L'ayl Barukh: Understanding the Series of Praises

Understanding Series of Praises The following metaphor of an opal may be helpful in understanding the series of God-descriptive phrases found in La-Ayl Barukh. Many such series of adjectival phrases are found in the Siddur, (e.g. in Barukh Sheh-amar and Yishtabakh), and many other places. These listings of images are usually related to as to an an audial incantation, a rhythmic, hypnotic chant. The opal offers an evocative visual image for this collage of patterns. Thus we invoke into our lives the many qualities of Divine-action. First into our psyche, audially and visually, and from there, into the interstices of our social and material worlds. Opal Leshem To the Force of Blessing Who is Uniquely Unfathomable "In Australia there is a fairly Dynamic common precious stone called the opal. An opal is translucent and softer than diamond. Original If you look at an opal in the light you will see a pattern of colors. Now as you gradually tilt the stone different Mastering Conflict aspects of the pattern will be highlighted, but a point will come where the first pattern will disappear, Multiplying Solutions and then a second quite different pattern of colors will emerge. If you tilt the opal still further this pattern Nurturing Renewals will fade, and a third pattern of colors will appear, and so on. An opal may have a half a dozen or Regenerative more such patterns within it. It is effectively a sequence of mandalas." Shamanic ~tic Scitnct.s 'l!uffttin .slutumn Transformative