- The text below is stylized after the Qabalistic texts of The Bahir and The Zohar. I wrote this several months ago, but I was not decided on what to do with this text until now. There are quite a few layers of meaning behind what is said here – much of it dealing with obscure Qabalah lore. After reading it several times, I’ve come to the conclusion that the surface meaning alone is significant enough that it should be shared and could be appreciated by even those who know nothing about Qabalah. However, it is important to inform you that this allegory wrapped in metaphor, hidden behind a puzzle… much of which even I am still do not understand fully. As such, if you fail to understand what is said, fault the messenger, not the message.
The unbound light is like strong wine in the mouth of a child. The taste of wine is not remembered or savored by a child, as she is becomes dangerously drunk with the first sip. So we add to the wine, filter out a part of the wine, and let it rest once, so it will not be as strong. But it is still too strong for the lips of a child, so we add to the wine, filter out a part of the wine, and let it rest twice, so it will not be as strong. But this is yet still too strong for a child. A third time we add to the wine, filter out part of the wine, and let it rest, and now we have not wine but pure water. This a child can drink, but the child must first thirst for this water.
We are that child, and each of us must find our own way to the first reservoir of light from which we can partake. If we do not yearn for the light, we will not seek it. Upon finding the light – upon quenching our thirst on water – we begin to yearn something more. We do not know what it is we yearn; we know only that water is not enough. So we each start the process of turning water back into wine. We each seek greater enlightenment by reaching ever closer to the source. As we mature, the stronger the wine we can drink, until we can fully appreciate the purest wine from the source.
This is the alchemy of the soul. We are small parts of a greater whole seeking to reunite with that greater whole. We were divided from the whole so that it may experience itself through our journey back to unity. What is this like? The mother of two brothers and two sisters passed away when they were young. These siblings have made their lives in different corners of the world. When they are apart, it is as if they are strangers. When they are together, they remember and honor the love of their mother by crying together and laughing together. They share stories of their lives, and these stories become the stories of their family. Their mother hears them – they are one.
The Divine Truth is called unbounded light because it can be felt, but cannot be held. Like light, the Truth cannot be seen but is the cause of sight. Like light, the Truth provides to all without distinction; both to the honorable and the disgraceful – both to the wise and the foolish. The Divine Truth is likened to water, as it flows from high places and comes to rests in the low places. Like water, the Truth takes the form of its container but remains unchanged. Like water, the Truth is life giving – there is no life without the Truth.
Some people believe a lie to be the opposite of the Truth. This exalts falsehood to a level equal to the Truth. Others would tell you that a lie is the absence of the Truth. This lowers the Truth, giving the impression that the Truth does not exist in all places at all times. I believe that a lie is the willful distortion of the Truth. Any means of communicating and comprehending the Truth is a distortion, but it is not a lie. These are not the willful distortion of Truth, but they are human defects to be corrected.
Those who willfully distort the Truth do so to the detriment of all people. The Truth remains unchanged, even under the most tortured distortions, and always finds a way to fully express itself.
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