Weekly Consciousness by Karen Berg

It has been said that God doesn’t care about our prayers- after all God loves us unconditionally, right? God doesn’t “need” us; He doesn’t require that we show up and do all of our spiritual connections, use all of our spiritual tools.

In fact, the only reason we apply ourselves towards spiritual growth is because it is we who need the Creator, we who need a process that can allow our negativity to balance itself. But the only way people can achieve balance in anything is through some type of effort.

Welcome to the month of Gemini.

Gemini is an air sign, and like all air signs, it is about the intellect. People born under this sign can usually be found seeking new avenues of information. They make perfect “spiritual surfers,” although they may find it hard to stay in one place for too long because they get bored easily. Usually charismatic and confident, they are capable of doing a lot and are fantastic politicians.

Last week, I went on a spiritual tour of Israel with some of our students from around the world. We visited many places, including the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron—the burial place of the patriarchs and matriarchs (from the Bible), and the Idra Rabba—the place where Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai revealed the Zohar, the primary text of Kabbalah.

This weekend is Lag B’Omer, the day that Rav Shimon bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar, left the world. This particular point in time gives us a great spiritual opportunity: the opportunity for renewal, to be who we are, and to reach greater heights.

When we get stuck inside ourselves, we are already full. The Creator has no room to help us. But when we turn and busy ourselves with others, then we have the opportunity to grow on our spiritual level.

Normally, we think of surrender in one way. For example, I don’t know how many of you have seen the movie Life of Pi, but in it, the main character finds himself in the middle of the ocean without food, without water, and with nowhere to go. Eventually, in his desperation, he calls to the Creator and he says, “Okay! I give myself to you! I surrender!”

Welcome to the month of Taurus. This month, in particular, can be a healing and balancing month for all of us if we are willing to open ourselves to learn and apply what we learn in our lives. So what can we expect? Well, let’s start with a little bit about the sign itself.

This time of year, many of us find ourselves engaging in some sort of heavy-duty spring cleaning. For instance, those of us who are preparing for the holiday of Pesach know that part of the process is cleansing our homes of even the smallest crumbs of chametz (bread and other leaven).

Welcome to the month of Aries, known in Hebrew as “Rosh HaChodeshim” or “head of all of the months.” Before I go into some tips that can help us navigate this month’s energy, I’d like to share a little about the nature of people born under this sign.

Someone once asked me this question: If it is true that in this universe, there is a system of cause and effect, what is the payment for envy and greed?

This is great question because, for sure, each and every one of us goes through times where we get stuck these negative states. Quite simply, the payment for these feelings is the feelings themselves.

Many people have asked me the question: What is the purpose of studying Kabbalah?

In general, we study for the knowledge we need to grow and to evolve. And we study to find the answers to our questions.

But why study spirituality in particular? Why study Kabbalah? The reason we study Kabbalah is not just to learn, but to apply what we learn to our lives. We study to gain wisdom, and wisdom is the combination of what we learn and what we do.