Rabbi Abraham Abulafia - A Holy Tabernacle in the Heart (from Life of the Future World)

September 26, 2009

A Day of Atonement Poem from Ivan. Please read his notes for an explanation..AJ

Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --

A Holy Tabernacle in the Heart (from Life of the Future World)

By Rabbi Abraham Abulafia(1240 - 1295?)

English version by Jewish Theological Seminary

However, the breathwhich is from the second oneis a holy tabernaclein the heart.One ascends with the Unique Name to the sky to depict with Unifications the relationshipbetween everything that is difficult in this science of pronunciation.It alone is life in the Name.It is remembered and sealed in the Book of Lifeto make the individual live

with passion which enlightensconstantly, when every thought, every soulis concentrated on it.

-- from Meditation and Kabbalah, by Aryeh Kaplan

Amazon.com / Photo by Andréia /

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Thought for the Day:

When everything is deliberate, everything works together to awaken the awareness of liberation.

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Michael Mandrell and Benjy Wertheimer

Anjali

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Hi Alan -Sunday evening begins Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement.When we approach our own imperfections with honesty, integrity, and humility, we are surprised to find ourselves freed and able to make new, better decisions in the future.Our mistakes rarely come from lack of will power.. It's not usually that we didn't try hard enough. When we really look, we discover that most of our mistakes come from limited perception. We make poor choices when our awareness is clouded. The work, then, is not to be stricter with ourselves; instead, we need to see ourselves and our world more clearly. When we do that the best path of action not only becomes obvious, it is the path we prefer.to make the individual livewith passionwhich enlightensconstantly, whenevery thought,every soulis concentrated on it.===Rabbi Abraham (or

Avraham) Abulafia was an important figure in Spanish Kabbalah mysticism. He is especially associated with the Kabbalistic tradition of meditating on sacred words. Because each act of creation in the Torah begins with the phrase, "And God said...," he understood words both as keys to manifestation, but also signposts pointing the way back to the Divine Source. Rabbi Abulafia taught a meditation practice in which the letters of sacred words are manipulated and rearranged as a way to gain deep insight into the true nature of creation and oneself and, ultimately, to reconnect with God.===There is an interesting connection in this verse that is easily missed. Rabbi Abulafia is, of course, saying something about the Kabbalistic practice of word permutations, as a way of discovering the foundational Word. This "Unique Name" becomes a ladder, allowing us to ascend to the heavenly realms, where we discover the interrelationship of things and the

"Unifications" underlying reality.But if we back up to the very beginning lines, he could be reminding us that this "science of pronunciation," the speaking of words rides upon the breath. And the breath emerges from the "holy tabernacle in the heart."He is giving us a sacred formula:Heart > Breath > Words > The Word > HeavenWords without heart and breath, do they lead anywhere?Have a beautiful weekend!Ivan

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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.

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