Rituals

Inter-religious Bearing Witness Retreat in Auschwitz

Rabbi Ohad is among the clergy officiating this year at the Zen Peacemakers  Bearing Witness retreat in Auschwitz,Poland, with Roshi Bernie Glassman, along with religious leaders from all faiths.    This will be Ohad’s 7th year  joining  this very powerful retreat to bear witness to the pain and atrocities that took place there.

Bernie visited the camps on his own some 15 years ago. After witnessing the  pain that people had upon seeing the camps on  their  first encounter, he saw that there was no outlet for the devastation which the people were experiencing when they visited. They would go in and have a tremendous rush of  feelings and despair, and leave. After viewing this Bernie vowed to bring a group back to bear witness. The next year he took 150 people, and for the past 15 years there have been bearing witness retreats following that first one.

There are three tenents of the Socialy Engaged Buddhism of which this work is a part of.

The first is not knowing,

the second is Bearing Witness,

the third is loving Action.

During the retreat we first have a tour of the Jewish ghetto in Krakow. Then the next day we go to Oschwintzen, known by the Germans as Auscwitz. We stay in simple lodgings in a hostel near by the camps. we start the day with a tour of the camps. in general the days are broken down into morning  council sharing groups, where you might be with a polle, a german, children of perpetrators, and victims together. It is a very necessary and important component of the retreat. Here we have time to sort out our mixture of feelings, and share in one another’s feelings,and listen from the heart..

Later in the days we go to the camps and sit in one of the camp sites, barracks or yards for meditation sessions. The never ending reading of names of those perished in the camp is the mantra for all meditation sessions.

Every day there are also rituals taking place, of all the religions and paths present in the retreat – Christian, Buddhist and Jewish. R. Ohad is holding the Jewish ritual, accompanying it with his guitar and praying with old and new Hasidic tunes of Dvekut (= devotion, surrender).

Dawn is also coming this year for her second time to the retreat, with an intention to serve the retreat.

One thing is important to know: Auschwits is not over. it is not merely a historical site. It is a testimony to what humanity can cause to itself.

R. Ohad is planning to take part in the spiritual holding of the next retreat, coming on Nov 2010. For more info about the bearing Witness retreat and Socialy Engaged Buddhism visit the international Zen Peacemakers family website

Rituals

LILITH as A BLESSING FOR THE WORLD (short article)

LILITH—A BLESSING FOR THE WORLD

Ohad Ezrahi / April, 2010

Translated by Yair Ohr

Men and women alike need to know how to respect her and how to give her a place within themselves: Lilith—the awesome, untamed, feminine sexual energy. If we do not give her place, she will strike us harshly: she will destroy our intimate relations and poison us from the inside. But if we learn how to give her place and to work with her using appropriate skills, she will be transformed into blessed energy, to a power that blesses us as women and as men, that blesses our intimate relations with stability and perpetual freshness, with juiciness and with razor-sharp clarity.

In the Jewish mythical tradition,  the Midrash and the Kabbalah, relates that Eve was not the first woman to be created. Eve was in fact the second woman, who was created only after the first woman—Lilith—got into an argument with Adam and fled from the Garden of Eden.

Eve and Lilith are of different natures: Eve is the family woman. She is the mother. Her love is to bring children into the world and to raise them, to cook for them and to be a “housewife.” She accepts the social hierarchy in which the male dominates society, and she functions within that system. She allows for the financial, social, sexual and intellectual superiority of the male, supporting the existing social order.

Lilith, on the other hand, rebels against this “superior order.” From the day of her creation, Lilith perceives herself as an independent woman who will not accept the dominating male authority. She is not willing to accept male superiority in any sphere—not in the workplace, social interactions, academia, or sexual relations. She demands freedom for herself, and even if it will cost her heavily, she is willing to pay the price.

NOT JUST A FEMINIST

However, we should not make the mistake of perceiving in Lilith the simplistic image of a feminist woman. While feminism has neutralized women’s femininity in order to make them equal with men (see Femophobia – How Women Have Become Men, by Tovi Browning), Lilith is a specifically feminine energy. Lilith is not afraid of the power of her female eroticism, and does not deny her outbursting  of femininity.

