This is a not so short but well worth read written by David Devor who is a close friend of the family :-)
B'S"D
13 Nissan, 5767Many of you are aware that tomorrow night, Mon., begins the festival of Passover commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, 3320 years ago. This pilgrimage (to Jerusalem) festival, one of three (including Shavuot and Succoth), is all about transformation and the resulting freedom. Each Jew is expected to see himself as having, personally, come out of Egypt.
The Hebrew word for Egypt, "Mitzrayim," indicates limitation and restriction. Pharaoh, in Hebrew, is a derivative of the word "Haphra'a" meaning "disturbance" or "distraction." Each suggests aspects of our habitual, limited, chaotic, unmobilized state of spiritual energy defined as impurity (Tuma) or "Chametz" (l'Hachmitz means to "forfeit," "lose out" or "sour").
In this state, we have the cloying, sweet illusion of completeness because we are so full of ourselves. Chametz ("leaven" or, literally, "sour") represents the fallen and spiritually isolated state from which we are expected to awaken on the path to personal and world transformation (Tikkun Olam) and, ultimately, total communion with the Creator (Dvekut, Panim el Panim).
We yearn for spiritual purity and the experience of freedom it affords because it prepares us for a form of communion (Yichud) with others that is motivated by cooperation towards the higher purpose and mission for which we were created. In preparing for Pessach, we obsessively and lovingly remove every trace of leaven (fermented or "sour" food) from our homes and vehicles as part of the process of purifying ourselves of personal leavening - the ego inflation that issues from non-rectified and short-circuited expressions of our essence and separates us from one another and from our Creator.
This state of spiritual sleep and metaphysical blindness is symbolized in the ritual of seeking the last crumbs of Chametz in the dark. This ritual will be performed tonight, Sunday, and the Chametz will be burned thoroughly tomorrow morning, Monday, in a bonfire bestowing a sense of finality to our corresponding, personal eradication of ego-inflation and impurity.
B'S"D
13 Nissan, 5767Many of you are aware that tomorrow night, Mon., begins the festival of Passover commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, 3320 years ago. This pilgrimage (to Jerusalem) festival, one of three (including Shavuot and Succoth), is all about transformation and the resulting freedom. Each Jew is expected to see himself as having, personally, come out of Egypt.
The Hebrew word for Egypt, "Mitzrayim," indicates limitation and restriction. Pharaoh, in Hebrew, is a derivative of the word "Haphra'a" meaning "disturbance" or "distraction." Each suggests aspects of our habitual, limited, chaotic, unmobilized state of spiritual energy defined as impurity (Tuma) or "Chametz" (l'Hachmitz means to "forfeit," "lose out" or "sour").
In this state, we have the cloying, sweet illusion of completeness because we are so full of ourselves. Chametz ("leaven" or, literally, "sour") represents the fallen and spiritually isolated state from which we are expected to awaken on the path to personal and world transformation (Tikkun Olam) and, ultimately, total communion with the Creator (Dvekut, Panim el Panim).
We yearn for spiritual purity and the experience of freedom it affords because it prepares us for a form of communion (Yichud) with others that is motivated by cooperation towards the higher purpose and mission for which we were created. In preparing for Pessach, we obsessively and lovingly remove every trace of leaven (fermented or "sour" food) from our homes and vehicles as part of the process of purifying ourselves of personal leavening - the ego inflation that issues from non-rectified and short-circuited expressions of our essence and separates us from one another and from our Creator.
This state of spiritual sleep and metaphysical blindness is symbolized in the ritual of seeking the last crumbs of Chametz in the dark. This ritual will be performed tonight, Sunday, and the Chametz will be burned thoroughly tomorrow morning, Monday, in a bonfire bestowing a sense of finality to our corresponding, personal eradication of ego-inflation and impurity.
