“Just as Christians imitated Christ in an attempt to draw near to God, the Hasid imitated his Zaddik, who had made the ascent to God and practiced perfect devekuth. He was a living proof that this enlightenment was possible. Because the Zaddik was close to God, the Hasidim could approach the Master of the Universe through him. They would crowd around their Zaddik, hanging on his every word, as he told them a story about the Besht or expounded a verse of Torah. As in the enthusiastic Christian sects, Hasidism was not a solitary religion but intensely communal. The Hasidim would attempt to follow their Zaddik in his ascent to the (Kindle Locations 7179-7183) which focused upon the description of the heavenly chariot (Merkavab) seen by the Prophet Ezekiel and which took the form of an imaginary ascent through the halls (hekhaloth) of God’s palace to his heavenly throne. Tikkun (Hebrew) Restoration. The process of redemption described in the Kabbalism of Isaac Luria, whereby the divine sparks scattered during the Breaking of the Vessels (q.v.) are reintegrated with God. (Kindle Locations 8612-8615).
Quoted in Rachel Elin, “HaBaD: the Contemplative Ascent to God,” in Green, ed., Jewish Spirituality II, p. 161. Armstrong, Karen (2011-08-10). History of God (Kindle Locations 9301-9302). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
No comments:
Post a Comment