Question: Think back to a time when you had fallen into a path that seemed so attractive, but really wasn’t life giving, and you somehow stumbled back onto a more fulfilling one; so you felt like a Tree planted by streams of water.

We start in the place of Chochmah, the right side of the Third Eye, the side of the Unconscious, the place of images and dreams that well up to wake us up and guide us back to our true selves, our Neshamahs, the place of wisdom. Sense what Chochmah looks like- What color or colors is it? what forms do you see here? See an image of your Neshamah in front of you, and leap into it. What does it feel like to be in your authentic self?

Now make your way sideways to the left, toward the Left side of the Third Eye, the place of the Conscious, where the wild, dreamy images and forms of the Unconscious are given names, the place of understanding, the clear path. Sense what Binah sounds like- what is the music of Binah? What is the quality of Binah’s voice? As you go closer, you hear some of the words that Binah is singing to you.

This is the 22nd Tarot Card and path, the dancing World Card, the card of total fulfillment on all levels! And also the completion of the journey Rebbe Nachman has taken us on, from a world in which the Tree of Life is withering, surrounded by a ditch dug by Sheydim; to a flourishing Tree, deeply watered, that sends out its many blessings on the winds of the world. May we see this now, both inside us and in our thirsty World!

At the end of the story, Rebbe Nachman says the entire story is alluded to in Psalm 1. And concludes with “The one who has eyes should see, and the one with a heart should understand what is happening in the world.”

Lets see what we can understand…

אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי־הָאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר ׀ לֹ֥א הָלַךְ֮ בַּעֲצַ֪ת רְשָׁ֫עִ֥ים וּבְדֶ֣רֶךְ חַ֭טָּאִים לֹ֥א עָמָ֑ד וּבוֹשַׁ֥ב לֵ֝צִ֗ים לֹ֣א יָשָֽׁב׃

Happy is the person who has not walked (1) in the counsel of those hostile to Love, or stood in the path of those who do misdeeds, or sat in the place of the jokers/ scorners; (2)

כִּ֤י אִ֥ם בְּתוֹרַ֥ת יְהוָ֗ה חֶ֫פְצ֥וֹ וּֽבְתוֹרָת֥וֹ יֶהְגֶּ֗ה יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה׃

Rather, the teaching (Torah) of the Endless Light is their delight, and they meditate on that teaching (Torah) day and night. (3)

וְֽהָיָ֗ה כְּעֵץ֮ שָׁת֪וּל עַֽל־פַּלְגֵ֫י מָ֥יִם אֲשֶׁ֤ר פִּרְי֨וֹ ׀ יִתֵּ֬ן בְּעִתּ֗וֹ וְעָלֵ֥הוּ לֹֽא־יִבּ֑וֹל וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה יַצְלִֽיחַ׃

They are like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, its leaves never fading, and all it makes thriving. (4)

לֹא־כֵ֥ן הָרְשָׁעִ֑ים כִּ֥י אִם־כַּ֝מֹּ֗ץ אֲ‍ֽשֶׁר־תִּדְּפֶ֥נּוּ רֽוּחַ׃

Not so those hostile to Love; rather, they are like the chaff that wind blows away. (5)

עַל־כֵּ֤ן ׀ לֹא־יָקֻ֣מוּ רְ֭שָׁעִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט וְ֝חַטָּאִ֗ים בַּעֲדַ֥ת צַדִּיקִֽים׃

Therefore those hostile to Love will not stand up to judgment, nor will those who miss the mark thrive in the assembly of the tzadikim (just people, sages). (6)

כִּֽי־יוֹדֵ֣עַ יְ֭הוָה דֶּ֣רֶךְ צַדִּיקִ֑ים וְדֶ֖רֶךְ רְשָׁעִ֣ים תֹּאבֵֽד׃

For the Endless Light knows the path of the tzadikim (7), but the path of the rejecters of Love is doomed.

…..

Footnotes:

1 “Happy is the person who has not walked”—this is the youth, the one who can’t walk, the Seventh Beggar, King David. He takes this quite literally, and in so doing, brings in a re-visioning of disability.

2 “the place of jokers/scorners”- this is the Land of the Sheydim where it is hard to avoid getting sucked into their worldview.

3 ”day and night”- this is the place where day and night meet, where the Sun and Moon converse, (the conscious and the unconscious, the Endless Light and the beings who reflect that Light).

4 “They are like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, its leaves never fading, and all it makes thriving.”- this is the image of the World Card, the final destination of this cycle on the path, the watering of the Tree of Life.

5 “that the wind blows away”- you may remember that the Moon was complaining about their weak feet and the wind that blows the healing dust away. We know we are on a true path because of its enduring and life-giving qualities- not like the dust of the robbers that led them to destroy each other.

6 “Therefore those hostile to Love will not stand up to judgment, nor will those who miss the mark thrive in the assembly of the tzadikim (just, fair, equitable).”- these are both the robbers and the Sheydim.

7 ”The Endless Light knows the path of the tzadikim (Just people, sages)”- this is the final destination of the 22 paths- the path of thriving that is illuminated by the Endless Light.

Question: “I am a believer in good meals, prayers, difficult conversations without cutoffs, music, dancing, telling people te quiero mucho, mucho, y solidarity with what some call the marginalized peoples — which I like to think of as ‘alianzas of chingones.’ “ (alliance of bad asses) – Danielle Rueb Castillejo

In this moment, what are you a believer in? Who are your alianzas of chingones, or as Dr King would say, your beloved community?

Today we travel on the center vertical path, between the heart-center and the pleasure- center (the genitals), a powerful and emotional path for sure. Let’s start in Tiferet, the heart center. In the Tree of Life, more paths radiate from the heart than any other Sephirah- eight in all. What surrounds your heart today? Perhaps a tough shield, a light veil, a murky mud? Breathe a bit of blue light into what covers your heart, and pass through, into your heart. What do you sense in here? If it were a plant, what would it be? What color? What smell?

Now travel down the center road to Yesod, the genitals, the foundation of all your desires. What desires greet you here? If they were animals, what would they be? What colors and feel are they?

The Tarot Card: Judgement

The energy of the Judgement Card unabashedly carries the message of new life, healing, and big helpful revelations through connecting to intuition and dreams. Coming so close to the end of the journey through Tarot's 22 major arcana, and Rebbe Nachman's epic story of watering the Tree of Life, the Judgement Card helps us live in our bodies the world we know is possible. The Judgment Card brings magic for living in beloved community, here and now.

Unfortunately, Sheydim being Sheydim, start a chain of escalating violence in which all the Sheydim rebel against all their monarchs. This caused the demons to be stricken with hunger, weakness, violence and plague. All the monarchs joined in wars against each other, and this caused earthquakes. These shook the earth and filled in the ditches that surrounded the Tree. Water was finally free to flow to the Tree, and to water it completely. All the Sheydim were destroyed and nothing remained of them. Amen!

Notes: 1) This scene in many ways parallels Ezekiel and Zechariah’s visions of the end of days that brings a Messiah or Messianic time- or the world to come. It is a final Judgement Day, a relief from all the pain and suffering of human life. Like many powerful images it can be interpreted in destructive ways. What comes readily to mind is the apocalyptic vision that justifies racist violence and horrific destruction. However it can also fuel powerful images of death and rebirth, like the Buddhist vision of the Great Unraveling of flawed and failing social structures, and the Great Turning, a new, life-giving way of being human.

2) This can also be seen as the end of the story- an unhelpful and discouraging vision of perfection. In most of Rebbe Nachman’s stories the ultimate spiritual goal is not reached, the Shechinah is almost, but not yet found and freed. Yet in this one, the Tree is watered, the Sheydim destroyed completely. He says, “Many tell stories to put you to sleep, but I tell stories to wake you up.” What do you think this story meant to awaken?