The eating of Matza (unleavened bread) and the scrupulous avoidance of Chametz helps us maintain contact with the spirit of freedom, purity and transcendence proper to this festival. Interestingly, although pronounced differently, "Chametz" and "Matza," words each consisting of 3 Hebrew letters, are spelt almost identically. Both have a "Mem" and a "Tzadi" (common to the word "Mitzva" - commandment and "Mivtza" - project), while Matza termnates with a "Heh" and Chametz begins with a "Chet." Interestingly again, these letters, themselves, are almost identical although the "Heh" is open and the "Chet" is closed. Also, the "Heh," in Matza, is a representation of the Creator while the "Chet" in Chametz means sin!
Reams of information on Pessach and all that surrounds it can be found on the Net. So I'll now concentrate on what, in relation to Passover, most particularly concerns Project Mind and its commitment to material world transformation. I am referring, in particular, to the miracles leading up to the Exodus and those that follow it. But first a word about miracles.
From the 2nd Temple period on, it is said that there were no further "revealed miracles." By "revealed" is undoubtedly meant "consensually evident to all" since, as individuals, we still have the possibility of perceiving miracles concealed to others. We can do this on condition that we mobilize the necessary spiritual resources within ourselves. After all, everything in existence is a miracle, constantly renewed.
The implication of the cessation of revealed miracles is clear. As co-creators - partners of the Creator and made in His image - we have an unlimited creative capacity that constitutes our greatest spiritual potential and means of emulating the Creator. It is this potential that makes our national mission of total world transformation (Tikun Olam B'Malchut Shaddai) possible. Thus we are called upon to learn from those miracles, be weaned from our dependence upon them and, eventually, reproduce them, ourselves, in the course of fulfilling our mission.
The implication of the cessation of revealed miracles is clear. As co-creators - partners of the Creator and made in His image - we have an unlimited creative capacity that constitutes our greatest spiritual potential and means of emulating the Creator. It is this potential that makes our national mission of total world transformation (Tikun Olam B'Malchut Shaddai) possible. Thus we are called upon to learn from those miracles, be weaned from our dependence upon them and, eventually, reproduce them, ourselves, in the course of fulfilling our mission.
There is a progression. First comes Moses' recruitment at the Burning Bush. This bush, the lowliest of vegetation, burns "but is not consumed." This teaches us that the divine state we are destined to attain, in communion with the Creator, is eternal and above time, space and nature. This level of influence, that we were created to channel into this world, is meant to govern nature and transform it from an existence that is "red in tooth and claw" to one in which "the wolf and the lamb peacefully cohabit" (Isaiah 11:16) and "feed together" (Isaiah 65:25).
Such metaphysical processes, at their source, are eternal and never extinguished. Thus the Burning Bush [artwork donated by Michael Aigen] was chosen as the logo of the Project Mind Foundation. Those involved in prolonged and intense spiritual work, under a competent guide, will likely have experienced moments of self-sustaining awareness. Anything experienced as self-sustaining, of course, is, in reality, sustained from above. An enduring connection with the transcendent is the key to transformation.
Material world transformation, specifically, requires a connection with the very highest level of the transcendent based on the principle that "the highest will be revealed from within the lowest." Visions of higher realities are embedded in lowly matter as technology. Visions thus crystallized in our world are, essentially, miraculous manifestations and would be reacted to as such if our ancestors could, magically, be brought into the present to witness them.
Such metaphysical processes, at their source, are eternal and never extinguished. Thus the Burning Bush [artwork donated by Michael Aigen] was chosen as the logo of the Project Mind Foundation. Those involved in prolonged and intense spiritual work, under a competent guide, will likely have experienced moments of self-sustaining awareness. Anything experienced as self-sustaining, of course, is, in reality, sustained from above. An enduring connection with the transcendent is the key to transformation.
Material world transformation, specifically, requires a connection with the very highest level of the transcendent based on the principle that "the highest will be revealed from within the lowest." Visions of higher realities are embedded in lowly matter as technology. Visions thus crystallized in our world are, essentially, miraculous manifestations and would be reacted to as such if our ancestors could, magically, be brought into the present to witness them.