In several places throughout the Kabbalistic texts of the Ari it is stated that each woman possesses both of these aspects: within every woman there is both an Eve and a Lilith. However, our society is built in such a way that its members are generally unable to deal with a woman who expresses both of these aspects.

Our society is structured so that each woman must choose between being an “Eve” or a “Lilith.” By causing this split, our society brings untold suffering upon women and their mates. (The many Kabbalistic sources of Lilith’s spiritual roots, spread throughout the prolific literature of the Ari, are collected and analyzed in my book, Who’s Afraid of Lilith? [Hebrew] Modan 2004.)

Based upon ideas already found in the Zohar, the Ari develops the approach that sees in Lilith a very spiritually sublime aspect of femininity, even higher than that of Eve. The ideal, though, according to the Ari, is the integration of both of these aspects anew, into one single feminine image that can fearlessly be either Eve or Lilith.

So that this may happen, women must go through an inner transformation, befriending anew the power of Lilith within themselves, a power that generally speaking they have long ago suppressed into some forgotten corner in order to survive in a socially acceptable way. But women cannot accomplish this transformation on their own. Both sexes are responsible for the creation of a society and its proper functioning. Men must also go through a transformation in order for Lilith to return to live and breathe comfortably among us.

MEN ARE AFRAID OF LILITH

Men feel threatened by Lilith. She threatens their position of power and their self-confidence. But we must understand the male paradox regarding Lilith: specifically because Lilith does not accept male domination nor suppress her wild sexuality from bursting forth as does Eve, she poses an erotic seduction that is very difficult for men to withstand. Men yearn for a woman like Lilith, a woman who is able to express the fullness of her unbridled passions, who is willing to be a sexual creature, to be active in bed, to be a woman who derives great pleasure from sexuality and is not one bit ashamed of it, who is able to be both gross and refined, both sensual and seductive, a woman who is able to be both transparent and mysterious simultaneously. Men yearn in the depths of their hearts for such a woman, who does not lecture them about morals, who does not have “headaches,” who does not all of a sudden need to prepare a child’s sandwich for school… They yearn for a free and liberated woman who can tear them apart with her unbridled passions while never allowing herself to become taken for granted. Lilith is thus the object of male passion, of sexual fantasy, a never-ending adventure for men. But at the same time, she is also a threat for their orderly world. For this reason, “normal” men are very afraid of such a woman.

The Zohar states that both Adam and Jacob were afraid of Lilith’s power, which is why they perceived her in a negative way. But this was only on account of their own smaller statures compared to her, and not because she actually was like that. And in fact—she is at a very high level. Perhaps even too high.

For this reason, a man usually decides to suppress his passions, to denigrate Lilith and to besmirch “women like that.” He may occasionally falter, and then he seeks her out discretely. He will find her in the prostitute, in the courtesan, in the secret lover, in the dark romance, in the Internet pornography. She will seduce him in dreams and fantasies; she will be his femme fatale. Afterwards, he will lash out at himself (and at her), and endeavor to establish a society “without such disgraceful phenomena.” He will decry her, “Abomination!”

THE PARADOX OF LILITH’S SOUL

The problem with the “Lilith type” is that she too is aware of these social codes. She too grew up in a fearful male society, and though she rebelled against those “ethics,” she still integrated them into herself and assesses herself by their measure. This is the paradox of Lilith herself: on the one hand, she rebels against the society that wants to suppress her, while on the other hand she integrates the standards of that society and judges herself accordingly. Lilith has a negative opinion of herself. She sees herself as a criminal, as a, “bad girl,” as a disgraceful phenomenon.

Even the ancient Midrashic myth tells of Lilith integrating this terrible image of herself, thus transforming into a demon.

RECTIFYING THE DEMON

And this is exactly the point in need of great rectification: Lilith, whose spiritual root is so exalted, has been transformed in our society into a demon, causing great suffering to men and women alike. Many families fall victim to the incitation of the demon Lilith without even being aware of it. Any couple that separates on account of “betrayal” has essentially fallen victim to the seductive teasing of Lilith. Whoever secretly masturbates in front of the computer screen, with passion accompanied by guilt and shame, hoping to not  be discovered, has fallen into Lilith’s trap. Lilith is a very active demon to this very day.

