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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781780998343 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Axis Mundis Books |
| Publication date: | 07/16/2013 |
| Pages: | 209 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.60(d) |
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Read an Excerpt
A Woman's Worth
The Divine Feminine in the Hebrew Bible
By Maggy Whitehouse
John Hunt Publishing Ltd.
Copyright © 2013 Maggy WhitehouseAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-78099-834-3
CHAPTER 1
The Written and Oral Traditions
Happy is the one who finds wisdom, and the person who obtains understanding. For the gain from her is better than the gain from silver, and her profit is better than gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things you can desire are not to be compared unto her. Long life is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her: and happy is one that holds fast to her. The Lord by wisdom has founded the earth; by understanding has he established the heaven.
Proverbs 3:13–19, my translation
There are many traditional forms of interpretation of the Jewish Bible or Tanukh. The best known is probably Talmud, the most significant collection of what was the Jewish oral tradition interpreting the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. There are two Talmuds but the best known and most used is the Babylonian Talmud which was published around 500 CE after being compiled, over several centuries, as a response to the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. The Jewish nation had been dispersed and it was believed that it was vitally important to hold onto and standardize the traditional teaching to stop it being further diluted or misinterpreted.
Talmud comes in two forms: the Mishnah, which was the oral tradition written down, and the Gemara, a Rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. The Midrash is stories that elaborate on the Mishnah and Gemara and there is also Aggadah, a collection of folklore, stories and advice ranging from medical to business matters.
Midrash is a good cover term for all the above. It means 'story' or 'interpretation'. Every theory or thesis on this foundation text for Judaism and Christianity is a kind of Midrash and each one is a product of its times. The traditionally-honored Midrashim were all written before the 13th century CE. They don't all agree but they all have the same goal: to give a wider picture or to attempt to make sense of the stories in the Hebrew Testament. Often they strive to find virtue where there appears to be none, kindness where the text implies cruelty, and a depth and knowledge of the Divine on the part of the protagonists which the modern seeker in a more secular world may find challenging.
There are said to be four levels of Midrash: peshat, which looks at the literal meaning of the text; remez, the Hebrew for 'hints', which explains the allegory or the story behind the text; derash, from the Hebrew darash, 'to inquire' or 'to seek', which examines the comparative meaning – how this is relevant to us today both as individuals and as community – and sod, meaning 'secret' or 'mystery', which looks at the heart and soul of the Divine intention and the magic and mystery behind creation. As the word Kabbalah originates from qabalah (Hebrew QBLH), meaning 'receive', the two can be seen to be synonymous – the 'received, hidden tradition'.
Most of these texts have been unavailable to those who were not either scholars or Jews for centuries. When I first began to research this book fifteen years ago, I spent hours in the library at the Masorti Synagogue in Finchley, London. But the explosion of information on the Internet has made many writings which were only available to the orthodox Jew available to all and opened the doors to widely different interpretations.
The difficulty with writing down an oral tradition is that it ceases to update itself. One of the reasons that the spoken tradition is so important is that it can remain relevant to every generation. The fear that makes scholars write down oral religious teachings is justified – they believe that the spoken word will become misunderstood, misinterpreted, taken out of context and degraded. However, exactly the same can occur when they are written down because the interpretation, the language, the mindset and the style can and will become archaic.
There was a rash of feminist interpretation of the Bible in the late 20th century which was, again, of its time. Now it is another generation that can benefit from the amazing primal truths in this great religious text. This book takes the women's stories back to the roots and reinterprets them for the 21st century using a strong foundation of an ancient system that has stood the test of time since the days of the First Temple in Jerusalem. Kabbalah uses a clear structure, a matrix of the Universe, a diagram of creation made in the image of God. Keep to the structure and you can update the teaching without corrupting it. If the theory does not fit the structure, then it must be readdressed. It is not a perfect system; nothing is. However, it is a system with discipline, boundaries and sound common sense.
