Why Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and the friends were filled with joy at this portion.
Weekly study · Monday to Friday
✦ Every insight comes from Michael Berg's Shabbat class on the portions Acharei Mot and Kedoshim, on the support that comes from the realm of the Holy.
Psalms says: Yishlach ezrecha mikodesh, may the Creator send your support from the realm of the Holy. Michael Berg shows that support can come from many places, but the only true support comes from the kodesh. And that we need it urgently: even spirits, created self-sufficient, need help in their battles.
The Ari teaches that the Light the vessel cannot yet receive remains as Or Makif, the Surrounding Light, whose purpose is to press us to purify the vessel. The Or Pnimi improves the life we already have. The Or Makif asks us to go beyond it.
Kedoshim tihyu: being holy is living with the eternal vision the Creator has of us, that of the Thought of Creation, without pain or death. This vision is far above any idea we hold of ourselves, and that is why this Shabbat fills with joy those who want to be challenged.
The Zohar tells that at Kedoshim, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and the friends were filled with joy.
We need help all the time, and we must ask that it come from the Holy.
In the story of Abi Yosi, there are constant spiritual battles, and we take part in them.
The Surrounding Light presses us so that the vessel is purified and enlarged.
Holiness is seeing ourselves as the Creator sees us, far beyond what we have already reached.
The Zohar says that on reaching Kedoshim, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and the friends were filled with joy. Michael Berg starts from the verse of Psalms Yishlach ezrecha mikodesh to explain why. The support we need, all the time, cannot come from just anywhere: it must come from the realm of the Holy. The story of Abi Yosi shows that there are spiritual battles around us, and that each of us must take part in them.
To understand what the kodesh is, the Ari distinguishes two lights. The Or Pnimi is the Light we have already earned and that improves our present life. The Or Makif is the Light that does not yet fit in our vessel and that presses us to purify it. There are teachers whose souls work with the Or Pnimi. The soul of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai comes from the Or Makif: it does not let us stay satisfied, and that is why only he could reveal the Zohar.
Kedoshim tihyu comes to mean living with the vision the Creator holds of us, that of the Thought of Creation, where there is no pain or death. That vision goes far beyond what we have reached. The request of the week is to wake up and say: may my support come from the Surrounding Light, and may I not settle for my present situation.
Start the day by saying you need it.
On waking, say: "I need support today, and I want it to come from the Holy." Do it before any screen.
See where you settle.
Ask: "In which area am I too satisfied with what I already have?" Write an honest answer.
Let the Light challenge you.
When you feel discomfort in your spiritual work, do not retreat. Ask what it wants to purify in you.
Read the Zohar to be challenged.
When you read the Zohar, ask that the Light of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai lead you to see beyond what you imagine of yourself.
Live with the Creator's vision.
Write what your day would be if you acted with the vision the Creator has of you. Thank the Light and ask for this support again.
May my support come from the Holy.
May I not settle, and may the Light lift me.
May this week of Kedoshim help you ask the Holy for support and see yourself as the Creator sees you. Shavua Tov!
If someone you love is tired of fighting alone, this portion speaks of where real help comes from.
Share on WhatsAppKabbalistic insights, the consciousness of each Torah portion, and the calendar's windows of Light, straight to your WhatsApp.
Join the WhatsApp group
Comments
Share what this study awakened in you. We're here to listen.
Loading…