The Laylah/Night speaks/Comet lulin and the forty five days of Daniel

This new moon of Shevat, the month of the Tree, begins with an annular eclipse of the sun.

The starry sky is a book of the heavens and earth for those who can read it like the Rabbi and son from the tale about the precious book of Daniel in the time of the Babylonian King. We are now in a forty five day period as a new kochav/comet moves from it’s perihelion passage of the sun(full moon of tevet) towards perigee(close passage with Earth) on Rosh Chodesh Adar. The night sky is always singing to us if we could only hear. This weeks parsha on Bo has an incredible posuk on the night that lead to the original geulah/redemption and making of the people of Yisrael. “It is a night(leyl) of anticipation for haShem to take them out of the land of Mitzrayim/Egypt, this was the night(laylah) for haShem; a protection for all the Children of Yisrael for their generations”(Shemot/Ex:12:42). The Zohar has a fantastic commentary on these two forms of night mentioned here. “”the night shined as day; the darkness was a light(Ps.cxxxix,13). Nothing so miraculous was witnessed since the creation of the world.”Come and see” he said, it is written: “It is a night(leyl) of observations unto HaShem for bringing them out of the land of Mitzrayim; this is a night(laylah) of HaShem…Now, why “observations(shamurim) in plural , and :night” first in the masculine gender(leyl) and then in the feminine(laylah? To indicate the union which took place on that night between masculine and feminine aspects in the Divine attributes, and also the same union which will take place in the future redemption”….Zohar II38b(trans. After Sperling) And now we are in that “future” redemption and the night of this winter is being thrilled with a new kochav/comet whose passage past Earth corresponds with the six weeks of Shovavim(first six parshot of Shemot/exodus) that bring the wheel/shanah of the year from winter to spring(from exile to freedom). The forty five days seem to say that they are a remez/hint to the words in the Book of Daniel chapter 12, about the need in the keitz; the “end of days”, to wait for 45 days after the completion of an initial 1290 days. Much speculation has been done on these periods of time. This new comet Lulin is very rare in that it moves opposite the general motion of the planets in the solar system. It is like another very famous comet with a brilliant history(mentioned in Talmud as the 70 year star) and that is Halley’s comet. In the Talmud, it is mentioned that "There is a star which appears once in seventy years that makes the captains of the ships err" (Horioth, chap. III). Halley’s bright passage in the secular year 66 CE presaged the destruction of the second temple and the long period of exile and diaspora. If we add up the number of days in each orbit of this comet Halley which is now in it’s 26th (gematria 26=YHVH)orbital period since the temple was destroyed; adding the the days that it moved from perihelion to perigee in each orbit when it was visible(about 49 to 50 days), we come very close to the figure of 1290 days mentioned in sepher Daniel as the time period since the Temple offerings ended. The angel in the Sepher Daniel told Daniel that the counts would not make sense until the period of the keitz/end when knowledge would be "increased". Is the Laylah/night speaking to us now pretty clearly. After the forty five days is passed on the new moon of Adar(feb24th) we will have more to say about how the blessing of the union of the nights is streaming into our new Earth. Remember/Zachor the Sabbath!

Ancient Jewish Folktales and Miriam's Well

On last weeks post there is a comment by Howard Schwartz, who has compiled and retold a fantastic series of Jewish Folktales. His book "Miriam's Tambourine" Oxford University Press; is only one book in a series of books that contain many beautiful Jewish Folktales from around the world. In his books he also includes copious notes as to the provenance and origins of these very old and ancient tales. Thank you to Mr.Schwartz for making these stories so available. Although I do not copy verbatim any stories or printed material that is used in this blog without attribution, there has been a succinct retelling of events from these tales in my own words. We are grateful for the folks like Mr.Schwartz who have made a great deal of effort to make the tales readily available to all people. A theme of this blog as the regular readers already know, is to help make possible an access to the precious wisdom teachings which flow from the same place that all oral Torah comes from, Miriam's Well; which the Pirke Avoth tells us was one of ten things created in the twilight of the first Sabbath. Baruch HaShem!

