L'kha Dodi Shabbat Awareness Levels

Shabbat Renewal a Dodi Shabbat Awareness Levels What if ... the L'kha Dodi was more than just a multi-dimensional collage of mystical and cultural Shabbat images? What if there was also an underlying set of stagesof awarenessthat one passes through on the way to a weekly renewal of Shabbat enlightenment? The following sequence of images are offerred as an introductory guideline to achieving a deeper sense of peacefulness and certitude on the Shabbat. See if you relate to the stages described here. IJJOIJJ LM{ eome I Invoke my Shabbat irtend To meet The Bride To Welcome The Shabbat With Hearts OpenWide l~:r:cir~e Shekhina Energy Increasing at this Moment. So that the Many-faceted Depths of Shabbat Be Received. Level 1, corresponding with Verse 1 of l'kha Dodi- Renewing the Witness: Watching the flow of Non-Shabbas-dikehthoughts. The rush of weekday thoughts including projects unfinished, business worries, errands that still need doing such as shopping, car tune-ups, housecleaning, relationships development, and on and on keep us in a weekaday treadmill. There is really no end to such tasks and the thinking and planning that accompanies them. The first stage is to just begin to notice that thoughts related to weekday themes do seem to crop up continuously. By adopting the stance of witnessing the thoughts, one has already moved out of the fast lane and thus this is the first resting place of Shabbat. The antidote of single-minded awareness is hinted at in this first verse of L'kha Dodi. Two different statements (in the ten commandments), the "remember" (the Shabbat day) and the "guard" (the Shabbat day) were heard by us as one statement. Disparate sounds became unified together. Shabbat occasions a retreat towards the oneness, towards the inner witness, away from the many tugs on our conscience. Verse 1) Hebrew Transliteration Aquarian Minyan Translation Meta-Translation Shamorv'zakhor b'diburekhad Hishmi-anu Eylha-m'yukhad To celebrate and recall in a single actthis, the one God disclosed to us. The Source is One, its essence, one, glorious and lovely receiving praise. To bring some calm to rushing thoughts, is heard by us When we hear the One The Stillness World, can calm the rush, a churning mix whose mission is One. Adonaiekhad u-sh'mo ekhad L'shaymu-l'tiferet v'lit-hila Level 2, corresponding with Verse 2 of L'kha Dodi- Renewing the Intuition Resting by the River The second stage occurs when one has attained a single instant of release and calm from the rushing river of needs and worries. Even a single instant of restful Shabbat awareness already triggers in the restless soul that there is a different possibility than the ongoing-ness of Non-Shabbas-dikeh thoughts. Such an instant of Shabbat awareness awakens the intuition of the possibility that there is more than everyday awareness. One can then begin to increase the depths of one's quiet and explore the space of one's interior Shabbat world. Verse 2) Hebrew This glimmer of intuition awakened by a sliver of new consciousness is hinted at in the second verse of L'kha Dodi. The rashand kedem,the head and primal qualities of existence are inserted in the Shabbat experience. The original intention is present at the end of deeds, the sof ma'aseh. It is this hint of the original intention and primal qualities of existence that alert us to the possibilities of depths to Shabbat. At this stage something in us is quieted, even by just the hint of more to come. This brings us beyond the flow of weekaday thoughts. We can rest by the side of the week-adikehriver. Transliteration Aquarian Minyan Translation To meet the ~ :f1N"Jj?7Likratshabbat Shabbos ~:::i,n l khuv'naylkha come let us go, for she is the spring ,~:;;i-:i:;itiha-brakha of blessing and joy, Oji?,~ 'DN·""I~May-roshmi-kedem poured out, woven from creation's birth, nsukha end of work, ma-asehreflection's aim . t'khila b makh-shava Meta-Translation To meet the mind's witness come let us go, The witness watches the rushing flow, Noticing the churning thoughts, ends the restless, rushing flow. Level 3, corresponding with