The Relevance of the Tree of Life and Jacob's Ladder
The kabbalistic Tree of Life (fig. 1) reflects ten aspects of God in ten sefirot, or spheres, connected by 22 paths; the same number as the letters in the Hebrew alphabet. These sefirot are attributes such as Mercy, Understanding, Judgment and Wisdom. They equate to the pantheon of Greek and Roman gods and to the visible planets of the solar system. The god-name El, for example, is placed at the sefira of Hesed which is associated with both the god and the planet Jupiter. Hesed's attributes are kingship, justice, loving-kindness and mercy.
It may be that this many-aspects-of-God-in-one approach was the best way for a monotheistic culture to absorb all the alternative gods who were worshipped in Biblical times. The first commandment states: "Thou shalt have no other gods before my face" (Exodus 20:3). It does not say that no other gods existed. Other gods certainly were worshipped. In the modern, secular world we also have gods such as money, fame or glamor.
The Bible says that the original Tree of Life was in the Garden of Eden and legend tells that when humanity left that sacred place they were given the Book of Raziel to help them find the way back. The oral version of this book is said, by mystics, to be the teaching of the Tree of Life, which clearly sets out the levels of awareness within a human being and shows us how to climb from tribal consciousness to becoming the vessel to receive the Grace of God and to transmit this Grace to the world. The Tree was depicted in the First Temple by the seven-branched candelabrum known as the menorah.
The Tree of Life exists at four levels or Four Worlds: physical, psychological, spiritual and divine. These equate to the four courts of the Temple, said to be watched over by four heavenly beings, now known as the archangels Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael and Michael but, before the Babylonian exile, known as the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace and the Heavenly Father. Before the teachings of Isaac Luria became the norm for the study of Kabbalah, the Four Worlds were demonstrated in a structure known as Jacob's Ladder (fig. 2).
The Divine World, known as Azilut, the Hebrew word for 'emanation' or 'calling forth', is the image of God, the perfected human being known as Adam Kadmon. Tradition tells us that this primordial human being is the dream of God – a perfect reflection of the Divine. All human souls originate here and descend through the lower Worlds to become independent and to learn, through free will, to return as perfected beings. When all humanity has completed that great journey, God will behold God and creation will be complete. In the feminine tradition this is told as God wishing to give birth to Itself in manifest reality. This World is associated with the element of Fire and is given the color of white or gold.
The second World, Beriah, Hebrew for Creation, is the realm of the archangels and concepts of creation. Here would be the Holy One's idea of a horse, rather than the existence of a horse – the pure essence of horse. This World is associated with the element of Air and is given the color of blue.
The third World, Yezirah, the Hebrew word for Formation, is where the idea becomes specific – what the horse looks like and how it moves. Is it a Haflinger rather than a Lipizzaner; a chestnut rather than a grey; a stallion rather than a mare? It is still an image rather than reality but it has a form. This World is associated with the element of Water and is given the color of purple.
The fourth World, Asiyyah, the Hebrew word for Action, is where the three higher Worlds become manifest in reality and the individual horse is born. This world is associated with the element of Earth and is given the color of red.
The Biblical source for this four-part structure comes from Isaiah 43:4: "Every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." These four levels are also represented in both Hebrew Temples. The Torah says that the Tabernacle must have "curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet" (Exodus 26:1).
Each of the Worlds blends with the ones above or below it so that Fire melds with Air, Air melds with Water and Water melds with Earth. Each of the lower Worlds presents a slightly coarser aspect of the ten Divine attributes of Azilut which, in turn, is only a reflection of the whole of the glory of God, beyond existence, ineffable and transcending all thought.
Names of God
In kabbalistic tradition, Azilut contains the ten names of God which are used in the Hebrew Testament (fig. 3). There is debate about the placing of a few of the names on the sefirot but they are largely consistent. Two of these names have distinctly feminine aspects: Elohim and El Shaddai.
