon would clearly see through her words?  What was her body language? The tone of voice?  Whereas David was very Gevurah and clear in his instructions, are the ways of the feminine advisor more fluid, more contained within the lovingkindness of Hesed (on the right side of the Tree)?  We have a new picture of Bat-sheva and how she acts very consciously to advise her son and lead him to his decision. 

Spirited discussion on major themes brought up by this scene.  Here are some brief selected commentaries from the group:

·      David’s role is as “Don Corleone” – “I promised I would not make war, and (to Michael Corleone/Solomon) here’s how to do it”

·      Patience and ruthlessness

·      Discipline of the father

·      Wisdom confounds us – here it leads to murder

·      This book is history, not moral guidance in how to act

·      Loyalty is the guiding force

·      How do leaders prevent self-serving subterfuge from undermining the greater good?

·      Why does our tradition hold David up so high?

o   David was a Master of Teshuvah

o   He had a rare warrior-poet duality

·      What ever happened to the 10 Commandments?  How is this acting like the “Chosen” ones?

o   We are “chosen” as a people to serve humanity in a certain way (by carrying Torah and Shabbat), the way each other people is chosen in their way, the way each organ in the body serves the body as a whole

o   The idea of “chosen” meaning “superior” is not how it is meant, but is rather a distortion caused by the oppression of the Jews over millennia leading to a reactive defense to maintain our unity (e.g. the way an abused child might develop a defense mechanism to survive), combined with the Christianization of the concept to justify colonization and oppression  by “The Church” over the course of history – e.g our way to God is the only way.

·      Are there examples of leadership that does not rely on these power-plays?  How would Ghandi have led if given the chance?  What does the example of Mandela have to teach us?

·      There are many examples in our tradition where to obey God means to kill: after the golden calf; the destruction of Amalek; the slaughter of Midian

·      There is a legacy of violence in our tradition that we really don’t deal with – the genocide of the Book of Joshua.  Was this reflected in other genocides of history?  The slaughter and colonizataion of indigenous tribes by the Christian Europeans?  The history of Native Americans in this country?  The Holocaust?  Current genocidal thoughts about Israel in parts of the Middle East?

·      The IDF is always struggling with maintaining morality in its actions.  There will be war – so how do we conduct a just war?  Given the geography of the location of Israel, history has taught us there will be war at that crossroads.  So how are we to be a holy people and deal with all of the violence around us?

 Are you disturbed yet?  If not, read on.

Kings I:2:28: “Joav fled . . . and took hold of the horns of the Altar”

Having gotten rid of Adonijah, Solomon moves on the others who followed him in his coup.  He exiles the High Priest Abiathar, sparing his life because of his past actions in suffering with David in his struggles, and in carrying the Ark when David brought it to Jerusalem.  He sends Benaiah to kill the great warrior, David’s former general, Joav, who flees into the Mishkan seeking refuge, grabbing onto the horns of the Altar and refusing to leave.  Benaiah, after getting the OK from Solomon, kills him on that spot, and sends him to his house to be buried.  We wonder about the issues of lack of safe haven from punishment, and at how receiving the body of Joav, the great warrior, would have affected the minds and hearts of his clansmen, perhaps setting them up forever against Solomon, as was/is the way of tribal and clan justice and retribution that we still see to this day in the Middle East, as well as in the gangs of the inner cities of America.  Death leads to death.  Finally Shimei is put in house arrest in Jerusalem, but after 3 years leaves Jerusalem briefly only to be executed upon his return for having broken the terms of his life-sparing internal exile.

So, Solomon has consolidated his hold on the throne by handling his enemies in 3 ways: death, exile, and internal exile.  And he appoints others, Benaiah as his general and Tzadok as High Priest, to watch his back.  Leaving us with many questions. How does a leader maintain a bearable order?  Is it the case that sometimes you just don’t have a choice of being moral?  A lesson in power politics worthy of SunTzu, Machiavelli, and Don Corleone.

This is our mythology.  These are our wisdom teachings.  Checkouts mostly revolved around feelings of varying degrees of discomfort, unease, anger, sadness – all feelings stirred up by today’s readings.  We signed off with the words from the book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), written by Solomon:

Kohelet 1:1.  The words of Kohelet son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Kohelet 1:17-18: So I set my mind to appraise wisdom and to appraise madness and folly.  And I learned – that this too was pursuit of wind/spirit (Ruach). 

For as wisdom grows, vexation grows;

To increase learning is to increase heartache.

Next Meeting: Saturday, August 10, 10 AM (prompt!) – noon, Location to be announced

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