Dance Of The Divine Feminine

Raven Dance
Extraordinary Ordinary Light Of Dark

א' תשרי התשס"ט
Blodlessing 2
Rosh Hashanah 1

The second of thirty-six shaman stones I am gathering in the manner of my Celtic ancestors was collected on Sunday afternoon, from beneath the lilac bush which grows right outside the bedroom window of the room I occupied as a child. It was from the closet connected to this room of my childhood that I experienced the epiphany. The rock is a whitish limestone with metamorphic calcite crystals. In the crevices remain streaks of earth and chlorophyll-containing vegetation material.

The second shaman stone in Celtic magic corresponds to the spirit of Raven, the spirit of the Dark Moon, to Crone consciousness, and represents contact with the Ancestral spirit of transformation. Flowing from the hidden depths of the Dark Goddess, Raven symbolizes the Divine Feminine, Ancestral Wisdom, Silence, Stillness, Creativity, Link between Heaven and Earth, Connection to one's Source, Prophecy, Renewal and Manifestation.

Limestone is a rock of biogenic origin (בנן). One of the most important building (בנה) materials used by humankind for construction over the course of history (including temples and pathways), limestone also gives us the caves and caverns (בין) within which much has been revealed about the origins of humanity and its vision quest for Divinity.

Calcite is a stable polymorph of calcium carbonate whose single crystals "display an optical property called birefringence" which is "double refraction or the decomposition of a ray of light into two rays (the ordinary ray and the extraordinary ray) when it passes through certain types of material, such as calcite crystals."

Given the historical uses of limestone and the optical property distinguishing its calcite crystals, representing the spirit of Raven and the Dark Divine Feminine, my second shaman stone flows from Ancestral Wisdom and also corresponds to the "second conscious power of the intellect in Creation", that is Binah. Binah is the emanant "power to grasp, develop and integrate an idea."

The soil of the earth and green chlorophyll-containing material dwelling within the stone's crevices represent manifest living life, and thereby, represent the soul powers of devekut and actualization of Creative force (stone-ohr-light, earth-chayut-lifeforce and life-koach-energy).

My second shaman stone will be marked with the three Hebrew shorashim (roots) as written above, as well as with the Welsh prefix aber (denoting the mouth of a river) and the Gaelic word tuig (meaning to understand) in Ogham letters. The Welsh word dawnsio (pronounced "down-see-oh", a verb meaning "to dance") will be written in Bardic Runes.

With Six Letters, Three Cauldrons Of One Torah

י"ז תמוז התשס"ח
Faunus 19


Scribal oddity of two 'n's as found in Torah scroll (shown aove).

The Celtic Ogham alphabet of the Druids is called Beth-Luis-Nuin. Through designating the Ogham alphabet beth-luis-nuin, in some manner then, the three letters (beth, luis, nuin) call out the soul of the Ogham into active creative manifestation. In other words, the letters symbolize the three creative rays of Awen, and the creative energy of the Divine Feminine known in kabbalah as hashra'ah.

From the perspective of a Jewitch, beth-luis-nuin have correspondences to the Hebrew letters Beit-Lamed-Nun. In Torah, beit-lamed-nun symbolize the soul of Torah.

Beit-Beth, with a 'b' sound, is the first letter (בְּ) of the first word 'bereshit' (בְּרֵאשִׁית) in the first book of Torah, Genesis (called in Jewish tradition 'Bereshit'). The six letters of the word 'bereshit' can mean 'with six'.

Lamed-Luis, with an 'l' sound, is the last letter (ל) in the last word 'Yisrael' (יִשְׂרָאֵל) in the last book of Torah, Devarim (Deutereonomy). The word "Yisrael' is a mystical codeword for the collective soul of humanity to whom Torah belongs. 'Torah' is a mystical codeword for the 'keys to creative messianic consciousness'.

In the Hebrew language, the letters lamed-beit spell the word לב, pronounced 'lev' (a hard beit is pronounced 'v', a soft beit is pronounced 'b'), a word meaning 'heart'. The 'heart' of Torah, comprising the soul of Torah, symbolizing the entire Torah, from the last letter to the first letter, the alpha and the omega, speaks forth the realization of humankind's messianic potential and inherent Divinity.

