Aliyat Hadorot & The Divine Feminine

י"ב באלול תשס"ז

In follow-up to yesterday's entry, Imhotep & Kriat Yam Suf, here is a recrafted repost of a Walking On Fire entry originally posted May 22, 2006, Aliyat Hadorot.

_________

Beginning with background information from this continuing online discussion:

(Pirkei Avot, on the transmission of Torah since Sinai, contributed by 'int')

Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and passed it on to Yehoshua; Yehoshua to the Elders; the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets passed it on to the Men of the Great Assembly.

(Soncino Talmud Chagigah 16a, footnote 42, contributed by 'melech')

In the J. Hag. II, 2 we are told: At first there was no controversy in Israel except over the laying on of the hands alone. But Shammai and Hillel arose and made them four (in Bab. Shab. 14b, only three points of dispute are mentioned; cf. Tosaf. to our passage). When the disciples of the School of Hillel increased, and they did not study sufficiently under their masters (lit., ‘did not sufficiently minister to their masters’), the controversies in Israel increased, and they became divided into two companies, the one declaring unclean, the other declaring clean. And (the Torah) will not again return to its (uncontroversial) place until the son of David (i.e., the Messiah) will come.

(contributed by 'melech')

Pre-Chazal times were seen as perfect (yeridat ha-dorot and all that) and the controversies only arose much later.

(Gate Of Reincarnations, Chapter 37, The Ari, contributed by 'liorah')

Further down to the east there is an opening to a cave with a garden above it, and to the west side of the cave below there are three cracks. That is where Yossi ben Yoezer, Yossi ben Meshulam, and Yossi ben Yochanan are buried-opposite the three cracks.

(Yerushalmi Chagiga 2:2, contribued by 'TipuseiHarim')

From Moshe to the Yossis, who are the first of the pairs who receive the mesorah as listed in Pirkei Avot, no conflict of halacha arises which cannot be settled.

Yossi ben Yoezer and Yossi ben Yochanan disagree over whether semicha (pressing hands to the head of an animal about to be sacrificed) should be performed on yom tov. This dispute passed through all the zugot, down to Hillel and Shammai (note: 4 or 5 generations later), who added three additional bones of contention (note added: at which time disputes and forgetfulness of Torah increased).

(Temurah 16a, contributed by 'TipuseiHarim')

Chazal says that torah was forgotten by the end of the days of Yossi ben Yoezer.

4 Key Areas Of Disagreement Leading To Torah Being Forgotten

Taken together, the data suggest that there were 4 key areas of disagreement which led to Torah being "forgotten"; the first being the disagreement between Yossi ben Yoezer and Yossi ben Yochanan over semicha and the later 3 during the times of Hillel and Shammai.

Link To The End Of Days

"The language is that by the end of R. Yossi ben Yoezer's days, torah was forgotten" hints to the idea of "the end of days".

First & Subsequent Splits Leading To Forgetfulness

The two Yossis and Hillel and Shammai are 4 men. The "end of days" can refer to the dark feminine principle.¹ So, it seems to me a possibility that the third Yossi (ben Meshulam) not mentioned with the 2 Yossis (ben Yoezer and ben Yochanan) who initiated the whole forgetting thing is connected to a split - Yossi ben Meshulam (masculine force) and "the end of days" (feminine force) of one "whole" Yossi, leading to forgetfulness in the feminine force which was expressed as forgetfulness in the masculine force in the time of Hillel and Shammai - see what I'm saying? The whole idea of "forgetting" Torah is linked to the separation between the Divine Masculine and Feminine elements.

There is 1 key area which led to forgetfulness in the feminine, and 1 + 3 = 4 key areas which led to forgetfulness in the masculine.

Master Key To Remembrance, Semichah & Transmission

Consequently, it seems to me that Yossi ben Meshulam is the single master key in the remembrance of the feminine (see Ark of an Enigma), who can in turn "undo" the other 3 areas (see Chest of Manifestation) which led to forgetfulness in the masculine.

Aliyat Ha-Dorot

This is further supported by the fact that pre-Chazal generations were seen as yeridat ha-dorot given that the expressions dor dor, dor v'dor and/or dor l'dor represent an unwanted separation and discontinuity between Netzach and Hod.¹ Consequently, the phrase yeridat ha-dorot implies the opposite of separation between these two sefirot. In other words, the phrase yeridat ha-dorot implies a 4-fold unity of the "two sons of Yosef" (Yesod) with Netzach and Hod prior to the dispute between Yossi ben Yoezer and Yossi ben Yochanan. A 4-fold reunification of these sefirot could be called aliyat ha-dorot.

