The following article is an exploration of the spring break season and its spiritual implications. In it there will be a unique perspective with special emphasis on the importance of appropriating our dualities in order to transcend them. The duality of spring is that although it is a time for thorough “house cleaning”, it also calls for our lightness of being and simple confidence.

When we make complete and unconditional surrender and trust the mysterious and unknown void with our lives, we enter the domain of the Fool of Gd. We become servants of Gd, who is as free as we can be as human beings. There is no way that humans will ever experience pure happiness, peace, or love without a connection to Spirit. We will always find our next level of pain and challenge until we can hold on to our divine connection in all of our human interactions and mundane activities. Being a Fool for Gd, we are guided by the allure of a deeper mystery, a presence that leads to unimaginable freedom. This article is just an attempt to reawaken us to the truth of that freedom.

miguel ozair

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spring harvest

The birth of a new energy cycle

Background

Every year, when the Sun enters Aries, when the Earth begins a new life cycle at the Spring Equinox, and when the Moon and Sun unite at the New Moon in Aries, we are offered another opportunity to redefine ourselves. , our world and our place. in that. The following is a study of some of the energy shifts taking place this month.

The Talmud records: The conception of the world is in Tishrei (autumn); The birth of the world is in Nissan (Spring). (Tosafot; Rosh Hashanah 27a).

Kabbalah distinguishes two types of spiritual dynamics. He speaks of an itaruta de-leylah and an itaruta de-letata, ‘an awakening from above’ and ‘an awakening from below’. An awakening from above is a Gd-initiated encounter: an epic event in history, a miracle, a deliverance, a moment when the veil on the course of history is lifted and Gd’s hand becomes visible. . However, an awakening from below is one that comes from the hearts and minds of human beings. Something within the human soul springs forth and reaches God.

According to the Talmud, the birth (of the New Energy) occurs this coming month, the Hebrew month of Nisan. This itaruta de-leylah, the Excitation (as initiated) from Above contributes to the birth in us. This birth comes as a result of conception in the first part of the year. But unlike the conception of the Fall/Winter season, Nissan initiates a different energy dynamic. The connection we make with our Higher Power is no longer something we have to work for, nor does it depend on any merit, but is more about allowing and receiving. The “excitement” starts from Above.

Our job is simply to “clean house” so that we can house this New Light and allow it to stimulate in us a process of awakening to our Higher Nature.

When the higher meets the lower

Itaruta d’leila, or “Awakening (as an initiate) from Above” gives us a specific spiritual work to do. Our job is to allow the Divine to penetrate our depths, our darkness and the most hidden aspects of ourselves. According to Kabbalistic philosophy, the lower is to be transformed, not neglected, rejected, or condemned.

What does “transform the lower” mean?

The lower part of us is the area of ​​the psyche that an individual would rather not acknowledge. It contains the denied parts of the self. Since the self contains these aspects, they surface in one way or another. Bringing the lower into consciousness dispels the burden our darkness has on us, and in the process may even reclaim valuable resources from it. The transformation comes from having accepted your lower parts and integrating them as components of your Being.

Passover is a time of incredible Itaruta d’leila, an undeserved outpouring of goodness and beneficence from G-d. Israel had descended to the 49 level of impurity and had almost no merit to beg G-d for salvation. However, Gd initiated a great Exodus for Israel. On Pesach, a person must be an open vessel to receive this blessing of the Divine Flow. In preparation, we get rid of chametz, all vanity, inflated ego, and resistance to change. On Pesach we must remove all false exteriors, we must be free of obstructions and open up to receive Gd’s blessing of new beginnings.

The Hebrew month of Nissan corresponds to the English month of April.

The English month of April is when a new energy cycle begins. The word “April” comes from the Latin verb “to open” which means to open, to release. The term itself implies the energetic work that we must do, open and release, to clean the house so that the New Energy enters and stimulates a change in us. “Spring cleaning” is a starting point for receiving a Divine visitation.