Miriam's Tambourine and the weeks of Shovavim

This weeks folktale involves the story of a Rabbi and his son who live in the time of the Babylonian exile. They too, like the Rashbi and his son, who wrote the Sepher HaZohar studied the sacred writings during the day and in the dark of the night they studied the starry sky which also they could read like a book. A precious book is a theme in this story, for the King of Babylon kept a golden book next to his throne which was divinely given according to legend to the prophet Daniel when he was in the Lion’s den. Only a person in touch with their pure soul could open and read the book. The King was looking among the Jews for a person who could read the book. The rabbi and his son needed to purify themselves in order to be the ones to open the book. The only way to become that profoundly purified, would be with the precious waters of Miriam’s well which happens to be surrounded at that time in exile, by venomous serpents. They therefore also needed the Tambourine of Miriam to chase away the snakes and have the well available. To find the prophetess Miriam they must go through a beautiful garden into a hollow tree and then enter a cave which leads to the shore of the sea where Miriam resides. They accomplish all of this, purify themselves and are able to access the golden book and with their influence on the King of Babylon they keep their Jewish people safe from persecution in the exile. The precious waters are the very being herself of Miriam as she holds the Chayah/life soul of all of humanity. She is the holy Silence who is in eternal embrace with the Depth/Omak of HaShem. Silence and Depth; the voices of the Song of Solomon. From the Zohar for this week’s parsha Vaeira we have the blessed “Couch of Solomon” where these two “voices” find each other: “And I will confuse Mitzrayim/Egypt with Mitzrayim(Isa.XXIX,14) that is to say, celestial Mitzrayim with terrestrial Mitzrayim. For the celestial legions are in charge of the terrestrial ones, and they both are altogether thrown in disorder. They were confused on high so that the people of mitzrayim could not derive inspiration from the celestial sources as formerly. …Observe that whatever is engendered on earth grows through the stimulus of a celestial chieftain who has charge over it, and that all on earth is shaped after a celestial pattern. There are on high seven firmaments and seven zones of earth.. Correspondingly , in the lower world there are seven graded firmaments and seven zones of earth. These as the Companions have expounded, are arranged like the rungs of a ladder, rising one above the other, and each zone has ten divisions, so that there are seventy in all. Each one of these is presided over by a chieftain, and these seventy chieftains have under their charge the seventy nations of earth. These seventy earth divisions, again, border on and surround the Holy land, as scripture says: “ Behold, it is the couch of Solomon; threescore mighty men are about, of the mighty men of Yisrael”(S.S, III,7) there being in addition to the three score mentioned, ten concealed among their number. All these surround the Holy Land.” Zohar II 30b(trans. After Sperling) The secret of the ten concealed is now becoming clear to our eyes(Vaeira=appeared) in these very days today. With the Holy Land indeed encompassing the entire earth and the chieftains of the seventy nations all serving HaShem, the source of the precious waters; the ten become visible in the directions of the body of our very physical living dancing Earth. What was secured in the upper worlds as the “Couch of Solomon” is being revealed in an Earth become a Holy land. Exile now is only an illusion like the pit dug by the demons in last weeks story around the Enchanted Tree. When we experience the sacred Tree of Life the well also appears and the waters that purify. These seven weeks of Shovavim are a time of immersion in the waters of Miriam’s well. We are opening to what redemption is in every moment in these incredible times. Like the rabbi and his son in the story, the starry vault of sky is also speaking to us with a Kochav/comet whose close approach to earth is a fortyfive day period(from perihelion to apogee) that covers exactly the 42 days of shovavim out of an orbit that is in the thousands of years. Heaven and earth are always singing to us, The "morning stars are always singing" The Peace and being that is Torah. “ All Her ways are Peace”(Proverbs) The book of geulah that sits next to the “Royal Chieftain” opens for us and the moving waters from the root of the Tree, that feeds the great rivers of the nations including the “Nile” and the “Euphrates” and the "Mississippi"can be heard. “"Let righteousness flow like a mighty river, and justice roll down like an everlasting stream..." AMEN!
(The events from the story "Miriam's Tambourine" is from the book "Miriam's Tambourine" Oxford University Press; compiled by Howard Schwartz)

The Enchanted Tree and Comet Lulin Approaching Earth!

