Saturday, January 4, 2014
Keeper of the Covenant and
the Lovingkindness . . .
Check-ins brought us very present with our stories of crime,
illness, job loss, and other events that have transpired since the last time we
sat together.
I Kings I, 8:1 “Solomon gathered together the Elders of
Israel – the heads of the tribes, the carriers of the ancestors”
At first glance it is unclear who Solomon is gathering. Are these 3 different categories of leaders
among the people – elders, tribal heads, ancestor-carriers? However, close look at the Hebrew shows no
letter vav between these 3 descriptors, suggesting that the latter 2 are
defining characteristics of an Elder of Israel. Thus, those who can be called “Elder” are
the leaders in their tribes who carry the ancestral legacy. Thus, an Elder is one who carries the
ancestral traditions, offering the gift of that knowledge to the
community. We may consider ways to
manifest this at our PV gathering this year – perhaps in the section of the 4
Questions? Or the 4 Children?
I Kings, 8:5. “. . . offerings too abundant to be numbered
or counted”
It is clear what physical offerings to Spirit were made back
in the ancient times. The offering of
animals was a standard practice, and at this dedication of the new Temple, the
offerings were astounding in number, unable to be counted. This was how we communicated with
Spirit. While the animal sacrificial
rites were predominantly transformed into prayer during subsequent centuries of
Jewish history, we wonder what still may remain in the Hebrew tradition in the
form of physical offerings, and what their role may be in these modern
times? Native Americans offer tobacco,
or cornmeal in many personal ceremonies as a way to seek relation with Spirit. Is there still a role, or similar physical
ritual, that persists in the Jewish tradition that plays the same role? Is such a physical offering necessary, when
we have such rich prayerful ways to approach the Divine? Does use of prayer alone keep us separated
from our earth-based connection, aspects of God that are all around us at all
times?
I Kings, 8:13 “ I have surely built a house of habitation
for You . . . ”
The Cloud of the Shechinah rolls into the Beit YHVH
(translated into English as “temple”), and the Cohanim have had to leave,
unable to stay and serve in the Presence.
It is a bit unclear: did the Cloud fill only the Holy of Holies, or did
it roll out of the Holy to fill the entire Temple? Solomon uses here the feminine form of the
pronoun “You”, a fact of considerable import that is lost in the English
translation, as it is clear the Cloud is Shechinah, Divine Feminine, intimate
dwelling Presence. The Hebrew also
indicates in its grammatical way, without bold font or underlines, that Solomon
is emphasizing his accomplishment in building the Temple. Hard to know his mindset, 3000 years later,
but is there a hint of youthful arrogance present in this statement? Solomon was only 16 years old when the
building of the Temple began, and the construction took 7 years, so he is now a
man in his early-mid twenties.
A more mundane explanation for the cloud: the smoke from all
the burning sacrifices filled the Temple and the Cohanim had to leave because
they couldn’t breathe or see!
I Kings, 8:23 “ . . . there is none like You . . . guardian
of the convenant and the the lovingkindness . . . ”
Solomon raises his palms toward the Fire-Water Place
(Shamayim – typically translated as “heaven”) and addresses YHVH directly and
profoundly on behalf of all the people.
He opens with this acknowledgment of YHVH, God of Israel, as the keeper
of the covenant (The B’rit) and love (The Hesed). But what is The Covenant, and what is The
Love? There have been a number of
covenants God has made with the Hebrew people and their predecessors: that
which was made with Noah to never again destroy the earth; with Abraham, that
his descendants would inhabit the Land and be as numerous as the sands on the
edge of the sea; with each individual male child at the age of 8days; and most
recently with David – that his descendants would always sit on the throne of
Judah. So, which of these is being
referred to? Or is there something much
more personal being referred to here? A
possible explanation: the covenant is that which Creator makes with each
individual Neshamah that comes to this physical plane and embodies in order to
do the work for the completion of creation on this level. Is the lovingkindness then that which follows
as necessary, and what is so profoundly present, to allow us some space for our
human flaws, errors, and distractions that keep us from fulfilling that
Covenant? When we say the Ahl Chets on
Yom Kippur, are we not appealing to that
Hesed, for that reason –
acknowledging that we have really not kept up our part of the bargain. And YHVH in the role of great gentle loving
One, accepts our prayers like a parent consoles a teenager who has just
stupidly totaled the family car, and allows us to get back on the bicycle and keep
trying. Perhaps this is the covenant and
the love that Solomon is acknowledging.
