The nature of the cosmos is rhythmic, characterized by the concept of
rotzu vashuv (ebb and flow). It evolves from a state of nothingness into "somethingness"
and reverts back into nothingness. The founder of Chassidism, Rabbi Israel Ba'al
Shem Tov, noted that G-d took the spiritual and formed the physical, and our
task is to take the physical and elevate it back into the spiritual.
Consider a seed. It is planted in the ground. The seed has limited taste and
no scent. It is of simple rounded shape, possesses no visual interest, and is
quite plain in all respects. Yet this seed evolves into a beautiful palm tree or
majestic cedar. Or it spawns fruit trees with fruit of exquisite taste and
color, sometimes of exotic appearance.
Where was that explosion of beauty, color and taste before the seed became
the fruit? Obviously within the seed's seemingly simple and plain exterior lays
enormous potential -- far beyond the molecular explanation. The seed houses the
spiritual shape of things to come.
Yet the seed cannot yield its treasure trove of potential until it is planted
in the ground. The earth possesses the power to catalyze the seed into feverish
activity, forcing it to shed its outer husk, seemingly self-destruct, and then
metamorphose into the emerging plant and tree.
Kabbalah describes the seed as "masculine," and the ground as "feminine." The
metaphor is drawn from human "seed" and "earth"-- itself a metaphor. The
masculine seed possesses the potential of the ultimate human form. But without
the feminine nurture of the womb, the power of the seed lies dormant -- in
potential state. It is the female womb that has the power to elicit the immense
complexity of the human being, out of the seeming simplicity of a microscopic
drop.
In more profound Kabbalistic terms, and drawing from the ultimate template of
creation, the six hundred and twenty Mitzvot (613 mitzvot from the "written"
Torah and the other seven from the rabbinical prophetic enactments) are the
masculine "pillars of light" -- emanations -- from the level of Keter
(Crown). These emanations are grounded in the lowest "pillar" of Malchut
(Royalty), which acts as the "earth" to the flow of 620 "seeds." Through our
physical enactment of the mitzvot we provide the power to the earth to elicit
the growth spurt from this seed.
This is described in Chassidism as the "truth within Jacob." Jacob is the
seed as it is planted in the living earth, and Israel is the flower that
blossoms.
MEDITATION: Look at the nature around you. Begin to strip it of its
dimension of time and space. Do this first by taking the object of your
observation back in time, to its youth, to its childhood, to its birth, to its
conception. In the case of a plant take it back to its seed state. In the case
of a building, take it back to the drawing boards. Then take it back even
further. Allow the plant to be reduced to its potential state within its parent
tree, and the architectural drawing back into concept state. Realize that this
process is true for everything. Through this focus you will come to live every
day in wonderment and profound appreciation for your conscious state of
awareness and respect for the nature of creation.
MASTERY: Elevate a simple act into a plane of spiritual value. For
example -- the act of giving charity. Why do we share with each other? What is
the intrinsic consciousness in the act of sharing? For many it is dutiful. For
others there is a sense of satisfaction. Yet for others it is a release of inner
hurt at seeing others suffering etc. All these are valid states. But there is
one that towers above these and catapults the Mitzvah into a much higher
realm. That is the deep consciousness of "other-centeredness." In this state the
self disappears, even to the point of self-satisfaction. The focus is
exclusively on the other and a gratitude to the Creator that this opportunity
presents itself to you.