Nun-Nuin. The messianic and Divine consciousness of humankind is symbolized by the 'n' sound, represented actively by the Hebrew letter nun and the Ogham letter nuin.

Two letters with the 'n' sound comprise a significant and unique scribal oddity found in Torah. The two odd 'n's are called nun hafucha (inverted nun, like an introspective 'n' among the Hebrew alphabet) and nun m'zuneret (isolated nun, like the 'n' among the Ogham alphabet set apart from the Hebrew alphabet). Between the two n's are set apart two verses (Numbers 10:35-36) within the midst of the entire Torah. The two verses are said to comprise a link to an entirely new inner arrangement within Torah, one which will be revealed during the golden age of messianic consiousness among humankind.

Taken together, with six letters from both the Hebrew and Ogham alphabets, are three cauldrons of Torah creation letters called forth. Brewing within the three cauldrons of Torah creation letters is the birthright of humankind - Divine messianic consciousness.

Six Letters, Three Cauldrons, Two Alphabets, One Torah

The heart of Torah is the heart of the Ogham. Hebrew and Ogham (shefifon) are elucidations of the same root soul (serayah) of the Divine soul of humanity.

With six letters (beth, beit, luis, lamed, nuin, nun), through three cauldrons (of emanation, creation and formation) is the entire atzilutic-messianic Torah called forth and made manifest.

Holy Holy Holy Host

ח' באדר ב' תשס"ח
Raven 9

Tzav, Pakod, Meumah - Holy, Holy, Holy

In Unblemished Mitzvah I brought down the idea that the vulnerability of meumah to blemish (mum) is neutralized by the presence of tzav (command of mobilization), and that materiality neutralized of potential blemish is actualized through the endless action pakod. Remembering.

Interestingly, as mentioned in the earlier entry, meumah and tzav each have a gematria of 92. The digit sum of 92 is 11. Eleven is the number of Temple incense spices corresponding to the rectification of Tohu (the state from which the vessels may shatter and become seemingly disconnected from Wholeness), the elevation of Tohu back into the realm of Holiness, and the "distillation and transformation of all corporeality and physicality into supernal luminescence."

Torah instructs us not to duplicate the Temple incense compound for personal use, lest s/he be "cut off" (shattered and seemingly disconnected). In other words, the duplication of meumah implies that bringing down the power of meumah without tzav (bringing down something from something), may shatter the personality, while the power of meumah tempered with tzav (bringing down something and nothing), does not shatter the personality. The personality remains whole in the case where the 92-compound meumah is not itself duplicated, but tempered through a different 92-compound, namely tzav.

Tzav tempers meumah by adding it's own digit sum of 11 to the 11 of meumah, bringing down the whole essence of the 22 Creation Letters of the aleph-beit.

Thus, meumah is not duplicated for personal use, it is completed in a wholistic bodily realization (a Host) of Intelligent Creative Consciousness.

Importantly, with respect to the upcoming observance of Purim, the word-set tzav-pakod-meumah corresponds to the "holy, holy, holy" descent of my soul through all contractions of the created world, while yet still remaining bound to the Divine Essence.

Soul Of Shomer Shabbat

כ'ו באדר א' תשס"ח
Keolwulf 27

Interestingly, in further follow-up to previous entries discussing my astrological natal charts, I note that in both the Tropical Placidus and Sidereal Whole reckonings, 4 of the 8 Elemental Fire signs of my chart concentrate in the fifth house of the zodiac.

On the fifth house of the zodiac (About Astrology):

The Fifth House is commonly referred to as the House of Pleasure. Oftentimes, pleasure is the result of a creative act. The simple act of creating is, essentially, giving of oneself and making something -- making another? Yes, the Fifth House does speak to procreation and children, but it also addresses the creation of art and culture.

Simply, the fifth house concerns pleasurable creative endeavors of Shechinah (see Shechinah & The Mystery Of Zero).

The 4 signs in the fifth house, written in my soul, are:

Jupiter - tav (ת) with a gematria of 400
Saturn - reish (ר) with a gematria of 200
Mercury - pei (פ) with a gematria of 80
Sun - dalet (ד) with a gematria of 4

The Hebrew letter tav represents the "time" of Shabbat.