Then come the signs of authority that Moses is given (some of which the magicians of Egypt were able to approximate) hinting to us that nature is amenable to control by human will. After that, come the Ten Plagues, nine of which operate through nature suggesting 9 modalities through which the forces of nature can be used by higher mind (Mochin). The Tenth Plague, we are explicitly told, acted not through nature or angels but, directly, through the agency of the Creator or, in other words, through the divine Mind with which we are destined to commune, eternally. This ultimate communion will come with the universal unification of Creation at the end of the Sabbatical Millennium and the beginning of the Eighth millennium. (The figure 8, on its side, symbolizes infinity). It is little known that this work of unification is the task of the Seventh Millennium.
The almost universal ignorance of this fact (to the shame of our spiritual leaders) is a result of a similar ignorance concerning the Jewish mission leading up to the great Sabbath - i.e., the total mastery of matter. Only such mastery will render all physical things, without exception, free and interchangeable. Once all material objects are interchangeable with things to which we are now indifferent, we will be rendered similarly indifferent to all possessions. Psychologically and spiritually unable to covet anything material, we will be able to desire only the metaphysical. This forced materialistic indifference will spell the end to free choice (that is based on our metaphysical blindness) and will give way to Free Will (the exercise of our essential desires as they align with universal truth).
Many people find the Tenth Plague particularly puzzling. After all, why would the Creator reserve, for Himself, a mission of death, of all things?! What is often overlooked in this act of killing the Egyptian first born is that the lives of the first born of all Egyptian creatures including animals, insects etc. also died. That the first born of all levels of life were terminated, demonstrated, dramatically, the Creator's total dominion over all of nature thus underlining, in the most final and unambiguous way, His indisputable supremacy. It is said that the Egyptian first born, having learned in advance of this plague, in the hope of finding salvation, created dissent in their insistence that the Israelites been freed.
Paradoxically, this massive phenomenon of death revealed a great light in the world since, for a time, all doubt concerning HaShem's all-embracing role in Creation was eradicated. And if this were not enough, the Hebrews, who followed HaShem's instructions, were exempted from this decree. This showed that we Jews were then (and still are) above nature and the laws that govern nature. All we need to do, is to follow certain, well-known indications in the Torah to awaken our unlimited creative vision and accomplish total, physical, world transformation on behalf of all of humanity.
It is for us to grasp the full meaning of our supremacy over nature and our obligation to master it totally and absolutely on all levels. To make things more difficult still, this attitude is considered sacrilegious and even arrogant in the pagan, nature worshipping, conservationist, environmentalist, "modern" world in which we live. Today's nature worshippers would have us believe that we are an integral part of nature and that even death is a "good and "natural" aspect of life. For this reason, more than any other, the Jewish People have been repeatedly warned, from above, to distance themselves from other peoples and avoid assimilation at all costs. Several Jewish festivals (especially Chanukah and Purim) emphasize the issue of assimilation. Even Passover affirms that throughout our 210 years of slavery in which we reached the very pits of impurity, we managed to retain our distinctive names and dress.
But Judaism is, sine qua non, a religion of life and is oriented towards eternal life, a vision that permeates our prayers and customs. We Jews are the People of the Infinite and we should wear that credo with pride. Passover is the festival of freedom in which we begin our cosmic adventure through the cultural desert of paganism to rid the world of restriction and death and reveal HaShem's infinitely compassionate light throughout all of existence.
The almost universal ignorance of this fact (to the shame of our spiritual leaders) is a result of a similar ignorance concerning the Jewish mission leading up to the great Sabbath - i.e., the total mastery of matter. Only such mastery will render all physical things, without exception, free and interchangeable. Once all material objects are interchangeable with things to which we are now indifferent, we will be rendered similarly indifferent to all possessions. Psychologically and spiritually unable to covet anything material, we will be able to desire only the metaphysical. This forced materialistic indifference will spell the end to free choice (that is based on our metaphysical blindness) and will give way to Free Will (the exercise of our essential desires as they align with universal truth).
