Blessing & the Sea of Divine Abundance - Part 2

To return to Even, the cubic stone of Malchut, which is understood to be the foundation of all existence. Zechariah 4:7 calls it Even Rishonah (first stone) and Psalm 118:22 refers to it as Rosh Pinah (chief cornerstone), saying “The Even that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” This verse is an important part of Masonic studies in both the “Mark” and “Royal Arch” degrees of Freemasonry, and has many hidden meanings. The Shechinah as the (Panim—"Face," "Countenance" or "Presence") of Adonai, is in fact the Rosh Pinah to whom all existence must turn (Ponim).

Everything said so far, refers of course to Malchut on the Tree of Life, represented on earth as the (Bet ha-Mikdash—the "Holy Temple"), said to be another cognomen of Adonai. We should understand the Temple to be the place where Adonai dwells, as it is written, “I will give my dwelling place to be among you” (Exodus 26:11). It is in the actual (Mikdash—"Sanctuary") where the Shechinah resides, as it is written “and let them make Me a sanctuary v’Shachanti (that I may dwell) among them” (Exodus 25:8). Again this refers to the sphere of Malchut, and specifically to the Sanctuary and Ark in our Temple, where the Divine Dweller (Shechinah) may rest on the altar, the latter itself comprising a double ashlar of two Avanim (cubic stones).

The realm of physical existence, is in fact the place of the Shechinah, as is written in Isaiah 66:1 “And the earth is my footstool,” but the fact that the Shechinah dwells among us, and as our highest Selves (Neshamot), does not mean that we are always open to Shefah. The Shechinah is not the Divine Abundance, but the container receiving the flow as it is channelled from the higher Spheres on the Tree of Life, which is in turn poured into the Kingdom of physical manifestation. Here a major problem is encountered. Sometimes the Shechinah receives this flow, and then She is called Mikveh ha-Mayim ("Pool of Water"), but there can be periods when the Shechinah does not receive the abundance, and then She is called Yabashah ("Dry Land"). Naturally creation suffers when this happens. Why should the Divine Abundance “dry up” so to speak?

From a Divine Perspective the Shefa is always there, undifferentiated in the Eternal Now, but the “Abundance” flowing into creation, can be restrained when (ha-Tzinorot—the "Divine channels" leading into manifestation) are blocked. This is said to happen when creation moves into states of separation from the Oneness of the Whole, when we no longer recognise ourselves as part of the Selfsameness of One Being, ("I Am," the Oneness of Being). It is extremely important to realise that the Oneness is never separate from us. It is we who separate ourselves, and thus it is also we who are responsible for repairing the Tzinorot, the Divine Channels, by recognising and returning to the Oneness of Being. It is equally important to realise that any recognition of duality in any form is a separation from that Being in Whom all are one.

Kabbalah recognises only one God. Yet this Oneness may be revealed in a multitude of aspects. Still It is One and there is no other. We may see life as the diversification of the One into the many, but Kol (all) are unified in the One. This is what is meant by that great statement of faith “Shmah Israel, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad” (Hear Israel, Adonai our God, Adonai is One). There is not “God” and the “Devil,” there is only “God.” It is therefore written in Isaiah 44:24 “I am the Lord, who made Kol, who alone stretched out the heavens.”