It makes sense too, given that Hod and Netzach are related to learning and transmission, respectively.

Importantly, aliyat hadorot is inextricably interwoven with the idea of the Divine Feminine; that is, She who hasn't forgotten (Torah and He, represented by Yossi ben Meshulam sans split).

Footnote:

¹ Sha'are Orah, R. Yosef Gikatilla

Chayah Of The Chashmal

י"ד בסיון תשס"ז

In follow-up to my entry yesterday linking the black panther of my Sunday dream to Tuesday's news item of a spotted leopard attack in Israel, expounding on Ma'aseh Merkavah, Chagigah 13b instructs us:

Question: What is "Chashmal?"

Answer #1 (R. Yehudah): "Chayos Esh Memalelos" (Chayos of fire speaking)

Answer #2 (Beraisa): "Sometimes they are Chashos (silent), sometimes they are Memalelos (speaking)"

1. When Hash-m gives forth His speech, they are silent.


2. When Hash-m does not give forth his speech, they speak.

Interestingly, according to this gemara, when Hashem gives forth speech, the chayot (living beings and animals) are silent, as I was silent as I cast my dream spell. When Hashem does not give forth speech, the chayot speak, like the big cat spoke to me in performance of its service to the 2 adversarial witches on stage.

Consequently, the big cat sent to fetch me (and the other volunteer witches) was not acting as a messenger of Hashem, but as a messenger of the 2 adversarial witches. Such a animal messenger acting under a witch or wizard's compulsion is called a "fetch" or a "familiar".

In contradistinction to the adversarial witches' familiar sent to "fetch" me, I myself was acting through silence as a messenger of Hashem. Thus, there was no need for an animal intermediary to act under my compulsion. And thus, the chayah (living being) was silent as I cast my spell, having nothing to say, and released from captivity to the witches' compulsion.

Taking all this together, my dream Sunday was the mystical test of chashmal (speaking silence) associated with Ma'aseh Merkavah.

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Shakai & Original Intention

In his post on the malach Metatron, Reb HaQoton writes:

The Talmud (Avodah Zarah 3b) writes that before the destruction of the Holy Temple, Metatron was charged with education all Jewish children in Torah.

He links this to the midrash in Niddah 30b, further suggesting that:

Perhaps he is the famed angel who, according to Niddah 30b, teaches babies all the Torah and wisdom possible and pinches them on their lips to create a Philtrum and make them forget all their learning right before they are born.

This is important to consider because, as Reb HaQoton further notes:

Although Metatron exerts some power over the physical world, he does not have the ability to forgive human sins as HaShem does, for he is a mere messenger of G-d. Therefore, according to the exegesis of the Talmud about Exodus 23:21, HaShem warns the Jews not to confuse Metatron with Himself. Nonetheless, some did not heed to this warning.

In my mind, it is clear then, that one way to distinguish intellectually the source of some "power" acting in the physical world - be it directly from Hashem or through the malach Metatron - is hinted at in the story of the meeting of Rabbi Yishmael Ben Elisha with Metatron as describe in the Talmud (Brachot 7a), where he directed this prayer directly to Hashem:

May it be Your will in front of You that Your mercy should conquer Your anger and that Your mercy should be revealed amongst Your attributes, and that You shall act with Your children using the attribute of mercy, and You should treat them to a greater extent than their judgment.

Hashem would have the ability to act (Shakai) in response to this prayer. Metatron would not. Why did Elisha Ben Avuyah become a heretic as a result of his trip through the PaRDeS? He asked Metatron for mercy thinking it was Hashem and Metatron couldn't deliver it in the context of sin's presence among the nation. Thinking Hashem to be merciful, this lack of mercy was evidence in the mind of Ben Avuyah that Hashem did not "exist" (for lack of a better descriptive word).

Importantly, in my own case and given that it has been posited that a malach is responsible for teaching one Torah in the womb, I must reiterate my words as written in A Mystery Of Consciousness:

There were no malachim (angels) in my memories, only you and I and others we have known, know and will know.

There were no malachim, and thus, I remain connected to the memory of my preincarnate "existence".