The letters רפד mean to "surround, envelop with loving affection" (MorFix). In other words, the letters suggest a "guarding action", that is, by surrounding with love and affection.

Justice, justice, it follows (תרדף).

It's truth.

Red-Handed With Shechinah

י'ו בחשון תשס"ח

I've uncovered another interesting tidbit related to my "chance" purchase of some red ochre, my "chance" encounter with a deer which followed that purchase, and my "chance" discovery following both of those that links both red ochre and deer symbolism to Shechinah.

As the deer symbol is kabbalistically associated with Shechinah, red ochre is historically and more practically associated with Shechinah. Specifically, red ochre symbolizes the immersive creative explosion characteristic of the hashra'ah of Shechinah.

Kathleen Kimball writes in Red Handed: An Inquiry Into The Meaning Of Prehistoric Red Ochre:

Perhaps our ancestors painted or tattooed hand prints on their bodies. Tattooing and painting red ochre hands on human skin likely went on for many tens of thousands of years before so called ‘creative explosion’ 35,000 or so years ago.

This ‘creative revolution’ was an intensified interest in permanence generally and in the human hand specifically. This is when our species outlines objects on stone surfaces. This outlining seems to me to be a kind of making permanent or ‘binding’.

Taking all this together, it may be that another historic bestowal of hashra'ah and creative explosion is in the making ... information all linked together and brought down through the intended purchase of a 15-watt lightbulb for the elegantly witchy little desk lamp which stands beside my computer. יה

Hashra'ah & Prophetic Imagination

ג' בתשרי תשס"ח

Earlier this evening when I began posting my Rosh Hashanah vision (Wrestling, Redeeming & Sanctifying Truth) my technorati blog "authority" was still 33. I just now noticed after posting my newest original "prophetic" incense recipe (Cauldron Of Creation) that my blog "authority" has "sharpened/focused" into 30.

Interesting. A synchronicity of details with the universe.

Thirty is the gematria of the Hebrew letter lamed (ל), containing among its mystical meanings the following:

*Divine inspiration (hashra'ah)

*the higher Shechinah

*prophetic imagination breaking into the rational intellect

*malchut

*creating a new heavens and a new earth

Pearl Of The Kohenet

ט"ו באייר תשס"ז

Parashat Emor discusses the laws of the kohanim. The birkat kohanim, the priestly blessing - and the hashra'ah associated with that - is kabbalistically symbolized by the letter samech (ס).

Interestingly, the letter samech was the first letter (from keter of kadmon) to emerge from my eighth tarot reading on myself yesterday evening, under the influence of this week's Torah portion, Emor. Subsequent to the emergence of the letter samech, The Priestess (Kohenet) card became revealed (in chochmah of kadmon). The Kohenet tarot card itself implies within its interpretive associations the leap in creative energy characteristic of immersive hashra'ah.

Taken together, the data support that I am an acting Kohenet in my own merit, by my own birthright - not by virtue of marriage to a Kohen or through secondhand titular power. My own merit. My own birthright.

Moreover, the tarot reading was no mere tarot reading. It was a Kohenet's unfolding pearl of wisdom.

Technorati tags: Torah Talmud Torah Judaism Kabbalah jewish mysticism mysticism jewish meditation meditation shamanism kabbalah iyunit kabbalah maasit witchcraft jewitchery jewitch witch sacred feminine divine feminine shechinah lilith spiritual development spirituality kosher spirituality kohenet kehunah

As Life Turns Around

ט"ו באייר תשס"ז

Tonight, on the second evening of the third phase of the reversal and protection ritual, I performed the eighth tarot reading on myself, using my standard procedure and spread.

counting day 30 of the omer, chesed of hod (Gra) or gevurah of hod (Ari)
moon 100% full
planetary hour pluto (da'at)
mood detached, health allergies exacerbated

S/Q - Hermit (Myrddin), withdrawal/retreat/calm soul-searching

P1 - The Horned One (Wild Herdsman) ס
P2 - The Priestess (Ceridwen) ב
P3 - seven of wands
P4 - eight of swords
P5 - knight of pentacles
P6 - four of wands
P7 - page of swords
P8 - two of swords
P9 - knight of cups
P10 - two ב of wands

Immediately, the sha'ar סב (in the P1/P2 positions of keter and chochmah, respectively) and the shoresh סבב (from keter/chochmah and malchut) emerge from the reading. This is good news, very good news. Strong forces are protectively encircling me and working to turn my life around.