Many people find the Tenth Plague particularly puzzling. After all, why would the Creator reserve, for Himself, a mission of death, of all things?! What is often overlooked in this act of killing the Egyptian first born is that the lives of the first born of all Egyptian creatures including animals, insects etc. also died. That the first born of all levels of life were terminated, demonstrated, dramatically, the Creator's total dominion over all of nature thus underlining, in the most final and unambiguous way, His indisputable supremacy. It is said that the Egyptian first born, having learned in advance of this plague, in the hope of finding salvation, created dissent in their insistence that the Israelites been freed.
Paradoxically, this massive phenomenon of death revealed a great light in the world since, for a time, all doubt concerning HaShem's all-embracing role in Creation was eradicated. And if this were not enough, the Hebrews, who followed HaShem's instructions, were exempted from this decree. This showed that we Jews were then (and still are) above nature and the laws that govern nature. All we need to do, is to follow certain, well-known indications in the Torah to awaken our unlimited creative vision and accomplish total, physical, world transformation on behalf of all of humanity.
It is for us to grasp the full meaning of our supremacy over nature and our obligation to master it totally and absolutely on all levels. To make things more difficult still, this attitude is considered sacrilegious and even arrogant in the pagan, nature worshipping, conservationist, environmentalist, "modern" world in which we live. Today's nature worshippers would have us believe that we are an integral part of nature and that even death is a "good and "natural" aspect of life. For this reason, more than any other, the Jewish People have been repeatedly warned, from above, to distance themselves from other peoples and avoid assimilation at all costs. Several Jewish festivals (especially Chanukah and Purim) emphasize the issue of assimilation. Even Passover affirms that throughout our 210 years of slavery in which we reached the very pits of impurity, we managed to retain our distinctive names and dress.
But Judaism is, sine qua non, a religion of life and is oriented towards eternal life, a vision that permeates our prayers and customs. We Jews are the People of the Infinite and we should wear that credo with pride. Passover is the festival of freedom in which we begin our cosmic adventure through the cultural desert of paganism to rid the world of restriction and death and reveal HaShem's infinitely compassionate light throughout all of existence.
The Sabbatical Millennium, under the aegis of the messiah, is one in which our psyches will be free of the millstone of lack, vulnerability, illusion and materialism. Our minds, eventually, will expand to exercise influence over the physical world, directly through thought, without the need for intermediate, physical agencies or technology. But it is for us to create the conditions enabling the Great Shabbat to begin before its time (Achishena).
As already indicated, this will require the total conquest of matter and the elimination of our vulnerability that keeps us cleaving to the thin, physical crust of reality making us materialists, if not ideologically, then at least psychologically and spiritually. No one is totally free from such attachment. Just as we are indifferent to sand and seawater, once we have conquered matter and all things become interchangeable with sand and seawater, we will be as indifferent to all things, material, as we now are to sand and seawater. Then and only then, will all of humanity be free of material attachment (Or LaGoyim). Our only remaining attachment will be to the metaphysical leaving us free for one thousand years of Torah study and spiritual work under the direction of the messiah. This work, unifying all of existence into one coherent, sacred vessel worthy of face-to-face communion with the Creator, will bring eternal ecstasy that goes with the final realization of HaShem's plan for Creation.
At the Red Sea, we experienced a miracle known to all mankind. The emphasis this time was on the immense power of the Creator. The mind boggles at the force required to split the sea yet boggles even further when we grasp that we, ourselves, as partners of the Creator, are destined to wield such forces. Our present ability to convert mass into energy is clumsy, indeed, but is nevertheless measured in megatons of TNT. Once we learn efficient conversion, every individual will have access to such forces in routine, material transformations as all material things become interchangeable at will.