Question: E-motions are always changing, always setting us in motion. Choose two emotions you felt this week, one that contracted you (fear, anxiety, anger, jealousy, shame…) and one that expanded you (beauty, kindness, love, gratitude, joy…) What was the context? Did they set you in motion?

We begin in Gevurah, the place of holding steady and strong in a great fearful wind, remembering, as Cathering Shainberg says, “the fear is there to teach you courage”. Gevurah is the place of the friend who is ever faithful. Imagine you are entering into your own left shoulder. What is it like in here? Now walk down your left arm to the elbow, and then all the way to the wrist, and the hand. Now enter your left thumb. Put all your attention into your Left Thumb. It is your whole world.

Now walk the path to Tiferet, the Heart Center. As you get close, you can feel Beauty radiating out, pulling you in, bowling you over. Walk all the way to the center of this Beauty, and enter into the shining Moon in it’s fullness, filling the darkness. Leap out of your body and become the Moo.n. What do you feel? What do you look like?

Now come back into your body. Feeling the ground beneath you

Our card for this week is the Moon with her monthly cycles of full to empty, and the pulls of the emotional tides. When the Moon's desires and feelings are in synche with the desires of our Neshamahs (our authentic selves) intuition and imagination open up, to set the stage for true, lasting transformation.

With Moon blessings of all the radiant feelings that fill the night sky.

The Sage’s grandson was tempted by some Sheydim, known as “talkers”, to use the Book of the Sheydim for the sake of his daughters. He thought it was his own heart tempting him, but still he went to the grave of his grandmother, the Sage, to ask her advice. She said, “Don’t do it.” And he didn’t.

When the Cloud finished the story, the messenger brought the Cloud to the Sheyd King of the first country. The Cloud was ordered to give their strength back to the Island Monarch. When the Island Monarch recovered her strength, she released the Sheyd who was being tortured, and this Sheyd returned to his parents.

The Sheyd who had been tortured was very weak and in great pain, and he was very angry at the sorcerer who had tortured him so much. He left orders to all his family that they should always lie in wait to trap the sorcerer.

The talkers among the Sheydim went and warned the sorcerer to watch himself since there were Sheydim out to get him. The sorcerer made use of his magic to protect himself from them, and he also sought the help of other sorcerers who knew other Sheydim families, and thus had power over them.

Once this son’s family and some talkers were going to serve a term of duty for the Sheyd King. The family wove a lie, falsely accusing the talkers, and the Sheyd King killed them.

The surviving talkers were very angry, and they incited rebellion against all the Kings of the Shyedim.

Question: Looking back to your childhood or early life, what community or friendship have you had that was like the Sun’s radiant, warming energy? Even if it was only for a short time, what do you remember about it?

Path: Binah (Understanding) to Chesed (Loving Kindness)- One of only two out of 22 Paths that join the left side of the body to the right. The other is Chariot. Begin by noticing the place of Binah or Understanding, the left side of the third eye in the middle of the forehead. Binah is where the words are born, giving overlapping waves of definitions and feelings to experiences. In Kabbalah, as well as modern brain science, the head and heart, thought and feeling are not separate, but intimately connected. Notice the qualities of your Binah Center, the left side of the forehead, the third eye, the brain. Is it static or moving? Cool or warm? What colors and forms do you find here?

Now slowly walk the path across the body to the right shoulder, arm and hand, the place of Chesed, or Loving Kindness. Here things go smoothly, the sun shines warmly but not too warmly; the first fruits are ripening on the trees and bushes, milk and honey are abundant. Notice the qualities of your right shoulder and down your arm to your hand. What do you sense here? What textures are here- smooth or rough? What sounds do you hear- high, low, melodic, percussive? Spend some time soaking up the Loving Kindness of Chesed.

S’phirah: Shechinah/ Malchut (Embodiment)- We have come through the six weeks to the seventh and final week, the embodiment of all the qualities of the S'phirot into our lives. In Kabbalah, the Shechinah is seen as birthing sparks of Light, words and feelings into the world, clothing them in physical form, making them manifest. Often called Malchut, I was informed by a deep scholar of a Kabbalah, R. David Seidenberg, that the term Sh’chinah was equally valid. Both refer to the grounded, earthly, and sacred; and for we earthlings/ Adams, to the aliveness that fills all beings and bits and pieces of this planetary system we call Adamah/Earth.

The 50th day is called Shavuos, or “weeks/ sevens” as it directly follows the seven times seven days of the Omer Count, which began on Pesach/ Passover. On Shavuos we come down from the mountain, we enter the roots of the Tree of Life, we bring our spiritual flights of connection, feeling and inspiration into the details of how we live our lives. Shavuos is connected to “revelation,” and it’s a reminder to not just charge full-pace through our lives, or to over-rely on our brains to work out the best way forward; but to take time to reflect, to connect, to notice what our guts say, what our hearts want, what images come to us. It’s not the way most of us were taught, so it takes a lot of re-learning. Which images do we follow? Which are mere daydreams or cravings? Most of us have to test over and over, learning for ourselves if this way of being, of checking inside, actually works. The Omer and Shavuos traditions are a time for making a habit of turning toward these inner revelations as true sources of Light to guide us.

The Tarot Card- the Sun

Now we come into the place of the Sun, a favorable time for friendship, community, cooperation, sunshine and re-connection to the soul. We’ve been through an intense journey of transformation together, including times of death and hanging upside down, as well as times of strength and balance. With the Sun Card, we are reaping what we have sowed, coming back into balance, feeling the radiance and warm fire of the Sun within our bodies.

The Sage’s grandson was tempted by some Sheydim, known as “talkers”, to use the Book of the Sheydim for the sake of his daughters. He thought it was his own heart tempting him, but still he went to the grave of his grandmother, the Sage, to ask her advice. She said, “Don’t do it.” And he didn’t.

The Cloud continued the story: “Then one day the Human King of the land where the Sage’s grandchild lived, became sick. The Human King went to the physicians, but they couldn’t cure him. The land was very hot, so the remedies did not help. The Human King then decreed that the Jews should pray for him.”

“Our Sheyd King said, “This grandson has the power to use this Book to command all of us, and to use it in holiness, but still he refrains. Let’s do something that will benefit him.”

“That is why our Sheyd King commanded me to become a cloud there. He knew that if the Human King were shaded from the heat of the sun, the physician’s remedies would finally be able to work. The Sage’s grandson did not know anything about this. The community came together and prayed powerful prayers for the healing of the Human King.

Though the Sun’s energy brings much warmth, if the heat is too much it will become inflammation. Instead of promoting healing it will counter it.

Remember back to the beginning of this second cycle when the Island Monarch’s strength is stolen by the Sheydim. Her people catch a Sheyd and torture them- but it is futile. This time around, the Monarch of the Land turns not toward torturing Sheydim, but instead commands the Jews to pray for him. This is a very different approach, one that shows respect for the Jewish healing traditions.

In a roundabout way, it is because of the Jews’ trust in their own Source of healing, as shown by their resistance to the temptation to open the Book of the Sheydim; that they earn the Sheydim’s respect and unseen friendship. The Jews hold in their hands immense power, but they don’t use it. What does this mean? How does it relate to Shavuos?

What do you desire in this moment? How do you know if this is something you should pursue or if it is best left alone?

Bring your attention to your left shoulder, the place of Gevurah, of strength and faithfulness. Feel the energy of Gevurah today, how it shows up in your body. How intense is the energy- like a thunderstorm? A flowing stream? A still pond? Now follow the path directly down to your left hip, the place of Hod, of gratitude and receptivity. Notice how the energy changes here. What color is Hod? What treasure do you receive here?