This week we will discuss another of Rebbe Nachman of Bratzlav’s tales, The Enchanted Tree. The youngest of three sons of a man sets forth to discover the Enchanted Tree which the son’s dying father told them that it has been deprived of precious water for a long time and is in danger by a great pit dug around it. This Tree has ten branches that give great blessing to the entire Earth. The demons have dug the pit to threaten the Tree. The older two brothers failed on a quest to find the Tree but the lame son gets a carriage and driver and goes on the quest. His carriage and driver are attacked by robbers and he is left on the ground to survive by eating herbs and berries. He finds this special jewel in the roots of an herb. It is square with sacred writing on four sides. He uses this “diamond” to discover a sacred dust that is found where ten paths meet. With the special kinds of dusts he is healed and he vanquishes the Demons with the dust that makes all that touch it into tzaddikim/righteous. The demons simply vanish with this dust on them! So also does the pit around the Enchanted Tree simply disappear with the sprinkling of the dust. It really was only an illusion. And then the ancient rock from which waters flow appears and the water replenishes the Tree whose special fruits become available to the entire world. The son’s life is fulfilled and completed. This little tale from 19th century Eastern Europe contains the main themes of the Tree, the rock and the stream of precious waters that we have covered for years now in these blog writings. As we enter the parsha reading this week of the book of Shemot/names/Exodus this week mysteries of geulah/redemption and the purpose of the Tree of Holy life become visible. In the Zohar for Shemot; “”It is written:”And the wise shall be resplendent as the splendour(Zohar) of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness shall be like the stars for ever and ever(Dan.XII,3). “the wise” are those who penetrate to the real essence of wisdom, “they shall be resplendent”, ie. Illumined with the radiance of the supernal wisdom; “as the splendour”, this is the flashing of the Stream that goes forth from Eden(Gen.XI,10).There are suspended the stars, the planets, the sun and the moon, and all the radiant lights. The brightness of this firmament shines upon the garden of Eden, and in the midst of the garden stands the Tree of Life, whose branches spread over all forms and trees and spices and fitting vessels….The fruit of this Tree gives life to all. It is everlasting.”Zohar II-2a; (transl. After Sperling)We have begun the book of Shemot, the book of redemption and entered the six weeks called Shovavim. These weeks are named after the six initial letters of the Torah parshas read over the weeks from the full moon of tevet to the first week of Adar in the spring. These weeks are traditionally a time of teshuvah/repentance and introspection as we move from the dark winter of "exile" in tevet to the bright spring of Adar that opens us to our renewing freedom. This year these six weeks are being punctuated by a new Kochav/comet that is approaching the earth from it’s perihelion passage of the Sun on January, 10th at the full moon of tevet. It will make a close passage to earth on February 24 which is precisely Rosh Chodesh Adar, the spring month of great happiness. Below is a copy from an astronomy website giving the details of the new comet. It's Chinese name has an ancient Hebrew root meaning "Spiral". Be happy!

New Kochav approaches Earth/Comet
This new comet made perhelion(closest appraoch to sun) at the full moon of Tevet/Shabbos Vayehi. It makes it's closest approach to Earth on Rosh Chodesh Adar! Zohar has a lot to say about comets as the messengers of shamayim. Read the news story below from Sky and Telesope. What is said to be very unusual is that the orbit of the comet is in the opposite direction along the ecliptic of all other planetary bodies. Could this be a messenger from the quivering dragon(Lulianah is ancient hebrew for "spiral twisted") that is a key to the cosmology of the Sepher yetzira? Baruch HaShem!

