As a teacher, rabbi and writer I am fortunate to be able to interact positively with many people. Often people come to speak with me or join a class that I give with a passionate craving for spiritual knowledge and inspiration. Unbeknown to them their desire to learn and to be spiritually uplifted inspires me more than I could ever inspire them. This fact is backed up by the Kabbalists who tell us that a student with a powerful desire to learn awakens within the teacher abilities and teaching talents that are normally dormant.
Many of us have experienced this phenomenon in other ways. The outpouring of help after last year’s Tsunami and after the recent Hurricane Katrina is an example of this. When people were confronted by intense need they were awakened and inspired to give on a level that they would never have previously thought possible.
How to Inspire God
Our relationship with God is similar to this. Often we think that we need to perform some type of magic in order to be the beneficiary of miracles. We are misled into thinking that the great mystics have secret potions that confer upon them supernatural powers. Whereas this may be true for those who perform black magic, true mystics, however, are able to be a channel supernatural power and Divine blessings because they has a very deep and powerful relationship with the Divine.
You see, according to the Kabbalists our relationship with God should be analogous to our relationship with fellow humans; after all, each of us was created in the image of the Divine. So just as an intense desire or need is able to reach and awaken incredible outpourings of human sympathy and benevolence in our fellow, similarly by showing an intense desire towards God we awaken within the Divine the most incredible flow of Divine energy upon ourselves.
This according to the Kabbalists is the significance of the four kinds – Etrog/citrus, Lulav/palm branch, Hadas/myrtle and Arava/willow branch. On Sukkot Jews take all of these four kinds together and wave them in every direction. The fifteenth century Kabbalist, the holy Ari, told his students that after waving in each direction they should bring the four kinds back to their chest. This is because the waving symbolizes bringing down the Divine flow of Daat Elyon (Higher Knowledge) and taking the four kinds back to the chest is symbolic of bringing that Divine flow upon the person waving the four kinds.
Accessing Higher Knowledge
The concept is really very simple. The spiritual level of Higher Knowledge recognizes that all matter is completely insignificant when compared to the Divine reality. By waving the four kinds in every direction we are in effect saying that these four kinds – which represent all types of materialism – are really one, meaning, they are totally irrelevant when compared to the Divine. Moreover we are recognizing that on this level all corporeality is completely encompassed by the One Deity. When we acknowledge this fact with every fiber of our being we awaken the Divine level of Higher Knowledge to the extent that it flows down upon us into every aspect of our lives. This is the symbolism of bringing the four kinds back to our chest after waving them in each direction.
Since Higher Knowledge insists that there is no real existence other than God it obviously negates the existence of materialism. Thus the flow from it is extraordinarily powerful and by its very definition it is able to change the course of physical events and create miracles in our lives.
Being Connected Above
There is a beautiful story told about the great Chassidic master Rabbi Meir of Premishlan (d. 1850) that illustrates this point. Early each morning, Rabbi Meir would climb down a cliff to immerse himself in the river at the bottom. He did this even during the winter when the cliff was icy and slippery. His devoted followers considered it miraculous that the old rabbi was able to navigate the icy rocks with such ease. In an effort to disprove the believers’ miracle theory and to demonstrate how straightforward it was to descend the icy cliff face, young sceptics from the city of Premishlan decided to follow Rabbi Meir down the cliff. While Rabbi Meir glided down with ease the young sceptics slipped and fell on the icy rocks. Upon his return they approached Rabbi Meir with awe and asked, "How are you able to navigate such a dangerous cliff each morning without slipping?” He replied, "When one is connected above: one does not fall below."
When one is able to tap into the level of Higher Knowledge (Daat Elyon) and awaken that aspect of the Divine so that it flows down upon us, we are able to perform miracles and successfully navigate even the most trying of material challenges. The time designated for waving the four kinds is especially auspicious for accessing this potent Divine energy. By meditating on the concept of Higher Knowledge before waving the four kinds, by recognizing God as the only true existence prior to performing the Mitzvah of Lulav and Etrog, we connect ourselves to a Divine flow that can potentially transform every aspect of our lives.