In Yesod week, we align with our true desires, humbly listening for what is beyond our cravings and habits. Yesod means “foundation” and without the aliveness of the energy of desire, there is only the stuckness of depression, or the mechanical forcing of ourselves to do what we think we should. The genitals are the body’s energy center for Yesod energy. In much of Jewish thought, the sensual is essential. Without Yesod, we lose our passion and spontaneity. But, of course, desire can steer us down places that are not so helpful- places of addictive cycles that can lead to harming ourselves and others. Rebbe Nachman stresses that working mindfully and skillfully with Yesod energy is foundational.

Our card is the Star Person who kneels to humbly receive a hidden universal truth shining from the stars. Water of life and fertility is poured out with both hands.

We have completed the first cycle of the story in which the youth who couldn’t walk is robbed in the forest, learns from the Sun and Moon about Tree of Blessings and the dust made by those who walk many different life paths. How they return to the forest uses that dust to cause the robbers to turn on each other, and causes the Head Robber to want to return the treasures and take responsibility for his former violence and cruelty.

Having gained so much strength and wisdom from all their adventures and teachers, the Youth decides to search for clues to how to water the Tree of Blessings in the world of the Sheydim (demons) which is beyond the two thousand mountains of the Moon. They find many Sheydim there, laughing and joking about the harm they have caused humans. The Youth notices two parents who are weeping because their offspring is missing. They Youth follows them as they learn that their offspring has helped to steal the Island Monarch’s strength which they gave to another friend, who then became a cloud. Their offspring was caught and is being tortured to try to get the Island Monarch’s strength back.

They travel to meet the Sheyd who has become a Cloud. The Cloud tells them that long ago a Sage and her family came to the land near the Tree, and drew a circle of protection around their community. The Sheydim dig ditches around the Tree to keep it from being watered. Once a new Sheyd Queen tried to uproot the Tree, but the Tree screamed and the Sheyd Queen and her ministers ran away. They came to the place of the Sage and asked if they could enter the circle of protection. Once the Sheyd Queen was inside, she grew large and threatened to swallow the Sage, but the Sage said a short prayer and thunder came and destroyed all the ministers of the Sheyd Queen. The Sheyd Queen gave the Sage a book of all the families of the Sheydim.

The old Sage opened the book and saw written there the names of thousands upon thousands of Sheyd families. The Sheyd Queen promised that she would never harm the Sage or her family. She told her to bring portraits of every member of her family. Whenever a child was born they should immediately bring them the child’s portrait. In this way, no harm would come to them.

When it came time for the old Sage to die, she summoned her children and said, “I am leaving you this book. You know that I have the power to make use of the book in holiness. However, I don’t use it but use my faith in the Endless One instead. Even if some of you can use this book in holiness, don’t use it. Trust in the Endless One alone.”

With that the old Sage died, and the book became part of her heritage. Eventually it was inherited by her grandson who had the power to use it in holiness. But he remembered the words of his grandmother and did not use it.

Now there are talkers among the Sheydim who decided to try to tempt the old Sage’s grandson into using the Book of the Sheydim. They said to him, “Your daughters are getting older, and you don’t have money to support them or for their marriage doweries. For the sake of your daughters, you should use this Book.”

Now the grandson didn’t know it was the talkers tempting him, but thought the words were coming from his own heart. Still, he decided to travel to the grave of his grandmother, the Old Sage, to ask her advice. “You left orders in your will that we not use this book, but only trust in the Endless One. But now my heart is tempting me to use it.”

The Old Sage replied, “Even though you have the power to use it in holiness, it is better if you do not make use of it. The Compassionate One will help you.”

The grandson followed the advice of his ancestor.

Notes

Rebbe Nachman regularly visited the grave of his great-grandfather, the Baal Shem Tov, to ask for advice. This practice seemed to be widespread among Jews, and people from the Levant and beyond in general.

According to Rebbe Nachman, there are times when it is okay to use magical names, but only in dire cases. For instance, there are many stories of sages using names to twist time and space to be able to travel far distances very quickly. This technique is called “the jumping of the road” or “k’vitzat ha-derech.” Think wormholes.

Question: What do you imagine a beautiful death to be like? Have you ever witnessed or experienced a complete transformation in which some part died and a new person was reborn?

Path: Netzach (Success) to Hod (Gratitude)

I invite you to turn your attention to the place of Netzach, the right hip and leg. Notice what you may be carrying there, what texture it has when you touch it, what sound it might make if it had a voice. In Kabbalah, this is the place of persistence, of stepping forward, of taking risk. It’s the place of offering, of teaching, of leading.

Now follow the horizontal path to the left hip and leg, to Hod, and notice the energy here. What colors do you see here? If Hod were a plant, what would live here in this moment? In Kabbalah, Hod is the place of gratitude, of receiving, of taking a step back. While Netzach is active, Hod is still and reflective. In Hod we integrate our experiences into learning.

The S’phirah: Tif’eret (Beauty)

This week's S'phirah/Omer energy is Tiferet/Beauty/Heart Center. One of the most visceral of the body's energy centers, our hearts open us to beauty, and beauty opens our hearts.

Our card is Death, transformation handled wisely. In Tarot, the Death Card rules the underworld where the unconscious plays. It is an awesome, beautiful and often fearful place of creativity and change- an important place to enter with friends at your side.

Today is Yom HaZikaron, Memorial Day, and I want, with great respect, to share a bit of the stories from the 20th Joint Memorial ceremony of Palestinians and Israelis. The first excerpt is from Amani Hamdan, who describes herself as “a Palestinian, a daughter of this land.”

“I was buried under the rubble for eight days. My family and I waited helplessly until the Red Cross rescued us… However the pain I endured was unbearable, I lost my husband, my brother and his wife who was pregnant with twins, an unbearable loss. ….And out of this pain and unbearable loss a belief was born in me--- the hope that my future might look different. I decided to devote myself to peace…. I am here to tell you today that our lives are not just sad stories. They are also stories of unbreakable steadfastness, a hope that has arisen from the rubble. Let’s remember that everyday is an opportunity for a new beginning, that we are able to build a better future.” – Amani Hamdan

This next excerpt is from the words of Liel Fishbein, a kibbutznik who lost his sister on October 7th.

“For all my life I wanted a sister. All my childhood prayers were for this. From the day she was born, a love was born in me that I had never known before…(he then goes on to describe his experience of the October 7th attack on his kibbutz) Suddenly I says before me seven terrorist, blindfolded, hands and feet bound, knowing that one of them had probably murdered the person I loved the most in life, and and the strongest feeling that arose in me was compassion. You may find this strange. Sometimes even I can’t quite understand it. Over time that compassion changed, sometimes turning into anger, hatred, disgust. But this is the work we must do as human beings if we want to live in peace with ourselves. We all carry the responsibility of learning how to hold all of it.” --Liel Fishbein

Question: And when have you been the Hanged One, when have you felt immobilized by inner our outer circumstances? Did you find the strength to pause, to consider, to imagine your position reversed?

The Path: Hod (Gratitude) to Yesod (Foundation/ Connection)

First notice your left shoulder, your left arm, the place of Gevurah the S’phirah or Energy Center of this week of the Omer Count. What energy do you sense there? What color is it? What elements do you sense here - Fire? Water? Air? Earth? Breathe into any places of constriction and notice if there is more flow of Gevurah energy. What happens in your body when you welcome in Gevurah’s qualities- Strength, Faithfulness, Steadiness?

Now notice this week’s path that connects the S’phirot of Hod (Gratitude) and Yesod (Foundation/ Passionate Connection/ Desire). Begin by noticing your left hip, thigh, knee and calf. What is it like to spend time in this place of Hod? Is it warm or cool? Wet or dry? If Hod were a place, would it be a city, a town, an ocean, a mountain, or some other place? Notice what happens when you turn toward the qualities of Hod, Gratitude, Receptivity, Learning and Stillness?

