From: cms@dragon.com (Spawn of a Jewish Carpenter (Cindy Smith))
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: (Jewish) Kabbalistic Meditation ?
Date: 26 Dec 92 23:14:12 EST
Organization: Computer Projects Unlimited

>X-NEWS: dragon soc.culture.jewish: 31819
>Relay-Version: VMS News - V6.0-3 14/03/90 VAX/VMS V5.4; site dragon.com
>Path: dragon!nanovx!wa4mei!emory!swrinde!gatech!paladin.american.edu!darwin.sura.net!
> spool.mu.edu!agate!ames!sun-barr!news2me.EBay.Sun.COM!exodus.Eng.Sun.COM!sun!imagen!eagle!avi
>Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
>Subject: (Jewish) Kabbalistic Meditation ?
>Message-ID: <1992Dec22.010757.27479@imagen.com>
>From: avi@eagle.imagen.com (avi zelmanov)
>Date: 22 Dec 92 01:07:57 GMT
>Reply-To: avi@eagle.imagen.com (avi zelmanov)
>Sender: usenet@imagen.com
>Organization: none
>Lines: 38
>
>Over the past 5-10 years, I've seen references and mentions of Jewish
>Kabbalistic Meditation. I never studied the "Zohar" or other texts
>thoroughly, and most of what I know about "Kabbalah" is indirectly 
>through Chassidut, but I don't recall ANY meditation per se
>(unless you consider "Tefila Bedvekut" a meditation ...)
>
>Meditation, as used in the secular or religious (but NON-Jewish) form,
>is basically a repetition of a special ("Holy") word, used as a means to 
>go beyond the normal state of consciousness.
>
>On a (very) superficial level, the "concept" might look foreign to
>Judaism, but often "Practical" Kabbalah employs "unconventional techniques"
>(Kmeyot, for one) that would look just as foreign, so I decided to ask.
>
>1) Is there a Kabblistic Meditation ?

 Yes.

                          KETER
                            kk
                          k    k
                         k      k
                          k    k
                           k  k
                 HOKHMA  hhh**bbb   BINA
                          c tt  g
                        c c tt  g  g
                      c c  t  t  g  g
         CHESED    c  c  t     t g  g   GEVURAH
                c   c    t TIF t  g  g
               c  c      t  ER I  g  g
                c        t  ET t    g
                         t     t
                         t  ^  t
                         t YES t
                         t  OD t
                NETZAH  n n   h h   HOD
                         n     h
                    SHEKHINAH/MALKHUT

 Begin with Keter.  Move to Hokhma, then Bina, followed by Chesed, 
Gevurah, and Tiferet.  Finally, move to Netzah, then Hod, then Yesod, 
and finish with Malkhut.  Concentrate on each part of your own body 
that corresponds to the sefirot (see above).  I do this when I'm lying 
flat, although any position in which you feel most comfortable is 
fine.  Let the sefirot within you touch the Sefirot in the Upper 
World.  The sin of Adam, in Kabbalah, was taking and separating Hokhma 
from the rest of the Tree of Life.  Do not make the same mistake.  All 
the sefirot are mirror reflections of one another; do not attempt to 
wrest one from all the others.

 There have been many books written on the Way of Devotion by 
Kabbalists.  They give various techniques on prayer and devotion and 
submission to God's will, as well ethical and moral conduct.  Abraham 
Abulafia is a good place for you to start.  By "circles of 
instructions," Abulafia sought to transcend the rational and perceive 
the Upper World.  In the first stage of training, one must first learn 
to submit to the Heart, which is Tiferet.  Abulafia uses much name 
science (recombining of Hebrew letters and Names of God).  Abulafia 
was very interested in the distinction between name science and 
sefirotic science.  Submission to the heart requires much discipline 
and love.  One must conquer many levels.  When Chesed and Gevurah flow 
together, they flow through Rahamim.  (This is in the best of all 
worlds.)

