Ki Tisa – Exodus 30:11 – 34:35

Feb 28 to Mar 6, 2021 | 22 Adar 5781

Photography by Glenn Sackett

Return Again: The Heart of Forgiveness

Return again, return again, return to the land of your soul
Return to what you are, return to who you are, return to where you are
Born and reborn again
Return again, return again, return to the land of your soul

– Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach

Parsha Ki Tisa (When You Take) reveals the human being’s spiraling experience of awakening in its entirety, despite our human frailty. This parsha shows us the path to fulfilling our destiny in this lifetime. 

Mystery of Union

The Alchemical Process is one of dissolution, purification, and union; then re-awakening into selfhood, now with Spirit-in-Matter and Matter-in-Spirit. The journey begins with the Minor Mysteries which lay out the process of letting go of the attachment to one’s temporal being to merge in eternal Oneness. They are called the Minor Mysteries because the process returns one to the natural state. To rest in Oneness.

Stage 1: Separation

The contrast of one’s temporal self and eternal being culminates in the annihilation of the false ego.

• Upon G-d’s request, each one gives a half shekel for the purpose of building the Mishkan – the Tabernacle in the desert. Why? “Half a shekel is the condition that one sets for oneself from within, in one’s own scrutiny and correction. If we perceive reality not by drawing to ourselves but by exiting ourselves, we will suddenly discover Ein Sof (infinity).” Source: Kabbalahblog.com

Stage 2: Rising

Fire distills Spirit further from the body, completing the separation. One further identifies with the real being that one is: pure consciousness.

• Incense used in the Mishkan only for this purpose represents this stage. The smoke rises; and the scent is subtle. The parsha Ki Tisa describes many rituals to reach a certain intention — to open adherents to the highest vibration.

Stage 3: Pure Spirit

In this stage of Pure Spirit, the sense of individuality collapses. Symbolized by the receptive crescent moon, the soul awakens in the state of all possibility and pure potential.

• After all this preparation comes Shabbat. Weekly, we cease from our efforts and rejoice in the coming of the Shekinah – the Divine Presence.

And you are to speak to the Children of Israel, saying:

Above all: my Sabbaths you are to keep!

For it is a sign

between me and you, throughout your generations,

to know that I, YHWH, hallow you.

– Exodus 31:13

Mystery of Spirit

Now begins the inner journey called the Major Mysteries. They are termed thus because, in the miracle of all miracles, Spirit is infused with matter: a vessel expressing divine qualities wherein G’d can dwell — the reason for life itself.

Stage 4: Descent

This is best described as the Alchemical Marriage of Heaven and Earth. Here one consciously participates in the rebirth of spirit into matter.

• YHWH chooses those with wisdom to make all that G’d had commanded:

… in the mind of all those wise-of-mind I place wisdom,

that they may make all that I have commanded you.

– Exodus 31:6

• Moses receives the tablets. In this first iteration, YHWH wrote them Himself. This becomes significant later, as we shall see:

He gave to Moshe
when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai
the two tablets of Testimony,
tablets of stone,
written by the finger of G’d.

– Exodus 31:18

Stage 5: Fixing

To fix and maintain this realization, one must affirm one’s real being against the forces that tend to push one back to what one was. Requiring courage, in this stage we are vulnerable to fear, doubt and forgetfulness.

• The Golden Calf exemplified this human tendency to slip backward. With Moshe remaining on Mount Sinai longer than expected, some of the Children of Israel fell into doubt and despair, demanding that Aharon “make us a god that will go before us.” Instead of a “half-shekel”, this time they give golden earrings to quell their fears — a gift not sanctioned by G’d and for a forbidden purpose.
• When G’d intends to destroy all but Moshe, he wisely pleads on behalf of his people and insures the Covenant — the continuity of the people of Abraham. This time he is instructed to write on the new tablets – himself.

YHWH said to Moshe:

Write you down these words,

for in accordance with these words

I cut with you a covenant, and with Israel.

– Exodus 34:27

This is the way forward in our lives, in unison with the will of G’d, we co-create our experiences in life.

Stage 6: Spiritization

Symbolized by the radiant sun, this realization completes the spiritualization of matter and the materialization of spirit. As a result, the unique contribution of one’s being is impressed upon the universe to outlast the vehicle through which it operates.

Moshe returns from Mount Sinai with a glowing face:

Aharon and all the Children of Israel saw Moshe:

and here, the skin of his face was radiating!

– Exodus 34:30

And thus, the Covenant between YHWH and the Children of Israel was broken and restored. This is the Mystery of Spirit-in-Matter and Matter-in-Spirit.

Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again, come, come.

― Jelaluddin Rumi

Ours is not a caravan of despair. The route is not linear, but a spiraling path.

This week we will choose practices that remind us of forgiveness. To forgive others, to forgive ourselves. For this is the nature of Oneness. Through breath, light and sound we create the conditions to tune ourselves with the Infinite and harmonize with the rhythms of this life. This beautiful, chaotic, ever changing, all-pervading Life.

.