Now move your attention to the place of Yesod, to your genital area. What is the texture of Yesod- smooth? Rough? If Yesod were a sound, what would instrument would play it- Strings? Horns? Flute? Drums? What do you notice when you hear, “Yesod is the place of desire, the foundation of life, connection and passion?

Feel the path between Hod and Yesod, as you move from gratitude to passion, from receptivity to connection. Notice if this path wants to change in any way, to become more open, more closed, more aligned in some way.

This week's S'phirah/Omer energy is Gevurah- Strength/ Faith/ Steadiness. Our card is the Hanged One, the one who is hung upside down, but uses their immobility to choose wisely, to take in a new perspective and meditate on how to put their strength into action.

It is easy when afraid, angry or ashamed to choose fight or flight, to rage against those who you see as harming you, or to grow silent and cover yourself with what you see as protection. The Hanged One shows us a different kind of strength, to accept a time of immobility with curiosity. Like a caterpillar bound up in a cocoon, hanging from a branch, we can use this pause as a time to change forms, to reflect on what might give better shape to our lives. Upside down, the world looks dizzyingly confused. What before was solid and assumed, now becomes a wonderland of possibilities.

Not that this is an easy choice much of the time. We are creatures of habits of mind and body. Grief and suffering are part of the process. But as Gandhi wrote from prison:

“Your offspring and I had a lovely island in the sea where we would stay--- that is until the Monarch who owned that island began to build it up, laying a strong foundation wall. How could we go on staying there if this happened? Your offspring said to me, “Why don’t we just take away the Island Monarch’s strength.” So we did.

The Island Monarch was so weak that they went to many physicians but none could help. Then the Monarch began to seek advice from sorcerers. Still all was disappointment, that is until the Island Monarch found one that knew your family. The sorcerer didn’t know my family, so he couldn’t touch me; but sadly, because he knew yours, this sorcerer was able to easily capture your offspring. He is now torturing him terribly.”

On hearing this story, the distraught parents bring their offspring’s friend to their King, who at once orders the friend to give back the Island Monarch’s strength. Unfortunately, the two friends had already given the strength to another Sheyd who was with them and who didn’t have any strength. This Sheyd had become a cloud. The King replies, “I declare that this cloud shall be summoned and brought to me.” He calls for a messenger to do just this.

Meanwhile, the Youth has been listening to all this and says to themself, “How intriguing! I wonder how a Sheyd transforms into a cloud. I’ll tag along and try to figure this out.”

So the Youth follows the messenger to the city where the cloud is. The messenger asks those who live there if this land was always so cloudy, and they reply, “No, not at all. It’s just been this way for a short time.” The messenger summons the cloud from the sky. The Youth hears the messenger ask the cloud, “How did you come to be a cloud here?”

The cloud replies, “I will tell you the story.”

Notes: I’m sure you’ve noticed how enfolded the stories are within each other with new characters filling in details like the Canterbury Tales. It’s a fun storyteller’s device that makes a story immediate and always unfolding.

Since this is Gevurah Week, I invite you to notice how the theme of the story is about strength, and the lack thereof. Notice how many times the power dynamic changes, and how strength is given and received.

In both Tarot and Rebbe Nachman’s Story, this is the second cycle. The same themes are revisited, but with a difference, growth. Strength is lost early on, and then regained toward the end, but not without a journey of gradual revelations and transformations. In the Tarot, I see that the Hanged One is like the Emperor-King who learns from the Empress to use his strength wisely, to pause and consider before plowing ahead. And in the Story, there is a strong parallel between the Island Monarch and the Youth who is robbed and loses the strength to stand.

When have you witnessed your own or someone else’s capacity for violence, for othering, for demonizing, for seeing the worst in the other? When have you, or they, exercised the strength to choose love and kindness instead?

The Path: Chesed (Loving-Kindness) to Netzach (Success)

Notice your right shoulder, your right arm, your right hand. This is the place of Chesed, of Loving Kindness, this week’s S’phirah or energy center. Breathe into the kindness of Chesed, the love that radiates out like the sun- bringing the focus and effortlessness of being in the state of flow. Chesed is connected to Miriam who dances through the parting walls of water, the way that appears when it seems all hope is gone. Let this energy radiate out, easing your shoulder of all that it is struggling to shoulder.

Now follow a straight line down to your right hip, your right thigh, your right knee, your right calf. This is the place of Netzach, of Success. On the path of the Strength Card, the lion’s great strength is yours- you can step out, move forward, do what you couldn’t alone.

Now notice the flow between Chesed- Loving Kindnessj- The Right Shoulder and Arm, and Netzach- Success, the Right Hip and Leg, the energy of loving-kindness guiding the strength of the lion. Breathe this in.

This week’s card brings in the energy of strength, but it’s not the energy of violence. In the traditional decks a femme person stands with a lion- holding the lion’s mouth open, but in most cases, not in an adversarial way. She sees the lion’s capacity for violence, and is not afraid of it. Rather this understanding gives her strength.

As Stephen Apkon, director of the recent documentary “There is Another Way”, about former fighters from opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict says “And one of the most important things that Combatants (for Peace) does and stands for …is that they begin by sharing their personal stories of their involvement in violence. And it is not from a place of seeking forgiveness. It is from a place of acknowledging what we’re all capable of…. The acceptance of (the capacity for violence) being an innate part of being human allows us …. to take responsibility, to integrate it and to understand that also we have the capacity for peace, compassion, and love.” – Stephen

The Strength card has the energy of “there is another way,” the unexpected way that opens, the parting of the seas, just when it seems there is no way forward. In most of the cards there is an infinity sign, often hidden in the femme person’s hat. It seems to hint at the unendingness of this task, the persistence and strength it takes to choose to act from kindness and compassion.

As Stephen Apkon says, “And one of the most powerful acts we can do is to come together and stand in that space of knowing that there is another way.”

-Quotes are from an interview on March 7th, 2025 on Nonviolence Radio, The Metta Center- https://wagingnonviolence.org/metta/podcast/a-new-film-shows-there-is-another-way-in-israel-palestine/

The Story: There is Another Side

We have completed the first cycle of the story in which the youth who couldn’t walk is robbed in the forest, crawls on the ground eating grass and finds a diamond, learns from the Sun and Moon some of the answers to their parent’s last words, “Water Trees” including the power of the dust of the Road with Many Paths. The Youth finds this Road, and collects dust from the many path. The Youth then returns to the forest where they were robbed, ; uses that dust to cause the robbers to turn on each other, and causes the Head Robber to want to return the treasures and take responsibility for his former violence and cruelty. Having gained so much strength and wisdom from all their adventures and teachers, the Youth decides to search for clues to the Tree of Blessings in the world of the Sheydim (demons) which is beyond the two thousand mountains of the Moon. They find find myriads and myriads of Sheydim there, laughing and joking about the harm they have caused humans.

The Youth suddenly notices two parents who are weeping. The other Sheydim are concerned and ask, “Why are you weeping?” The parents reply, “Our offspring would often take trips, but he always returned at the time he told us he would. But that time has come and gone, and more time too, and still our offspring doesn’t return.”

The other Sheydim convince the parents to ask for help from the King of the Sheydim of this region. The King commands that messengers be sent all over the world to find their lost offspring. As the grateful parents are returning home, they happen to meet their offspring’s friend. Now this was the very friend who had set out on this most recent trip together with their offspring. But when they see the friend is alone, the parents’ tears begin to flow anew. The friend asks, “Why are you crying?” When the parents told the friend that their offspring is still missing, the friend replies, “I will tell you what I know.”

Notes: The Sheydim, as noted in the notes from last week, are aligned with the Jewish non-binary world view in which there is not a battle between absolute good and absolute evil; but rather a mixture of good and bad, helpful and not helpful. In today’s section of the story, Rebbe Nachman takes great pains to point this out, showing three examples of the Sheydim’s kindness and compassion.

