Avraham’s Revelation
I first noticed the pattern of two Cosmological characters combining into what I believed was creating an Archetypal process when I was creating a Midrash (which means “an interpretation”) of the Genesis story, “The Binding of Isaac.” In the story there’s a line that’s generally translated as “Avraham journeyed from Kadish to Shir.” I’d heard it interpreted as either he literally traveled, or that it was a time of introspection.
Reading the story from the perspective of the Hebrew letters being used, I felt it was much more the latter. It seemed to be describing
Avraham’s profound revelation of the Cosmic forces that created the capacity for birth, as shown by the Dallet in the word Kadish, and the Cosmic forces that created the capacity for fertilization, the Vav in the word Shir.
It seemed to me that the story is telling us that when these two capacities were combined, Avraham could understand the Archetypal Life-Death-Life continuum, Aleph, and the Archetypal Universal Life, Hay, from the combination of which emerges all manifest experience, all that is Existential.
This famous Biblical story is generally understood to be about G*d asking Abraham, Isaac’s father, to sacrifice Isaac. The name of this Torah portion is Aiqidat and when we look at the Hebrew spelling, there is both the recurring pattern and insight into the essence of the story.
The two Cosmological forces Tav—birth, and Qof--the lifedeath-life cycle, combine to create Archetypal birth--Dallet, from which Existential possibility--Ayn, and life-death-life—Yod, emerge. Clearly we have a story about birth, driven by cosmological forces, and full of life and possibilities.
In this narrative I’ll be speaking as Abraham and using the Hebrew names; Isaac is Yitzhhaq, and mine is Avraham.
Prologue
As you probably know I’m known as the ‘father’ of the Abrahamic Traditions, and it is recognized by all that I had a very close relationship with G*d. All this is true, but perhaps not as you may think. G*d didn’t speak to me in the commonly understood way that two people communicate, but instead I was in constant communion with G*d through Nature and through an energetic language that emanated from the universe and resonated with all there is. For me this is communion—relationship with all there is through mind, body and spirit. And I was not alone in that. The community from which I came also spoke this language—we were what you call mystics, and revelation abounded among us. Prior to my journey with Yitzhhaq, I had experienced the profound revelation mentioned above, as well as the responsibility to embed this revelation into the genetic makeup of the generations of peoples to follow.
In brief, the revelation was an understanding that G*d’s Cosmological powers create the Archetypal capacities for fertilization and birth in such a way that life could perpetuate itself in a perfectly ordered, sensually beautiful, evolutionary emergent way.
Revelation was facilitated by our Hebrew language, in which each character is a sacred geometry of sound and shape—a symbiotic energy with every other character. The language kept us deeply connected to place both locally and globally, as well as to time—past, present and future—from which emerged the ethics of how we must live each day. It was this language that informed us of our cosmology, and our responsibility to maintain the balance and harmony with which we are blessed.
It became clear to me that there are several Archetypal processes created by Cosmological powers, and it is these processes that are necessary and sufficient for the perpetuation of life. All life has been blessed with these extraordinary processes.
How was all this wisdom to be captured and passed on? I quickly realized that I must take a son to the sacred mount, Adonoi Jireh. Yitzhhaq–open, sensible, balanced–was my choice.
We spoke of the journey, the impending challenges, and the responsibilities. Our 4-day, 3-night journey to Adonoi Jireh would be physically difficult, yet our preparation was almost entirely spiritual. We initially traveled with two other men who carried some supplies, but our plan was to travel the last two days alone, during which time we would live off the blessings of this arid land.
Yitzhhaq the Potential DNA of an Enlightened People
Initially as we walked, I shared what had been revealed to me. All the while Yitzhhaq saw, heard, smelled, absorbed, and connected with everything. Then at night, with a sky filled with astrological wonder, he journeyed into the Cosmos and felt its welcome attraction.
The first night, Yitshhaq was quiet. He would ask a question from time to time, and I could feel in the silence that he was reflecting and synthesizing all that he was learning.
In the middle of the second day, we left our fellow travelers so that we could travel on alone and experience the subtle blessings that emerge from a land that otherwise looks as if it has little to offer.
That evening Yitzhhaq shared with me his understanding of the paradox of our planet, so powerful and balanced, yet so fragile. He spoke of a narrow bandwidth in which species including ourselves can live, and how we rely on Eretz, our Earth, to cleanse and heal. He discerned the finiteness of the planet, the possibilities of a future in which we might lose touch with the essence of life; that we might not understand that if Eretz, the Earth, was to take care of us then we must take care of her. He also shared that there is a spark of divinity
in all of life that must be fully appreciated or we will do great harm to our environment and subsequently our social order.
We walked all day together delighted with the discoveries we were making. It seemed as if we were drawn to everything we needed. Yitzhhaq was particularly good at relying on his sensual connections to the land to intuit how to find food and water.
That night he shared with me his connection with all life, that we have all been blessed with the same basic life processes and that we feed each other as we recompose in a life-death-life continuum. Yitzhhaq finished with the following statement.
