The joy of Shemini is born of seeing the end, and our mistakes are part of the path.
Weekly study · Monday to Friday
✦ All insights are drawn from articles by Michael Berg published on onehouse.kabbalah.com.
The Zohar says that on the day the Mishkan was assembled there was the joy of the first day of Creation. For Michael Berg, three times in history the whole world could be gathered and directed toward the Light: Adam, Sinai and the Mishkan. Each had a fall, so where is the joy?
Rav Ashlag teaches that the Creator, above time, saw from the start a world without pain, suffering, death or lack, and saw also the ups and downs, which do not weigh. Whoever connects to that thought is pulled all the way to the end, and that is where constant joy comes from.
Aharon, by taking the gold in his hands, made the calf possible, and so he did not feel able to serve. Moshe tells him that this fall is what prepared him: the Light rests on the lowest. Michael Berg concludes that one of the greatest mistakes is thinking we have made mistakes.
Adam, Sinai and the Mishkan: the whole world could turn toward the Light, and each time there was a fall.
The vision of a world without pain, suffering or death the Creator held from the beginning.
Not from asking for Light for myself, but from gathering the world and directing it toward the Light.
The gold in Aharon's hands made the calf possible, and that fall prepared him to serve.
The Light takes part in every moment, including mistakes. They are perfect for our process.
Shemini tells of the eighth day of the Mishkan, and the Zohar compares its joy to that of the first day of Creation. Michael Berg recalls the three moments when the whole world could turn toward the Light: the creation of Adam, Sinai and the Mishkan. Each had a fall, and Rav Ashlag's answer is the Thought of Creation: the Creator, above time, saw from the beginning a world of fullness, and the falls, from that vantage, do not even weigh.
That is what gives us constant joy. If we go to the connection only to ask for help for our life, we draw Light, but we do not connect to that thought. When the intention is to gather the world and bring it one step closer to the Light, our consciousness links to the end, where there is only connection and joy.
The second article tells the part that seemed impossible: Aharon saw the golden calf in the whole altar and said he could not serve. Moshe answers that the fall is exactly what prepared him, because the Light rests on the lowest. If we have certainty in the Light, it is present in every moment, including mistakes. They are not stumbles: they are perfect for our process.
Begin with the Thought of Creation.
In the morning, imagine the world without pain, suffering or death, as the Creator saw it. Carry that image through the day.
Connect for the world.
Before any connection, say: "May this connection bring the world one step closer to the Light." Notice the difference.
Notice where it already is.
Observe a moment of the day with some challenge and look for the joy of someone who sees the end. Note what changed.
See the perfection of the process.
Choose an old mistake you still regret. Ask: "What did it prepare me for?" Thank the Light for it.
Unite joy and process.
Write what the joy of seeing the end changed in your week. Thank the Light and carry the new intention forward.
I connect to the Thought of Creation.
My mistake was perfect, and joy leads me to the end.
May this week of Shemini help you live with the joy of someone who sees the end and the perfection of the path. Shavua Tov!
Connecting to Joy Through the Thought of Creation, by Michael Berg
Our Mistakes Are Perfect, by Michael Berg
If someone you love carries a mistake from the past, this portion shows what it may have prepared.
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