My understanding of a “demon” is any obsessive/compulsive and mindless drive in the human soul that manipulates it as if it were a choiceless creature. The Kabbalah speaks about the addition of the letter Yud to the Shin and Dalet letters of the word SheD (demon), which transform it into the holy name of Shin Dalet Yud—ShaDaY. The letter Yud represents the enlightenment and sanctification of consciousness.

Is it possible to add enlightenment and consciousness to the Lilith energy so that she will cease being an obsessive/compulsive demon and reveal her true strengths within our society and within our intimate relations? I do believe so. It is not easy, it is not simple, and not everyone is ready for it, but it is possible, and even desirable. As I have already pointed out in my book, Who’s Afraid of Lilith, it is quite surprising to find that the Ari pointed to just such a rectification as the goal of the entire Torah on earth!

THE PROCESS OF RECTIFICATION

In order to know how to contain Lilith’s energy, men and women alike need to do some heavy duty spiritual work. Men need to, “connect with the holy spark in Esau,” as it is called in Chassidic thought, and to be willing to live on the edge. Not to insist to walk only on “safe ground.” This is a decision at a very deep level to surrender control, yet to remain fully alert, for Lilith will not let you get by without full alertness. If you try to control—she will rebel. But if you surrender control in a way that turns you into a wet rag, she will immediately chop your head off!

Lilith can become a great spiritual teacher for man, sustaining him in a state of clarity, strength, and uncompromised alertness. She will not allow him to fall asleep on her watch. But she requires a man at a high level. Men of low stature are unable to contain her.

And what do women need to do? They simply need to allow her to come forth from within. To allow the wild woman that exists within them to come out and wrestle with life. She may arise from some soul-basement full of anger. But that’s OK. We would be mistaken to judge Lilith as a sour and angry creature because of that. After thousands of years of her being suppressed, yes—she is quite angry! But this will pass if we show her love. When a woman allows her inner Lilith to come forth, and begins a process of self-reassessment together with a weaning from guilt and self-affliction, she is able to harness the power of her inner Lilith to the light of love. Then, her love only increases. Then, she is able to shower a razor-sharp and uncompromising love that is as refreshing as it is filled with passion.

THE RECTIFIED LILITH AS A BLESSING FOR THE WORLD

A woman who is able to rectify her inner Lilith and integrate it with her Eve becomes a great blessing for the world. She becomes a source of inspiration, of light, and of powerful love. Lilith’s love does not come only in appealing pastel colors. The dark colors of life—black and deep red, for instance—become filled with power and beauty on her account. Men who are able to contain a rectified Lilith are very rare at present. But when such a man appears, he allows for many women to reveal their fullness in his presence, and the circle of rectification continually grows.

The work of rectifying Lilith is an integral part of the processes we lead in “The Garden—A School for Love and Kabbalah.” These processes allow singles and couples to live their love lives in full, without fear or shame, secrecy or suppression. In our opinion, this is a necessary healing for mankind, in which the percentages of betrayals and divorces are so high that one must be blind not to see that something in our “normal” family model of Adam and Eve—of a child, a lawn, and a dog—is simply not working.

for our new workshop working with the Lilith energy - see here

Rabbi Ohad Ezrahi is a co-founder along with his wife Dawn of The Garden – the School of Love in Kabbalah. www.kabalove.org

Rituals

Full Moon Death and Love Celebration in Maui

Full Moon

Death and Love celebrations
of the Hebraic Kabalistic tradition

For thousands of years the full moon of August has been a sacred time in the Hebraic tradition. A celebration of Love and ecstasy that flows from the exploration of the dying process and a recorgnition of what’s in us that can never die.

The Radical-Kabalist teacher Rabbi Ohad Ezrahi from Israel and his partner Dawn Cherie,  founders of “The School for Love in Radical Kabala” are in Maui for a short visit, and are offering an open and egalitarian Shabat ceremony folowed by a day of experiential Radical Kabalistic teaching and practice.