P10 indicates the outcome of the matter - new possibilities are opening up for me. Thank Goddess, so mote it be, amen.

Attributes driving the turn in my life from the highest spheres:

The Horned Herdsman corresponds to primal knowledge, ancestral and ancient memory, integration of order and chaos.

The Priestess corresponds to wisdom, insight, fertile complexity, an energetic leap in creativity, hashra'ah, foresight.

Into concrete reality through this tarot reading, the title hamasovevet in my name is confirmed to be mine from Unity in Kadmon.

A miracle will happen for me here, Dreidyl.

Technorati tags: Torah Talmud Torah Judaism Kabbalah jewish mysticism mysticism jewish meditation meditation shamanism kabbalah iyunit kabbalah maasit witchcraft jewitchery jewitch witch sacred feminine divine feminine shechinah lilith spiritual development spirituality kosher spirituality tarot

Sacred Ritual Seals

אתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא
Selah.

To seal a spell [1], witches say "so mote it be," meaning "it is so." In a similar manner, Jews seal prayer spells with the words amen (אמן) or selah (סלה). In the Temple, in place of amen, the words [2] are said:

Blessed be His Glorious Majesty forever and ever.
ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד

The witch's "so mote it be" and "amen" mean the same thing. This seal reinforces Divine Will with the soul power of emunah (interincluded within all levels of one's soul) and kavanah to make the prayer spell manifest. It is a formula of confirmation and agreement. By pronouncing "so mote it be" and "amen" one becomes bound to that uttered. One doesn't say either "so mote it be" or "amen" in vain or with evil intent. It is a serious utterance of creation-making for which one is held accountable.

Selah is an untranslatable term found 71 times in Tehillim (Psalms) and 3 times in Habakkuk [3]. Interpreted as a musical or liturgical sign, it implies raising, lifting, extolling, exalting (the voice of the singers) and in medieval Hebrew texts, it means "forever".

Consequently, we can see that selah "seals" a prayer spell, by raising it up into the Presence of the Divine. Amen and the the witch's blessing seals a prayer spell, by bringing down the Divine Presence and becoming personally bound to it and to the Divine Will by confirming the contract contained within the prayer spell. The Inner Temple blessing is reserved for the Most Holy of prayer spells in the Most Holy of spacetime. It should only be uttered in complete kedushah with the purest kavanah. It contains hashra'ah of Divine Essence, as does the form of the Temple blessing which alludes to the Kingdom of the Divine Feminine:

ברוך שם כבוד מלכותה לעולם ועד, אמן
Blessed is the Glorious Name, Her Kingdom stands forever and ever.

Amen. So mote it be.

Footnotes:

[1] Power Spellcraft For Life, Arin Murphy-Hiscock

[2] Encyclopedia Of Jewish Concepts, Philip Birnbaum (pp. 46-7, 438-439)

[3] Habakkuk 3:3, 3:9 and 3:13

Technorati tags: Torah Talmud Torah Judaism Kabbalah jewish mysticism mysticism jewish meditation meditation shamanism jewish shamanism kabbalah iyunit kabbalah maasit jewitchery jewitch jewish woman sacred feminine divine feminine shechinah lilith spiritual development spirituality kosher spirituality spellcraft sealing spells ritual seals

Throne Of The Shechinah

On the Idra:

The Idra, which means threshing floor in Aramaic, is a Kabbalistic work included in printings of the Zohar.

There are actually two texts in Zoharic literature called Idra: the first being the Idra Rabba, or “greater Idra”, and the second being the Idra Zuta, or “lesser Idra”, with these two texts being intimately connected to each other.

The story of the Idroth is as follows:

Idra Rabba: R. Shim‘on b. Yohai convenes with nine other scholars, and they gather in the sacred אִדְרָא, or threshing field, where they thresh out secrets. Each scholar expounds various configurations of the partsufin, and three of them die in ecstasy while doing so.

Idra Zuta: Years later, at RASHB"I’s deathbed, the seven still-living scholars come to his deathbed, along with the whole heavenly host. He alone explains the configurations of the partsufin, so this work is more unified. RASHB"I wavers between this world and the next.

