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Meditative Teachings from the Ancient Kabbalists

Translated and adapted from the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts by R. Gershon Winkler

All the souls of the universe are the fruit of the Sacred Wellspring;
they are all one, bound together in a shared mystery;
no one soul distinguishable from any other;
and neither female nor male;
all one.

When they are sent into the world,
they separate from this oneness of being,
and take on the qualities of masculine and feminine;
each becomes male and female,
combined into a single soul.

[How does this happen_]

At the moment that the yearnings of lovers are roused,
two souls become manifested,
formed by the desires of the lovers for one another.
And each soul locks in embrace with the other.
And then does the longing of Below
rise to merge with the longing of Above
[the souls formed in the material realm
rise to merge with those formed in the spirit realm]
to become as one will that is inseparable.

Then the feminine quality of the lovers
gathers them all,
[the souls formed from Above
and the souls formed from Below]
and with them becomes pregnant
through the act of lovemaking,
and the yearnings of both partners for one another merge as one,
the longing of each locked in the embrace of the other,

[Thus, the soul is willed into being by the Sacred Wellspring,
and given form and definition by mortal lovemaking,
and then sent into the world
with the qualities of spirit and matter,
of sky and earth,
combined with the qualities
of the masculine and the feminine.

And as it manifests in the physical universe,
it splits into two separate souls,
one with predominant qualities of the masculine,
one with predominant qualities of the feminine,
each imbued with the attributes of the other,
like a single flame split in two by separate wicks.

And once on the earth plane,
they seek out one another,
to join as soul mates,
to become again as one,
to manifest the yearnings that conceived them,
the desires of the lovers that gave form
to the fruit of the Sacred Wellspring;
the desires of Creation for Creator,
and of Creator for Creation.

Thus, it is important, when engaged in lovemaking,
to intend one's yearnings from a place of truth,
from a place of love,
with the intention of gifting form to new souls,
form imbued with harmony of spirit and body,
and locked in eternal embrace
with the Sacred Wellspring
of all that was, is, and will be.]

Sefer Ha'Zohar 85b

When Jonah was trapped in the belly of the great fish,
she brought him beneath the Stone of Nurturance,
the rock from which all of Creation had been fashioned.
The rock upon which sits the seven mountains,
[the center of which holds the center which holds the center.]
For it is the place of Jerusalem.
And Jonah peered out of the belly of the great fish
and beheld the Stone of Nurturance
suspended over the Abyss,
and he beheld the spirits of the ancestors
praying over the great stone.
And the Infinite One then spoke to Jonah,
and said: "Pray, and you will be answered."

Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra, Ch. 8

There is a stone that has existed
from the days of the first ancestors,
and it is called the Stone of Nurturance.
And it is three fingers larger than the earth.
Why is it called the Stone of Nurturance_
Rabbi Yowsee explained thus:
"For out of this stone
did our universe nurture itself
into existence."

Babylonian Talmud, Tosefta Yoma 2:12

Rabbi Yowsee opened with the following teaching:
When the universe was created
it was founded upon seven pillars,
and it is not known what it is that holds them up.

There is even a deeper mystery
that is concealed more than any other mystery --
that the world was not created
until the Infinite One willed into being
a certain stone called the Stone of Nurturance
and cast it into the Abyss.

And there it remains,
suspended between the Above and the Below,
and from it the universe suckles,
and it is the very center point of the universe,
and within that center point exists the Holy of Holies.

Come and see:
for this stone was created
from fire and wind and water,
and was molded from all these into a single stone,
and it dwells suspended above the abysses.
And during certain periods,
waters are drawn from it
and the abysses become filled.
And this stone dwells at the center of the universe.

Come and see: This stone has upon it seven eyes.
And it is called the Stone of Nurturance,
for the Sacred Wellspring manifested it
so that the universe might be nurtured
and blessed by it.

Sefer Ha'Zohar, Vayechi 231a
 

[ From the latest issue of Or HaDor ] [ Translation of Psalm 19 ] [ Meditative teachings ] [ Hallel ] [ Heads or Tails ] [ From Psalm 22 ] [ Parades ] [ In a Plain Brown Paper Wrapper ] [ A Song for Raising Consciousness ] [ Elat Chayyim poem ] [ Shelach ] [ An Introduction to Schmelvic Aphorisms ] [ Passover Transformations ] [ Insights from our Rabbis ]