Tuesday, December 13, 2005

The Fool & The Rasha

When the Holy One was about to perfect the world, all of the letters of the Aleph-Beit were playing together. For six thousand years the Holy One had contemplated how to do it, playing with thinking with them. When the Holy One stood to actually do it, all the letters presented themselves before the Holy One. Each letter, standing before the Holy One, wanted to be called up first, except tav and reish. Reish was used to playing second fiddle to beit, the blessed of creation (bereshit), and only desired to truly love - his whole purpose for being. And tav, used to being the last letter in the word of creation, was in the dark and couldn't figure out what all the desire to be first was about. You see, tav, the letter of truth, was in true love with reish, a letter so full of absolute clarity that tav felt sure that reish should be first. Surely, thought tav, the Holy One will see as I do that reish is naturally destined to be first, so reishit he is. But, the Holy One, had an eye only for tav and called her up.

Yet tav was not deterred from her love for reish, despite the Holy One's attention. May it please Thee, oh Holy One of the world, if I must be firstly, please oh please, send me enfolded enjoined as one with reish (tav aleph reish - harmony), in the perfecting of the world so that the world can see with perfect harmony, perfect truth. For, apart from reish, tav told the Holy One, I cannot be truly perfected. And that is the upright truth. The Holy One said to tav:

Thou art worthy and deserving, oh tav, but is the world kosher yet that I should make harmony first? For thou, tav, have been destined since before creating began to serve as a mark upon the faithful ones who have kept the Law from aleph to tav. And further, thou formest the conclusion of mavet (death), and therefore, thou hast been destined to formest the beginning of THE GATHERING into life everlasting. This also being true, how can I join thee, oh tav, to reish, the rasha?

All the letters were silent in the face of the Holy One's simple question, thinking how tav was such an impudent fool to give up sole appointment to first place, for a rasha even. But tav, having the true chutzpah only a true fool posseses, faced the Holy One, saying, with a clarity so true, like a light from the darkness: reish is clearly only beautiful in the eyes of truth - see how much he desires only to truly love? Surely, oh Holy One, you must see the perfect truth as I do.

The Holy One smiled and began perfecting the world with the true harmony of this one perfect endlessly true love. And then the Holy One granted both reish and tav the one united desire of both - to love truly. And then the Holy One gave them a place far from the demands of occupying first place in the plan of the Holy One - lost in the eyes of one another somewhere in Holy One's world, loving truly with one singular heart full of unextinguished essential peace.

And now we can see that when it comes to making true harmony in the world - it's a job only true fools and rashas are fit to do.

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