The ultimate name of God, as told to Moses at the Burning Bush, is Eheyeh Asher Eheyeh, 'I Will Be That Which I Will Be', generally translated as 'I Am That I Am'. This name is reflected in the four letters known as the Tetragrammaton, YHVH, which refers to the aspect of the Divine known as Yahweh or Jehovah. The literal Hebrew meaning of YHVH is 'He Is'. It can also be translated as 'He Who Is'. It is regarded as having the same meaning as Eheyeh Asher Eheyeh but it is always translated in the Hebrew Testament as 'the LORD' in capitals. Jews are forbidden to say or write this name and, when reading the Torah, pronounce it as Adonai.
However, in this book the word 'Lord' has been written in lower case so as to allow the equality between Yahweh and Elohim.
On the Tree of Life of Azilut, Yahweh and Elohim spring from the highest sefira of Eheyeh. They meet in the place known as Tiferet, the sefira of truth and beauty, as Yahweh Elohim, known kabbalistically as both the Holy One and the Creator. From Yahweh Elohim springs El Hai Shaddai, the Living Almighty/the Holy Spirit and from her, Adonai, the Lord and/or the Shekhinah, the presence of God (see Chapter Three). The Divine Light of God flows down the Tree, filling and then overflowing each sefira. Yahweh and Elohim come together in unison to give birth to Shaddai and Adonai, making the Elohim both bride and mother of the Lord.
As Adonai is at the base sefira of Azilut, the Divine World, and this sefira is known as Malkhut, 'kingdom', Kabbalah teaches that Adonai is placed at 'the Kingdom of God'.
The Messiah is also placed here; the sefira being also the center point – the Tiferet – of Beriah and the top – Keter (crown) – of Yezirah. This means that he, or she, who rises to this position spiritually would have embraced the three upper Worlds and have all power over the physical World of Asiyyah. It would be perfectly possible for this person to resurrect a physical body.
When Jesus adjures us to reach for the Kingdom of God, he is telling us of the highest point of human consciousness where we are one with the Divine.
In Judaism, the Messiah has not yet come; in Christianity, he is Jesus Christ who will come again. However, in kabbalistic lore there is what might be called a 'lesser messiah' in every generation – an Anointed One who bears the mantle of God for each age of humanity. In the Hebrew Testament, these leaders come to save their people but the story is told as being primarily a physical salvation. This may be the reason why Jesus was expected to liberate the Jews from the Roman occupation of Judea. However, their stories can also be uplifting for our souls and spirits if read allegorically or metaphysically. Moses is believed to have been an Anointed One and so is King David. Queen Esther is said to be the first, known female Anointed One of God, the Divine Feminine on Earth.
CHAPTER 2
The Four Levels of the Bible
The Bible is said to be the most-read book in history even though, for most of that history, the majority of people in the world could not read or write. In New Testament times, even in Rome, 95 percent of the population was illiterate. It wasn't about whether they were smart or not: there was very little need to read – no novels, no biographies, no newspapers. Nearly everything that was written was about religion, politics, economics or contracts and would be read out loud by scribes to those who needed to know, or declared to the populace by town criers. When it came to stories, people would listen to a storyteller and repeat those stories themselves for family and friends.
Before the printing press, storytellers were the news presenters of the ages. They were listened to with the same avid fascination – a trait that continued well into the late 20th century in countries such as China. I remember being intrigued by a large crowd of people outside a restaurant in the northwestern city of Lanzhou in 1984. After several minutes of working my way through the crowd, I found that they weren't entranced by a fight or a floor show; it was the presence of an old lady telling a story at a table just outside the eating house. Everyone listening was silent, straining their ears. Some had their eyes closed for better concentration. They were people of all ages, from Mao-suited old men to young mothers with children.
With the possible exception of bedtime stories for children, the art of storytelling by individuals is dying out in the Western world. We have books and the Internet and movies for that purpose now. However, there is magic in a story that is passed on by word of mouth. It has time to update for every age, and they can be amended to bring in the children themselves or to become relevant to modern lives.