“We don’t choose to be violent. We are taught to be violent, and the choice is ours to break that cycle.” — Sulaiman Khatib (combatants for peace)

Question: Passover marks the end of one growing season and the beginning of the next. The first of the winter wheat is harvested and ground into spring matzah- one year’s cycle ends and another begins.

It is also the time of carefully watching the growing of the wheat and barley as it ripens slowly over seven weeks. These are the weeks of the counting of the Omer, a tenuous time. On one hand, we watch the sky for signs of rain that will cause the grain to rot in the field; on the other hand, we wait as long as possible for the grasses to grow larger and the harvest to be full and abundant.

As you stock of all you have learned since the last turning of the seasons, what skies do you watch anxiously? What tender seeds within yourself, within your community, within the earth; are you watching carefully, and nurturing so they will rise up and come into their fullness?

The Path: Tife'eret (Beauty- the Heart Center) to Netzach (Success- the Right Hip and leg)

Our card is the Wheel of Fortune, the one who listens to the inner voice in order to change one's Fortune and escape the Wheel of endless repetition of not-so-useful habits and patterns. Perfect for Passover's freedom rituals, this is the completion of one cycle of soul growth and learning, and the beginning of the next.

James Baldwin describes the Wheel of Fortune's energy when he wrote, "We have made this world. Now we have to remake it." As we complete a cycle of the seasons of growth in the natural world, we have the opportunity to repeat what we did last time, staying in an endless loop of the world we have already made. Or we can put our focus and intention on listening to the inner voices and dreams that guide us, and move in a spiral to a more expansive and aligned way of circling through the seasons. This choice to not repeat our mistakes, to not give in to the patterns that get us stuck in Mitzrayim, (the Narrow Place) is the way to remake the world.

The Rebbe Nachman story and the Tarot both follow two cycles. The first is one of awakening our positive archetypes and learning to face our inner robbers that steal our vitality and joy. The second turning of the spiral is also a cycle of facing challenges and gathering beloved community, but this time our challenges are bigger, and they are met with more skill and understanding. The healing and returning of lost treasures, of our lost ease, creativity, strength and generosity, now ripple out further and further, remaking the world and watering the withering Tree of Blessings.

Now we come to the completion of the first cycle of the story in which the youth who couldn’t walk is robbed in the forest, crawls on the ground and finds a diamond, learns from the Sun and Moon some of the answers to their parent’s last words, “Water Trees” including the power of the dust of the Road with Many Paths. There the Youth collects dust from the paths; and uses that dust to cause the robbers to turn on each other, and causes the Head Robber to want to return the treasures and take responsibility for his former violence and cruelty.

Having gained so much strength and wisdom from all their adventures and teachers, the Youth can think of nothing but their parent’s final admonition, “Water Trees!” They think back to the Sun’s words about the Tree with many different leaves and fruit that grow on its many branches- each with a different healing power for the world. But the Tree has not been watered and no leaves and fruits grow. The Youth wonders, “How can I find this Tree of Blessing?” Their only clue is the Moon’s words about the sheydim, the demons, that live in a place hidden beyond the Moon’s range of a two thousand mountains. They think, “Perhaps if I find the Sheydim, I will learn the whereabouts of the Tree of Blessings.”

Now that the Youth held the magical diamond that let them travel great distances in an instant to where their inner voice led them, they found themselves standing beyond the Moon’s two thousand mountains, staring from a distance at myriads and myriads of Sheydim families. The Sheydim have children, just like humans, and they have leaders that sit upon magnificent thrones. No human being ever sat on a throne that could compare.

The Youth heard them joking about their hurtful actions-- harming a child, injuring someone’s hand or foot. These are things they found funny.

The Youth suddenly noticed two parents who were weeping. The other Sheydim were concerned and asked, “Why are you weeping?”

If you’ve read Jewish folk stories, you’ll encounter Sheydim, otherworldly beings that often screw things up and are sometimes vicious and harmful, and other times fun and playful. They also can have wisdom and compassion, and not a little transformative magic. They often have wings and the feet of birds, and some are connected to snakes and other animals. Many can pass as human. Most are aligned with the Jewish non-binary world view in which there is not a battle between absolute good and absolute evil; but rather a mixture of good and bad, helpful and not helpful. We have inside us both helpful, aligned parts, and others that throw us out of alignment and cause harm. At our core, our Neshamahs are untouched by all the dramas and traumas, and sometimes, deeply enfolded, remain clear inner guides.

The Moon is often connected to humans who wax and wain in our balance and alignment, in the Light we’re able to reflect. The Moon is also what marks the months of the Lunar Calendar, and guides the seasons of planting and celebration. It guides the changes in our lives, the turning of the Wheel of Fortune, the constant rhythm of change.

The next cycle of the story takes place on the Moon, in the land of the Sheydim. Often in folk stories, only the wise can gain from an encounter with Sheydim, and not easily. Many of the Sheydim are tricksters, and it takes all our strength and kindness to not fall into their traps, but to exercise our freedom to choose how we respond. In Viktor Frankl’s words, “Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Feel Chochmah in your body, the right side of the third eye, the place of Wisdom. Feel into Chochmah’s stillness, the steadiness that shines like a star. Lean into this steadiness, feeling the whirling of your thoughts slow and settle, becoming clear as a cloudless night sky. Now follow the path down to Tife’ret, Beauty, in the Heart Center. Feel the beating of your heart, it’s four chambers pumping blood through rivers of arteries and veins. Sense the beating of the heart of the world as the rivers flow down the mountaintops of the world and are drawn up again into clouds, and falling as rain. Feel this heart connection with all the beings of the world and beyond. Now return to Chochmah, following the diagonal path up the Tree of Life to the right side of the Third Eye. Know that you can always return here when you need a star to guide you.

The Tarot Card: The Hermit (9/ט)

The Hermit’s path is the mirror image of the Tower’s path, the card that began this series. Both these cards deal with a crisis. The Tower was the cataclysm that shook us up and sent us into uncharted waters, the Breaking of the Vessels/ Big Bang moment. Now that we have done some inner work, we return to this crisis with the wisdom of the Hermit who holds a lantern for others in the dark. This time we have our bearings, and can use the energy of the whirlwind more wisely. It is thought that the Phoenician letter ‘teth’ means “spinning wheel.” Long-time organizers and movement scholars, Mark and Paul Engler call their articles on social change strategy, “Dispatches from the Whirlwind” and discuss how to use the spinning intensity of this moment’s crises to catalyze the nation’s momentum to reverse course.

Nine is the number of months of pregnancy, and with the ninth card we are ready for a generative rite of passage that will lead to a rebirth. Tet is the first letter of the word “Tov” meaning “good” ; and the Zohar, a primary mystical text from the same era and place that birthed Tarot, says the spiral shape of the letter טTet refers to, “It’s good is hidden within.” Like the Tet, the Hermit turns within for the clarity that comes from solitude to become a modest, often-hidden shower of the way through the dark

Now when the youth realized no robbers remained, they quickly descended from the branches of the tall tree, carefully wiped up the mixed dusts of Tzedek and Mishugas, and spread just the dust of Tzedek, of Justness, on the path. The youth then hid in the top of the tree again, and when the robbers didn’t return, the Head Robber himself together with one last robber, set out to see what had befallen them. When the Head Robber stepped on the pure powder of Tzedek, he became a Tzaddik. The pain of all his past crimes descended on him, and the Head Robber cried out over and over with great and sincere regret and remorse. The youth saw the Head Robber’s change of heart, and climbed down the tree. When the Head Robber saw the youth, he began to beg the youth to tell him a way to heal his torn soul. The youth replied, “First, give me back what you stole from me.” Now the robbers had kept a meticulous record of everything they had stolen, including the day and the victim. The Head Robber, said, “I will return it immediately, and I will even give you all the other wealth that I stole. Just give me a way to do T’shuvah, to repent and return.