Verse 3 and 4 of L'kha Dodi- Renewing the Pulse The Advance and Retreat of the Dance The entry level of Shabbat is symbolized as a partnering celebration, like a wedding. Just as in a partnering celebration dance where we advance towards the happy couple and retreat, the third level of Shabbat awareness is noticing that Non-Shabbasdikeh thoughts tend to ebb and flow, rise and fall, and are not as crowding or overpowering as they were before. Like a dance where partners keep changing sides, or a pond into which rocks fall from time to time, the soul is disturbed and then tranquil, again disturbed & tranquil. This pulsing of energies from week-adikeh thoughts to Shabbat thoughts is hinted at in the third and fourth verse of L'kha Dodi. Shabbat is symbolized as the holy temple and the regal city which has slipped into despair and face down in the dust. It is called upon to rise from the vale of tears and switch into Divine compassion. Shabbat thoughts are now more engaged and occurring more often, healing and cancelling out the inevitable rise of non-Shabbos-dikeh thoughts. There is a dance of the two energies- a rising out of and falling back into the vale of tears. The poles of Shabbat-weekaday mind have been established and the dance is on. Verse3) ,,.~ 'D'Ji?~ Mikdashmelekh Majestic temple, rise, go forth tz'i from pain and ruin. mi-tokhha-hafaykha city of God, Long have you n;w ,, ::l'J Ravlakhshevet dwelt ti i'~~~ b'aymekha-bakha in the vale of tears. Now God's ,i~tl.~ N~'i11 V'hu yakha-molala- compassion Verse4) yikhkhemla rains upon you. "":'1~~~0Hit-na-arimay-afar Shake off the dust- my people arise! Livshibigdaytif-ar- Robe yourself with light and joy. taykhami The Mure within ,~ ,~ Al yad benYishai is revealed now. baytha-lakhmi "~t:i,ti n":;;,.Karvael nafshig ala the freedom to be .'il,Ni A tranquil moment, a moment of release, Arises, relei ves from suffering disease. Long have you dwelt in week-adikeh mind. Spirit of Shabbat unbinds your bind. Shake off old mindset advance and dance! Clothe yourself in acceptance . The poet's vision unfetters me. My soul just wants to be free . level 4, corresponding with Verse 5 of l'kha Dodi- Renewing the Interest Alert Child Watching the Show The fourth level of Shabbat is experienced when one's awareness feels alive and activated One is beginning to have ecstatic moments of Shabbat consciousness intermixed with non-Shabbas-dikeh thoughts. These latter, however, are not experienced as pressing needs or crucial deficiencies any longer, but as interesting smoke-like shapes and twists of feelings. Each is interesting and none is alarming. Verse5) Hebrew Transl iteration Hit-or1ri, hit-or1ri Ki va oraykh kumiori ,"":'l~l>' shirdabeyri K'vodAdonai ala-yikhnigla The beginning of an ecstatic ingredient in the Shabbat experience is hinted at in the fifth verse of L'kha Dodi. The repetitious quality of the onomatopoeia's in the Hebrew suggest that we have tuned into a clear Shabbat channel and we are tracking Shabbat well. Any sense of vulnerability or wavering is now dispersed. Aq. MinyanTransl. Awake awake, my love, awake! Your light has come, arise- be light! Rise, now rise, sing your new song The splendor of God is opened through you. Meta-Translation Awake awake, my spirit awake! Excitement has come, arise- and see! Ecstatic song arises in you. Godly comfort erases hopeless chase. Level 5, corresponding with Verse 6 & 7 of L'kha Dodi- Renewing Confidence The Creative Artist at Peace The fifth level of Shabbat is appreciated when one has had enough nourishing Shabbat moments of bliss and harmony, love and relationship that one can truly relax, accepting the rightness of the mix of experience. One may feel as a struggling artist who has endured much but has finally accomplished a complete piece. Thoughts of incompleteness may arise but have as much effect as a rose thorn pricking the thick hide of an elephant. The sense of distancing from the vulnerability to steep dropping of Shabbat consciousness is Verse 6) Hebrew Transl iteration Lo tayvo-shi v'lo tikalmi Matishto-khakhi umatehemi ~or,,~-,;,.Bakhyekhesu i"~ 'ilrll:Jli aniyayami V'nivn'tair al tila Verse 7) 'iltP.zi~ V'ha-yulim-shisa ,:;i ~i'ti,,, V'rakhakukol m'vala-yikh ititi'Di':Jt?