malkhut b’Malkhut

This past week, I learned that Malkhut is likened to the moon. And at the head of each month, we pray for the moon to be restored to her full light - that her light should be equal to the sun's.

But the moon's light is qualitatively different than the sun's. The moon's is a light of illumination, not heat. It's the supernal light of the righteous, the light of knowing. And the moon 'has no light of her own' - she is able to shine her light only because she receives and reflects the light of the sun.

That her light should be equal to the sun's - I take this as directive that we need to recover this receptive, reflective aspect of our own beings - this capacity we have to channel light. We need to become like instruments, allowing the thing that's truly ours to do - that comes from a source beyond - to flow through us.

How do we know when we're channeling? We know, because the heart is alive. There's a feeling of generosity, of serving something greater than ourselves. There's gratitude. There's wisdom.

What is wisdom?

It's something different than knowledge. It's of the soul, not the mind. It's alive. It's not reactive or angry. It's what guides us on our way, through every aspect of our human experience. It doesn't much change; it stands the test of time. It's often humorous, always respectful. It's light, it's deep, it's on point. And its source is quiet, though its expression may be loud and fierce. When we seek it, we find it, and we know it by its familiarity.

When we come across it, please, let's share it - in the name of what we each most truly love, and in the way that suits us each uniquely. Because all hands are needed on deck, to steer this great ship of humanity in the direction of a more beautiful, just, and life-giving world.

This Omer journey of 49 days has been full spectrum - utter joy and despair and everything in between. How beautiful that it culminates here with Malkhut (call it what you will - nobility, manifest reality, divine feminine, the earth herself) squared.

I'm spending this day taking actions on some items that I've been pondering for a while. One of them is applying to rabbinical school. Another is committing to a program to continue my training in mindfulness / Insight / Vipassana meditation.

I could write a book on the complex and intricate interweaving of Buddhist practice and my Judaism - and other wisdom traditions that have been crucial along my path - and one day, I probably will. For now I'll just say - I am so grateful to the Buddha and those in his lineage for holding and sharing teachings that directly address the nature of suffering and the possibility and path towards its cessation, towards a liberation beyond words - for all beings.

Because, as the Jewish sages say, we are mandated to 'serve the divine with Joy.' This joy is essential to our nature. Sometimes it feels almost impossible to find, but it's always within us - a 'ner tamid,' a holy flame that will never go out. And as the Talmud also says -

"Do not be weary of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

We've all got to find the thing that is uniquely ours to do - that flows through us naturally, from a greater source. This is our part to play in the great work of bettering the world.

I am finding a home in the balance between the ancient, and the radically creative, fresh, and alive. I think that this is what it means to be a channel - like the moon, constantly moving from emptiness to fullness and emptiness again. At 49 days, Shavuot has arrived. I'm looking forward to the fullness that will come from receiving teachings of many friends on this all-night commemoration of revelation. And to the emptiness and quietness that the early early morning hours are sure to bring.

Thanks for reading all these Omer poems and reflections. May we all find our own ways to transmute the challenges and heartbreaks of our days into greater love, more truth speaking, more wisdom and compassion.

In closing...

I want to honor the lives of George Floyd, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, and all those who have suffered the brutality of white supremacy.
The front-line workers who have been giving so much to protect us all during this COVID time, especially those healthcare workers who have sacrificed their own health and in some cases actually lost their lives to tend to the sick.
My own ancestors, and yours.
My future descendants, and yours- all those yet to come who will inherit this world and the impacts of our actions.
May we always keep them in mind.

Chag Sameach ~