“There is only way you can do T’shuvah” said the youth. “You must go to the city and confess that you were the one who caused many people to become robbers, and that you yourself have robbed and murdered many people.”

The Head Robber gave the youth all the treasures, and went with them to the city to confess his crimes. The youth returned all that had been stolen to the families of those who had been murdered and robbed, and there were many tears of sorrow for their loved ones, and gratitude to have their treasures returned. As the full weight of his crimes bore down on him, the Head Robber's soul broke and he died.

Question: Purim is a time to envision a more just world where targeted peoples team up to come out, thwart wicked plans, save the day and celebrate. It has trickster energy, a playfulness that helps us release burdens and imagine into hope- "hold on- possibilities exist."

As Rebecca Solnit writes, “Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal... To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.”

Is there a time when you felt triggered and fell right back into old patterns? Is there a time, you caught yourself before you fell too far or not at all?

The Path: Chesed (Loving Kindness) to T’feret (Beauty): Feel Chesed in your body, the energy of the right shoulder down the arm to the hand. Notice if there is ease or tightness anywhere, what you may be holding on to, what burdens you may be shouldering. What color is the energy of your Chesed? What sound? What name? Chesed can hold all your to-do’s with kindness and flow, knowing just what to do and what not to. Rest into Chesed, knowing you will be guided and supported. Now move toward the middle, to the heart center of T’feret’s beauty. Notice if there is ease or constriction, if there is something you may be holding on your heart. What is its temperature- hot or cold? Is it wet or dry? Ask its name. Rest into T’feret’s beauty and compassion. How does your heart feel now? Feel how the balanced heart-center shines, guiding the work of your right hand so you stay in Justice’s equilibrium throughout your day.

The Tarot Card: Justice (or Balance): Justice, Justice you will pursue! Tzedek, tzedek tirdof / צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף says the Torah, a call to “give yourself to the future,” to the generations to come, to do what is yours to do in this short lifetime for. But what is mine to do? Oy! How to live in balance, to weigh on the balance scales the body’s limits against the soul’s wild desire to do more? Every action has its shadow has its shadow, so how do we judge which way does more good and less harm? When we are ready, we call on the clarity of Justice and the path that connects the heart with the right arm, to wield the sword of Light and cut away the cords that bind us to old patterns. We do what we can this time around knowing this is ongoing work, and we will be called to Re-Balance again and again.

You may remember how the Seventh Beggar, the one who couldn’t walk, told their story on the last night of the wedding. How their father’s words were, “Remember, Water Trees!” but they had no idea what that meant, so they hired a horse, wagon, driver and secretary, and became a traveling merchant. How they were robbed and abandoned in a forest, and survived by crawling on the ground eating grasses. How they discovered a 4-sided diamond under the roots of one of the grasses, and how when they grasped one side it lifted them up to the place where Day and Night meet. How they heard the Sun tell the Moon about the wonderful tree that could bring healing to the whole world if it were only watered, and how powerless they were as the Sun’s heat only dried the tree even more. How the Moon replied that they have Sheydim, human-like creatures with chicken feet, who pull energy from the Moon’s own feet. How they know of a dust that could heal weak feet, but the wind comes and blows it away. How the Sun told of the Road of Many Paths where there was plenty of dust to heal one’s feet. How the youth was transported by the diamond to this place where they healed their own feet with the dust, and then gathered the dust of the other paths in little bundles.

The youth considered where to go, and decided that they must do what they can to stop the robbers. They came to the forest where they had been robbed and chose a tall tree close to the path the robbers used. They then mixed some of the powder of “Tzedek” or Justice/ Rightness, with the powder of “Mishugas” or Confusion, and spread this on the path. The youth climbed the tall tree and sat there, waiting to see what would happen.

A group of robbers came to the path, and as soon as they stepped on the powder, they become “Tzaddiks”, “Righteous People”. Immediately they fell to the ground, crying for their souls, for they were struck with deep remorse and compassion for the pain of the many people they had murdered and robbed.

Because the dust was mixed with the dust of Mishugas, they began to fight each other. Each one blamed another for forcing them to kill and steal, and they fought as the murderers they were until they had all killed each other.

When the robbers did not return, the Head Robber sent out another second group, and then a third, until all the robbers had destroyed each other.

Reflections: Catherine Shainberg, head teacher of the School of Images writes, "Creativity requires a death to renew itself. We will die and be reborn in a new configuration." This part of the story is the hardest for me. I know that death can be symbolic, a complete release of a way of being. It is a powerful jolt that shakes you up, and perhaps lets you tap into something deeper and unexpected. And yet, death seems like a giving up on a human being's ability to change and grow- and in this world of justifications for mass murder, this metaphor seems dangerous. I'm curious what you think.

It's interesting that this refers to a decidedly non-violent chapter in King David's life. He was not yet king, and was being pursued by the jealous King Saul and his armies. David and the Prophet Samuel were hiding in the forest with a group of Tzaddikim who were deep in meditations and mystical visions. As each band of Saul's army approaches, they are overwhelmed by the energy of Samuel and David's people, and they cast off their swords and become Tzakkim themselves. This happens again and again until there is no one left to stand against David. Talk about de-escalation!

Rebbe Nachman explicitly patterns the Youth, the Seventh Beggar, after David who Kabbalistically is connected to the last of the seven s'phirot of the Tree of Life, Malchut or Shechinah, the way we walk in the world. It's an interesting choice to tell a story of non-violent transformation using metaphors of murder.

I think of this story in relationship to the story of the Buddha awakening under the Bodhi Tree. Terrifying vision after vision appears to him, and he does not recoil or budge from the tree, but holds on and keeps his balance until all his trauma is finally healed. The youth also witnesses terrible ways of being that are part of all humans including themself, and does not lose hope or fall into fear, anger or shame. Each time we do that, a bit more is cleared away, until old habits die away, and new ones grow strong and solid.

The Path: Chochmah (Wisdom to G’vurah (Strength) an upper diagonal path- Feel Chochmah in your body, the right side of the third eye. Sense how everything is in place, how there is a beautiful order and pattern throughout existence from the spinning galaxies to the spinning atoms. Now feel your body descend gently toward your left shoulder, to G’vurah, Strength, the One who holds steady in the confusion. Here you lose sight of that breathtaking order and all around are swirling waters that try to pull you in, to submerge you. Feel into the unwaveringness of G’vurah, and remember the beauty of existence. Feel this as a strong chariot that takes you where you most long to go.

The Tarot Card: The Chariot- A chariot takes you places you couldn’t have gone on foot, magically transporting and protecting you. It is all about speed and motion and takes all your concentration to steer it forward. When you enter the chariot, you are ready to make a quantum leap and to move swiftly toward a challenge that you are now prepared for. In the Torah, Ezekiel tells of his experience of the Merkavah, the magical Chariot that lets him travel the paths of the Tree of Life from one world to the next. This Chariot has four sides, each with a different animal: a bull (the body), a lion (the heart), an eagle (the mind) and an angel (the soul.) When all four are in balance, we can move quickly and successfully forward in our lives.

You may remember how the Seventh Beggar, the one who couldn’t walk, told their story on the last night of the wedding. How their father’s words were, “Remember, Water Trees!” but they had no idea what that meant, so they hired a horse, wagon, driver and secretary, and became a traveling merchant. How they were robbed and abandoned in a forest, and survived by crawling on the ground eating grasses. How they discovered a 4-sided diamond under the roots of one of the grasses, and how when they grasped one side it lifted them up to the place where Day and Night meet. How they heard the Sun tell the Moon about the wonderful tree that could bring healing to the whole world if it were only watered, and how powerless they were as the Sun’s heat only dried the tree even more. How the Moon replied that they have Sheydim, human like creatures with chicken feet, who pull energy from the Moon’s own feet. How they know of a dust that could heal weak feet, but the wind comes and blows it away.