>2) Is it ANYTHING like what's described above ? (recitation of a word either
>   verbal or mental). I wouldn't think "Shem Hameforash" would be a candidate,
>   (because of "Lo Tissa") but again I've heard angel names usage mentioned ...

 The Heykhalot Rabbatai is the earliest form of merkavah mysticism and 
also contains some of the earliest mantra-type meditations.  A 
mystical phrase, called a Name of God, must be repeated 120 times.  
This form of meditation is not regarded as an end in itself, but 
rather is considered the first step in the discipline of the chariot.  
A copy of the Heykhalot can be found in UNDERSTANDING JEWISH MYSTICISM 
by Rabbi David Blumenthal.  At any rate, once within the holy chambers 
of the supernal world, one then proceeds to various or higher states 
of consciousness.  But this is early Kabbalah.  In later Kabbalah, a 
mystic might choose a particular Scriptural verse upon which to 
meditate.  By repeating the verse over and over, he achieves a 
meditative state similar to the one above (not to mention deeper 
insight into the meaning of the text itself).  A portion of the Talmud 
might also be used.  The Ari (Rabbi Isaac Luria) used the Zohar for 
this purpose.  Rabbi Nachman of Braslev suggested repeating Ribbono
Shel Olam (Master of the Universe) as a mantra.

>3) If the answer to #2 is NO, what is the technique(s) employed ?

N/A

>4) What kabbalistic texts are used as SOURCES for this "meditation" ?

Well!  That's a tall order.  The Zohar is quite a book.  The 
"kabbalistic" texts are frequently the first chapter of Ezekiel and 
the Shema.  As for texts from the Zohar itself, take your pick.  You 
might try meditating in the presence of a burning candle just after 
reading Zohar I, 50b-51b, a passage dealing with the unity of the 
sefirot; there is the white light and the blue/black light closest to 
the wick.  "The white light is above, and ascends in a direct line, an 
dbeneath it is the blue or black light, which is a throne for the 
white, and the white light rests upon it, and they are connected 
together, forming one whole, and the black light, or [that which has] 
blue color, is the throne of glory for the white.  And this is the 
mystic significance of the blue.  And this blue-black throne is joined 
to something else, below it, so that it can burn, and it stimulates it 
to grasp the white light.  This blue-black light sometimes changes to 
red, but the white light above it never changes, for it is always 
white.  However, the blue changes to these colors:  sometimes blue or 
black, and sometimes red."  The blue light (Malkhut) devours 
continuously, while the white light never devours.  Rabbi Simeon later 
explains that the Hebrew letter He in the Tetragrammaton is the 
blue-black light and is joined to Yod-He-Vav, which is the white 
light.  If anyone would like a more detailed explanation of this 
passage, send me email.

 On the other hand, you may wish to meditate on the emanation text 
Zohar I, 15a-15b.  It begins like this:  "'In the beginning' (Genesis 
1:1) -- At the very beginning the king made engravings in the supernal 
purity.  A spark of blackness emerged in the sealed within the sealed, 
from the mystery of En-Sof, a mist within matter, implanted in a ring, 
no white, no black, no red, no yellow, no color at all.  When he 
measured with the standard of measure, he made colors to provide 
light.  Within the spark, in the innermost part, emerged a source, 
from which the colors are painted below, and it is sealed among the 
sealed things of the mystery of En-Sof.  It penetrated, but did not 
penetrate, its air; it was not known at all, until from the pressure 
of its penetration a single point shone, sealed, supernal.  Beyond 
this point nothing is known, and so it is caled reshit (beginning):  
the first word of all."  Again, for a detailed explanation of this 
passage, send me email.  Besides, it's only the first paragraph of a 
lovely passage.

 One must meditate before an actual candle or lamp to appreciate this. 
The wick is surround by blackness, which is crowned with whiteness.  
Between the whiteness and the blackness, if you stare at the candle 
long enough, you can see a thin blue line.  The blue line is the 
Shekhinah, the living presence of God.  As you continue to 
concentrate, you become aware of the redness and the yellowness of the 
flame.  You'll simply have to try it to understand it.

