ב"ה
THEMES of Featured Contemporary Kabbalists Articles
Intermediate
The word for “give thanks” in Hebrew also means “to acknowledge.”
If we recover from all four of those dangers requiring a thanksgiving offering brought to the holy Temple— by not drowning in the sea of chochma, by progressing to the 50th gate of understanding, by manifesting the emotions born of our intellect, and by
communicating our inspiration to others—we thereby rectify our entire complement of soul-powers.
|
The fire on the Altar must be kept burning even on the
Sabbath. Similarly, the Divine fire within our hearts -- our enthusiastic
desire to cling to G-d
through studying His Torah, fulfilling His commandments, and revealing His
presence in the world -- must also be kept constantly stirred and alive.
|
In the messianic era, all forms of prayer will cease (!) except for prayers of gratitude.
The purpose of personal sacrifices is to orient the animal soul toward Divinity. At times, this involves atoning for sin. Since in the messianic era, we will no longer sin, these sacrifices will become superfluous. Only the thanksgiving-offering, which expresses acknowledgement of our dependence upon G‑d, will remain.
|
While performing the sacrificial service, the priests ascended to a sublime level of Divine consciousness.
The priest at times must leave the sacred precincts to perform God’s will. Furthermore, he must put on other, lesser garments to do so. Likewise, we must be willing to don "street clothes" in order to establish proper rapport with our brethren "outside the camp", and patiently draw them to join us in the camp, where they belong.
|
