Breath.
Living God.
And this is Holy Breath.
Breathe in. Be aware that you are alive because you breathe. This one breath of Life is holy. It is holy because it is from God. And God is One. And everyone breathes in this same One Breath of the Living God. Ruach Hakodesh - Holy Breath - is knowing that you are breathing in God every time you inhale.
Breath from Breath,
Engrave and Carve
Letters.
Breath out. Be aware that being alive gives you incredible creative powers. We engrave and carve letters and words in the air with our voices, our speech, our breath. The letters that are formed by your breath tell your story, your unique Sippur. All the words that pour from your voice with your breath speak your truth out into the world. We breathe in One Breath as we live in God, and breathe out a second breath, Breath from Breath, as we form letters with our breath. Ruach Hakodesh, Holy Breath, is knowing how amazingly creative you are every time you exhale. Your breath and the letters of speech that flow from your mouth engraves and carves the story of your soul into the elastic tablet of space-time.
Paths of Wondrous Wisdom.
As your breath continually flows in and out of your body, whether you are aware of it or not, every moment that you are alive, your heart beats with the rhythm of Life, sending blood streaming through your arteries and veins to all the different parts of your body. Many Paths for the Wondrous Wisdom of the Living God to reveal itself through, exquisite living forms that are crafted with awesome artistry and creativity.
Just as every cell in your body tells the unique story (Sippur) of your soul, everything in the universe writes its own book (Sefer), weaves its own unique pattern into the fabric of space-time. The flight of birds and the song of whales, the structure of crystals, the patterns of storms, the spiral shapes of galaxies, the double-helix of DNA, the form of every living thing tell of the Wondrous Wisdom of the One. There are countless paths for the One Breath, countless creative expression of living God.
The Sefer Yetzirah teaches about thirty-two Paths of Wondrous Wisdom. In Hebrew, thirty two is represented by the letters which form the Hebrew word for heart lev. The Wondrous Wisdom of the One God branches into two paths, these two paths branch into four paths, four into eight, eight into sixteen, and sixteen into thirty-two paths, like our veins and arteries branch from our heart . According to the Zohar, Binah (Understanding) is in the heart. Thus, the thirty-two Paths of Sefer Yetzirah are associated with Binah.
Binah is understanding something by analyzing its constituent parts. Understanding comes from seeing how things are different, from channeling our minds into branching webs of connected thoughts while we strive to examine ever greater details. Binah is how our minds form complex systems of related ideas which meander and wander through our brains.
However, all of these different Paths are channels for undifferentiated Chochmah, the ocean of Wondrous Wisdom which flows through all living beings, through all paths, through all thoughts. Chochmah does not differentiate. Wisdom strives to see larger wholes, it looks for commonalties, similarities rather than differences. The root of the Hebrew word for Wondrous Phela , has the same letters as Aleph . Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and thus represents One. Breathe in the One Holy Breath of God into your heart and see how all paths come from One source. Delight in Wondrous Wisdom as you breathe out your breath of life through all the different Paths of your mind and body.
And Create.
In the Kabbalah, the Hebrew letters Yod and Heh represent Chochmah and Binah. These are also known as Father and Mother, respectively. The shape of the letter Yod represents a drop of semen whose DNA contains wondrous Wisdom - a blueprint for constructing one whole human being. However, in order for a child to be born from this seed, it must be planted in the fertile soil of a womb. The two parts that comprise the letter Heh present an embryo developing in its mothers womb. Undifferentiated Wisdom - Yod - is continually being channeled through the particular Paths of Understanding - Heh - that give birth to our various thoughts and words. Together Yod and Heh lovingly unite, engrave and create.
With Sefer,
And with Sippur.
Chochmah is the first Sefer, a book which has been written but has not yet been read, the Wisdom that is contained by all Paths. Binah is the second Sefer, a book which has been opened and read, the Understanding that comes from embarking on a particular Path and following it. Sippur is Daat - consciousness - a story which is constantly being told as we live and breathe. Daat is the child of Father Chochmah and Mother Binah, born from the dynamic interplay that takes place between the Wisdom that is hidden in the whole and the Understanding that is revealed by the parts. Our consciousness is created by Yod and Heh interacting with each other and creating complex webs of similar differences and different similarities.
and Be Wise with Understanding.
Understanding sees differences, Wisdom sees similarities. Daat is the combination and integration of Chochmah and Binah - seeing similar differences and different similarities. The story of the world is told with these three Sefarim. This story, Sippur, is a story of Daat - consciousness. Daat is also associated with Ruach Hakodesh - enlightenment. This is an expanded state of consciousness in which you know that many paths of Wisdom that are now hidden and opaque to you can become revealed and Understood if you are open to learn from them. Enlightenment is also knowing that no matter how much you can Understand of any path, there is always so much more Wisdom in it that remains concealed and mysterious. Ruach Hakodesh is knowing that all Paths of Wondrous Wisdom are similarly different, and differently similar.
and Probe from them.
Make Each Thing Stand on its Essence
and Make the Creator Sit on His Base.
However much we can understand of anything in Creation, the essence of that thing we are examining and probing remains unfathomable and mysterious because it is created with the Wondrous and Infinite Wisdom of the One Living God. Understanding with Wisdom stands each thing on its essence. It is not missing the whole when looking at the parts, not missing the forest for the trees, not forgetting the Creator when looking at His creations. Being Wise with Understanding makes the Creator sit on His base. It is not missing the parts when looking at the whole, not looking for the Creator divorced from His creations. Ruach Hakodesh is seeing all finite things ascending to their Essence or Infinite Source. Ruach Hakodesh is seeing the One Infinite God descending to sit on His base, a multitude of finite paths for the wondrous Wisdom of the One Holy Breath.
David Friedman
Safed, Israel
January, 2000
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