Chapter 11
A Year in the Life of a Kabbalist
In This Chapter
Starting out with Kabbalah’s New Year
Focusing on introspection and spiritual matters
Commemorating historical events in Jewish history
Taking time to reflect on the power and presence of God
Seeing the deeper meaning of birthdays
Being a Kabbalist is a full-time job — not only every day and every week, but throughout the year as well. During the year, Kabbalists travel lots of different spiritual terrain, including holy days, memorial days, and countless opportunities to connect with God. Ultimately, every day a Kabbalist is either celebrating a holiday or looking forward to the next one because the year of the Kabbalist is filled with days of sanctification of all kinds.
Developing special Kabbalistic rituals for the holy days
Interpreting tried and true rituals in a Kabbalistic way
Adding Kabbalistic significance to traditional customs
Kabbalists don’t see holy days simply as historical commemorations or days to take off work; rather, holy days are particularly focused spiritual experiences. Each holy day has its own quality: Some are happy, some are sad, some are more serious, and some are lighter. But all share the constant awareness that God is the center of all things and of all being.
In this chapter, I share with you the important holy days Kabbalists (along with other Jews) observe throughout the year. I also include information on how to celebrate your birthday like a Kabbalist.
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Ringing in the New Year without a Noisemaker
The mood of the secular New Year that begins at midnight on December 31 is clearly visible on TV — surely you’ve noticed all the parties, noisemakers, and boisterous behavior. A Kabbalist welcomes the New Year with joy, but the mood is quite serious, not boisterous. The Kabbalist’s New Year, which appears in the fall, is called Rosh Hashanah (rowsh hah-shah -nah; the head of the year).
But before Rosh Hashanah, Kabbalists participate in a month-long preparation to observe the New Year. Each year, in the Hebrew month of Elul, a number of customs are popular among Kabbalists.
One of the most moving customs is the blowing of the shofar (show-far; ram’s horn) each morning, usually in the synagogue. The sound of the ram’s horn is ancient and moving, and it tends to reinforce the introspective and self-examining mood of the month.
In accordance with the teachings of the great Kabbalist, the Ari, Kabbalists fast on the first two days of the Hebrew month of Elul in order to prepare themselves for the serious introspection done during this month.
Kabbalists meditate on some of the names of God (in particular the most holy name, the four-letter name of God).
In recent centuries, many Kabbalists celebrate the 18th day of the month of Elul (12 days before Rosh Hashanah), which is the birthday of the Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement.
In the Hasidic world, it’s customary to visit one’s spiritual teacher during the month of Elul, even if it means traveling great distances.
Giving charity, while practiced throughout the year, is especially common among Kabbalists during the month of Elul.
According to tradition, the New Year is the time that God looks into the Book of Life and makes decisions for the coming year. So it isn’t surprising that the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah is filled with serious examination of one’s deeds in the past year as well as a resetting of priorities for the coming year. Kabbalists hope that God finds pleasure in this activity and is prompted to inscribe them for another year in the Book of Life.
On Rosh Hashanah, Kabbalists participate in the following special customs and practices:
Reciting the very first prayer service on the first night of Rosh Hashanah with particular intensity: Starting off the year’s first prayer session with extra special inner intention is a fine spiritual launch of the new year.
Sharing a special New Year’s greeting, Shana tova umetuka (shah-nah toe-vah oo-meh-too-kah; a good and sweet year) with others
Crying tears of longing for closeness to God: The great Kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria taught that if a person doesn’t manage to cry at least a little on Rosh Hashanah or during the days after it, his or her soul may be in need of extra introspection.
The synagogue service for Rosh Hashanah is long and intense. The prayers of introspection and self-examination of one’s deeds and behavior dominate the holy day prayer book known as the Rosh Hashanah machzor (mahk -zoar). Essentially, the same set of prayers has been recited by Kabbalists for centuries, and the modern Rosh Hashanah machzor contains the precise prayers that Kabbalists have used over this time.
Teshuvah in the New Year
In the secular world, people welcome and celebrate the New Year with parties. Kabbalists mark the arrival of the New Year with intense prayer and study. For centuries, Kabbalists have spent extra time throughout the month of Elul leading up to Rosh Hashanah studying and praying. This study usually centers on the profound concept of teshuvah (teh-shoo -vah).