I Kings, 8:28 “ . . . prayer, supplication, and cry .
. . ”
Solomon uses three different words for prayer, suggesting 3
different ways to pray, 3 deepening levels of prayer. Tefillah – the standard
text of the prayer; T’chinah – a
supplication, special plea, perhaps one that one has no merit to justify; Rinah
– a cry out, from either joy or pain.
Are we aware of the difference in these modes of prayer? Are we familiar with their uses and the
feelings behind them in ourselves as we use them? How does our connection with YHVH differ when
we use these 3 forms of prayer?
Final Discussion: Losing
My Religion?
The idea was expressed that this event, the completion of
the Temple in Jerusalem, may mark the beginning of the end of Earth-based Judaism. What was once a tribal people living in
intimate connection with earth, with the knowledge that God could be found in
the stones and trees around them, that God could be wrestled with on the edge
of a river in the dead of night, would no longer be the same. This was the actualization of the warning
from Samuel: that if you have a king, you will become like other nations and
will stop being individually close to HaShem.
So now, the personal altars are outlawed, and the connection to the
Divine is through a single structure in a single place determined by a single
individual. The Temple of stone,
unmovable, a place you must go to for worship, perhaps too grandiose in its use
of precious metals and other precious materials, compared to the simplicity of
the fabric-covered and enclosed Tabernacle that could move amongst the tribes,
reminding us that God really doesn’t need such fancy digs. Whose idea was this Temple anyway? Apparently David had the initiative, but God
held him back from building it. Was this
a delaying tactic that didn’t quite work out, just as Aaron had tried to pacify
the rebel crowd by allowing the Golden Calf to be built in the hope that Moses
would return from the mountain before the line of idolatry had been
crossed? Could the building of the
Temple by Solomon, rather than representing the crowning achievement of a people dedicated to service of Spirit,
instead actually represent a Cheyt, a missing of the mark, a break from the
covenant between Soul and Creator that was actually intended?
Feelings were strong,
as we discussed these ideas - anger. resentment. alienation.
Does the Jewish focus on the Temple, even to this day, border on
idolatry? Is it not a movement away from
the idea that the Presence is everywhere?
In today’s temples and synagogues, do we rely too much on our rabbis and
cantors, no matter how knowledgable and respected they may be, to be our
interlocuters rather than maintain the stance of the mystic – to have that
individual relationship with the Holy One?
Do we rely too much on buildings of concrete and steel, ornaments and
stained glass, rather than on a simple path by the creek, or a small altar of
stones? Can attention to earth-based, elemental practices bring us back to the
covenant and the lovingkindness that was initially intended?
Another way
to consider the issues: Perhaps the timing of switching to a more institutional
form of Judaism was intentional by Divine calculations or necessary in order to
establish and/or maintain a certain State of the Emerging Culture, that was not
ready with David and was then appropriate under Solomon. Though there is
definitely a loss to mourn with no longer having a close and personal and
creative connection with haShem and ritual design, perhaps there would have
been unwanted developments. Change is rapid in those early personal stages.
Perhaps something essential had to be captured and passed on to coming
generations before it evaporated or became distorted. When change is again needed we
"Return" to earth based ways as the Baal Shem Tov did with Hasidism,
allowing a direct connection with the divine that did not require stuffy
education, and the poor had access, nature was important. But then they became static too. It is a cycle to be recognized throughout our
history, or perhaps an expanding spiral, change followed by rich practice, then
rigidity, then realization of what's missing and rebellion for revitalizing
change. We may be now on the cutting edge of current Return and the beginning
of a new, beautiful cycle. Our mourning is an occasion for celebration, as it
marks the recognition and reconnection with our soul needs as a people.
Next Meeting:
Saturday, February 1 – location TBA.
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