(יט) הַעִידֹ֨תִי בָכֶ֣ם הַיּוֹם֮ אֶת־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם וְאֶת־הָאָרֶץ֒ הַחַיִּ֤ים וְהַמָּ֙וֶת֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לְפָנֶ֔יךָ הַבְּרָכָ֖ה וְהַקְּלָלָ֑ה וּבָֽחַרְתָּ֙ בַּֽחַיִּ֔ים לְמַ֥עַן תִּחְיֶ֖ה אַתָּ֥ה וְזַרְעֶֽךָ׃ (כ) לְאַֽהֲבָה֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֥עַ בְּקֹל֖וֹ וּלְדָבְקָה־ב֑וֹ כִּ֣י ה֤וּא חַיֶּ֙יךָ֙ וְאֹ֣רֶךְ יָמֶ֔יךָ לָשֶׁ֣בֶת עַל־הָאֲדָמָ֗ה אֲשֶׁר֩ נִשְׁבַּ֨ע יְהוָ֧ה לַאֲבֹתֶ֛יךָ לְאַבְרָהָ֛ם לְיִצְחָ֥ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹ֖ב לָתֵ֥ת לָהֶֽם׃ (פ)
(19) I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life—if you and your offspring would live— (20) by loving the Source your God, heeding His commands, and cleaving to God. For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure upon the soil that God swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them.
(א) בִּשְׁנַת־מוֹת֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ עֻזִּיָּ֔הוּ וָאֶרְאֶ֧ה אֶת־אֲדֹנָ֛י יֹשֵׁ֥ב עַל־כִּסֵּ֖א רָ֣ם וְנִשָּׂ֑א וְשׁוּלָ֖יו מְלֵאִ֥ים אֶת־הַהֵיכָֽל׃ (ב) שְׂרָפִ֨ים עֹמְדִ֤ים ׀ מִמַּ֙עַל֙ ל֔וֹ שֵׁ֧שׁ כְּנָפַ֛יִם שֵׁ֥שׁ כְּנָפַ֖יִם לְאֶחָ֑ד בִּשְׁתַּ֣יִם ׀ יְכַסֶּ֣ה פָנָ֗יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֛יִם יְכַסֶּ֥ה רַגְלָ֖יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֥יִם יְעוֹפֵֽף׃ (ג) וְקָרָ֨א זֶ֤ה אֶל־זֶה֙ וְאָמַ֔ר קָד֧וֹשׁ ׀ קָד֛וֹשׁ קָד֖וֹשׁ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֑וֹת מְלֹ֥א כָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃
(1) In the year that King Uzziah died, I beheld my Lord seated on a high and lofty throne; and the skirts of His robe filled the Temple. (2) Seraphs stood in attendance on Him. Each of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his legs, and with two he would fly. (3) And one would call to the other, “Holy, holy, holy! Havaya of Hosts!All the earth is filled with this presence!”
§ The Sages taught: Four entered the orchard [pardes], i.e., dealt with the loftiest secrets of Torah, and they are as follows: Ben Azzai; and ben Zoma; Aḥer, the other, a name for Elisha ben Avuya; and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva, the senior among them, said to them: When, upon your arrival in the upper worlds, you reach pure marble stones, do not say: Water, water, although they appear to be water, because it is stated: “He who speaks falsehood shall not be established before My eyes” (Psalms 101:7).
The Gemara proceeds to relate what happened to each of them: Ben Azzai glimpsed at the Divine Presence and died. And with regard to him the verse states: “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His pious ones” (Psalms 116:15). Ben Zoma glimpsed at the Divine Presence and was harmed, i.e., he lost his mind. And with regard to him the verse states: “Have you found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for you, lest you become full from it and vomit it” (Proverbs 25:16). Aḥer chopped down the shoots of saplings. In other words, he became a heretic. Rabbi Akiva came out safely.
(ה) בְּטַ֣ח אֶל־יְ֭הוָה בְּכָל־לִבֶּ֑ךָ וְאֶל־בִּֽ֝ינָתְךָ֗ אַל־תִּשָּׁעֵֽן׃ (ו) בְּכָל־דְּרָכֶ֥יךָ דָעֵ֑הוּ וְ֝ה֗וּא יְיַשֵּׁ֥ר אֹֽרְחֹתֶֽיךָ׃
(5) Trust in Havaya with all your heart, And do not rely on your own understanding. (6) In all your ways know God, And Life Source will make your paths smooth.