The word “teshuvah” has a number of meanings. One is “turning,” which implies that the activity of teshuvah is an inward, spiritual process whereby the Kabbalist turns his attention to the proper focal point of all existence, the Divine. Teshuvah in this sense is a realignment of one’s priorities away from the distractions of the world. Teshuvah also means “a response” because of the hope that God will respond positively to one’s introspection and efforts to do good deeds and think holy thoughts. Teshuvah is often translated as “repentance,” but unfortunately that term has negative connotations. Although teshuvah certainly contains a sense of contrition and regret, the great sages urged their students to be less preoccupied with regret and more preoccupied with turning and setting their sights on a higher level.
Important books to check out
The following two books — one classic and one modern — are important tools for Kabbalists during the month of Elul, the month before Rosh Hashanah:
Shaarei Teshuvah: This classic text translates to The Gates of Repentance. It was written by Rabbeinu Yonah Gerondi in the 13th century and has been studied by countless Kabbalists since.
Teshuvah: This modern classic was written by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who’s known throughout the world as a master of Kabbalah. It’s a detailed guidebook for the modern individual who wants to understand the intricacies of the process of change. The book is written for beginner as well as advanced students and isn’t bogged down with technical terminology.
Ten Days in the Early Fall for Introspection and Turning
The ten days between Rosh Hashanah and the next significant holiday on the Kabbalist’s calendar, Yom Kippur (yohm kee-poor ), are days of particular intensity. Kabbalists spend time every day of the year examining their deeds and are preoccupied with these things during the month before Rosh Hashanah, but the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the most intense of all.
These days are often referred to as The Days of Awe. Kabbalists use these ten days to peer as keenly as possible into their hearts and minds, taking inventory of their past deeds and character traits. The ten days leading up to Yom Kippur shouldn’t be dominated by fear or concern that one has made too many errors in one’s life or has sunk to a low place spiritually or ethically. Rather, for the Kabbalist, they’re days of increased hope that one is being successful in the process of introspection and that, on the day of judgment, Yom Kippur, one’s prayers will be answered and God will look favorably upon all the efforts that have been made up until that point.
The Day of “At-One-Ment”
Yom Kippur is certainly the most intense day of the year for the Kabbalist; it’s dominated by prayer and marked by fasting for over 24 hours. In addition, the Kabbalist doesn’t bathe and attempts to avoid all preoccupation with worldly matters during Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is primarily a spiritual day.
Kabbalists give charity just before Yom Kippur because they believe that the merit of charity is protection against evil decrees. Kabbalists also believe that the sounds of the coins of charity given before the afternoon meal on Yom Kippur (after which the Yom Kippur fast begins) creates such a significant sound in heaven that the forces of impurity make way for the prayers recited during the holy day.
In many synagogues that aren’t dominated by a Kabbalistic spirit, the day of Yom Kippur is a somber one. But in synagogues that are nourished by Kabbalistic tradition, the mood isn’t somber at all. On the contrary, when one enters such a synagogue on Yom Kippur, one thing that’s striking is that everyone is dressed in white, a symbol of purity and purification. Wearing white reflects the belief that God hears one’s prayers, acknowledges one’s sincere regrets, and accepts one with love and enthusiasm.
The great Kabbalistic master, the Baal Shem Tov, asked, “How can we ever think that we can pray on Rosh Hashanah and change God’s mind or inspire God to grant our requests?” He suggested that each person receives blessings from God and that his or her sins can cause those blessings to stop. But when Kabbalists pray, they change themselves, not God. And then, when they change themselves, a new decree comes from heaven that once again opens up the channels of blessings. Through sincere prayer, a person can even become a different person in the eyes of heaven, prompting a shower of abundant blessings.
Acknowledging with Joy That Life Is Temporary
In the fall, Kabbalists celebrate an seven-day holiday known as Sukkot (sue-coat ). The word “sukkot” is the plural of the word sukkah (sue-kah; booth), which is a direct reference to temporary dwelling places (or small huts) that are referred to in the Torah (see Figure 11-1 for an illustration of a sukkah).
And you shall keep it a feast to the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
You shall dwell in booths seven days; all who are Israelites born shall dwell in booths;
That your generations may know that I made the people of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.
