Compiler's note: The deed is the body of Jewishness. Kabbalah is the soul.
Kabbalah is our native cosmology,
our unique way of expressing what stands
beneath the surface of reality and why we do what we do. Nowhere is this
uniqueness so outstanding as in the Kabbalah of gender and marriage. Where else
will you find such transcendental heights enwrapped within the most visceral
experiences of life, the deepest secrets of the cosmos unfolding into a fruitful
existence on planet Earth?
When we receive much
at once, the most precious jewels can fall away
unnoticed. So I have collected a small but pithy selection from the masters of
the Kabbalah. Some provide glimpses of the depth of the inner wisdom. Some
provide the practical advice that extends from that wisdom. All can be read many
times and each time will uncover something new.
I have not translated literally.
In many cases, that would be unintelligible.
Rather, I have strived to bring the teachings of the great masters of the
Kabbalah alive in our spoken language of today while preserving their voice
within those words.
The responsibility is very great,
for the enlightened masters lives within their
teachings and travel with them. I pray that they will approve of my work and
that each of these lofty souls will enter your homes and marriages as you read
and ponder their words from time to time. Plant them within your lives and allow
them to grow and blossom.
May we all be blessed with
peace between one another and between the One
Above and His Presence below in an era of harmony and peace when all the world
will be filled with this wisdom.
Tzvi Freeman
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (2nd century CE)
As they set out from their place above, each soul is male and female as one.
Only as they descend to this world do they part, each to its own side. And then
it is the One Above who unites them again. This is His exclusive domain, for He
alone knows which soul belongs to which and how they must reunite.
(Zohar, Book I, 85b)
Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman ("Nachmanides," 1194-1270)
Begin with words that draw her heart, settle her mind and lift her spirits.
This way, your mind and hers will be in one place and bond together in harmony.
Speak to her of different things, some of them to awaken her desire and love, so
to draw her to an awe of heaven, towards goodness and modesty. Tell her the
legends of great women who merited special children through their deeds and
modesty.
For if both of you will focus your minds and hearts towards heaven at this
time, you will be granted children whose character permits entry to spirituality
and purity.
(From a letter to his son)
Rabbi Isaac Luria, ("The Holy Ari," 1534-1572)
The person to whom our Torah speaks is neither a man nor a woman, but both
combined. For this is how Adam was first created and this is how we are in
essence: Two half-bodies that are truly one. The minds are two, but the bodies,
the souls and the very core of these two people are one and the same.
This is why the character and responsibilities of a man and a woman differ,
for each side of the body does its part to compliment the other. It would be
redundant, after all, for both sides to do the same.
(Taamei HaMitzvot, Braishit)
Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (1522?-1570)
There is another issue about which you must take great care, and that is
to ensure that the Shechinah be always with you and never part from you. Now,
before a man is married, obviously the Shechinah is not with him at all, since
the principal element that draws the Shechinah to a person is the feminine
element. In fact, each man stands between two females: The corporeal woman below
to whom he must provide food, clothing and affection. And the Shechinah which
stands over him to bless him with all these things so that he may turn around
and provide them to the woman of his covenant.
(Compiler's note: The Shechina is the
Divine Presence. When we refer to
G-d as transcendent, infinite and beyond, we call Him, "He". When we refer to
G-d as immanently here, now, in a nurturing, inner way, we say She is the
Shechina.)
(Tomer Devorah, ch. 9)
Rabbi Elijah de Vidas (1518-1592)
The child is tied to the parents' minds and the parents' actions, from
conception throughout life. Especially to those matters from which the child is
born. The parents' modesty of dress, where they place their eyes and mind, the
care they take with the purifying waters of the mikvah and the time of
separation -- all has a great effect on children yet to be born and on those
already grown.
(Reshit Chochmah, Shaar HaKedusha, chapter 16)
Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz ("Shelah," 1565-1630)
In each of us, there is an urge to climb higher, to satisfy the yearnings of
our soul. And there is an urge to indulge in pleasure, to satisfy the yearnings
of the flesh. Both were planted in us by the same Creator and both are good. It
is only that they must be used in very different ways.
Awaken the yen to spiritual delight and do good deeds to satisfy it -- you
will awaken a flow of blessing from Above. For this urge is of the right side,
which is a positive side, a side of kindness.
Awaken, however, the urge towards physical pleasure and satisfy your own
self, this will awaken harsh judgment from Above and cause harm to the world,
may G-d protect us. For this urge extends from the left side, the side of
severity and judgment. This is why anger, as well, is so harmful -- as it is
also of the left side and brings harsh judgment into the world, heaven forbid.
Rather, the Zohar tells us, this urge is not created for your own sake, but
for the sake of your spouse. For a man will provide a home, clothing and
affection to his wife and he will do all he can to beautify her -- all for the
sake of this urge. And when doing so, he will then awaken his spiritual urge and
he will focus his mind and heart, saying that in this way he is beautifying the
Shechinah. When he dresses her in beautiful clothes and adorns her with
precious jewels, he will say, "In this way, I am enhancing the Shechinah with
Understanding." So, too, when he beautifies the home, for all the
necessities of the home are for the sake of creating a dwelling for the
Shechinah and all the benefits his wife receives are for the glory of the
Shechinah.
