In the Sefer Yetzirah, Abraham writes that the power and unique gift that is available to us in this month of Sivan, or Gemini, is the power of movement. What does movement mean and why is it so important?
As Kabbalah teaches us, we came into this world to achieve the complete revelation of the potential of our soul, which requires constant growth and constant movement; simply being a good person who does some spiritual actions is not enough… there has to be constant spiritual movement. Therefore, when we talk about movement, the most important movement is spiritual movement.
In order for us to truly understand what that means, and where we are trying to go, I would like to share with you something that was taught thousands of years ago to Rav Shimon bar Yochai by a man whose father was a great sage. Rav Shimon asked him to repeat to him a teaching that he had heard from his father, to which the man said: "My father taught me that there are three levels of progressive connections of growth to the Light of the Creator. Initially, a person's connection to the Light of the Creator is like a daughter to her father, the second level of connection is like a sister to a brother, and the third level of connection is like a mother to a son.”
After hearing this teaching, Rav Shimon said to the man, "If I only came into this world to hear this piece of wisdom, this teaching, then my entire life would have been worthwhile;" clearly, then, this is an indication that the teaching that was shared with Rav Shimon holds within it almost everything we need to know about our spiritual life and our spiritual work, and is, therefore, a very significant, fundamental teaching. So, it was revealed to Rav Shimon bar Yochai that there are three levels of progressive elevation and connection between an individual and the Creator. The lowest of which is like the relationship of a daughter to a father, the second, like a sister to her brother, and the third, like a mother to her son.
What is the secret of this important teaching?
When most people begin their spiritual journey, they do so probably because they want or need something, and their connection to the Light of the Creator, therefore, is as a receiver. Maybe we need healing, maybe we need assistance, maybe we need happiness, maybe we need fulfillment, but either way, we want to receive from the Light of the Creator, and that level of connection they say is as a daughter to her father; the daughter receives from her father who gives her whatever he can in ways of assistance. That is the lowest level of spiritual connection. When we desire to receive through our spiritual connection, it is not a negative thing, as it is still much more elevated than an individual who is not connected to the Light of the Creator at all; however, it is seen as the lowest level of connection.
With the next level, as a sister to her brother, kabbalists explain that brothers and sisters are on the same level, and while they do work, they do it together, and there is a partnership; they are equal and are doing the work together. As such, that second level is when an individual elevates more in his consciousness and understands that his task and job in this world is not simply to receive from the Light of the Creator, but to assist the Light of the Creator in revealing Light and goodness to others in this world. On this level, we accept the partnership and responsibility that we have with the Light of the Creator on equal levels to do what we can to assist others, to bring the Light of the Creator into the world, and to enable a connection with the Light of the Creator for others.
The highest level, the kabbalists explain, is as a mother to her son, the mother being the individual who has elevated, and the son as the Light of the Creator. There is a concept wherein a righteous person, the person who has elevated to such a connection, decrees what should happen. Whenever that person says, for example, "healing should come here, and blessings should come there,” the Light of the Creator has to manifest that healing and blessing. Individuals who have grown and pushed themselves to move in their spiritual work and connection can get to this level. This is a level we can, and want, to get to, where because of the level of connection that we have achieved as a son to his mother, the Light of the Creator manifests, blessings come, and Light awakens wherever we tell It to.
These are the three levels, which, if we are serious in our spiritual pursuit, need to be our guide as to where we want to go. If we are on the lowest level where we are simply making our connections and doing our spiritual work in order to receive, we want to push to the next level, as a sister to her brother, doing the work together with the Light of the Creator, assisting others in their connection, assisting the Light of the Creator to be revealed in this world in a partnership. And if we are on that level, there is a higher level to aspire to, when an individual actually becomes, as the kabbalists say, a person who rules over the Light of the Creator, when he elevates to such a level that he can tell the Light of the Creator where to manifest, what to do, and where to go.
When we speak of this month of Sivan, we have to realize where we are meant to go and what levels we are meant to attain, and not be satisfied simply being a receiver of the Light of the Creator, or even being a partner with the Light of the Creator. We need to know that every single one of us can, and is meant to, push ourselves to become as a mother to a son, as a decider of where the Light of the Creator should go. Achieving that, of course, necessitates movement and a true commitment to spiritual work. So, as we begin this month, what we want to do, first of all, is gain clarity about the distance from where we are in our spiritual level towards where we have to go, and second, make the decision and commitment that ultimately we want to get to the state where we rule over the Light of the Creator and tell It where to go. That is not easy work, clearly. But that is what this month is about: understanding where we are meant to go, and deciding that is where we want to go. And then, we have to ask ourselves what type of work we need to do, how much more we should be pushing ourselves than we already are in order to truly be able to achieve that level, and if we believe that doing what we are currently doing will even get us to that third level.
That is the movement and ultimate state for which we came into this world, and is a gift and awakening of this month; one that if we merit truly connecting to, we will feel. We will look at what we are doing, we will look at our spiritual life, and say, “That might be fine up until now, but there are higher places I am meant to reach.” This is the month of movement and, therefore, we are awakened and inspired to find the different things we need to do and different actions we need to take in order to be able to move towards the ultimate state for which our soul came into this world.