—Leviticus 23:41–43
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Figure 11-1: The sukkah is an essential component of the holiday Sukkot. |
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The central story that Kabbalists study during Sukkot is that of the Children of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt and dwelling in the desert for 40 years until they reached the Holy Land, the Promised Land. In an effort to simulate their experience, the Torah commands that temporary dwellings be created, and for centuries Kabbalists have spent time building temporary huts and dwelling in them during the seven days of Sukkot. By eating in these huts, studying holy books in these huts, and even sleeping in them, Kabbalists symbolically participate in living as the Children of Israel did in temporary huts in the desert. One of the central ideas of the Sukkot holy days is the notion that human life is fleeting. By living in a temporary dwelling, Kabbalists get the sense that life is fragile and that each day is a blessing.
One of the rituals performed each day during the holy days of Sukkot involves holding four specific species of vegetation in one’s hands and lifting them in all six directions: east, west, north, south, up, and down. These six directions reflect the Kabbalist’s belief that God is everywhere and that there’s no place where God is not.
Kabbalists observe a custom known as ushpizen (oo -shpee-zen; guests) in the sukkah each of the seven days because the Zohar teaches that each of the seven shepherds of the Jewish people visits the sukkah on a different night and leads the group of visitors. The traditional Jewish prayer book provides a format for welcoming these seven guests. All the people in the sukkah greet the guests out loud with traditional words of welcome. Each of the shepherds is symbolic of one of the seven lower sefirot (see Chapter 4). Table 11-1 matches the days of Sukkot with the appropriate shepherds and sefirot.
| Day of Sukkot | Shepherd of the Jewish People | Corresponding Sefirah |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abraham | Chesed |
| 2 | Isaac | Gevurah |
| 3 | Jacob | Tiferet |
| 4 | Moses | Netzach |
| 5 | Aaron | Hod |
| 6 | Joseph | Yesod |
| 7 | David | Malchut |
Another name for the holy days of Sukkot is z’man simchataynu (dzi-mahn sim-khah-tay -new; the season of our joy). Sukkot is supposed to be a happy and joyful time historically connected to the harvest period, when all the wonderful growth from the summer months is ready for harvesting; the appreciation of the harvest’s abundance, the joy that’s spoken about on Sukkot, is a spiritual joy.
When Kabbalists look back on the intense period from the month of Elul to Yom Kippur, they know that they’ve begun a new year with gratitude for the life and gifts that God provides.
The day after Sukkot is a holy day known as Simchat Torah (sim -khat toe -rah; the joy of the Torah). On this day, Kabbalists literally dance with the Torah scroll as the yearly round of the public reading of the Torah ends and begins again. It’s a holiday marked by great joy, dancing, singing, and celebration.
Meditating on Light for Eight Days
Many people think that the Jewish holiday of Chanukah (chah -new-kah) is the Jewish Christmas. This misconception isn’t so surprising considering that the two holidays often coincide on the calendar. In reality, though, Chanukah is an eight-day holiday that commemorates an historic event in the history of the Jewish people. The event is the ancient Jews’ victory in their struggle against being swallowed up culturally and spiritually by the Greek culture around them.
A candle-lighting controversy (No, I’m not kidding)
Kabbalists throughout the ages have dealt with an interesting and ancient dispute pertaining to the lighting of the Chanukah menorah. The Chanukah menorah consists of eight candles, or eight flames, each representing a day. The eight flames come from a miracle that occurred in ancient times having to do with oil and its use in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The Jews found their Temple desecrated after achieving victory over their enemy, and they saw that there was only one measure of oil suitable for lighting. The oil was only enough to last for a single day. The miracle, as recorded and passed down through the generations, is that the oil that was sufficient only for one day actually lasted eight days. Therefore, those who observe the holy days of Chanukah light a candle each day for eight days.
Here’s where the controversy comes in. Two illustrious sages named Hillel and Shammai had a dispute regarding the proper way to light the flames on each night of Chanukah.
Shammai believed that eight candles should be lit on the first day of Chanukah, seven should be lit on the second day, six should be lit on the third day, and so forth until the 8th day, when one candle should be lit.
Hillel argued that one candle should be lit on the first day of Chanukah, two candles on the second day, three candles on the third day, and so on until the 8th day, when all eight candles would be burning.
Hillel’s position won out based on the argument that the light should increase and not decrease. After all, that’s what one’s task in life is all about — increasing the light in the world, specifically the divine light. Symbolically, an increase of light, with one candle being added each day throughout the eight days of Chanukah, more accurately reflects the spirit of the holy day and the Kabbalist’s intention to add light to the world.
