Not really related, but I gotta say that I'm proud to be converting to Reform after reading this.

Chompin' at the bit...

Finished "To Life", but I've been very busy with my new job, so I haven't had time to review it. All in all, it's been mostly consistent with what I've discussed with others. Spirituality rooted in action, religion centered in life. Definitely the fertile soil I'm looking for to raise children in and nourish my own soul in.

New book: Anatomy of God by Roy A. Rosenberg. This is a translation of a couple of Zohar portions that are tough to find in a good translation. The Idraot (The Greater and Lesser Assemblies) are metaphorical works in the tradition of the Shiur Qomah which describes an obviously metaphoric "body of G-d" of varying dimensions. The Idraot, however, describe the emanatory structure of the world through reference to the Beard of G-d. I think it's a better metaphor because it's less anthropomorphic to describe a portion than it is to describe the whole body as in Shiur Qomah. I like the translation - it's clean and doesn't have a whole lot of additions as far as I can tell. Then again I'm not at all good with Aramaic, so what do I know? ;)

I actually typed this up as an example for someone at synagogue, but I thought I'd post it here as an example of what I do (besides the usual Jewish prayers. Usually the ones I do are several pages in length and require me to hold several letter strings in my head at a time. I try to keep the gnosis that each letter points to all together in the letter string, so it can get pretty difficult after awhile (My eyes start to cross doing the tougher ones). Sorry if the vowel points aren't under the letters. This worked on Livejournal, but apparently Blogger has some issues with it. Anyway, here ya go:

The Fifth Yichud

(from Meditation and Kabbalah by Aryeh Kaplan, pg. 252)


The purpose of this Yichud is to repel and banish the Outside Forces. You may meditate on it after another Yichud.

Meditate on the two names Elohim Elohim like this:

ALHYM ALHYM (אלהים אלהים)

Then intertwine the names with these vowels:

AeAe LeLe HeHe YeYe MaMa (אֵאֵ לֵלֶ הֵהֵ יֵיֵ מַםַ)

Contemplate [that each name Elohim (אלהים) has a numerical value of 86, and therefore the two names have a value of 172]. Add to this an additional 10 for the 10 letters of both names, and you have 182, which is the numerical value of Jacob (יַעֲקֹב).

Also contemplate that the vowel points have the same numerical value as Jacob. The first eight letters all have the vowel point Tzeré (ֵ ), except for the second Lamed, (ל), which has a Segol (ֶ). [The Tzeré consists of two dots or Yod’s, and thus has a numerical value of 20. The Segol consists of three dots or Yud’s and has a value of 30. The seven Tzerés therefore have a total value of 140, and together with the 30 of the Segol] this yields 170. This is the value of AC (עק) of Jacob.

The two letters Mem (מ) have the vowel Patach (ַ). [This has the form of a (headless) Vav (ו), and therefore has a numerical value of 6. The two therefore have] a numerical value of 12. This is the value of JB (יב) of Jacob.

Combining AC (עק) and JB (יב) then yields Jacob (יעקב)

Coming to terms with worship:

I am generally not a worship kind of guy. I don't generally praise people when they are doing what they are supposed to be doing, although I'm sure many managerial books would recommend otherwise. I am rather critical, but when I see improvement in another person, I become fiercely proud and protective of that person. I let them know that I am impressed by their growth. I do this to offset the severity of my criticisms. I say all this to illustrate that I am not the kind of guy that hands out compliments lightly. So where does worship fit into this? Is worship about telling G-d how great a guy He is?
I do not bless G-d because I feel the need to grovel before him, nor because it is the style of approach that used to be customary for kings. I think G-d is generally secure enough in His G-dhood to not need me to compliment Him. Rather, I think we praise G-d because we are calling to the characteristics that we wish to see in G-d. It is like a man who goes to see the king saying, "O King, surely you are wise. Please hear my request." The king replies, "Indeed, I am wise. Because you have acknowledged that, I shall apply my wisdom to your request." However, praise does not always proceed a request. In that case, it is enough that the Blessed Holy One gazes upon our lives with those aspects that we have recognized, transforming subtly our lives with Divine Presence. We do not praise G-d to receive a blessing, like a bribe. We praise G-d to recognize His attributes, and to call those attributes into action in our lives and the lives of others. We call to His Presence because we are His friends, and like friends, we wish to show Him every good thing we see.

So lately I've been going through a lot of transitions. I just changed jobs, to a job that lets me work from home for a bit more money. This also gives me time to do things I had previously been unable to do, like spend more time with the family, devote more time to study, etc. One of the things I've decided to do is the Amidah once a day combined with some meditation. So I clear my mind of the problems of the day, relax my body, and then once I've done that for about 5 minutes, I do the Amidah from here.

It has had a very positive effect upon my mindset; I troubleshoot my customers' problems with more confidence when I am calm. It also reminds me to act with kindness towards everyone, so that I can reduce the amount of misery in the world. It is my way of declaring my dedication to Tikkun HaOlam every day.