Even as Idra Zuta gathers into a more unified prophetic experience which wavers (yesodically) between worlds, there exists in Welsh mythology a story which ties it all together and (malchutically) brings it down.

Among the mystical teachings of Welsh witchcraft, the story of Cadair Idris (throne of Idris) tells of the seeker's vision quest upon the King's mountain, which can result in one of three ways - in death, in madness or in shamanic-prophetic experience. The difference between the seekers of the Zoharic Idrot and the shamanic seeker of the Welsh myth is like the difference between merkavah mysticism and the mysticism of Sar HaTorah [1] in that the mysticism of the Welsh myth and Sar HaTorah are directly concerned that the prophetic experience be sought with the kavanah of service to the community at large as opposed to serving a select group of seekers acting to share mystical secrets only among themselves. The Zoharic mystical group is less overtly concerned with service to the community, although the Divine force may be drawn down to the level of yesod. In this manner, the Zoharic mystics are conduits of Divine force. The mystic of the Welsh myth is more shamanic, where the Divine force is brought down to the level of malchut and bestowed prophetically upon the community.

The Celtic (throne of) Idra-s is a circle gathering which actualizes an iterating cycle of receiving and bestowing. Consequently, it epitomizes a shamanic vision quest worthy to be called reishit.

Cadair Idris is both a mountain in northern Wales and the Welsh myth inhered within the universe-world tarot card [2] - the tarot card which described me here.

According to Welsh mythology:

Cadair Idris is imbued with numerous legends; some nearby lakes are supposed to be bottomless, and anyone who sleeps on its slopes will supposedly awaken either a madman or a poet.

As mentioned above, the mountain's name refers to the giant Idris (meaning ardent lord) of Welsh mythology. The name is sometimes translated as Arthur's Seat, presumably with reference to King Arthur (a Celtic messianic figure).

The poets awakened upon the mountain are transformed by the visionary experience into prophetic seer-poets called awenyddion (Divinely Inspired ones), infused with the hashra'ah of the Shechinah.

The Idrot of the Zohar concludes with RASHB"I wavering between worlds. The Welsh awenydd, clothed with the prophetic mantle of the Shechinah (אדר-אתתא) while sitting upon the throne of Idris, concludes with the "Sinaitic" descent of the Shechinah, filling all worlds with immersive hashra'ah.

the Holy One makes a circle dance ... Yishayahu 25:9

m'Awenydd, The Prophetic Poetry of Walking On Fire
the symbolism of the Awen

Footnotes:

[1] The Ancient Jewish Mysticism, R' Joseph Dan, pp. 139-167

[2] Llewellyn Tarot Card Companion, Anna-Marie Ferguson, pp.169-173 (I received my purchase of these tarot cards and companion manual based upon Welsh mythology yesterday afternoon.)

Technorati tags: Torah Talmud Torah Judaism Kabbalah jewish mysticism mysticism jewish meditation meditation shamanism jewish shamanism kabbalah iyunit kabbalah maasit jewitchery jewitch jewish woman sacred feminine divine feminine shechinah lilith spiritual development spirituality kosher spirituality cadair idris awenyddion bard ovate druid sinai matan torah reishit

Tzemach & Immersive Hashra'ah

שנאמר ומלא ברכת ב' ים ודרום ירשה
Sefer HaBahir, verse 3 excerpt

Traditional interpretation: "Because it is written (Devarim 33:23): The filling is G-d's blessing possessing the Sea and the South."

ברכת has a gematria of 622 and a digit sum of echad. The value 622 represents the 620 mitzvot contained within the unity of keter, together with the "two companions who never separate" [1].

Derived from the root ברך meaning "power growth", it carries the same meaning as the name Tzemach, צמח which pertains to growth.

Combining these two "growing" words together and performing some creative permutations, we have the phrase sequence:

צב רם כח -> mobilize, elevate and bring to life, exert creative power

The above sequence corresponds dynamically to concept of hashra'ah, and to its associated levels of immersive creative power: ohr, chayut and koach.