The well-known Chanukah activity is the lighting of candles (for more on this custom, see the sidebar “A candle-lighting controversy (No, I’m not kidding).” Among Kabbalists, this lighting of candles is the central activity of these holy days. Yet even more important than the lighting of the candles is the period of time immediately after they’re lit each evening, when Kabbalists meditate on the light from the Chanukah flames.
The menorah (meh-no -rah; candelabra) that’s lit during Chanukah (see Figure 11-2) is rich with symbolism and has been the subject of much discussion in Kabbalistic texts. The original menorah was a seven-branch candelabra that stood in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and Kabbalists associate each of the seven lights on their own menorahs with each of the seven lower sefirot. Lighting the candles of Chanukah one by one is an opportunity for Kabbalists to focus on the meaning of the sefirot.
Because of the association of Chanukah with Christmas, giving gifts to children after lighting the Chanukah candles is common among Jews. But gift-giving isn’t a traditional part of Chanukah, and it certainly isn’t customary among Kabbalists.
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Figure 11-2: A Chanukah menorah. |
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Seeing God in Everything
One of the most intriguing holy days on the Kabbalah calendar, Purim (poor -eem; lottery or lots), is one that doesn’t appear in the Five Books of Moses and originally commemorated an historic event. The story of the event is told in some detail in one of the books of the Holy Scriptures, the book of Esther.
Celebrating the book of Esther
On the surface, the book of Esther is a story of victory over anti-Semitism. The wicked king of Persia, King Ahasuerus, held a beauty contest in order to select a wife. All the women from the kingdom came and presented themselves for inspection and evaluation. The victor was Esther, a young Jewish woman who eventually became Queen Esther, King Ahasuerus’ wife.
According to the story, the chancellor in the kingdom, a wicked man named Haman, concocted a plot that would have resulted in King Ahasuerus authorizing the killing of the Jews in Persia. Queen Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, got involved and helped the king recognize Haman for the evil man that he was. Haman was hanged, and Mordecai was offered an important leadership position within the king’s regime. All of this is considered to be a miracle.
For centuries, Jews (including Kabbalists) have celebrated the holy day of Purim with many interesting customs. Adults and children dress up in costumes, and the mild drinking of alcoholic beverages — not to get drunk but to get a little joyful buzz — is encouraged. These customs are a part of the joyous mood of victory as described in the book of Esther.
To outsiders, Purim looks something like Halloween because in Jewish neighborhoods, children go door-to-door wearing interesting and often humorous costumes. One profound difference between Halloween and Purim, though, is that on Halloween children go door-to-door asking for gifts, and on Purim one of the spiritual requirements is to go door-to-door (or at least to seek out friends and neighbors) and give gifts.
Purim is a time of giving and gratitude. This custom comes from the book of Esther when Mordecai declared the holiday of Purim as a time “of feasting and gladness and of sending food to one another, as well as gifts to the poor.”
Including God in everything — without mentioning God at all
Perhaps the most profound aspect of Purim, however, is clear upon a close examination of the biblical book of Esther. Of the many books that make up the Bible, only the book of Esther has a unique characteristic: God’s name isn’t mentioned in the book even once. It’s hard to believe that there could possibly be a page in the Bible, let alone an entire book, that doesn’t have a single mention of God. It seems unbelievable, but it’s true.
The great sages throughout the centuries drew this profound conclusion from the absence of God’s name: God is so present in every detail of life that the absence of his name doesn’t indicate his absence but rather his presence. In a sense, it would be impossible to mention God at every single moment of the story, so rather than His name appearing constantly, it doesn’t appear at all.
The message is clear and reflects a pivotal idea at the heart of Kabbalah: Nothing happens in the world without God allowing it to happen. Not a blade of grass moving, not a leaf falling from a tree, not a single event large or small is outside the influence of God.
The great master of Kabbalah, the Vilna Gaon, pointed out that the word “Purim” shares the same letters as “Yom HaKippurim,” which is the biblical name for Yom Kippur. He taught that Yom Kippur is essentially a spiritual holy day filled with great introspection and intense prayer, whereas Purim is largely a physical holy day rooted in history, with customs that are quite physical in nature. The Vilna Gaon said that these two holy days are actually two sides of the same coin. Just as humans have two sides, physical and spiritual, these two holy days comprise the physical and the spiritual.
