Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
ORIGINAL SIN?
The prevailing society often speaks of 'original sin" and that all those born of parents through ordinary sexual activity are conceived in sin as is implied in Psalm 51. It is therefore important to identify a) the origin of the concept and b)the intended meaning of original sin.
Since we are all the issue of Adam we suffer the consequences of his error. Therefore, all people must die, for the evil found within the original sin is intertwined in our very being for which no correction presently exists. When the Messiah comes, mankind will be able to repair their conditions.
This is an important distinction. For in our belief system, the Messiah does not redeem our souls.Rather the Messiah creates the environment for us to redeem ourselves.
Secondly, human sexuality is not the original sin . Neither is it the selfishness of consumption=eating. The original sin was the desire to do everything for one's pleasure ONLY. No longer would man experience pleasures only when necessary
or desirable. Rather , the sin enabled Adam to replicate his experiences and arouse his desires without any internal or functional need.
In the animal kingdom,sexual appetite is reserved for when the female is in heat.
At other times ,the interest of the individual is for survival=food and leisure. This type of existence would have allowed man to focus on obtaining useful wisdom
and making a better environment. Instead , man is fixed upon more and more of the same pleasures to the point of being driven by those desires. Instead of mastery over one's impulses we have become slaves to them.
So,what is the original sin? The desire for self-indulgence in every thing we do.
The entrapment of the imagination into wanting to replicate one's experiences and fantasies are the fruits of the original sin.
How does the arrival of the Messiah change all of that? By taking away the forces that cause jealousy and competition,the Messiah allows people to use their minds to follow their desired pursuit. Because people will have abundance and leisure time,all of mankind will engage in meaningfull discusions and investigation or any item that atracts their interest, good or otherwise. Those who will opt to pursue the path of wisdom will have no distractions. In that process we will be able to reach the highest levels of human experience=prophecy . At that point we will merit the world to come , for we no longer will be controlled by our appetites,we will be masters over them.
For this reason,those who were above succumbing into personal weaknesses
for selfish reasons, were able to enter paradise alive.Others had their bodies preserved in its' entirety.
This is the secret of Elijah who enterred Paradise alive and Moshe whose body did not decompose. In the future when man reaches this level once again , we will live forever. For our attitudes and therefore, the nature of our bodies will have changed for the better.
Since we are all the issue of Adam we suffer the consequences of his error. Therefore, all people must die, for the evil found within the original sin is intertwined in our very being for which no correction presently exists. When the Messiah comes, mankind will be able to repair their conditions.
This is an important distinction. For in our belief system, the Messiah does not redeem our souls.Rather the Messiah creates the environment for us to redeem ourselves.
Secondly, human sexuality is not the original sin . Neither is it the selfishness of consumption=eating. The original sin was the desire to do everything for one's pleasure ONLY. No longer would man experience pleasures only when necessary
or desirable. Rather , the sin enabled Adam to replicate his experiences and arouse his desires without any internal or functional need.
In the animal kingdom,sexual appetite is reserved for when the female is in heat.
At other times ,the interest of the individual is for survival=food and leisure. This type of existence would have allowed man to focus on obtaining useful wisdom
and making a better environment. Instead , man is fixed upon more and more of the same pleasures to the point of being driven by those desires. Instead of mastery over one's impulses we have become slaves to them.
So,what is the original sin? The desire for self-indulgence in every thing we do.
The entrapment of the imagination into wanting to replicate one's experiences and fantasies are the fruits of the original sin.
How does the arrival of the Messiah change all of that? By taking away the forces that cause jealousy and competition,the Messiah allows people to use their minds to follow their desired pursuit. Because people will have abundance and leisure time,all of mankind will engage in meaningfull discusions and investigation or any item that atracts their interest, good or otherwise. Those who will opt to pursue the path of wisdom will have no distractions. In that process we will be able to reach the highest levels of human experience=prophecy . At that point we will merit the world to come , for we no longer will be controlled by our appetites,we will be masters over them.
For this reason,those who were above succumbing into personal weaknesses
for selfish reasons, were able to enter paradise alive.Others had their bodies preserved in its' entirety.
This is the secret of Elijah who enterred Paradise alive and Moshe whose body did not decompose. In the future when man reaches this level once again , we will live forever. For our attitudes and therefore, the nature of our bodies will have changed for the better.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Shmini
This week's Torah portion is troubling . In it , the two oldest sons of Aaron die in Divine fashion,
as they are punished for offering a strange fire that G-D hadn't commanded to offer in the Tabernacle.
They were quite young . However, they were too bold in wanting to partake of the Divine Service and their punishment was to be consumed by a Divine fire. This seems so unfair. Aaron, their father , had just been installed as the High Priest and the Priesthood was given only to his family forever. On the very first day of his ascendancy to this lofty and eternal office , he loses his most precious children!
On the Kaballistic level, the two sons of Aaron are really the reincarnation of Adam . They came back in order to correct Adam's misdeed, known as original sin. Without going into details, Adam
coveted that which was forbidden to him and took without permission. Had Nadav and Avihu followed the Priesthood orders faithfully , they would have corrected Adam's sin and perhaps death would have gone forever. By taking a service that wasn't for them yet , they failed in their life's major mission and were recalled .
Sometime, somewhere a child is born with great spiritual potential . He or she just might be Adam or Eve coming back. It might even be you . So, lets follow the rules!
as they are punished for offering a strange fire that G-D hadn't commanded to offer in the Tabernacle.
They were quite young . However, they were too bold in wanting to partake of the Divine Service and their punishment was to be consumed by a Divine fire. This seems so unfair. Aaron, their father , had just been installed as the High Priest and the Priesthood was given only to his family forever. On the very first day of his ascendancy to this lofty and eternal office , he loses his most precious children!
On the Kaballistic level, the two sons of Aaron are really the reincarnation of Adam . They came back in order to correct Adam's misdeed, known as original sin. Without going into details, Adam
coveted that which was forbidden to him and took without permission. Had Nadav and Avihu followed the Priesthood orders faithfully , they would have corrected Adam's sin and perhaps death would have gone forever. By taking a service that wasn't for them yet , they failed in their life's major mission and were recalled .
Sometime, somewhere a child is born with great spiritual potential . He or she just might be Adam or Eve coming back. It might even be you . So, lets follow the rules!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)