Origin of April Fool’s Day

Just as Nissan is the first of the Hebrew months according to the Torah, April was the New Year in the Old World calendar. Ancient cultures, including those as varied as the Romans and Hindus, celebrated New Year’s Day on April 1. Even the zodiac wheel begins with the constellation Aries (April). But in the year 1582 this natural resonance synchronized with the cycles of nature changed, at least with a new calendar ordained by the Church. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new calendar required New Year’s Day to be celebrated on January 1. Many countries, however, resisted the change. In fact, some European countries resisted for centuries (Scotland until 1660, Germany, Denmark and Norway until 1700 and England until 1752). But the first to resist the new calendar changes were in France. Still keeping to their traditional calendar (celebrating April 1 as their New Year), they were labeled “April Fools” and it became a local custom to play pranks on such people.

“dumb” connections

Ironically, the word “fool” is actually a fitting term to describe the nature of the month of April. Because just as Aries is the beginning of the Zodiac, the Fool’s card is the starting point of the archetypes of the Tarot Deck.

Meaning of the Card of the Fool – Beginning of a journey with simple faith. Jump into a new phase of life. Being free-spirited, carefree. (as in the Beatles song “Fool on the Hill”).

The Aries zodiac sign that corresponds to April is represented by a ram’s head, a symbol of “spurting energy, the creative force of the Spirit”, just like the Tarot symbolism, it is the beginning of a journey.

Easter occurs this very month, because it is also a new beginning. It is the holiday that commemorates the birth of the nation of Israel to freedom after being freed from the limitations of Egypt.

On the Hebrew calendar, the Jewish holiday of Purim, where joy, mirth and foolishness are expected to increase, precedes Passover. “This is not a coincidence,” my Rabbi R. Shlomo Carlebach explained. “Purim comes before Pesach (Easter) because Purim prepares us for Pesach. I need to get in touch with my joy, before I can even begin to think about getting out of my Egypt.”

The Court Jester as Enlightened Fool: Historically, the court jester was a state-sponsored mischief who was not only allowed, but hired to speak his mind, often in jokes, riddles, or song , when others were prohibited in the presence of power. . The jester was the only acceptable form of deviance at the King’s courts, expected to flout all cultural taboos, pierce the ruler’s ego, and publicly break the rules, thus allowing an outlet for “forbidden” ideas, behaviors, and sentiments. .

The ability to flout the current norms and standards that we set for ourselves or are imposed on us by society is an important part of growing up, as it allows us to “unlearn.” Unlearning is just as important for growth as learning. Some of our current knowledge, beliefs, and assumptions about what the world is like may no longer serve our highest interests. The jester allows us to hold a mirror to ourselves and examine our own shortcomings. When we can do this with genuine humor and honesty, we can open ourselves up to transformation.

Accept the paradox of the season – Introspection and madness

There are two main points that serve as our Spring duality:

First, that a spring cleaning and a personal inventory is necessary to receive the influx of the Divine Light poured out on Creation during the spring season. Second, that we must have an almost naive and foolish surrender to the uncertainty of our own personal journey. In a sense, it is a duality that requires careful introspection to own all of our parts, which is no easy task. The other requires a detached participation in the ills of the world and a conscious “lightness of being.” This double task of living is the key to our liberation. It is when we can embrace both polarities and honor each as they arise that we are in a better position to “sprout.”

It is when we can be ALL that we are, our light and our shadow, that the Divine can meet us in the direction of home. When we are not living at our home address, it is much more difficult for G-d to reach us. A spring cleaning may not be enough on its own. But a deliberate decision to return home and actually live there will be a better opportunity for transformation.

Why is it important to “own our darkness” as well as our light?

In short, because the darkness that we do not possess possesses us.

This spring, we must accept that we are all here to learn how to navigate this human journey. Therefore, honor yourself and your way. Take a break. Don’t be so hard on yourself, but don’t forget about yourself either. Celebrate this Spring with a good cleaning, and getting rid of what is no longer necessary, always remembering to play.

It is in this season that the Divine comes not only to fill our vessel with Light, but also to give us the strength to create that vessel, especially if we do not have the strength to do it ourselves.

The final sentence of a simple fool

May we give each other the strength to expel from our minds all thoughts that are not of our highest and most noble nature. Please G-d, let us not be tempted to doubt the light that illuminates the entire world. And through this light, may we become more acquainted with the depths and the power that we are, when we share our Divine Heritage together.

Preparing for the Exodus,