D'veykut - Cleaving to God - Etymology
דבק, or deveq, the modern Hebrew word for glue, literally means 'to cling'. It is sometimes referred to as devequt, "dvequt" or devequs. The concept of Devequt is important in Jewish culture, particularly in Hasidism and in the history of Jewish thought, mysticism, and ethics.
In modern Israeli Hebrew, "Devequt" or "dvequt" is also often a synonym for dedication toward a particular goal.
In religious Judaism and in academia, "Dvequt" refers most commonly to the philosophical, mystical and Hasidic understanding of "Devequt" as "cleaving" or "attaching oneself" to God in all areas of life.
(al tiphnu) “Do not turn to idols [or make molten gods for yourselves: I YHVH am your God]” (Lev. 19:4) “Do not turn to idols”. Our sages interpreted this to mean, “Do not turn to what you make up in your own minds (al tiphnu el mada’atkhem)” (Shabbat 149a).
We can understand this according to the teaching of my grandfather (the Baal Shem Tov) regarding the verse, "Take care that your hearts not be seduced, so that you turn away and worship other gods” (Deut.11:16). He interpreted thus: “‘that you turn away’ – as soon as you turn your attention away from cleaving to the Holy One – ‘you will worship other gods’ – it is as if you have become an idolater.” [Thus, the Baal Shem Tov would read the Talmud as: “Do not remove God from your minds (al tipanu el mida’atkhem)”.]
Although his teaching is very deep, my feeble explanation is this: anyone who serves God in all his ways, seeking to fulfill the injunction “know God in all your ways” (Prov.3:6), will do everything mindfully. Eating, drinking, sleeping, engaging in conversation in order to bring others closer to God, or to help dispel their sadness, or to help them in their business to sustain them so that they may devote more time to serving God – if even these (worldly) activities are done mindfully, then they also constitute divine service, avodah.
Jonathan's Questions:
What makes any action avodah for you? How do you determine what should be, or can be, avodah and what not? If God is everywhere, how can any act not be a form of avodah? What, then, distinguishes one act from another, "mundane" or avodah?
In Jewish Renewal we often speak in terms of the “four worlds.” These can be mapped to the four seasons, four elements, and/or five levels of soul described by the kabbalists. We understand that everything that arises, arises simultaneously in all four of these realms -- though sometimes we may experience life primarily in one realm or another. The four worlds are:
ASSIYAH, earth, the objective world, where we live with our bodies in the physical world of action, including action for spiritual purpose. This is the world of sensible, concrete facts and their data. Here we are conscious of the physical realm and the laws of nature as we observe them. Here we are aware of being a creation of God. This is the world of duality, in which everything is seen as separate, and subject to cause and effect. This is also the world of the life force, the senses, the breath, experiencing freedom and love of life, being the God-wrestler. Guf (body); Nefesh soul aspect.
YETZIRAH, water, the subjective world of vital feelings; the world of affect, of nuance, of aura, of sensitivity, of visceral and proprioceptive feelings. Things are seen as synchronistic in this world. This is the world of interdependence and relationship issues. Here is where our emotional being is attuned, where negative feelings of resentment, frustration, vindictiveness, and paranoia can be replaced by an attitude of gratefulness, appreciation, and joy. Here we can learn empathy, humility, and awareness of our own mortality. Ruach soul aspect.
BRIYAH, air, the symbolic world of the intellect, of contemplation, of pure thought. Everything is part of a pattern in this world; everything has a meaning. We understand ourselves as being the result of intended, loved, and continuous creation. Here we are commanded to exert ourselves to know and to reach the very edge of what is thinkable and understandable. This is the reality of poetry, wonder, intuition, and visualization. In this world, we can work with symbols and with dreams. Neshama soul aspect.
ATZILUT, fire, the holistic world of deep divine intuition and of beingness with God. Reality is merged; all is one. This is the world of essence, where we recognize ourselves as being a spark of God's fire. It is not we who pray; rather, God prays in us. With God's own eye we see ourselves. Chaya and Yechidah soul aspects.
At the beginning of time, God’s presence filled the universe. When God decided to bring the world into being, to make room for creation, God contracted Godself (tzimtzum) by drawing in God's breath, forming a dark mass. Then God said, Let there be light (Gen. 1:3) and ten holy vessels came forth, each filled with primordial light.
God sent forth the ten vessels like a fleet of ships, each carrying its cargo of light. But the seven lower vessels—too fragile to contain such powerful Divine light—broke open, scattering the holy sparks everywhere.
Had these vessels arrived intact, the world would have been perfect. Instead, God created people to seek out and gather the hidden sparks, wherever we can find them. Once this task is completed, the broken vessels will be restored and the world will be repaired.