Footnote:

[1] Zohar 3:4a; R' Yitzchak Ginsburgh, The Hebrew Letters (p. 49)

Technorati tags: Torah Talmud Torah Judaism Kabbalah jewish mysticism mysticism jewish meditation meditation kabbalah iyunit jewitchery jewitch jewish woman sacred feminine divine feminine shechinah lilith spiritual development spirituality kosher spirituality sefer habahir bahir tzemach hashraah

Short Jerky Lines Of Shalshelet HaKabbalah

Mr. E commented (regarding my poem, End Of Days):

sentence fragments
short jerky lines
random words
trying so hard to sound wise
does'nt mean anything
need poetry class
fighting ghosts within
what did that line even mean
no grammer
no puntuation
Im a poet
look at me
if I make it look profund
you don't know i have no clue.
So boring
I like burriots
I must be smart
I read a book once
god talks to me
he says im the lord of the dance
so wise so jewish
I like to say kabbalah
look at me
im Madonna

How nice. First of all, let me be perfectly clear - I am not trying to sound wise. I have no problem being either a fool or a rasha - as I have written in this story - The Fool & The Rasha.

Second, it's my blog and I'll write bad poetry on it if I want to.

Third, the wisdom of poetry isn't by virtue of profound words, it is by virtue of the kavanah and hashra'ah attached to those words.

Fourth, short jerky lines may not good poetry make, but short jerky lines do make a shalshelet, as in shalshelet hakabbalah, pivoting between mashpia and mekubal.

technorati tags: Torah Kabbalah shalshelet mashpia mekubal hashraah

Eliyahu's Mantle

Shemot: A Study In Prophetic Ethics

I was enraptured by you. I came forth and rose up, because you know my name. Tehilim 91:14
כי בי חשק, ואפלטהו; אשגבהו, כי-ידע שמי

Hashem hu haElokim, Hashem hu haElokim. 1 Melachim 18:39
יי הוא האל הים , יי הוא האל הים

This is the enraptured exclamation of one who has discovered the intimate Holy light hidden within. A treasure of return.