On our way across the Sinai desert, many miracles were performed. But the striking of the rock by Moses stands out because of the default of faith it witnesses and for which Moses was severely punished. Striking the rock implied that there was water, within, to be released while, in actuality, the rock was transformed into water. Scientifically, this is conceivable since all substances are composed of the same, interchangeable subatomic components. Pundits of Nanotechnology already take such transformations for granted.
For the transformation of rock to water to transpire, given the intervention of Higher Mind, a whisper to the rock would have more than sufficed. Water (or rain), in sacred texts, is the principal symbol for higher abundance and thus we are given a clue that transformation is the process whereby unlimited, messianic abundance will be revealed from within restricted matter represented, in this case, by the rock.
For the transformation of rock to water to transpire, given the intervention of Higher Mind, a whisper to the rock would have more than sufficed. Water (or rain), in sacred texts, is the principal symbol for higher abundance and thus we are given a clue that transformation is the process whereby unlimited, messianic abundance will be revealed from within restricted matter represented, in this case, by the rock.
Mount Sinai, however, gave us the most powerful experience of all. A moment of all-encompassing harmony, induced from above by the Creator, allowed Israel to experience, directly and within the unified presence of its collective mind-body, a taste of the infinite that comes with the awakening of the "image of G-d" within us. This corresponds to the festival of Shavuot at which time we celebrate the giving of the Torah. To reach Shavuot, we count 50 days (7 weeks plus one day) called the "Counting of the Omer" after the first day of Passover. The watchword of this festival is "May death be eradicated forever" ("Bil'a HaMavet LaNetzach").
This G-d-given, collective epiphany was, undoubtedly, the all-time, spiritual, high-water mark for Israel freshly liberated from Egypt on behalf of all of humanity. Each of the 600,000 souls present at Sinai (where Moses first encountered the Burning Bush) had a direct experience of higher abundance in which there was no place for any doubt. Each of the 600,000 felt only pure love for the other 599,999, except for the parallel certainty that they were equally loved by the same 599,999. For a brief moment, self-concern was erased by a simulation of the face-to-face communion of a unified Creation (including all souls) with the Creator scheduled for the end of the Sabbatical Millennium. For an instant, we knew our cosmic mission, the illusory nature of separateness and the impure nature of our ego-based personality.
But, first, we must take responsibility for the Exodus that we, ourselves, will produce when, through the exercise of divine creative vision with which we are endowed, we reveal the infinite within apparently finite physical matter and release all of humanity from the slavery of vulnerability that produces attachment, illusion and metaphysical blindness.
We must come to learn that the key to our salvation is the divine, creative capacity within us. It is the exercise of this highest of all spiritual functions that corresponds to the image of G-d in which we are fashioned and is the ideal inherent in the transformation of Jacob to Israel. It is the awakening of this higher faculty that will lead to the universal awakening and freedom from restriction represented by the Exodus. Jews will continue to recount the Exodus story each year at Pessach until this ideal and destiny is finally realized on behalf of humanity as a whole.
But, first, we must take responsibility for the Exodus that we, ourselves, will produce when, through the exercise of divine creative vision with which we are endowed, we reveal the infinite within apparently finite physical matter and release all of humanity from the slavery of vulnerability that produces attachment, illusion and metaphysical blindness.
We must come to learn that the key to our salvation is the divine, creative capacity within us. It is the exercise of this highest of all spiritual functions that corresponds to the image of G-d in which we are fashioned and is the ideal inherent in the transformation of Jacob to Israel. It is the awakening of this higher faculty that will lead to the universal awakening and freedom from restriction represented by the Exodus. Jews will continue to recount the Exodus story each year at Pessach until this ideal and destiny is finally realized on behalf of humanity as a whole.
On behalf of all the PM Associates, I offer you blessings for a Pessach Sameach V'Kasher,
David S. Devor
devor@usa.net
http://www.projectmind.org/
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