Into the Fullness of the Void

Dov Elbaum

Description

A spiritual journey—both deeply personal and strikingly universal.

One of Israel's leading cultural figures, Dov Elbaum grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem family, and was a prodigy who seemed destined for greatness in the world of Talmud study. But in his late teens, he abruptly broke away and set off into secular Israeli society.

In this fascinating, courageous and compelling autobiography, Elbaum seeks to understand his decision and its consequences. With the structure of Kabbalah as his road map, Elbaum journeys into the deep recesses of his self and his soul. The ultimate goal of his journey is "the Void," a Kabbalistic space that precedes God's creation of the world, and a psychological state that precedes our formation as individuals. It is a space of great vulnerability but also of hope for rebirth and renewal.

This is an intimate, honest, revealing work, both deeply personal and strikingly universal. The Hebrew edition was a bestseller and sold over 50,000 copies.

Chapter One
Keter—Invisible Beginnings 1
Chapter Two
Hokhma—The Abyss from Which None Ever Returns 33
Chapter Three
Binah—The Sound of a Serpent Shedding Its Skin 53
Chapter Four
Hesed—The Fiery Sword of Abraham 79
Chapter Five
Gevurah—Isaac's Ashes Lie Heaped upon the Altar 112
Chapter Six
Tiferet—Integrity beyond Truth 133
Chapter Seven
Netzah—Miriam, Prophetess of Water 153
Chapter Eight
Hod—Bar Yohai, the New Interpreter of the Body 170
Chapter Nine
Yesod—All the Dreams 186
Chapter Ten
Malkhut—All the Fears 206
A Chart of the Ten Sefirot 267
Acknowledgments 269
Notes 271

Sujets

• mysticism
• Philosophie et théologie
• Kabbalah
• Judaism
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 07 novembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781580237970
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Praise for Into the Fullness of the Void: A Spiritual Autobiograpny
Join Dov Elbaum, one of Israel s most creative thinkers, on a year-long spiritual journey, whose itinerary follows the map of the ten sefirot , the aspects of God s personality. Reading along, you ll soon find yourself on your own voyage of discovery.
- Daniel C. Matt , author, God and the Big Bang: Discovering Harmony Between Science and Spirituality , Zohar: Annotated and Explained and the multi-volume annotated translation The Zohar: Pritzker Edition
[A] wise intertwining of personal journey and Jewish direction, textual richness and struggle to glean ancient meaning and finally, fear with faith.... A deep read!
- Rabbi B. Elka Abrahamson , president, The Wexner Foundation
Masterful ... reflects the quiet truth, The hardest journey is the journey inward. In chronicling his [journey of] taking Jewish tradition seriously while not literally, [Elbaum] charts a path for us all.
- Edwin Goldberg, DHL , Israel and Ida G. Bettan Professor Emeritus of Midrash and Homiletics, HUC-JIR; author, Saying No and Letting Go: Jewish Wisdom on Making Room for What Matters Most
In the best of Jewish interpretive tradition ... illuminates not only the depth of the author s inner life, but the wealth and complexity of Jewish religious experience through the generations.
- Moshe Halbertal , Gruss Professor of Law, NYU School of Law, professor of Jewish thought and philosophy, Hebrew University; fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute
[From] one of the great Jewish visionaries of our time, [a] stunning and unique ... Kabbalistic map for all of our inner journeys.
- Yossi Klein Halevi , senior fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute; author, At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew s Search for God with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land
A wild spiritual ride! ... Through Elbaum s magic touch the Torah once again sings.
- Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, DHL , dean, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, American Jewish University; author, Passing Life s Tests: Spiritual Reflections on the Trial of Abraham, the Binding of Isaac and God of Becoming and Relationship: The Dynamic Nature of Process Theology
With rare sincerity, from within his own sufferings and revelations woven into carefully selected ancient texts, Elbaum peels away worn-out expressions and summons us to dare to enter into the mist of the Sacred, to follow our ancestors into the Void in the quest for God, for faith, for life.
- Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum , vice president, Masorti Rabbinical Assembly
Magnificent and challenging.... A book of depth, offering no pat answers to deep religious questions. In the honest struggle that emerges, Elbaum demonstrates his deep learning and gentle soul.... For those who care about the deepest theological issues ... an important guide and fellow traveler.
- Rabbi Elie Kaunfer , executive director, Mechon Hadar; author, Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities
Renders accessible engimatic Kabbalistic ideas, turning them into windows into the human soul. An intellectually rewarding and emotionally satisfying work.
- Micha Goodman , director, Ein Prat Academy for Leadership; author, Secrets of the Guide to the Perplexed
On the journey of faith, the true seeker must have the courage to stand in a place of uncertainty and ask difficult questions. [Elbaum] explores the landscape of faith, subjecting his experience to a comprehensive and profound analysis that is informed by meticulous scholarship and the determination to know God and live in the light of that mystery. This book is the inspiration for each of us to take that awesome journey.
- Rabbi Shefa Gold , author, The Magic of Hebrew Chant: Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, Deepening Love
A powerful, erudite meditation on faith, doubt, the nature of God. Dov Elbaum s ability to harness traditional Jewish scholarship while making himself wholly vulnerable in his spiritual quest is both illuminating and deeply compelling.
- Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg , author, Surprised by God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion ; editor, The Passionate Torah: Sex and Judaism .
Elbaum, a relentless God-wrestler, shares his high and low states while teaching applied Kabbalah and the flow of the Jewish year. Will stimulate you ... to look deeply into your inner life.
- Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi , author, Davening: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Prayer and Jewish with Feeling: A Guide to Meaningful Jewish Practice
Biography-as-theology is a powerful way to explore the inner spiritual struggles in which all of us engage, and Dov Elbaum s memoir is among the best of these. His insights into faith and his wrestling with God, religion and the meaning of life will resonate with anyone seeking a deeper walk with truth.
- Rabbi Rami Shapiro , author, Amazing Chesed: Living a Grace-Filled Judaism
Leads us on a powerful journey out of the void to ... the mysteries of faith and hope.... Articulates a deeply meaningful system of belief for the modern thinker struggling with the challenges of our tradition.
- Naamah Kelman-Ezrachi , dean, HUC-JIR s Jerusalem School
Brilliant, courageous and innovative.... Serves as a modern continuation of the literary and scholarly work of Martin Buber [and] follows in the footsteps of Abraham Joshua Heschel s work.... Makes present and internalizes the ancient Kabbalistic perceptions in his personal life [and] creates a renewed understanding-both personal and spiritual-of a Jewish tradition that today non-Jews and non-Israelis worldwide are also fascinated by.
- Moshe Idel , Max Cooper Professor of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University, Jerusalem