 In prayer and devotion, kavvanah is crucial.  Rabbinically, one 
performs a mitzvah because God has commanded it, but one also must be 
aware of its symbolic meaning when performing it.  In Kabbalah, 
kavvanah is spiritual concentration and internal religious awareness 
in the performance of the commandments.  Prayer without kavvanah is 
not prayer.  Prayer is an intellectual ascent to communion with God.   
The Sefir Chasidim say that one must pray  not simply with a pure 
heart and correct emotions of fear, love, and joy, but must also know 
the mystical secrets of the Godhead:  the hidden, infinite God; the 
concealed Shekhinah; the manifest Shekhinah.  Prayer must be directed 
to the concealed Shekhinah.  Kavvanah, pure as well as theosophical, 
is intimately connected with the words of the prayer.  The school of 
Rabbi Isaac the Blind contended that, in pronouncing the words of 
prayer, one must concentrate on the referent sefirah, elevating one's 
thinking to the divine realm.  We must pray only through the sefirot 
to En-Sof.  According to Rabbi Azriel, the ascent to the "hidden 
identity in concealed mystery" is the peak of mystical activism in 
Kabbalah, and is portrayed as underlying the purpose of reciting 
prayers and blessings.  Reciting the Shema is at the root of the 
mystery of the unification of the sefirot.  In prayer, we draw energy 
back and forth between our world and the Upper World.  We consciously 
direct the flow of energy in the mind.  We can tap into the energy 
stream of God in this theurgic system like Buber's I-Thou relationship 
and affect each other.  

 The purpose of prayer is Restoration (Tikkun) 
of everything, including the sefirotic system.  It provides a link 
between the worlds, a continuous flow of energy, and brings Shekhinah 
out of her solitude.  There are four types of tikkun:  1.  Restoration 
of oneself (self-perfection).  2.  Restoration of this world.  3.  
Restoration of the world above throughout all the hosts of heaven.  4. 
Restoration of the holy name through the mystery of holy chariots and 
the mystery of all worlds above and below with the proper kind of 
restoration.  The reason why a minyan is needed is because ten are 
needed to reflect the ten sefirot.  Nevertheless, despite all this, 
tears are the best form of prayer even without words.  The first three 
benedictions of the Amidah are directed toward Chesed, Gevurah, and 
Tiferet, the two arms and the body.  The Supernal King (Tiferet) 
stretches out his right arm (Chesed), then his left arm (Gevurah), 
then embraces with a holy kiss (see Songs 1:1).  The supernal king 
(Tiferet) and consort (Malkhut) are then united in joy through kisses. 
One can make requests at this hour for anything.  The worshipper then 
devotes the mind and will to three others (Netzah, Hod, Yesod) to 
stimulate the secret joy.  The three words "holy, holy, holy" 
(kadhosh, sanctus) represent the three words from which the prayer 
arises and also for the sefirot Chesed, Gevurah, and Tiferet, to which 
the prayer ascends and which it serves to unite.  

 As for the Shema -- 
the first 25 letters and the second 24 stand for the 49 Gates of 
Binah.  If you concentrate on unification while reciting the first 
verse for sanctifying the divine name, the worshipper "is thought 
actually to have surrendered his soul for the sanctification of the 
name."  Each word of Shema brings holiness to 248 parts of the body.  
The purpose of the first verse is to gather together the various male 
powers and inflame them with desire for Shekhinah.  The purpose of the 
second verse is to arouse Shekhina, to collect her retinue together 
with her, and bring her to the marriage canopy.  In Rabbinic Judaism, 
fear of God is favored over love of God.  In Kabbalistic Judaism, love 
of God is favored over fear of God.  Those who love God take on 
spiritual, religious, and ethical obligations over and above Torah.  
One needs grace to love God.  It is wrong to worship God from fear.  
In meditating with kavvanah, there are two types:  Drawing down or 
returning energy; refracting or recycling of energy to God, using lamp 
imagery, flames, unity of sefirot.  This meditation on the sefirot can 
be done without the liturgy or in the context of the liturgy, your 
choice.  The other type is the unification of Tiferet and Shekhina 
(when they are united, blessings, or energy, flows to the lower world; 
unification of Tiferet and Shekhinah can be achieved through sexual 
intercourse in the lower world).