= Eloha-yikh Kim'soskhatanal kallah reflected in verse 6 and 7 of L'kha Dodi. The self is comforted and reminded that we are no longer in the dentist's chair of overdue duties, hurrying obligations and deadening deadlines. We have arrived at the safety of Shabbat and can feel a little triumph and exuberance, yea, even a little joyous swagger. Even if the Mashiakh is not here for everyone, the lover is commanded to rejoice in love with the beloved. This will bring Mashiakh. The confidence of the Shabbat artist is restored with the masterpiece of Shabbat filling the heart. Aq. MinyanTransl. No more guilt! No more shame! Why be helpless? Why be weak? All my afflicted find shelter in you: holy city rebuilt on her hill Meta-Translation No more stress! No more sting! Why regress? Why not sing? All my struggles find shelter in shared Shabbos consciousness. Those who des- Non-Shabbos-dikeh troyed you now are thinking now is destroyed, all who subdued, devouredfar, far fears of loss away. Your God far, far away. takes pleasure in Your spirit takes your joy just as a pleasure bridegroom makes love to his bride. in quiet mood As the lover a n d beloved get to play. Level 6, corresponding with Verse 8 of L'kha Dodi- Renewing the Sense of Humor Smoke Rising to Heaven The sixth level of Shabbat awareness occurs when one's perceptions intensify and expand as if one had been meditating for five days straight. There is a sense of expansion and acceptance, as if one were corning to a new vista of experience, and all previous experience had been one-dimensional. Non Shabbosdikeh thoughts arise accompanied by spontaneous sense of humor and even outbreaks of laughter. The sense of altered awareness of mind caused by the ecstasies of Shabbat expansion is reflected in verse 8 of L'kha Dodi. One feels ones' identity melting beyond the individual experience, spreading to the East and West, up to the Source of consciousness, forward to the future of a better world. Harsh boundaries are softened and the Shabbat-Mashiakh consciousness connection is renewed. Verse 8) Hebrew Transliteration Meta-Translation Spread your vision Spread your vision East and West. East and West. . : . tifrotzi Worship the Source Worship the Source 'ili'il~ ri~, V'et Adonai of all existence. of consciousness. ta-aritzi . . --Within your heart Within your heart ',tjit~ is Messiah's grace. is Meshiakh's ring. Al yadish Let us rejoice and let Moving us to rejoice benpartzi us sing. and so to sing. V'nism'kha v'nagila Level 7, corresponding with Verse 9 of L'kha Dodi- Renewing the Shabbat Soul The Shabbat of Shabbats The seventh level of Shabbat awareness is the entry into the second round of Shabbat-stages-ofawareness. At the same time that there is utter calm, one's heart is also greatly excited as if one can hear heavenly echoes, touching the world of the inner guides and the angelic harmonies heard only by saintly souls, smoke-wisps and molecules. NonShabbas-dikeh thoughts are perceived as eddies of currents within a small wave breaking at the edge of the ocean, inconsequential in their impact, neither positive nor negative, all parts of the whole. Verse 9) Hebrew Transliteration Bo'iv'shalom ateretba'la Garnb'simkha u-v'tzahala Tokhemunay ams'gula 80 i khallah, bo'ikhallah The breakthrough level into a higher order of Shabbat awareness is hinted at in the ninth verse of L'kha Dodi. We tum towards the door or the West as if suddenly aware of a new Presence. A new call of welcoming is repeated, as if a new level is being heard. The oceanic level of Shabbat descends and fills the awareness, a moment of enveloping grace, a new world, the Shekhina so close you can feel her breath. Aquarian Minyan Translation Come in peace 0 crown of God in joy and song in happiness, to those of faith, a treasured folk . Come, 0 bride, Come, 0 bride. Meta-Translation Welcome to the peace Of the mind of God Gently excited in happy abode, In those who can hear is the treasure within. Welcome, Presence, Welcome, inside.