Moreover, as I have written in Gemara:

The two-letter hebrew root, mem-tet, symbolizes the archangel Metatron in Jewish mystical literature.There are 3 three-letter hebrew roots derived from this two-letter root, mem-tet. They are:

שמט shin-mem-tet - (remove support [1])

מלט mem-lamed-tet - (move fast and escape [1])

מוט mem-vav-tet - (totter and yoke [1])

The first two three-letter roots pertain to the psychological situation where one is dependent upon angelic support for the mystical experience of the divine chariot. It is written [Zohar I, 97b; III, 118a] that the 4 angels Gavriel, Michael, Rafael and Uriel support the divine chariot. Consequently, should one of the angels withdraw support, the chariot would collapse. Should the chariot collapse, one would need to move fast to escape the harmful repercussions of that event.

Read more ...

But, there were no malachim in my memories. What can this mean? As the Arizal has written on the Torah:

The original intention was for humankind to be conscious of G-d's Unity much more directly.

Consequently, no angels need apply. And in my case, they didn't.

Footnote:

[1] Etymological Dictionary Of Biblical Hebrew, R' Matityahu Clark

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Masoret, Key To The Temple

Temurah 16a:

Chazal says that Torah was forgotten by the end of the days of Yossi ben Yoezer.

The language used in the phrase "the end of his days" is l'sof yamav. The masculine light of Yossi ben Yoezer is aur yashar, the straight light, represented by the aleph-beit in the order of rachamim, mercy (מדת הרחמים, middat harachamim). The first and last letters of the order represent the whole order, similarly to a name pasuk in the kabbalistic tradition. Consequently, the letters א and ת represent the entire מדת הרחמים. Together, these letters form the word et, את. Tradition teaches us that את comes to add.

The feminine order of the aleph-beit is the order of din, judgment (middat hadin, מדת הדין). Just as את comes to add, the first and last letters of the feminine order are תא, a cell of the Temple. Each cell of the Temple was completely dark, emanating the dark essential light of night, the aur chozer.

Taking the masculine and feminine orders of the aleph-beit together, we see that את comes to add to a תא of the Temple. Consequently, at "the end of his days", where "his days" refers to the masculine order of the aleph-beit, there is ideally a cell of the Temple to receive it.

So, why was Torah forgotten at the end of ben Yoezer's days? Answer - because there was no תא of the Temple at the "end of his days". In other words, there was no feminine force found to balance him and as his ezer knegdo. This balancing feminine force represented by the word תא begins with the letter ת.

Interestingly, it took 400 years¹, from the end of nevuah (at the end of ben Yoezer's days), to arrive at the time when makhloket began to greatly increase, i.e., the time of Hillel and Shammai. Four hundred is the numerical value of the letter ת, the first letter of the feminine light. The letter ת is HaShem's seal (chotem) of truth in creation.

This is the truth-seal of 400² in creation to be unsealed at "the end of days" (acharit hayamim) mentioned in Sefer Daniel (12:4,9). Sefer Sha'are Orah (R. Yosef Gikatilla) tells us that "the end of days" refers to the dark feminine force³, to Lilith. Lilith is the key to the Temple. Importantly, the essential nature of Lilith (representing the dark feminine force) is necessarily Holy, given her key connection in the Temple.

Taking all this together, we can see that:

1. The dark feminine force is the key to the Temple.

2. The dark feminine force is the key to unsealing the mysteries of "the end of days" and consequently, to initiating the "days of redemption" and the era of mashiach.

3. The dark feminine force is the key to yemot hamashiach.

4. The dark feminine force is the key to renewing the institution of nevuah and to reunifying this institution with the wisdom of the sages, thereby merging wisdom and prophecy into "a single stream of enlightenment".

5. The dark feminine force is the key to unlocking and releasing the brilliant light of (תא) ein sof (את), which is ein sof aur (אתתא) from the Malchut of Echad.

Footnotes:

¹ The (second) Temple stood for approximately 400 years. Nevuah ceased at the beginning of this period, and Hillel and Shammai lived at the end of it.

² There are 400 gematriot about the lengths of times the Temples stood.

³ The feminine "end of days" (acharit hayamim, ra'oh) is the reverse vision of the masculine "end of his days" (l'sof yamav, chazon

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Aliyat HaDorot

Beginning with background information from this continuing online discussion:

(Pirkei Avot, on the transmission of Torah since Sinai, contributed by 'int')

Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and passed it on to Yehoshua; Yehoshua to the Elders; the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets passed it on to the Men of the Great Assembly.