"Catch Winter's Comet Lulin by Greg Bryant and Alan MacRobert Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin), discovered in July 2007, should be the highlight comet of this season. It's predicted to reach about 5th magnitude in late February, so it should be easily seen in binoculars. It may even become detectable with the unaided eye in a dark, moonless sky. Below is a calendar of the comet's doings in the coming weeks. But don't assume that the brightnesses are trustworthy. The comet's brightness behavior may be unpredictable, because it's on a near-parabolic orbit that suggests this may be its first visit to the inner solar system. You never know what a pristine comet might do. January: Pre-dawn, and Brightening The start of 2009 found Comet Lulin glowing at 8th magnitude in Libra, near Lambda (λ) Librae not far from the border of Scorpius. Day by day Lulin is getting higher in the southeast (as seen from mid-northern latitudes) just before start of dawn. It was hidden in the solar glare during November and most of December. Prior to that, observers had followed it from as early as May 2008, when it was 14th magnitude, through late October, when it had risen to 8th. Moving westward across Libra, the comet passes 0.1° south of 47 Librae, and 0.9° north of Lambda Librae, on the morning of January 8th. The comet is at perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on January 10th, at a solar distance of 1.2 a.u. (181 million km). Rather than fading after perihelion, Lulin is expected to brighten further as its diminishing distance from us more than compensates for it moving away from the Sun. February: Peak Brightness, Peak Speed As Comet Lulin nears Earth its speed across the sky will increase. The beginning of February sees the 6th- or 7th-magnitude comet rising around midnight, and it passes within 1° of the wide binocular double star Alpha Librae on the night of February 5–6. Initially moving at about 1° per day, Lulin will be creeping westward at 2° per day by February 11th, when it crosses into Virgo and passes within a quarter degree of Lambda Virginis. Five days later, on the 16th, comet Lulin — now perhaps 5th or 6th magnitude — will pass 3° north of Spica, and the comet’s speed will have increased to 3° per day. On the night of February 23rd, near its peak brightness, Comet Lulin is passing 2° south-southwest of Saturn. Lulin’s closest approach to Earth, 0.41 a.u. (61 million km), occurs on February 24th, when the comet may reach a peak of magnitude 5. By now it's visible in late evening (after rising around the end of astronomical twilight) and remains in view for the rest of the night. And it's speeding along at just over 5° per day! That's about 1 arcsecond every 5 seconds of time, enough to show obvious motion during a short telescopic observing session. Similarly, that's 1 arcminute per 5 minutes of time if you're using binoculars. After that Lulin moves away from both Earth and the Sun, so it fades quickly. The evening of February 27 will see it at 5th or 6th magnitude within 1° of Regulus. Weird Orbital Geometry Strangely, as you may have noticed on the charts, this comet is traveling almost exactly along the ecliptic — backward! Could this really be just be a coincidence? The comet's nearly parabolic orbit indicates that it has never really interacted with the planets at all. Yet its orbital inclination is 178.4°, meaning that it's orbiting in the opposite direction from the planets just 1.6° from the ecliptic plane. Tails and Antitails Because the comet stays nearly on the ecliptic, its tail (which points away from the Sun) aligns with the ecliptic and with the comet's own direction of motion across the sky. This is indicated by the direction the tail is pointed on the comet symbols on the finder charts linked to above. Moreover, because Earth remains in the comet's own orbital plane, we're likely to see the comet with a very thin tail and an antitail, a spike pointing in almost the opposite direction from the main tail, for months on end. Why? In three dimensions a comet's dust tail is often wide but it's always thin, confined to the comet's orbital plane. When we are in or near this plane, we can sometimes see parts of the wide, thin dust tail on opposite sides of the comet's head. We pass through most comets' orbital planes briefly. But this time, the situation will last and last. And indeed, as of January 7th Lulin did have an antitail, as shown in this image taken by Karzaman Ahmad in Malaysia with a 20-inch scope (image courtesy Spaceweather.com.) Here's another image, from Ernesto Guido, Giovanni Sostero and Paul Camilleri, taken January 8th. A comet's blue-green gas tail, on the other hand, always points nearly in a straight line away from the Sun in space. Cometary gas is blown directly away from the Sun at high speed by the solar wind. March: Following Lulin Out Comet Lulin crosses from Leo into Cancer at the beginning of March. The night of March 5 sees the 6th-magnitude comet within 2° of both Delta (δ) Cancri and the Beehive Cluster (M44). It will make for a fine sight, particularly in high-powered binoculars. Think photo opportunity. Another nice conjunction occurs on March 16th when the comet, now around 7th or 8th magnitude (and setting in the early hours of the morning), is 1° from Delta Geminorum. As Comet Lulin recedes, its passage across our sky will slow. Indeed, from the end of March to the end of May (when Lulin may have faded to 11th magnitude) it will stay within a narrow, 3° strip of sky bounded by Epsilon (ε), Mu (μ), and 36 Geminorum. Comet Lulin won’t return again to the inner solar system for more than a thousand years. Cooperative Discovery Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin) was discovered by Quanzhi Ye, a student (age 19) at Sun Yat-sen University in mainland China, as an apparently asteroidal object on images taken by Chi Sheng Lin (National Central University, Taiwan) with a 16-inch telescope at Lulin Observatory in Taiwan on the night of July 11, 2007. A week later, confirming images revealed the telltale presence of a coma. In China and Taiwan, the comet has been hailed as the "Comet of Cooperation."