Friday: 6:30pm to 10:30 pm an Ecstatic Shabat ceremony + pot luck feast. (the program will start at 7pm and will include Kabalistic teachings, devotional music, singing, chanting, story-telling, meditations and devotional dance).

Saturday: 10:30am to 6:30pm – the celebrations of Death & Love, a daylong workshop: Three two hour sessions of teaching and experimental work take you through the dyeing process to learn to live wide open AS Love and Freedom.

Following the ancient teaching on the energy of the August full moon, guided meditation will allow you to drop off all that needs to die in each of us. This is a careful and subtle process that breaks the heart open to explore the undoubted love force that’s alive in us all. Teaching and exercises, combined with meditation and movement will guide us to explore life and love from a different perspective – that of Radical Kabala.

• Rabbi Ohad will be available during his short visit in Maui for some private sessions, using palm reading, or his card reading method of “the BresLove Cards”. To book a private session call Dawn at (716) 491-4970.

After the workshop ends – all are invited to a full moon party. more details TBA.

Where: at Sam and Amanda’s 1880 Piiholo Rd. Makawao.

When: Friday-Saturday Aug 7^th-8^th . Friday at 6:30 pm \ Sat 10:30 am

How much: Friday – donation in a magic hat. Saturday workshop – sliding scale $45-$65. No one will be turned away for luck of funds.

What to bring: food to share. For the workshop bring your journal and a pen. Women come in white. Men please come in dark clothes.

for more details call (716) 491-4970

Rituals

How to create a meaningful ceremony?

(This article was translated from Hebrew by the Esence of Life organization, and was published in their webpage)
*

Meaningful Ceremony
How can we make ceremonies meaningful ? asks Rabbi Ezrahi.
Rabbi Ohad Ezrahi

Importance Of Ceremonies

Something that was so common in the ancient world but is often forgotten in modern times is the knowledge of how to create meaningful ceremonies

I’m not talking about state pomp and ceremony that often includes soldiers and trumpets, but life ceremonies – rituals that individuals experience on a personal level, sometimes in the presence of family and community, sometimes just with a friend, a priest or priestess, or someone that accompanies us on our path. These rituals have deep and transformative significance.

In Judaism, as with any spiritual culture, ceremonies represent milestones in a person’s life. First there is the Brit – circumcision of baby boys – and Brita for girls, and then at age 13 a boy’s Barmitzvah and a girl’s Batmitzvah when she is 12. Later comes a wedding and funeral.

Different daily ceremonies symbolize the milestones of time. For practising Jews there are morning, noon and evening prayers, the welcoming of Shabbat and the distinction between Saturday (Shabbat) and the rest of the week.

There are also the Jewish holiday rituals that distinguish holy days from the rest of the year. For example, the sharing and delivering of sweets at Purim, purifying the home before Passover and lighting candles during Hanukah. All these and more are rituals that originally had deep meaning in order to sanctify our lives. And, if done correctly can effect transformation in a person’s life.

Transformation Through Ceremony

A ceremony can be a defining moment, a kind of gateway. From the moment a person passes through the gateway of a ritual be it daily or a holy day, they are entering a different space.

A few years ago I had a heartfelt conversation with a Rabbi. He told me about a talk he had with a religious woman. In the conversation he said to her that he and every other religious person actually has the same thoughts and religious desires. Amazed, she asked him “You pray for hours, and go to the temple three times a day, and keep the Sabbath, and all this hasn’t made you any different from me?”
The woman’s words touched the Rabbi’s heart and forced him to search deep within himself – he found himself asking “Do his daily rituals have any real meaning?”

Authentic religious ceremonies can transform a person. When I go through a real ritual, I know something within me has changed, and in a sense I am not the same person I was before.

If nothing has happened, if the ceremony has failed to help me transform, I acknowledge that it didn’t work.

The famous American mythologist Joseph Campbell said, “Religion is really a kind of second womb. It’s designed to bring this complicated thing, which is the human being, into maturity.”