(Soncino Talmud Chagigah 16a, footnote 42, contributed by 'melech')

In the J. Hag. II, 2 we are told: At first there was no controversy in Israel except over the laying on of the hands alone. But Shammai and Hillel arose and made them four (in Bab. Shab. 14b, only three points of dispute are mentioned; cf. Tosaf. to our passage). When the disciples of the School of Hillel increased, and they did not study sufficiently under their masters (lit., ‘did not sufficiently minister to their masters’), the controversies in Israel increased, and they became divided into two companies, the one declaring unclean, the other declaring clean. And (the Torah) will not again return to its (uncontroversial) place until the son of David (i.e., the Messiah) will come.

(contributed by 'melech')

Pre-Chazal times were seen as perfect (yeridat ha-dorot and all that) and the controversies only arose much later.

(Gate Of Reincarnations, Chapter 37, The Ari, contributed by 'liorah')

Further down to the east there is an opening to a cave with a garden above it, and to the west side of the cave below there are three cracks. That is where Yossi ben Yoezer, Yossi ben Meshulam, and Yossi ben Yochanan are buried-opposite the three cracks.

(Yerushalmi Chagiga 2:2, contribued by 'TipuseiHarim')

From Moshe to the Yossis, who are the first of the pairs who receive the mesorah as listed in Pirkei Avot, no conflict of halacha arises which cannot be settled.

Yossi ben Yoezer and Yossi ben Yochanan disagree over whether semicha (pressing hands to the head of an animal about to be sacrificed) should be performed on yom tov. This dispute passed through all the zugot, down to Hillel and Shammai (note: 4 or 5 generations later), who added three additional bones of contention (note added: at which time disputes and forgetfulness of Torah increased).

(Temurah 16a, contributed by 'TipuseiHarim')

Chazal says that torah was forgotten by the end of the days of Yossi ben Yoezer.

4 Key Areas Of Disagreement Leading To Torah Being Forgotten

Taken together, the data suggest that there were 4 key areas of disagreement which led to Torah being "forgotten"; the first being the disagreement between Yossi ben Yoezer and Yossi ben Yochanan over semicha and the later 3 during the times of Hillel and Shammai.

Link To The End Of Days

"The language is that by the end of R. Yossi ben Yoezer's days, torah was forgotten" hints to the idea of "the end of days".

First & Subsequent Splits Leading To Forgetfulness

The two Yossis and Hillel and Shammai are 4 men. The "end of days" can refer to the dark feminine principle.¹ So, it seems to me a possibility that the third Yossi (ben Meshulam) not mentioned with the 2 Yossis (ben Yoezer and ben Yochanan) who initiated the whole forgetting thing is connected to a split - Yossi ben Meshulam (masculine force) and "the end of days" (feminine force) of one "whole" Yossi, leading to forgetfulness in the feminine force which was expressed as forgetfulness in the masculine force in the time of Hillel and Shammai - see what I'm saying?

There is 1 key area which led to forgetfulness in the feminine, and 1 + 3 = 4 key areas which led to forgetfulness in the masculine.

Master Key To Remembrance, Semichah & Transmission

Consequently, it seems to me that Yossi ben Meshulam is the single master key to remembrance by the feminine, who can in turn "undo" the other 3 areas leading to forgetfulness in the masculine.

Aliyat Ha-Dorot

This is further supported by the fact that pre-Chazal generations were seen as yeridat ha-dorot given that the expressions dor dor, dor v'dor and/or dor l'dor represent an unwanted separation and discontinuity between Netzach and Hod.¹ Consequently, the phrase yeridat ha-dorot implies the opposite of separation between these two sefirot. In other words, the phrase yeridat ha-dorot implies a 4-fold unity of the "two sons of Yosef" (Yesod) with Netzach and Hod prior to the dispute between Yossi ben Yoezer and Yossi ben Yochanan. A 4-fold reunification of these sefirot could be called aliyat ha-dorot.

It makes sense too, given that Hod and Netzach are related to learning and transmission, respectively.

footnote:

¹ Sha'are Orah, R. Yosef Gikatilla

Gemara

no angels need apply
"the original intention was for humankind to be conscious of G-d's Unity much more directly"
The Arizal On The Torah











The two-letter hebrew root, mem-tet מט, symbolizes the archangel Metatron in Jewish mystical literature.There are 3 three-letter hebrew roots derived from this two-letter root, mem-tet. They are:

שמט shin-mem-tet - (remove support [1])

מלט mem-lamed-tet - (move fast and escape [1])

מוט mem-vav-tet - (totter and yoke [1])

The first two three-letter roots pertain to the psychological situation where one is dependent upon angelic support for the mystical experience of the divine chariot. It is written [Zohar I, 97b; III, 118a] that the 4 angels Gavriel, Michael, Rafael and Uriel support the divine chariot. Consequently, should one of the angels withdraw support, the chariot would collapse. Should the chariot collapse, one would need to move fast to escape the harmful repercussions of that event.