Photography by Glenn Sackett

WEEKLY PRACTICES: Returning

The Soul Manifestation Process awakens us to the present in the fullness of our being. This gentle, embodied awareness allows the heart to begin to heal its wounds and unify the broken shards of separation. This week, we will work with breath infused with light and sound to allow us to return to the home of our soul.

We will continue with the purification practices as they are foundational to clearing away that which no longer serves us. Return, return. Our’s is not a caravan of dispair.

Suggestion: Do one practice a day, or do all 6 consecutively. Remember… have your Journal nearby to jot down any insights that may arise.

Audio Recording – Coming Soon

BREATH

To return to the Land of Your Soul, the first step is to release the accumulations and stories of our heart, mind and body. By so doing we purify ourselves before entering into prayer. We will use the energetic states of Earth, Water, Fire and Air to remove all obscurations. Begin with a complete exhalation. Throughout the practice, breathe deeply and rhythmically, with an even exhalation and inhalation.

Earth: Inhale and exhale through the nose 5 times. Feel the capacity for solidity. Release to the earth all that belongs to earth.

Water: Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth 5 times. Feel the capacity for liquidity. Set adrift in  water all that belongs to water.

Fire: Inhale, sipping through the mouth, and exhale through the nose 5 times. Feel the capacity for heat and transformation. Give to fire all that desires to be released in flame.

Air: Open your mouth and inhale and exhale through the mouth 5 times. Feel the capacity for expansiveness in the gaseous state. Let the wind carry away all that belongs to air.

Now sit quietly, breathing gently in and out through the nose. Feel the capacity for stillness. This is Ether from which the four elements arise. Do you feel the stillness? A lightness of being? When you are ready, return to your normal breath and open your eyes.

CONTEMPLATION

In this purified atmosphere, we turn to prayer. Contemplate the lines below from the week’s parsha Ki Tisa. And drawing from the words of the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan, consider these lines from Khatum — a prayer to heal our bodies, hearts and souls.

LIGHT

Now that we have purified ourselves with the Purification Breaths and readied ourselves with prayer, now we can rejoice in the reawakening, recommitting to our essential nature.

With eyes closed, breathe in and out gently through the nose. Balance your inhale with your exhale. Keep your body still. As with the practice on breath, focus on your heart center. On the inhale, visualize the color black above your crown. On the exhale, breath out white snow. It’s snowing all around you. Peaceful, gentle white snow. Breathe in the color black; exhale pure, white snow. The sky is gray-white, the light is flat and accommodating.

Black absorbs all frequencies. A portal to the inner world, black is night, shadows, sleep, mystery, depth, ebony, eclipse. White reflects all frequencies. Black withdraws, white manifests into the universe. The color of milk, moon, swan, marble, the white of the eye, white is undifferentiated light. Tentative, simple, impersonal, white is without personality.

When you are ready, open your eyes and breathe naturally. Witness your experience of this practice. Do you feel the calming of your feelings and the purification of your heart? Self-acceptance of what is? What qualities arise?

SOUND

We relax ever more deeply, naturally into the home of our soul with sound. The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah carry a sound code with the capacity to quiet our minds and open our hearts to Truth beyond concept. Through repetition, focus and intent, layers of meaning of the Name will be revealed to you.

Ya Ghaffar (yaa ̣̣g̣̣̣̣ḥaf-FAAR) is inexhaustible forgiveness. Ya Ghafur (yaa ̣ɡ̣ḥa-FOOR) is the essence of forgiveness, because it reveals the depth of the divine heart. (Source: Physicians of the Heart by Pir Shabda Khan).

We recite Ya Ghaffar, Ya Ghafur  33 times.

• Inhale: Ya Ghaffar
• Exhale: Ya Ghafur

Afterwards, let the sound of this practice reverberate in your being. Note how you feel. Does a feeling of intimate union arise?

.

ZIKR

Meaning “remembrance”, Zikr is the repetition of a sacred phrase with the intention of returning to the essence of Unity. Similarly, in Hebrew Zakar means to remember, recall, or call to mind. Today we will offer Zakar in Hebrew and Zikr in Arabic. Simply click on the tab labeled “Zakar” or “Zikr”.

NATURE

This week as you take time to walk in nature, pay attention to the play of light. What condition give rise to white in nature? Black? Gray? On your next rainy, gray day, walk outside, even in the damp. Experience the gray. Experience the shades of gray from deep black to pure white. What does the gray light reveal?

To be guided in two more nature practices – the Medicine Walk and the 360 Listening Practice – please enjoy the podcast with Maria Rosa Galter: Answering Our Soul’s Longing to Connect in All Dimensions.

Shabbat Shalom!

After 6 days of practice, when Shabbat arrives, observe how this week’s practices shape your Shabbat experience. Be sure to check in Sunday morning for next week’s parsha.

You are invited to comment on how the contemplations and practices for this week have shaped your experience of daily life… any big Ah-ha’s? Please share your thoughts and feelings below.

חַיִּים
L’Hayyim…. To Life!