The mission of G-D cannot be accomplished where honor is not shared between parents and children nor when the ethical mitzvah of honoring one's parents (and teachers) is neglected. Elishaba is one of my names and I do it. A Study In Prophetic Ethics.

~~~~~~~~~~

As an adult, when I first returned to Torah, I chose a hebrew name. As I have grown in Torah, walked the derekh and my netiv path, I've continued to recover my hebrew names. Through actualization of my purpose in creation, as described by my hebrew names, may it not only open up my soul to further discovery, but bring honor to both my parents and to the teachers who have brought me closer to Torah, and bestow creative light, lifeforce and energy upon all who know them.

This is my name, this is my remembrance, this is my hallel, and this is my decree, generation to generation:

ליאורה חנה אלישבע צברה בת אהוביה ואדר

Liorah Chanah Elishaba Tsabrah bat Ahuvyah v'Adar.

ליאורה

Liorah - My given english first name is Lori. But, I didn't just choose Liorah because of its similarity to my english name. I chose it because it means "light to me". In other words, the name Liorah brings down hashra'ah, the Holy immersive creative force of the Shechinah and Divine Omnipresence, through each of the 3 levels of Divine Lifeforce: ohr, chayut and koach to me. I chose to confirm the meaning/mission in the name Liorah, which is the hebrew equivalent to the name my parents gave me, Lori.

חנה

Chanah - My given english middle name is Ann and means favor/grace. Favor is an act of receiving (ohr, chayut, koach) for the reishit (7th) purpose of bestowing the same (ohr, chayut, koach) of that unleashed in Adar (the paradoxical permutation of the soulspark of Moshe into a soulspark of Mashiach) through my first hebrew name Liorah. This will to receive for the sake of giving called reishit transforms the bread of poverty (matzah) into challah, the bread of chelek la'olam haba, which satisfies Divine Purpose for one's creation in the first place - to make a portion of the World-To-Come. Challah begins with the letter chet (with a chatoteret to join One Name to 4 names, with love redeemed), as does the hebrew equivalent to Ann, which is the name Chanah. As Liorah ends with the letter hey and Chanah begins with chet, Chanah also ends with the letter hey. In this fact, between the heys of these two names (Liorah and Chanah), stands the solution to the riddle of the ritual of the parah adumah (from alef to tav), the secret of itta (from alef to tav and tav to alef), the mystery of Elisha's double portion (Elisha-ba) of Eliyahu's prophetic spirit, the evolution of woman into a vessel fit for mashiach, and the redeeming power of Eh-yeh Asher Eh-yeh. Chanah is the mother of Shmuel HaNavi. Shmuel HaNavi is the ultimate rectification of the sefirah Netzach, a sefirah whose rectification is achieved during Purim (see below). Moreover, the name Chanah refers to the 3 mitzvot specifically given to women (challah, niddah and hadlikat nerot). In light of all this, I chose to confirm the meaning/mission in the name Chanah, which is the hebrew equivalent to my english middle name.

אלישבע

Elishaba (where I prefer the pronunciation Elishaba over Elisheva) - Elizabeth was my Jewish great grandmother's name (my mother's mother's mother). Elishaba is the hebrew equivalent of Elizabeth. Importantly, the name Elishaba means "G-d's oath". I was given and gave an oath in the womb, as all souls of Israel do [Niddah 30b] - and kept in purity, it is an oath I remember to this day. Thus, the name Elishaba is integral to who I am as a human being with a specific Divine purpose. Without any doubt and without regret, Amalek was blotted out. I stood firm with the power of netzach and true mesirut nefesh to confirm the meaning and mission in the name Elishaba. This is my name. In Torah, Elisheva/Elishaba is of the tribe of Yehudah, and as the wife of Aharon the Kohen Gadol, she is a kohenet. Later, she was reincarnated as Batsheva, the soulmate of David HaMelech. Elisha-ba/Elisheva holds the keys to transformation, healing and resurrection. He is also the one who received the mantle of Eliyahu HaNavi, the harginger of redemption. In addition to its connection to the navi'im, the name Elisha-ba rectifies the error of Elisha ben Avuyah, as Elishaba is anchored in the goodness of the names Liorah and Chanah and protected by the name which follows it, Tsabrah.

צברה

Tsabrah - This describes my personality perfectly. I am a very prickly person on the outside, just like the tsabrah fruit. This name describes the kind of person I am. Moreover, the 3-letter root צבר of the name means to collect and to gather to protect from loss. So, this name "gathers" all my other names together and protects the mission described by all my other names.

בת אהוביה

Bat Ahuvyah - My mother's name is Cheryl. Cheryl is french for "beloved". Without my mother's support in many ways over the years, my Torah study would be in a sorry, sorry state. My mother is a rock of G-d. Though we both understand differently, my mother's awesome devotion to G-D is lishmah, making her a perfect example of the soul power ahavah as described by the name Ahuvyah. This soul power is actualized and expressed during the Shema prayer through the phrase "with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my might" and is the secret of the staff of Aharon.

ואדר

