The Jewish Holydays in Time, Consciousness, and the Periodic Renewal of Reality

The Jewish Holydays in Time, Consciousness, and the Periodic Renewal of Reality. ness represents itself in e essence of this moment erienced as heightened ti Ayin or nothingness, it i i, the source of idenf Yorn Kippur is the crucible Rosh Hashanahis the turning in which the love of the universe cooks the seeds point from one year unto the next. Into the vacuum of the of one's Teshuvah during the past 1O days. In this womll is interwoven the qualities of acceptance, forgiveness, departed Nesirah (removal of love and wholeness for the entire next year, nurtured to ,.--:.·,the previous year's consbe as strong as death, and stamped with the cry of th ciousness within God's mind), Sh'ma at the end of the N'ilah service. a lightning flash-seed containing the whole of the next year's energy field is conceived during the final The stream of instants of · Shofar blast on time, with each of its difficulties, , the first day. horrors, joys, and triumphs, cryst- \ allizes into the present reality of now, now, now. The past seems to shape the future, much as our actions shape our body and the : § Shavuot 1sthe re-ordenng of larger eco-system. § the operating system of § creation (and our minds) to ~ § contain infinite revelation of § Infinite Light. Sukkot is the empty space, the Purim is the deepening of the •acceptance of the heavenly yoke" through offering everything, even one's abstinence, to the Divine apex. unfilled-out, partially transparent structure, created to contain and seat the New Year's emergent wisdom, consciousness, and joyous vitality. Simkhat Torah is the source of harmony of the next year as it collects (Atzeret), & harmonizes in dance all the monthlong holyday energies. Rosh Khodeshis attuning to the pulsing wax and wane of the physical universe This basic rhythm sets up the background beat for all the dances. Khanukah is the mustering of active energy, our seizing the initiative in the cosmic play. Through our burning faith & vigorous action we up the ante of awareness and vitality in the Divine-human relationship Shabbat is the mirror of everything that happens, in which we send to God the fruits of all our consciousness and labors of love.