Therefore, a man should not indulge in any pleasure except that which
beautifies and benefits his wife.
This is the path we are taught, "His left hand is under my head and his right
arm embraces me" (Song of Songs 2:6). First, the left urge is awakened with
passion for his wife to bond with her. And then the right hand awakens to
provide for her and rejoice her in a mitzvah for the sake of a higher unity. In
this way, he will sweeten all the severities and repair them with the right
side.
This is the way he must deal with everything that comes from this urge: All
of it must be directed for the sake of the woman that G-d has shown to be his
partner and all must then be transformed to spiritual
service, to bond in the embrace of the right hand.
(Shnei Luchot HaBrit, Shaar HaOtiot, Maamar 7)
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812)
Look also at the last two blessings of the marriage ceremony: We first say,
"He rejoices the groom and the bride" -- placing the groom before the
bride. But then we conclude, "He rejoices the groom with the bride." We
imply that the groom's rejoicing is of secondary significance to the bride's.
This is because now the bride receives from the groom, but in the time yet to
come, they will be equal in their stature with a single crown as it was before
the moon was diminished.
So, too, we say, "Once again, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of
Jerusalem, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride will be heard." For
in the future, the bride will also have a voice. The inner light of the feminine
will come outward and be revealed. For then, as we said, "A woman of valour will
be the crown of her husband" -- even beyond the groom. For then, the feminine
element will shine a delightful, secret light of the Hidden Mind.
Therefore, in our time, prayer is said quietly, since the bride does not yet
have a voice -- because presently the realm of Divine speech has no significance
before the higher realms of thought and emotion, as a woman is treated as
secondary to her husband. But in the time-yet-to-come, after all is purified and
healed, when the Hidden Mind of Delight and Consciousness will be revealed, then
the bride will have a great voice without limitation. We will say what is now
the Silent Prayer in a loud voice. The sefira of Royalty -- which is the sefira
of womanhood -- will be dominant. As is said, "A woman of valour will be the
crown of her husband."
(Likutei Torah, Shir haShirim)
Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch ("The Mittler Rebbe," 1773-1826)
The heavens kiss the earth with rays of sunlight; they awaken her with
droplets of rain. Impregnated, she delivers life, she nurtures life, she
sustains life.
The most spiritual heavens, the worlds of angels and souls, they do not have
this power -- to create being out of nothingness, to transform death into life.
For the earth, in her source, is beyond the heavens. They are of G-d's light,
but she extends from His very Essence. And from His Essence comes this power to
cause being.
That is why it is the man who chases after a woman and not the other way
around. For the soul of a man sees what he is lacking: the very essence, the
core of being. And he sees that only in a woman can that be found.
(Shaar HaEmuna, p. 55)
Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch ("Tzemach Tzedek," 1789-1866)
Love is best expressed by that which you do not do. Hillel the Elder said
this when he summed up the entire Torah, "If you do not like something, don't do
it to someone else."
What is it that you most dislike? You don't appreciate when someone pries
into your faults, underlining each one with a red pen. So if you truly wish to
express love to someone else, don't even look at his faults. Find whatever is
good about him and talk about that.
(Derech Mitzvotecha, Mitzvat Ahavat Yisrael)
Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch ("Maharash," 1834-1882)
As a man loves a woman, so the One Above loves His world.
As a man desires to live with the woman he loves, so the One Above desires to
be found in all His essence within His world.
As the union of a man and woman brings children in their own image, so
whenever there is oneness between creation and Creator, between earth and
heaven, between body and soul, between spirit and matter,
there you will find the Divine Presence in all Her glory.
(Torat Shmuel, Drushei Chatuna, p.161)
Rabbi Sholom DovBer of Lubavitch ("Rashab," 1860-1920)
"A home," wrote Solomon the Wise, "is built with wisdom."
And not with a hammer.
Because wisdom is the glue of beauty. Wisdom, meaning the ability to step
back and see all of the picture, the past and, most important, the future to
which all this leads. To see the truth inside each thing.
Without wisdom, there are only fragments. With wisdom, there is a whole. And
there is peace between all the parts of that whole.
(Quoted in Sefer HaSichot 5704, page 93)
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, 1880-1950)
Harsh words, demands and ultimatums -- these shake the very foundations of a
marriage and a home, tearing its walls apart until each one stands alone.
Gentle words, understanding words, listening words -- this is the trunk from
which a marriage grows, the foundation upon which a home stands.
A home cannot be repaired unless its foundation is firm. Once a couple learns
to speak as friends, their marriage can endure everything, forever.
(Sefer HaSichot 5703, page 233)
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Shcneerson (the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe)
A king without a queen, the Zohar says, is neither great nor a king. For it
is the woman who empowers the man to conquer his space.
And it is the man who empowers the woman to penetrate and nurture hers.
And then the man will learn from this woman that he, too, can reach within
others and provide nurture. And the woman will learn that she, too, can conquer.
(From a talk, Shabbat Parshat Noah, 1991)
This compilation is available in booklet form as a gift item for the guests at your wedding, or in larger format as a gift for the newlyweds. Email MW&K@theRebbe.com for more information.