In our modern times of DVDs, movies and the Internet we have easy access to tens of millions of stories, many of which are violent, cruel or dedicated to warfare but woven within them are still the principles that underlie all myths: tales of good versus evil; of faith and courage; of the power of love and sacrifice; the presence of Grace – whether it is called God or not – and the continual message that eventually, one day, good will always win over evil.
It is said that these movies – and the books of today – carry just seven basic plots:
Overcoming the Monster/the fight against evil
Rags to Riches
The Quest
Voyage and Return
Comedy
Tragedy
Rebirth
All seven plots have the same basic structure. For 'hero' here please read both genders – after all, 'Hero' is a woman's name from the Greek legend of Hero and Leander. Each plot starts with a character who has to face some kind of constriction or challenge.
• The Anticipation Stage (what the American mythologist Joseph Campbell terms the Call to Action) – the hero has to decide whether or not to take the challenge.
• The Dream Stage – all goes well for the hero.
• The Frustration Stage – the hero faces escalating conflict, usually in sets of three.
• The Nightmare Stage – all hope is lost.
• The Miraculous Escape.
This last stage varies, becoming one of the following:
• The hero triumphs against all odds (Overcoming the Monster).
• The bastard child turns out to be the legitimate heir of a huge fortune (Rags to Riches).
• The grail is found (The Quest).
• The hero returns from battle, gets the dream partner and they live happily ever after (Voyage and Return).
• All mistaken identities are sorted out or the protagonists pass their test and there is a marriage (Comedy).
• The hero, who has a fatal flaw, dies in the end or loses someone they love (Tragedy as in Macbeth).
• The hero dies, or appears to die, but is reborn stronger than ever (Rebirth – the story of Jesus in the Gospels of the New Testament ... and nowadays the story of Harry Potter).
Aspects of all these stories and themes are redolent of the stories of the Bible women including the plot, if not the humor, of the comedy. Some of our heroines overcome the problems and some of them don't. Some, like Esther and Ruth, embrace several plots in one story and both experience rags to riches. Dinah experiences unrelieved tragedy. Jael and Deborah overcome the monster, Hannah finds the grail, Rachel and Leah experience unrelieved tragedy. Jael and Deborah overcome the monster, Hannah finds the grail, Rachel and Leah experience tragedy and, through their husband Jacob, experience voyage and return. Rebekah and Sarah each demonstrate a fatal flaw and are faced with losing the ones they love.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A Woman's Worth by Maggy Whitehouse. Copyright © 2013 Maggy Whitehouse. Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction.................... 1
Part One. The Power of the Story.................... 5
Chapter One. The Written and Oral Traditions.................... 7
Chapter Two. The Four Levels of the Bible.................... 14
Chapter Three. Literal Truths.................... 22
Chapter Four. The Divine Feminine.................... 33
Part Two. Before the Descent.................... 47
Chapter Five. Missing the Mark—Lilith.................... 49
Chapter Six. Cause and Effect—Eve.................... 61
Part Three. Living in the Tribe.................... 71
Chapter Seven. The Matriarchs.................... 73
Chapter Eight. Survival of the Fittest—Sarah and Hagar.................... 79
Chapter Nine. Taking Control—Rebekah.................... 93
Chapter Ten. Repeating Patterns—Leah and Rachel.................... 104
Part Four. Leaving the Tribe.................... 113
Chapter Eleven. Dishonor and Shame—Dinah.................... 115
Chapter Twelve. Exodus from Egypt—Miriam.................... 123
Chapter Thirteen. Changing Tribe—Rahab.................... 131
Chapter Fourteen. Awakening to Change—Ruth.................... 136
Part Five. Being the Vessel.................... 145
Chapter Fifteen. The Dark Side—Deborah and Jael.................... 147
Chapter Sixteen. The Surrender of the Soul—Hannah.................... 155
Chapter Seventeen. Into the Kingdom—Esther.................... 160
Chapter Eighteen. The Women and the Ten Commandments.................... 173