(The events of the story "The Enchanted Tree" is from the book "Miriam's Tambourine"Oxford University Press compiled by Howard Schwartz)

A Garment for the Moon/ Vayehi Full moon of Tevet

The beautiful nineteenth century tale from the great Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav, about the garment for the moon holds a profound wisdom for those awakening to the Temple Earth. The story begins with the ancient aggadic legend about how the moon complained about being cold and small and in the dark. The sun decides to attempt to help the moon by finding her a garment. The sun asks the great tailors to create this garment. A poor, not a “great” tailor, named Yankel discovers a precious fabric that a distant village uses for the garment that their queen wears for royal weddings but this garment is becoming frayed and needs to be repaired so the queen’s daughter may be married correctly. The poor tailor discovers that it is the light of the full moon that causes the garment to grow and weave itself correctly. The original reason that a group of “great tailors” could not make the garment for the moon was that it would need to stretch and shrink with the changing size of the moon and they could not figure out how to meet this need with a fabric. The magic material of the queen’s gown was made of the moonlight itself which would shrink and expand as needed. The tailor Yankel not only repaired the Queen’s gown with the light of the full moon but was also able to have a small piece of the material to create a garment for the moon herself. And it is said that the moon has kept that very garment to this very day, to her great joy, made out of her own light. The Sepher haZohar on this weeks Torah parsha Vayehi sings to us about the delight of the moon. “Rabbi Jose discoursed here on the verse: ‘He made the moon for seasons(Ps.civ,19)HaShem he said, made the moon for us to sanctify by it new moons and new years. Now the moon never shines except from the reflection of the sun, and when the sun is aloft the moon does not appear, but only when the sun is gathered in does the moon rule the heavens, and the moon is of no account save when the sun is gathered in. HaShem made both of them to give light and also “for signs”, to wit, Sabbaths, “and for seasons”. to wit, festivals…so that the gentiles should reckon by the sun and Yisrael by the moon. This accords with R.Eleazar’s exposition of the verse: ‘Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased its joy”(Is.ix,2), where he refers “nation” to Yisrael and “it” to the moon, which gained accession of light for the sake of Yisrael. …Assuredly, the moon is highest, and the sun of the “Gentiles” is under this moon, and this sun derives light from this moon. See, then, the difference between Yisrael and the nations. Yisrael cling to the moon and are linked to the supernal sun, as it is written:” But ye who cleave to haShem, are alive every one of you this day”(Deut.iv,4)Zohar I-236b-237a)Transl. after Sperling. In this weeks Torah parsha Jacob goes into the ‘exile with the seventy souls that is a remez/hint to the nations of the entire Earth. As we end the book of genesis with the exile we begin the book of Shemot/Exodus, the book of geulah/redemption. The gathering in of all these 70 “nations” has been the great work of the long exile so that the entire earth would be on fire with the joy of the moon. The lunar month of Tevet, the month of deep choseck/darkness is now being lit by the fire and light of the sacred Earth which is the third temple enwrapped fully in the light of the garment of the moon. Yankel made good.
Good Shabbos
(the events of the story "A Garment for the Moon" are taken from the book "Miriam's Tambourine" Oxford University Press compiled by Howard Schwartz)

Legend of the glowing pearl

Alexander the Great of ancient Macedonia is a favorite hero in old Jewish folktales. These stories hold a wealth of knowledge of oral Torah for students of kabbalah. One story tells us that Alexander was given the oracle prophecy that he would conquer the entire known world. He would live a fantastic but short life. In order to change the second part of this prophecy he began a quest to find the waters of eternal life. For students of the wisdom tradition we know who these waters are and there deep flowing significance. Alexander sets out on his quest and is told that he must enlist the help of Asmodeus, king of the demons in order to realize his goal. Asmodeus tells him how to find the waters but makes him vow that he will also recover the glowing pearl at the bottom of a well and return this to the king of demons in exchange for the information he needs to find the waters. So yes we must discover and possess our own soul before we may find the Waters. Alexander is about to drink of the waters of immortality from the roots, the spring of the great Tree when a Sar/angel warns him that if he does he must stay in paradise and not return to the bustling world of adventure that he so loves. He decides to not drink of the waters and returns to our turbulent world. On his way he finds that as soon as he recovered the glowing pearl in the well a similar one appeared in the crown of the king of demons and so Alexander was allowed to keep his own glowing pearl in his life journey. In the following weeks this blog will unravel the web of oral torah in legends and stories to understand how it is that we are in a global Chanukah/inauguration of an era of peace. This weeks parsha of Torah/vayigash has the unification of a loving brotherhood with Joseph and his brothers. It also speaks of the journey into the depths of the holy peoples, the land of mitzraim. Oral Torah and Zohar tells us that the mother of Moses was born exactly at the moment that the peoples entered the narrow places of exile. Knowing the right question is often the golden key to the correct answer.
(the events of the story about the glowing pearl is from a book "Miriam's Well" Oxford University Press compiled by Howard Schwartz)