“Moon, there is no need to worry” answered the Sun. “I’ll tell you about a cure. There is wide road with many paths branching off from it. One is the path of the Tzaddik, the Just Person. When someone acts justly, some of that dust is sprinkled under every step they take. Then there is the path of the one full of doubts. If I person constantly doubts, the dust of this path is scattered under every step. There is also a path of those with confused minds.

Yet another path of this road is for Tzaddikim who accept suffering upon themselves. Although the greedy capitalists put them in chains so their feet are week, the dust of this path gives their feet strength.

You must go there and get dust from this path! There is plenty of dust, and it will heal your feet and make them strong again.”

When the youth heard this, they looked at the diamond in their hand and saw it written on another side that if one were to grasp that side, they would be immediately taken to this very road where many paths branch off. Without hesitation the youth grasped this side and suddenly found themselves at this magical highway.

They crawled to the dust that heals feet and placed their feet on this path. They felt the earth’s strength enter their feet, and miraculously they could easily walk. The youth went from path to path, collecting each dust in a separate bundle.

Reflection: I know this sounds so convenient that the diamond took the youth to place of many paths- but if this is a dream opening using the Pardess system (P (p’shat)- Story line, R (remez)-Hints and Patterns, D (Drash)-Question Quest, S (Sod)- the Secret, the Hidden Treasure) then the P’shat stories of the Sun and Moon would have to bring us into Remez, the place of hints and patterns. Here we experience more about the qualities of the mysterious dust that can heal feet, can connect us to the earth and help us move in our lives and do some tikkuning for ourselves and others.

What is the road of many paths?

What are the Chariots in this story that the youth rides to success?

The Path: Keter (the Crown/ Opening to Oneness) to Binah (Understanding/ the Heart)- the Left Side's Top diagonal path- Feel Keter in your body, the very top of your head, the crown. Now see it open up, become a portal. Step through this portal up into the vast blue sky. Feel what it is to float in this vast emptiness, in this oneness. Now feel your body descend gently toward the left side of your third eye to Binah, Understanding, the One who births forms, and fills the world with myriads of beings. Breathe in the beautiful curiosity of the mind that seeks to understand what makes us different, that connects us. Now rise again, up to the oneness of Keter through the crown of the head, expanding into the Endless Light. Notice how your body and this pathway feels now.

Tarot Card- The Lover- The Lover is a complicated card. It holds all the obstacles and possibilities of deeply knowing another being, and seeks to find words that will fly like birds into the strange land of another’s understanding. Perhaps because it is so unlikely, when Lovers unite, when we bridge the differences and feel understanding and understood; it strikes us like rounding a corner and seeing a rainbow splashed across the sky. We are stopped by the beauty. We yearn to fall into it. We are in love.

Letter- ו – Vuv, Number 6- Vuv means “and” a “hook.” Like the Lover Card, Vuv connects things together, highlighting both differences and similarities. The six-pointed star is made of two opposing triangles, one pointing up, one pointing down. At worst, it sets up rigid binaries that we reject and push away. At best, the flexible dynamic binaries challenge and inform us, stir us to grow and move. Like the six days of creation, Vuv is creative energy that lights up when we allow love and attraction to bridge differences, connect us, help us to see through each other’s eyes, and to understand what we couldn’t by looking through our own.

The Sun was saying to the Moon: “There is a Tree that has many branches, and each branch has different fruit and leaves; and each branch, fruit and leaf has a unique medicine. One supports healthy childbearing, one grants good livelihood, and others are used for healing different sicknesses.

This Tree must be watered! If it were, its leaves would grow green and it fruit would ripen, and be filled with great healing powers. But not only am I unable to water it myself, I just make things worse. When I shine I just cause the Tree to be dryer than before.”

The Moon replied, “You are concerned with the suffering of the Tree, but I am also suffering. I have a thousand mountains, and around these are another thousand mountains. This is the place of the sheydim. They look like humans in every way except they have delicate feet like chickens. Because of this, they pull strength from my feet causing them to become very weak. I have a dust that would heal my feet, but a wind comes and blows it away.”

Ahhh…. Here, at the place where day and night meet, we begin to understand the parent’s last words, “Remember, Water Trees!” But this is no surprise to us. The Tree of Life is weakened and must be watered. And if it were, it’s healing powers would spread throughout the world- we would return to balance.

And the Sun can’t do it! What is it to want so much to help, but not to be able to do anything?

The Moon seems to be concerned only with their own problem, but somehow, they are related. And certainly what they say about the Sheydim who pull strength from feet is related to the experience of the youth whose feet are also weak. What is this strength that gets pulled from us, uprooting us from the earth so we collapse and crawl upon the ground like a snake? What would you call it?

The Moon suggests there is a way to heal this weakness, but the wind blows it away. Like the Sun, they know there is a way forward, but neither can do it alone.

Perhaps that is where we come in.

For Rebbe N, this place where the day and night meet is the Torah/ Wisdom Teachings that “are our delight and we meditate on them Day and Night (ps 1)” How do we unlock their understanding? How do we form the bridge of the Lover Card so they guide and heal us?

Tarot Card- the High Priest- Our last card, the Emperor, makes things happen in the world. And if he is wise, his strength comes from the fertile earth energy of the Empress. This week's card, the High Priest, the Cohen Gadol, is paired with the High Priestess. While she does the deep solo dive into the inner world of dreams, the High Priest transmits those teachings in practical ways- offering healing and guidance for the body and the earth.

The High Priest holds the mysterious stones, the urim (Lights) and tumim (Truths), to enter the mystical Orchard. He uses the four states of consciousness of the Pardess to enter the Light of the dream and to discern Truth from fantasy and nightmare. The four worlds are embodied in the consonants of the word Pardess- (P, R, D, S). P is for p'shat- the details, the story, the form, the body, the earth; R is for remez, the hints and universal patterns that are resonant in the story; D is for drash, the questions that these spark- What is needed now? What do I not understand in this story? Why are these patterns arising? What needs a tikkun, a healing?; S is for sod, what is hidden- when I enter the dreaming, what images, sensations and answers arise?

Path- Keter (the Crown/ Opening to Oneness) to Chochmah (Wisdom)- the Right Side's Top diagonal path- Feel Keter in your body, the crown of your head, the very top of your body where a kippah sits as a lens to open to the Infinite Darkness and the Infinite Light. Float for a moment in this Endlessness, this Oneness. Now go down through the kippah lens, contracting your light a bit and feel the pathway to Chochmah, the right side of the Third Eye. Taste the energy of Chochmah's wisdom and wholeness, allowing it to fill your body. Notice how your body and this pathway feels now.

Letter- ה Hey, Number 5- Hey means "take," and implies the reciprocity of giving and taking. It also appears twice in the unpronounceable Sacred Name, Yud, Hey, Vuv, Hey; implying that the flow of giving and taking is connected to tuning into the Ground of all Being.

You may remember how the Seventh Beggar, the One who couldn't walk, told their story on the seventh night of the wedding. How their father's last words were, "Remember to Water Trees" but they had no idea what this meant or how to do it. How they decided to become a merchant, and with their siblings' help, hired a horse and wagon, a driver and a personal secretary to help them. And how there had been a famine in the land and some people were tricked by a stranger into becoming a band of robbers. How they robbed the youth as their wagon entered a forest at night. How the driver and secretary ran away, and the robbers stripped the wagon of everything. How the youth had eaten all the food they had with them, and then had thrown themself onto the earth and become very afraid.