Kabalah ‘Second Pregnancy’

In Kabalah there is a term called the ‘second pregnancy’ whose goal is different from the first one. The first pregnancy is physical, its’ objective is to give birth to the body and soul.

The second pregnancy is meant to give birth to the mind. This means that the person goes into another kind of fetal state, a kind of pregnancy within the religious womb, and when he is born, he is more spiritually mature, with more mental depth and a wider perspective.

Real Sacredness

A good ceremony or ritual works like medicine. Good medicine is effective, and if it is not – than hopefully it won’t do harm.

Empty rituals leave a residue of loneliness. It doesn’t matter how many guests arrive at a ceremony, or how many gifts we receive. The heart wants to touch and be touched.

Real sacredness is a thing that touches you deeply, and invites you to touch and be touched. Sacredness is about getting closer to divinity, to the unity of all things. That is why when we come close to divinity we feel united with ever-widening circles of people.

In the beginning we feel one with those close to us, then with people who are different from us, and finally even with those who see themselves as our enemies.

The more that divine unity is evident in the heart of man, the more he feels at one – not only with people, but also with nature.

When we touch holiness it affects us deeply, and reveals to us that we are not separate beings, but part of a great fabric of wonderful and divine mystery.

Until we feel this in our hearts, we may feel alienated from the world, but the more we feel divinity the more we feel connected and intimate with everything because sacredness is intimacy.

Good ceremony reminds us of what the heart knows deep inside. This is something every child knows and adults sometimes forget - the wonderful and mysterious unity of existence.

A good ceremony encourages the heart to remove defensive barriers and allow love to enter, to be touched by the mystery that carries us to a new place, that is, to the holy landscape beyond the gate of ceremony.

Rituals

The Hebraic Tribal Way

The Hebraic Tribal Way is

• -      Living with the Divine Living Spirit, and not by any set religious dogma.
• -      Drawing upon wisdom and inspiration from ALL the sources of Israel – including Kabala, Magic, Mysticism and Rabbinical Judaism, sources of secular philosophy and paths that were defined in the past as “heresy” or “blasphemy”. The Hebraic Tribal Way is inspired also from ancient Canaanite findings and from our foremothers who were inclusively worshiping the Queen of Heavens.
• -      Renewing rituals and meaningful ceremonies, but not fixing them as dogma. It’s always renewing and responding to the Divine Spirit “live on air”…
• -      Creative. The Hebraic Tribal Way sees art – dance and singing, painting and photography, computer graphics and environmental technology, theater and sacred architecture as unique flowers that flourish in the human soul. These forms are lovingly offered with awe to the Divine – to the One that through us creates reflections to Her wonderful world. The Hebraic Tribal Way sees art not only as Esthetics but as a potential for inner transformation.
• -      Passionate. The Hebraic Tribal Way believes that passion, attraction and Eros spring from a holy source, and that the flames of Love are divine flames “Shalhevet-Yah“. Therefore it does not repress them but to the contrary – praises, sanctifies and rejuvenates in their flow for is a means of celebrating the love of God, Nature and Humanity.
• -      Open to fruitful and meaningful meetings with other religions or spiritual paths, coming from simplicity, with no inferior or superior approach.
• -      Natural and loving nature, therefore ecological – seeking to live rightfully with Mother Earth, respecting the rights of animals to live and die with dignity and joy. The Hebraic Tribal Way aspires to use healthy nutrition for the inner ecology of the individual.
• -      Community oriented. Knowing that it is not good nor is it natural for the human being to live in alienation and separation, but rather to be part of a community or a tribe. Hence, looking to establish communities of all sorts and sizes that support and empower the development of the full potential of each individual – children and grownups.
• -      Peacemaking. Acknowledging the fact that oneness is not sameness – for just as the rainbow, it is made of different shades living side by side in peace, influencing and fertilizing one another – the Hebraic Tribal Way is seeking for ways to transform fear, suspicion and violence to love, trust and playfulness. The Hebraic Tribal Way is aiming to create a culture of peace on a green-blue planet Earth.