Who Are the External Beings?
“This is why it is prohibited to make use of light of the Hannukah candles. For in lighting these candles we draw the supernal holy light all the way down, to our place, where the Hitzonim also dwell. We do not make use of that light for fear that if we do, it will be susceptible to them as well.” (Pri Etz Hayyim, Hannukah Ch 4)
*
The story of the Hitzonim, the external beings, is an ancient story.
It is a true story, but it is not a historical story.
It happened beyond the boundaries of time.
*
Once and always, God was one,
all and nothing simultaneously, and nothing but God.
Yet within God, within Being, arose a longing.
A longing
To be
In relationship.
To love.
*
Longing understood,
That for relationship to be, there must be an other.
Yet there is no other in One.
Longing brought forth Not-God within God,
So that within Not-God, God could exist as an other
And be in relationship.
So God entered the Not-God space that Longing had created,
And God also did not enter it.
*
Longing was very powerful,
But it did not know much about relationships.
It had no experience with the power of Otherness.
When God entered Not-God, Otherness completely took over
And One shattered into endless separate shards of broken light
Each broken spark lonely and isolated.
*
God was broken.
But God was also not broken,
And Longing understood
that while otherness and independency were a necessary starting point for relationship,
They were not enough.
In order to become a relationship,
Otherness would have to be channeled through:
Togetherness,
Dependence,
Care and empathy,
Compromise,
Equality,
Any many, many more elements that constitute the vessels of relationship.
So, Longing began the long hard work
Of gathering all the broken scattered sparks of light
With which to create and embody structures of relationship.
*
Many of the broken sparks rushed back to take their place in these structures.
For them, being part of these structures helped heal the shattering they had experienced.
Other sparks did not rush back.
These sparks needed help, and support and healing,
Before they could take their place in the structures of relationship.
Yet some sparks wanted nothing to do with this whole new project.
On the other side of brokenness
They are still driven by the forces of otherness and separation.
They perceive the structures Longing is creating as a threat
And do everything they can to draw energy away from these structures,
To undermine their processes
And to draw more of the sparks out of the structures of relationship
Into separation.
We call these sparks – the Hitzonim, the external ones,
Because they have chosen to stay outside the structures of relationship
And work to undermine them.
*
These Hitzonim cause great damage to the fabric of the world.
They use their power to rip and destroy, to foster alienation.
Still, we who are driven by the longing, do not seek to destroy them.
They too are part of God, they too were part of the great shattering,
They too have a place and a role in the structures of relationship,
And until they agree to take part in this endeavor, these structures will never be complete.
There are times we must build protective walls so that they do not destroy us.
But always, we care for them as well, making enough room for them to live another day,
Aa we work towards making that day the day of their transformation.
*
We live in the process.
The project of building structures of relationship requires us to always be in-between.
We live in the zone of sparks in relationship,
Of broken sparks seeking for healing
And of Hitzonim.
We are always working on healing.
*
On Hannukah, when we light the candles,
We draw the light of God-that-was-not-broken into our darkness.
The light of God-that-was-not-broken is a healing light,
And when present in our darkness, it gives the broken sparks hope and power, and the ability to reconnect.
But we must be very careful that the Hitzonim do not draw sustenance from this light.
If they did, it would power their alienation instead of powering the sparks looking for connection.
We let this light stand in the darkness as inspiration, benefiting only from its presence.
If we were to use this light for any purpose more limited than inspiring holiness, it would be susceptible to Hitzonim.
So we do not make use of these candles at all.
We watch them and draw light into our hearts,
And give thanks
For the miracle of healing
That is happening on these days
And in all time.
Amen.
*
The story of the Hitzonim, the external beings, is an ancient story.
It is a true story, but it is not a historical story.
It happened beyond the boundaries of time.
*
Once and always, God was one,
all and nothing simultaneously, and nothing but God.
Yet within God, within Being, arose a longing.
A longing
To be
In relationship.
To love.
*
Longing understood,
That for relationship to be, there must be an other.
Yet there is no other in One.
Longing brought forth Not-God within God,
So that within Not-God, God could exist as an other
And be in relationship.
So God entered the Not-God space that Longing had created,
And God also did not enter it.
*
Longing was very powerful,
But it did not know much about relationships.
It had no experience with the power of Otherness.
When God entered Not-God, Otherness completely took over
And One shattered into endless separate shards of broken light
Each broken spark lonely and isolated.
*
God was broken.
But God was also not broken,
And Longing understood
that while otherness and independency were a necessary starting point for relationship,
They were not enough.
In order to become a relationship,
Otherness would have to be channeled through:
Togetherness,
Dependence,
Care and empathy,
Compromise,
Equality,
Any many, many more elements that constitute the vessels of relationship.
So, Longing began the long hard work
Of gathering all the broken scattered sparks of light
With which to create and embody structures of relationship.
*
Many of the broken sparks rushed back to take their place in these structures.
For them, being part of these structures helped heal the shattering they had experienced.
Other sparks did not rush back.
These sparks needed help, and support and healing,
Before they could take their place in the structures of relationship.
Yet some sparks wanted nothing to do with this whole new project.
On the other side of brokenness
They are still driven by the forces of otherness and separation.
They perceive the structures Longing is creating as a threat
And do everything they can to draw energy away from these structures,
To undermine their processes
And to draw more of the sparks out of the structures of relationship
Into separation.
We call these sparks – the Hitzonim, the external ones,
Because they have chosen to stay outside the structures of relationship
And work to undermine them.
*
These Hitzonim cause great damage to the fabric of the world.
They use their power to rip and destroy, to foster alienation.
Still, we who are driven by the longing, do not seek to destroy them.
They too are part of God, they too were part of the great shattering,
They too have a place and a role in the structures of relationship,
And until they agree to take part in this endeavor, these structures will never be complete.
There are times we must build protective walls so that they do not destroy us.
But always, we care for them as well, making enough room for them to live another day,
Aa we work towards making that day the day of their transformation.
*
We live in the process.
The project of building structures of relationship requires us to always be in-between.
We live in the zone of sparks in relationship,
Of broken sparks seeking for healing
And of Hitzonim.
We are always working on healing.
*
On Hannukah, when we light the candles,
We draw the light of God-that-was-not-broken into our darkness.
The light of God-that-was-not-broken is a healing light,
And when present in our darkness, it gives the broken sparks hope and power, and the ability to reconnect.
But we must be very careful that the Hitzonim do not draw sustenance from this light.
If they did, it would power their alienation instead of powering the sparks looking for connection.
We let this light stand in the darkness as inspiration, benefiting only from its presence.
If we were to use this light for any purpose more limited than inspiring holiness, it would be susceptible to Hitzonim.
So we do not make use of these candles at all.
We watch them and draw light into our hearts,
And give thanks
For the miracle of healing
That is happening on these days
And in all time.
Amen.