Perhaps it was the shock of being robbed, or the fear of the night lying on the ground, but where before the youth could stand but not walk, now the youth couldn’t even stand. All they could do is crawl on the ground, pulling themself along. Desperate, they began to chew on the grasses for this was all they could reach. How long they crawled with their belly on the ground they did not know, but gradually they found they could sustain themself by chewing the sweetest of the grasses. They came to know the grasses wells, so when one day they came upon a grass they had never seen before, they were very curious and carefully dug it up roots and all. And there, hidden in the roots, was a radiant four-sided diamond!

Each side had writing inscribed on it. On one side it said, “You would be foolish to go home! Instead grasp this side and you will be taken to the place where the Sun and the Moon meet.” Now the youth couldn't quite believe this, but as soon as they grasped this side of the diamond, they felt themself lifted up into the sky to the place where day and night meet. They looked around and saw the sun and moon close together, deep in conversation.

It was these robbers who attacked the wagon of the youth who couldn’t walk. The assistant and the wagon driver fled, leaving the youth alone. When the robbers came to take the money chest, they asked the youth, “Why are you sitting here?” The youth replied, that they couldn’t walk. The robbers laughed and took the chest and the horses, leaving the youth alone in the wagon.

Now the youth had brought food from home, and as long as there was a bit of dry bread left, they remained in the wagon. But when even this was gone and no help had come, they decided their best hope was to sustain themselves by eating grass. So they threw themselves from the wagon and spent the night alone in the field, and were very frightened.

Tarot Card - The Empress - While the High Priestess does the solitary dive into the dreaming waters, the Empress works in partnership and community, using dreams to bring new life into being. How do we enter the Empress' green and creative realm of dreams? And once there, how do we honor the Empress's endless creativity- tikkuning the nightmares, and opening to the bewildering guidance of her dreams?

Path - The Vertical Path from Binah (Knowledge/ Left Side of Third Eye) to Gevurah (Strength-Trust/ Left Shoulder.) Feel what it is to bring the moon knowledge of Binah- the birthplace of a myriad words into the strength, trust and faith that you hold in your left shoulder and hand.

Letter- ג / Gimmel-3- The letter three is dynamic and creative! While two are opposites that balance and challenge each other, three is an unimagined way that opens beyond either/or.

This is the story that the Seventh Beggar told, the one who couldn’t walk. You may recall how their wise father’s last words were, “Remember to water trees.” How they decided that instead of relying on their siblings’ support, they would become a traveling merchant. How their siblings now gave them more money to start out. How the driver and trusted assistant had urged them to stop at a town, but they had said “no” and continued on into the night of a dark woods where robbers watched for easy prey.

Ask the Empress, how do I make the dry earth wet again? How do I water trees?

How do I release myself from the lure of my inner robbers? What do they tell me that cuts me off from the power of my dreams?

How does the Empress guide me to counter the growth of the outer robbers who are rising up in our world with their nightmares of greed, cruelty, deportations, surveillance and abuse?

Tarot Card - The High Priestess - The High Priestess is wise in the ways of the solitary inner journey, diving deep into the dreaming waters of Chochmah to bring us clues and secrets to guide us and help us bring Chesed/ Loving Kindness into the works of our hands. The High Priestess trusts her own inner experiencing and imaging, knowing that it reveals something important even if it seems to make no sense in the light of day. She pays attention to the hidden, and feels at home in mystery.

Path - The Vertical Path from Chochmah (Wisdom/ Right Side of Third Eye) to Chesed (Loving Kindness/ R Shoulder.) Feel what it is to bring the ineffable wisdom of Chochmah- the wordless meditative state, into what you shoulder and support; and into the work and expressions of your hand.

Letter - Bet/ ב - Bet is the first letter of the first word of the Torah, "B'reisheet" meaning in the beginning. Bet gives the first form to the endless light of the Aleph- turning the unity of oneness into two. Bet means "house" and it is the house of the soul, separating it from endlessness, and letting it move through life on its own unique path.

Path: Horizontal "Mother" Path from Chesed (Loving Kindness/ R Shoulder) to Gevurah (Strength of the Fairthful Freind/ L Shoulder). These sefirot are at the center of the Tree, one of three horizontal paths that the Sefer Yetsirah calls the Mother Paths, the paths that connect and synthesize the binary qualities of the left and right (note: Sefer Yetzirah or Book of Formation is the oldest known Kabbalistic text. It is thought to have existed in Biblical times and is attributed to Abraham (Aryeh Kaplan- Sefer Yetzirah, intro)).

Letter: Aleph-#1. Aleph is said to have been created before the Big Bang. It is connected to the Hebrew Letter א, aleph, which begins the word for light- Or

(אוֹר ) . In it's shape, the aleph is a diagonal line that connects the spark of light from above, to the spark of light from below. It's the synthesis of form and formlessness, of multiplicity and oneness, of dark and light.

Tarot Card: #1 the Magician- the Magician is both the true sage who can do real magic, and the trickster who makes us believe for an instant that what we thought is impossible is actually possible, and tricks us with smoke, mirrors and magical words. Both the sage and the trickster inspire us to take up the fool's journey that leads to our own neshamah's true path. The Magician helps us learn to dip into the creative possibilities of the formless, infinite dark, to heal and guide our actions in the conscious world of day.

The Seventh Beggar, the one who couldn't walk, came to the wedding of the two youths on the seventh night of celebration. He told them his story and blessed them, "May you be like me." This is what he said:

In this time of great suffering, how easy do you find it to slip into hiding from your heart-- to just move on? Things are so shattered that there may seem no possibilities for healing, and it seems so practical, smart, worldly. But hiding from the dark dream-time ultimately leads to even more suffering. Our Neshamahs long for love, for life, for healing, for community, for joy, for living our truths.

This is at the heart of this circle- to practice together entering the Darkness of Possibilities when we feel shattered, and to find there the tikkun, the healing, the shift we need to make. It is a practice, a muscle that needs exercise, and so powerful to do together, in community.

Path: Vertical Center Path from Yesod (Foundation) to Shechinah/ Malchut (Embodied Guidance),

These sefirot are at the very bottom of the Tree, the central path that leads from the place of desire (genitals) to an openness to the sacredness of the body, the world, and the guidance that comes from being present. The letter is Tav, the last letter in the alephbet, and the last letter in the word B'reisheet- in the beginning of creation, the music of creation, the Light that comes from the Dark.

Tarot Card: #22 the Fool- Again this is unique to the Merseille Deck in Tarot methods to continue with the fool, the one who knows nothing and places all trust in the unknown. Jewish stories abound with sacred fools- from Chelm stories of the town of fools, to stories of the Baal Shem Tov who, like the fool in the Marseille deck, would be so connected to the Source of Life that he'd walk straight off a mountain, and the nearby mountains, in their love would move quickly together and solid land would appear below his feet.

Path: Binah to Tiferet (Understanding to Beauty)- Both these s'phirot center around the heart- Binah is the heart mother who gives birth to the thousand thousand forms; and Tiferet, which lives at the heart center, is the beauty that opens our hearts. A good place to start!

Tarot Card: #16, the Tower- This is unique to the Merseille Deck in Tarot methods to start with the Tower, the leap from a burning tower; but it's so Jewish. In Kabbalah, the origin myth starts with a cataclysm called "The Breaking of the Vessels", a cosmic explosion, a Big Bang, that begins life.

Each Beggar represents a S'phirah on the Tree of Life, which is many things: an energy center in the body like a chakrah, a quality to be awakened in our lives, a way of understanding and balancing the emotions and feelings, a system of healing that can be applied on many levels. The seventh beggar, is the bottom of the Tree of Life, called Malchut or Shechinah (Embodied Guidance)- connected to the feet, and the way we walk in the world. They bring the paradigm shift that we long for!