Also, the word “pur” means lottery, implying that a person’s fate is beyond him or her and is in the hands of God. On Yom Kippur, God makes a final decree about each person’s fate for the coming year, and on Purim, the story in the book of Esther reminds Kabbalists that God is behind all events.
On the holy day of Purim, Kabbalists participate in the following activities:
Hearing a public reading of the book of Esther in the evening of the holy day and then again during the following day.
Celebrating a festive meal during the day with food and wine or other spirits. The Talmud and the Code of Jewish Law give instruction to drink until we can no longer differentiate between “Blessed is Mordecai” and “Cursed is Haman.” Mordecai is the hero of the book of Esther, and Haman is the villain. This custom serves to emphasize the celebration at the victory of the Jews over its enemies.
Giving charity to at least two people in need.
Delivering or sending a gift of two or more kinds of foods or drink to a minimum of one friend.
Liberating Oneself from Narrowness
A popular series of holy days on the Jewish calendar is Passover. Many laws and customs guide Jews through the celebration of this eight-day holiday. On the first two days, families sit down to a festive meal known as a Passover seder (say -der); during the meal, members of the family and other participants read from an ancient book known as the Haggadah (hah-gah -dah). The Haggadah tells the story of the slavery experience of the Children of Israel during their time in ancient Egypt as well as the subsequent exodus from Egypt, when God, through his messenger Moses, led the Children of Israel to Liberation.
Many Kabbalistic customs are part of the Passover seder. In fact, it’s probably true that most Jews who celebrate Passover and sit down to a Passover seder aren’t even aware of the Kabbalistic origins of the customs. For example, the seder plate features various food symbols meant to remind people of details from the Exodus story. Unbeknownst to most, customs concerning the way in which these symbols are placed on the seder plate have been handed down throughout the generations by the great Kabbalists.
Perhaps the major theme of Passover, and one that Kabbalists focus on throughout the eight days of the holy season, is reflected in the Hebrew word for “Egypt,” Mitzrayim (mitz-rah -yeem). Etymologically, the word for “Egypt” is almost identical to the word for the phrase “narrow place.” People often find themselves in narrow places, not so much physically as psychologically and spiritually. The spirit of Passover is meant to inspire people to break free, to be liberated, and to reach higher.
Many commentaries explain the Kabbalistic significance of each of the details and rituals performed at Passover. For example, one part of the seder recounts the ten plagues that God inflicted on the ancient Egyptians. In the writings of the great Kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria (see Chapter 18), the ten plagues correspond to the ten sefirot. The connection is quite esoteric and is explained through the use of the numerical values of the letters of each of the plagues. It’s a good example of Kabbalistic details far beyond the grasp of a novice.
Another example of a Passover practice with Kabbalistic significance is bedikat chometz (beh-dee -khat khum -atz; search for leaven). The day before Passover, ten small pieces of bread or other food that’s forbidden to be eaten on Passover is gathered and prepared to be discarded in preparation for the holy days. For Kabbalists, these ten pieces bring to mind the ten sefirot. Each sefirah has positive aspects and negative aspects, which participants symbolically discard with the bread or other forbidden food.
A 49-day Kabbalistic Meditation on the Ascent to God
The spiritual calendar observed by Kabbalists throughout the centuries has a 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot (shah-voo-oat; weeks), the next holy day on the Jewish calendar. Whereas Passover is the commemoration of the liberation of the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, Shavuot is the celebration of God giving the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai.
The 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot is know as sefirat haomer (seh-fee -rat hah-oh -mare). Although the entire year is filled with opportunities to focus on the deep ideas in Kabbalistic tradition, these 49 days offer the Kabbalist an opportunity to focus intensely on the ten sefirot and, in particular, their meaning in one’s life.
Week 1: Chesed
Week 2: Gevurah
Week 3: Tiferet
Week 4: Netzach
Week 5: Hod
Week 6: Yesod
Week 7: Malchut
After the seven weeks are over, Kabbalists symbolically arrive at Mount Sinai and are prepared to receive the Torah. A deeper understanding of each of the sefirot includes the notion that each sefirah has within it every other sefirah. For example, Week 1 focuses on the sefirah of Chesed, which is often translated as lovingkindness and has a sense of expansiveness. Week 1 proceeds as follows:
Day 1: The Chesed of Chesed.