 Ah, well, I'm wrambling a bit much.  Kabbalah cannot be described in 
a few paragraphs, nor can Kabbalistic meditation and prayer techniques 
and meanings.

>5) Is it a technique taught to anybody (any jew) or a secret ? Are there     
>   pre-requesites such as certain age? certain expertise in "Shas and Poskim" ?
>   etc. 

 Traditionally, one isn't supposed to study the Zohar until one is 40 
years old and married.  This probably has to do with the sexual 
imagery in the Zohar as well as dangers from sitrah achra to the 
uniniated.  The potential for abuse is high.  Although not explicitly 
stated, one is probably also supposed to be a male.  Some of the Zohar 
is misogynistic.

>6) Who teaches that ? Is there a Rabbi/Yeshiva (in the U.S. , Israel, or even
>   elsewhere) that can better answer these questions ?

 I asked my rebbe, David Blumenthal, the same question, and he 
answered that there are maybe six rabbis in the US who are truly 
capable of teaching Jewish Mysticism (including himself).  In 
California, there is a wave of interest in the subject, but Rabbi 
Blumenthal says what they teach is mostly wrong.  Dr. Blumenthal is 
the chairman of the Jewish Studies department at Emory University in 
Atlanta.

>7) Are there any text books on this subject, that one can direct me to ?
>   (English or Hebrew)

 I would start with Isaiah Tishby:  THE WISDOM OF THE ZOHAR:  AN 
ANTHOLOGY OF TEXTS.  Tishby gives extensive introductions and 
explanations, although you really need a teacher to understand the 
Zohar.  Unfortunately, this is a three volume work to the tune of 
$100.  You might like to try Gershom Scholem's books; a good one is 
entitled simply "Kabbalah," which gives a good overview.  I believe I 
mentioned earlier David Blumenthal's UNDERSTANDING JEWISH MYSTICISM.  
The Zohar itself is attributed to Rabbi Shimeon ben Yohai (Rashbi), 
but was actually written by Moses de Leon in the 9th Century Spain.  
Ze'v ben Shimon Halevi has written several good books; "Kabbalah:  
Tradition of Hidden Knowledge" has lots of terrific pictures and 
diagrams, many in color.  His "Adam and the Kabbalistic Tree" is great 
psycho-therapy.  Aryeth Kaplan wrote a work called "Jewish 
Meditation:  A Practical Guide," which contains many Kabbalistic 
meditation techniques.  Lawrence Kushner has written some popular 
stuff on Kabbalah; "The River of Light" is a highly reflective work 
and gives little practical advice on Kabbalah, whereas "Honey from the 
Rock" gives a better layman's introduction to the sefirotic system.  
Neither of his works contains much sexual imagery, with which the 
Zohar is replete, but this may be because he wanted to avoid the 
"WARNING:  EXPLICIT SEXUAL MATERIAL MAY OFFEND SOME READERS" stamp.  
Ditto for several of the authors mentioned.  Tishby, who gives 
annotations for specific Zoharic texts, cannot avoid the sexual 
imagery de facto.

>Any additional info would be welcomed. 
>Since I don't always have continous access to this newgroup, 
>I'd appreciated it, if replies could be emailed to me at avi@imagen.com
>
>I'll try to look here as well, for replies.
>
>Chanukka Same'ach (Happy Chanukka)

Happy Chanukka.

Yours,

Cindy Smith
cms@dragon.com

Woe to craven hearts and drooping hands,
to the sinner who treads a double path!
Woe to the faint of heart who trust not,
who therefore will have no shelter!
Woe to you who have lost hope!
what will you do at the visitation of the Lord?

-- Ecclesiasticus/Ben Sira 2:12-14