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Chapter One
Keter -Invisible Beginnings
Chapter Two
Hokhma -The Abyss from Which None Ever Returns
Chapter Three
Binah -The Sound of a Serpent Shedding Its Skin
Chapter Four
Hesed -The Fiery Sword of Abraham
Chapter Five
Gevurah -Isaac s Ashes Lie Heaped upon the Altar
Chapter Six
Tiferet -Integrity beyond Truth
Chapter Seven
Netzah -Miriam, Prophetess of Water
Chapter Eight
Hod -Bar Yohai, the New Interpreter of the Body
Chapter Nine
Yesod -All the Dreams
Chapter Ten
Malkhut -All the Fears
A Chart of the Ten Sefirot
Acknowledgments
Notes
About the Author
Copyright
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chapter one

Invisible Beginnings
1
It was the eve of Yom Kippur. At the synagogue with my five-year-old daughter, both of us dressed in white, I was given the honor of opening and closing the Torah ark for one of the Yom Kippur prayers. I went up and tried to open the velvet curtain covering the ark, but it remained stuck in its runner, refusing to budge. The cantor stood behind me, clearing his throat and waiting impatiently for the Torah scrolls inside to be revealed so that he could chant, Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully (Psalm 24:3-4). But the curtain did not move. Embarrassed, I could sense the other congregants thoughts: Just another one of those guys that only come to synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur. He receives honors he doesn t deserve, while we make the effort and come here each and every day.
Finally back in my seat, I struggled to regain my composure. I could not stop replaying the mistake of a synagogue novice who attends once a year and does not even know how to open the curtain of the ark. After all, only a short time earlier, along with the rest of the congregation, I had recited Kol Nidrei , the absolution of vows liturgy that opens the Yom Kippur services, and my heart was filled with the hope that I was on the threshold of a truly new year, a year of revelation and change. I had stood and recited intently, Kol nidrei ... All vows and oaths we take, all promises and obligations ... we hereby publicly retract ... and hereby declare our intention to be absolved of them. I wanted desperately to shake loose from of the detritus of the previous year and the old fears, anxieties, and preoccupations. But here I was, unable even to open the Torah ark. I could not ascend the hill of the Lord.
There had been times when I did not fast, desecrating the most sacred Jewish holiday. But for years now I have been fasting and praying, studying traditional Jewish sources, writing and teaching about these sources, meditating on their minute details, even down to the letters of the texts. I am not religiously observant, but I venerate the Hebrew Bible and honor and revere Jewish intellectual history, and I try to live according to Jewish and ethical ideals.
On our way home after the service, my daughter and I walked in the middle of the street, reveling in that particular freed