Yet against this merkavah catastrophe comes the Talmud. The names of the 4 angelic "supports" is described by the acronym Gemara [Kehillas Yaakov, erech gemara]. In light of this knowledge, it can be seen that study of gemara moves one from a state of dependence on angelic support to a state of independence from angelic support for the mystical experience, by purifying consciousness and by promoting the ability to be supported by one's own essence in devekut with the Divine Essence.

Independence from angelic support and the ability to self-organize adaptability within all worlds is the birthright.

There are dangers associated with merkavah mysticism. In terms of mechanism, we can see that the first 3-letter root reflects removal of angelic support from one dependent upon angelic support for the mystical experience. In other words, one unworthy of coming into the Divine Presence is prevented from doing so. The second 3-letter root follows from implementation of the first root (where angelic support has been removed) and assists one not quite worthy, yet not without some merit, to escape. This second root provides the ability to move fast to avoid the immediate consequences of a collapsing chariot. To reiterate, the second root pertains to a situation where one has acquired sufficient merit to avoid immediate death.

In contradistinction to the first two 3-letter roots, the third 3-letter root pertains to a situation where one is independent of angelic support and is supported by one's own inmost essence in complete devekut with the Divine Essence. In this latter case, though one's psychospiritual equilibrium may totter (calling to mind Rabbi Akiva's description of trying with all his might to maintain balance while in Aravot), the soul's support can never be withdrawn.

This latter root also reflects an in-parallel dynamic congruent with worthiness, where the letter tav (ת the letter of truth) is anchored securely within one's soul through one's essence. This mystery is intercalated with a woman's monthly cycle - vav-samekh-tav). In consequence to purifying the heart through simple Torah study and by observing its mitzvot (particularly Taharat HaMishpacha), the connection is made to the integral balance inherent to essence.

Think of the mechanism this way. Imagine the configuration mem-vav as an immune cell defense receptor in the bloodstream of yetzirah. As an immune receptor, it functions to bind any loose letter tav (the letter of truth) floating around unbound by the body's tissues like it is an infectious sheker. Binding tav in the form of sheker activates an inflammatory-natural killer cell response with the aims of killing the infectious target and preventing sickness in the body. Now, once one achieves integral balance, one is judged good to go, and instead of tav, a tet (pervasive goodness) becomes bound to mem-vav cellular receptor in the body's bloodstream. If one is judged unworthy, then a free-floating higher avidity tav becomes bound to it.

Here in this analogical scenario, the mem of mem-vav represents the 4 worlds as manifest in yetzirah, and vav functions to discern truth in parallel with tav. A tav has higher avidity than tet and is bound mem-vav if it is free-floating. Binding a tav by mem-vav over a tet results in death - mavet or mot. The mem-vav will bind the tav if tav (truth) is not securely bound by the body through its physical actions (through doing the mitzvot).

Back to the latter 3-letter root, in this case, the mystical vessel is no longer really a chariot (a collection of dead though animated movable parts), but a living organism capable of adapting as needed to the metaphysical environment. In this manner (al mot, Shir HaShirim 1:3) is "the angel" mem-tet transformed and reintegrated into the human experience through the root mem-vav-tet.

The vessel has become a living organism capable of self-organizing adaptability able to navigate all worlds, where one's free choice (bechirah) is in harmony and aligned with The Divine Will. This too, is the birthright.

Paradoxically, it is also written that the 3-letter root, mem-vav-tet, implies loosing hold or falling apart. This might be true for one dependent upon angelic support. But, for one independent of angelic support, the root holds the exact opposite meaning and the meaning becomes "to hold together by tottering" which enables true communication "to be released" (through the word himaleit, also derived from the mem-tet root). This "loosing hold" meaning of the root, for the independent one, also acts synergistically with the word himaleit as a mechanism through which expanded consciousness releases itself from the mystical experience and "returns" to normal awareness.

[1] Etymolgical Dictionary Of Biblical Hebrew, R. Matityahu Clark

through meditating on the mishna, your soul will become a chariot ...

R. Chaim Vital, Sha'are Kedusha, 4th section; Mishna Meditiation

Express in truth, whatever the soul reveals; for with each spark of truth, torches of light assemble, illuminating the whole world, and from such fragments of inner truth will the Great Truth emerge. [Rav Kook, Lights Of Holiness 1:168]

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