v'Adar - My father's name is Audra. The hebrew letters in this name are alef vav dalet reish. Two relevant 3-letter roots for these letters are: alef dalet reish (אדר, meaning "mighty", "mantle" and "praise") and alef vav dalet (אוד, meaning "set into motion" and "effect results"). My father is the gentle spirit of a man who held his little daughter in his arms and told her "you can be anything you want to be" and then made me believe it. I've never forgotten, Daddy. I formally returned to Torah and became a ba'alat teshuvah during the month of Adar. My turn toward complete teshuvah was inspired by a Jew named Mark (Mordechai) and Mark (Mordechai) is also the middle name of the Kohen who supervised my formal return to Torah. Mordechai, Mordechai (two of my first teachers, like Moshe, Moshe in a fuzzy-Purim kinda way) is the hero in the story of Purim, a Holy Day in the month of Adar. All of these facts are provided for in the hebrew name-unit of my father, "v'Adar".

בת אהוביה ואדר

Bat Ahuvyah v'Adar - And what have I done with the addition of these names to mine? I honor both my birth parents and the teachers who returned me to Torah. The mission of G-D cannot be accomplished where honor is not shared between parents and children nor when the ethical mitzvah of honoring one's parents (and teachers) is neglected. Elishaba is one of my names and I do it, with praise in honor to my parents and teachers.

All my hebrew names ARE my names. They aptly describe who I am, what my mission is, from where I came, where I'm at, to where I'm going, and who has helped me to get there. In my mind, I haven't really chosen my hebrew names - I have recovered them. And no one, no one, can tell me that my names are not mine, because I know differently.

The lamed-hey pasuk in Torah which encompasses my primary name Liorah as well as all my 4 personal names (ליאורה חנה אלישבע צברה ) of redemption is Devarim 30:12 (paraphrased):

It is not in the heavens,
that I should say,
who can go up and get it for me
that I may observe it.

ל א בשמים, הוא: לאמ ר, מי יעלה-לנו השמימה ויקחה לנו, וישמענו א תה, ונעשנה

No one needs to give me permission to use my own names.
Eh-yeh Asher Eh-yeh.

יי הוא האל הים , יי הוא האל הים
Hashem hu haElokim, Hashem hu haElokim.
1 Melachim 18:39

תני ג' שמות נקראו לאדם הזה אחד שקראו לו אביו ואמו ואחד שקראו לו אחרים ואחד שקראו לו בספר תולדות ברייתו

You have 3 names: the name your parents bestow on you, the name by which others call you, and the name you earn for yourself through your conduct. Kohelet Rabbah 7:3

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Soul Of The Bat Kohen

On 11 Adar-1 5757, I formally returned to Torah with a mikveh immersion, and under the supervision of a Beit Din. During the reception ceremony following the immersion, I was blessed by the supervising Rabbi, a kohen, with the birkat kohanim (priestly blessing) concurrent with the laying on of hands upon my head (the posture of semichah). As the birkat kohanim is the third principle of hashra'ah (the immersive creative force of the Shechinah), clearly it took (as evidenced by the eruption of spiritual creativity since that time and documented, in part, by my website), unfolded, became enclothed (hitlavshut), evolved (hishtalshelut) and continues to evolve. Indeed, this testifies that I am indeed a true bat kohen - that my particular soul is of the supernal soul (supernal chesed) through which the creative blessing ably and truly erupts into manifest reality (asiyatic chesed).

Importantly, still carrying today the unblemished memory of my soul's origin, taken together with and supported by Niddah 30b (particularly the statement if thou keepest it in purity, it is well, otherwise it is taken from thee) testifies that my particular chesedic soul is of pure atzilutic origin kept pure (otherwise, I would have forgotten from whence I came). It further testifies that I am truly a ba'alat teshuvah returning to Torah (having learned Torah in the womb, as each soul of Israel does), as opposed to being a convert. In other words, I was born with this soul (consistent with my family tree as I later discovered; that in my case, it was passed to me matrilineally through my mother's mother's mother).

The birkat kohanim, a blessing of bestowal and infusion of the creative energy of the Shechinah, awakened and released my inborn potential to express it (the blessing and the curse of the bat kohen as described in Gemara Peshachim) in a powerful way (via the mystery of semichah). In my case, the first expressions birthed were surely chaotic, yet blooming from them comes evidenceof true mesirut nefesh - a physical birth in ignorance of my "Jewishness" in fulfillment of the divine will. In mastering the chaos of those first expressions, and through developing my website, comes keter shem tov, the crown of a good name - Akvah (see below). Moreover, that this all came about through an act of semichah (necessarily the act of a kohen tzedek, Sukah 52b) testifies that the Rabbi and I are nirtzah, even then, and that our deeds and prayers are acceptable to Hashem (Likutey Moharan 1).

Accepted favorably by Hashem, may the complete and final redemption speedily also come, in our day.

The bat kohen is also represented in manifest reality as Bat Sheva (described in Torah as tovat, by the letter tet), whose hidden reality is rooted in the divine name, Akvah, associated with the right side of da'at and with the priestly function to connect heaven and earth. This function is performed through the power to bear opposites with the aleph, which unites (a function of tet) the shin of this world with the shin of both the coming world and of the future to come with truth (emet, with a reduced value gematria of 9, bringing clarity into focus with 9 blasts of the shofar).

Lishmoa kol shofar v'emet.

This is the missing truth in the fishy story of Sefer Yonah (Yonah 4:2). The truth "missing" in Yonah 4:2 and revealed now is necessary for redemption (Shemot 34:6) of the yetzer hara (as opposed to mercifully abrogating judgment every year) and its transformation into the shepherd of complete and final redemption.

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