The very essence of life has been revealed to me along with the understanding that life is not deterministic. We have choice, and with choice we have responsibilities. It is through the understanding of life that a clear ethic emerges and becomes integral to every seed. We must not lose touch with the understanding of sufficiency, and sharing that which is scarce. This knowing and way of being can only be present when we discern Adonoi, G*d, as the essence that resides in all life.
It occurred to me as Yitzhhaq spoke that we must never lose our symbolic language of life, or our oral tradition, because it is through the language that we are able to deeply understand the revelation.
Before we slept that night, Yitzhhaq spoke these most incredible thoughts, “I believe that I fully understand who each of us is and our relationship to the birth of a new peoples.
You,
‘Avraha
come from the Cosmic Order (Raysh) of life and have become the Cosmic Enlightened Human (final Mem), the archetype of Universal Life (Hay), and living life with a complete acceptance of death (Aleph). And I, Yitzhhaq,
understand my own mission to be the seed for the generations of fully living people, Yod, that manifest their connection to mystery and sensual beauty, Tsadde, where all decisions are ethically grounded, Hhayt, all emanating from the Cosmic Life-Death-Life force, Qof. The Yod in my name and being flows from your Aleph, and the seed that I produce must not be a Yod that just exists, but one that lives life to the fullest by embracing and being in concert with all the blessings that are life.”
I slept a wonderful sleep that night having had one of those moments of deep appreciation for my son who had transformed from being a young adult to being a peer in terms of wisdom, compassion, and leadership. Yitzhhaq had become an enlightened Yod, whose seed was capable of passing that appreciation of life to all the generations.
We rose early the next morning to complete our journey. We were unclear if there was to be more revelation, or how we might know if we had passed, or not passed, these most arduous and crucial tests. If we had not passed, then there could be no new people. The seed would be terminated, essentially aborted as it is in Nature if a fetus isn’t prepared for birth. We were prepared for that judgment.
The cosmic forces got stronger and stronger as we approached the summit. I felt an energy the likes of which I’d never felt. I could hardly breathe, and I felt as if I was detached from my body.
I became aware of two new, very powerful, resonating forces. They were both the cosmological forces of Qof, Raysh.
The first, Bikarna, regrettably translated as ‘horns’, emanated from Eretz, the Earth. Bikarna is a most powerful word not only because of the Cosmological characters, but because from its two Archetypal processes Order and Impregnation emerges Existential Universal Life all part of the Life-Death-Life recomposing process.
The second, Vyekra, seemed to be coming from the heavens and is translated as a ‘calling’ of the angels. These two words are almost mirror images. Vyekra has at its Archetypal processes Fertilization and the Life-Death-Life Continuum from which emerges Existential Life-Death-Life Continuum.
Both of us recognized these two forces, and as we became comfortable with them, they seemed to soften. Harmony replaced what we’d first perceived as dissonance. This final revelation was God’s acceptance of Yitzhhaq as the seed for perpetuating Judaism.
Yitzhhaq and I shared a simple prayer before we departed Adonoi Jireh. It is a prayer of thankfulness that each of us appreciated more fully then ever before. It is a prayer each of you has often said, perhaps without meaning before, but hopefully with great meaning now. We said ‘Amen’, a vibrant set of shamanic characters…
Of all the infinite possibilities & combinations of what might be, the final Noun that creates this beautiful Life-Death-Life Continuum… Aleph, we give thanks for this moment and what has been birthed… Mem.
Epilogue
Hebrew is no longer a shamanic language--the characters exist as letters but their energy and meaning has been lost. Also, our oral tradition has been largely replaced with the written word. Without the language and the conversations, we’ve lost the capacity for deep understanding. You read the Torah as if you know it is Truth, but the Truth has been obscured by written words that lack energy, and, paradoxically, an ambiguity that is necessary if our stories are to retain their essence.
“The Binding of Yitzhhaq” is one very small example of what we’ve lost. Virtually every scripture has lost its original meaning, and the problem perpetuated when our interpretations are developed without the wisdom imbedded in the ancient Hebrew.
Please recognize that there are other cultures that have retained their shamanic language, and emanating from their language is a deeply held sense of life being in harmony and balance as well as an appreciation for all life yielding a profound happiness.
I hope you understand that what you may have previously understood as a story about a father being commanded to kill his son is more a story about revelation, and the test of adversity to assure a successful birth and perpetuation. Today some of the essence of the understandings gained by Yitzhhaq have been retained and some lost. What has been retained manifests in your ethical behavior, and your beautiful connections with life that give the sacred places in your life the feeling of deep love and caring.
But there are strong cultural forces that impel us into acting in ways that will deeply harm, perhaps even kill, future generations: our children. From this perspective, the “Binding of Yitzhhaq” is a very relevant story for our times. I believe that each of us must find our way to revelation, and to be tested so that we develop our tensile strength and sense of courage.
My suggested starting point is the resurrection of our ‘language of life’--Hebrew characters full of the power and energy to create and sustain life. And that we teach it to people of all ages in order to provide the deep understanding that defines the path to revelation, and the emanation of the ethic that guides us. From this understanding will come a different, very enlightened understanding of the Torah.
I thank you for letting me share this with you and let us say, Amen.