The sefirah of Chesed, lovingkindness, has a loving aspect to it.
Day 2: The Gevurah of Chesed.
One of the many aspects of lovingkindness is discipline. Love that has no restraints and no boundaries can be dangerous and unhealthy.
Day 3: The Tiferet of Chesed.
Tiferet is the sefirah of harmony and beauty. There’s a beautiful aspect to kindness, such as the kindness offered to people one meets during the day. For example, when a Kabbalist goes into a shop, she doesn’t simply make a transaction and leave. She offers some affection, warmth, and friendliness to the shopkeeper, using words like “please” and “thank you” as well as making eye contact and smiling.
An ancient Kabbalah text requires Kabbalists to greet people with a smile. This isn’t just friendly advice on the part of the sage from centuries ago; it’s part of the law.
Day 4: The Netzach of Chesed.
Netzach, which can be described as the urge to get things done, reflects the aspect of love that endures and isn’t short-lived.
Day 5: The Hod of Chesed.
Hod represents bearing down and sticking it out, surely an important aspect within a love relationship. Sometimes a love relationship encounters rocky waters, and that’s when persistence and holding on is necessary.
Day 6: The Yesod of Chesed.
In order for love to be complete between two people, there needs to be a profound emotional and intimate connection that nourishes both people.
Day 7: The Malchut of Chesed.
Malchut, which is the summation of all things and the physical manifestation of life, makes sure that love isn’t just abstract and intangible but is real in the world.
This list contains extremely brief explanations of the sefirot within the sefirot. For more detailed information, check out Chapter 4.
Each week of sefirat haomer focuses on a different sefirah, and each day’s focus differs as well, as shown in the preceding example. Kabbalists who participate in this activity year after year have created a number of books and Web sites to share their personal meditations on the combinations of sefirot. Each person has his or her own slant and perspective on both the sefirot themselves and the combinations of sefirot.
In accordance with the Torah, Kabbalists count each of the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. This period is known as the Counting of the Omer. An omer is a unit of measure. On the second day of Passover, in the days of the Temple, an omer of barley was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering. This grain offering was referred to as the Omer.
From the second night of Passover to the night before Shavuot, Kabbalists recite a blessing every night. For example, of the 10th day, one would say, “Today is ten days, which is one week and three days of the Omer.” The counting connects Passover, which commemorates the Exodus, and Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah, and the counting reminds Kabbalists that the redemption from slavery wasn’t complete until the Torah was received.
In the middle of the 49 days of the Counting of the Omer is a day that’s of particular interest to Kabbalists. It’s is known as Lag B’Omer (lahg beh-oh -mare; the 33rd day of the Omer). Lag B’Omer celebrates the great Kabbalist and author of the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Although Lag B’Omer is the anniversary of his death, he specifically requested that the day be celebrated with joy.
Receiving God’s Teachings Constantly
As I mention in the preceding section, Shavuot is the Jewish holy day commemorating the historic events of God giving the Torah at Mount Sinai and the Children of Israel receiving the Torah. However, Kabbalists see another dimension of this holy day and its message: They believe and act as though they’re always standing at Mount Sinai and always receiving the Torah. One can say that although the Torah was given at a certain moment in time many centuries ago, God is, in fact, constantly giving the Torah to the world, and at any time one can stand at Mount Sinai and receive it.
Kabbalists believe that suitable preparation is necessary in order to receive the Torah. The Torah is available for everyone, but intense preparation is necessary in order to receive the Torah more fully. Kabbalists must be ready at all times to receive the Torah from God, and in a sense, all the spiritual activities of the Kabbalist are nothing other than preparation to connect with God on higher and higher levels.
After the seven intense weeks of introspection, self-examination, prayer, and study between Passover and Shavuot (see the preceding section), the Kabbalist is ready to receive the Torah from God. The holy day of Shavuot offers a forum for that receiving of the Torah, although as I explain in this chapter, for Kabbalists the Torah is constantly being given and constantly being received in one’s mind and heart. One of the customs observed on Shavuot is the reading of the book of Ruth publicly in the synagogue.
I didn’t sleep at all last night
An ancient legend records that the morning of the day the Torah was given at Mount Sinai, the Jews overslept. To wake them, a ram’s horn sounded, thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed. In the 16th century, the Kabbalists of Tzfat created the custom of staying up all night and studying from the various books of Torah and reading the portion of the Five Books of Moses, which tells of the giving of the Ten Commandments. This custom is called Tikkun Leil Shavuot (tee-koon leh-eel shah-voo-oat; repairing the eve of Shavuot). Rooted in Kabbalistic tradition, this custom is still practiced and is quite popular. Some Kabbalists study a small portion of each of the books of the Bible as a way of fulfilling this custom, and others choose to read various suitable texts of a spiritual nature. In general, Kabbalists love Torah study and never tire of this activity.
Mourning the Loss of Wholeness
Jews observe Tisha B’Av (tish -ah bah-ahv ), a memorial to the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, on the 9th day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar, which corresponds to the month of July or August on the secular calendar. This day commemorates a number of national calamities for the Jewish people, including:
The destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem
The fall of Bar Kochba’s fortress
The expulsion of the Jews of Spain in 1492
On Tisha B’Av, Kabbalists read the biblical book of Lamentations along with other dirges. Because it’s a day of mourning, Kabbalists refrain from eating, cutting their hair, and wearing nice clothing on this day. In the synagogue, Kabbalists sit on low stools or on the ground as a sign of mourning. In a real way, Kabbalists put all their sorrows into this bitterly sad day; this day of mourning signifies internal strife within the Jewish community.
With regard to Tisha B’Av, the Talmud asks the question “Why was the Temple in Jerusalem destroyed?” The answer’s given in the following story, which recounts the events leading up to the Roman conquest of Jerusalem. A man had a friend whose name was Kamza and an enemy named Bar-Kamza. The man held a big banquet that was attended by many rabbis and sent an invitation to his friend Kamza. By mistake, the invitation went out to Bar-Kamza. When the man who sponsored the banquet saw Bar-Kamza at the meal, he demanded that his enemy leave. Bar-Kamza begged to be allowed to stay and even offered to pay the entire cost of the feast. The host insisted that Bar-Kamza leave and then threw him out. Hurt and angry that the rabbis at the banquet had kept silent, Bar Kamza decided to slander them to the Roman Emperor. He brought the Emperor false evidence indicating that the Jews were rebelling against him, which led to the Roman conquest of Jerusalem.
This passage from the Talmud indicates that the primary source of human troubles comes from human failures, particularly the baseless hatred that people often display toward others in the form of prejudice, gossip, backbiting, and so on. Kabbalists believe that the divine presence is absent when people display such negative activities and emotions.
Celebrating Birthdays Kabbalisticly
Traditionally, Kabbalists put more emphasis on an anniversary of death than an anniversary of birth. After all, as I explain in Chapter 7, they view death as a day of graduation, not a tragedy. The Angel of Death arrives and separates the body from the soul, and survivors put the body in the ground while the soul goes on to continue its work, either being reincarnated into the body of another person or waiting for the perfection of the world.
In a sense, a death is considered to be a spiritual victory for the individual. Those left behind feel sadness and sorrow because they miss the individual, but for the soul that leaves his or her body and continues on its way, the moment of death is commemorated.
This attitude is reflected in the ancient literature studied by the Kabbalists. There’s a teaching, for example, that rather than celebrate a birth, we should celebrate a death in the same way that a ship returning home to port is celebrated. After all, when the ship takes off on its journey, no one knows if that journey will be a safe, peaceful, and productive one. But when the ship returns to its port after experiencing a successful journey, it’s time for celebration. This teaching, which appears in the Midrash, is a perfect analogy for the Kabbalistic attitude towards death.
Nevertheless, particularly in recent times, many Kabbalists celebrate birthdays with at least as much fervor as they do deaths.
One of the greatest Kabbalistic teachers of modern times was Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who was clearly one of the major teachers within the Jewish world in general and Kabbalah in particular. Rabbi Schneerson, who was the head of a group of Hasidic Jews known as Lubavitch and therefore was known frequently as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, frequently spoke about the importance of each individual celebrating his or her birth. He taught that a birthday is the anniversary of the day that God sent a soul into the world. This anniversary is indeed an auspicious occasion, and the Lubavitcher Rebbe urged Kabbalists to acknowledge the day with gratitude to God for providing one with another opportunity to live life.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe also urged his followers and people everywhere to use the anniversaries of their births as occasions to rededicate themselves to increased Torah study and increased deeds of lovingkindness and charity. He also urged students to take on additional projects or spiritual obligations on the anniversaries of their births.