Lecha Dodi, Come my Beloved. O Bride, Shabbat Queen, now come !

Lcha Dodi (Hebrew: לכה דודי‎; also transliterated as Lecha Dodi, L'chah Dodi, Lekah Dodi, Lechah Dodi; Ashkenazic pronunciation: Lecho Dodi, Biblical: Lekhah Dhodhiy) is a Hebrew-language Jewish liturgical song recited Friday at dusk, usually atsundown, in synagogue to welcome Shabbat prior to the Maariv (evening services). It is part of the Kabbalat Shabbat ("acceptance of Sabbath").

Lekhah Dodi means "come my beloved," and is a request of a mysterious "beloved" that could mean either God or one's friend(s) to join together in welcoming Shabbat that is referred to as the "bride": likrat kallah ("to greet the [Shabbat] bride"). During the singing of the last verse, the entire congregation rises and turns to the open door, to greet "Queen Shabbat" as she arrives.

Come out my Beloved, the Bride to meet;
The inner light of Shabbat,  let us greet.

Come out my Beloved, the Bride to meet;
The inner light of Shabbat, let us greet.

"Observe" and "Remember" in a single word,
He caused us to hear, the One and Only Lord.
G-d is One and His Name is One,
For renown, for glory and in song.

Come out my Beloved, the Bride to meet;
The inner light of Shabbat, let us greet.

To welcome the Shabbat, let us progress,
For that is the source, from which to bless.
From the beginning, chosen before time,
Last in deed, but in thought - prime.

Come out my Beloved, the Bride to meet;
The inner light of Shabbat, let us greet.

Sanctuary of the King, city royal,
Arise, go out from amidst the turmoil.
In the vale of tears too long you have dwelt,
He will show you the compassion He has felt.

Come out my Beloved, the Bride to meet;
The inner light of Shabbat, let us greet.

Arise, now, shake off the dust,

Dress in your garments of splendor, my people,
By the hand of Jesse’s son of Bethlehem,
Redemption draws near to my soul.

Come out my Beloved, the Bride to meet;
The inner light of Shabbat, let us greet.

Wake up, wake up,
Your light has come, rise and shine.
Awaken, awaken; sing a melody,
The glory of G-d to be revealed upon thee.

Come out my Beloved, the Bride to meet;
The inner light of Shabbat, let us greet.

Be not ashamed, nor confounded,
Why are you downcast, why astounded?
In you, refuge for My poor people will be found,
The city will be rebuilt on its former mound.

Come out my Beloved, the Bride to meet;
The inner light of Shabbat, let us greet.

May your plunderers be treated the same way,
And all who would devour you be kept at bay.
Over you Your G-d will rejoice,
As a groom exults in his bride of choice.

Come out my Beloved, the Bride to meet;
The inner light of Shabbat, let us greet.

To right and left you'll spread abroad,
And the Eternal One you shall laud.
Through the man from Peretz's family,
We shall rejoice and sing happily.

Come out my Beloved, the Bride to meet;
The inner light of Shabbat, let us greet.

Come in peace, her Husband's crown of pride,
With song (on Festivals: rejoicing) and good cheer.
Among the faithful of the people so dear
Enter O Bride, enter O Bride;

O Bride, Shabbat Queen, now come here!

Come out my Beloved, the Bride to meet;
The inner light of Shabbat, let us greet.

Especially if your Philosophy is "Loving Kindness" ....

"We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust ..." - Rumi

One Fish, Two Fish, Quantum Entanglement ....

Quantum Entanglement explained by one of the greatest quantum physicists of all time, David Bohm: 

“Imagine a fish swimming in an aquarium. Imagine also that you have never seen a fish or an aquarium before and your only knowledge about them comes from two television cameras' one directed at the aquarium's front and the other at its side. When you look at the two television monitors you might mistakenly assume that the fish on the screens are separate entities. After all, because the cameras are set at different angles, each of the images will be slightly different. 

But as you continue to watch you will eventually realize there is a relationship between the two fish. When one turns, the other makes a slightly different but corresponding turn. When one faces the front, the other faces the side, and so on. If you are unaware of the full scope of the situation, you might wrongly conclude that the fish are instantaneously communicating with one another, but this is not the case. No communication is taking place because at a deeper level of reality, the reality of the aquarium, the two fish are actually One and the same”

I searched for the Infinite Universe and found only myself.

The Sufi says:

"I searched for God and found only myself.
I searched for myself and found only God."

The Quantum Physicist says :

"I searched for the Infinite Universe and found only myself.
I searched for myself and found only the Infinite Universe."

They are both saying : Ein od Milvado. God is One, there is nothing other than God.

Creation is One with the Creator - The Bahir

 

.... "This is to say that Creation is One with the Creator....... The soul is the thought and the body is the Creation. The two are ONE. Why does God bless these two who are ONE ? Because this is necessary for Creation to continue to flow and grow and maintain the same kind of momentum exhibited from this first act of renewal. The Lord God mentioned above references our thoughts above that act to bring to us everything that we would have and therefore cause to be named or come into Creation as a living thing. These living things are the life experiences that we go through. "- The Bahir

Bahir Verse 198

The heart of the matter approached so many times, alluded to in countless Torah verses now becomes clear. The secrets of creation itself are discussed.

Bahir verse 198: Why was she called Tamar and not any other name? Because she was female. Can we then say that [it was something special that] she was female? But it is because she included both male and female. For [Tamar means a date palm, and] every date palm includes both male and female. How is this? The frond (Lulav) is male. The fruit is male on the outside and female on the inside. And how? The seed of the date has a split like a woman. Paralleling it is the power of the moon above. The Blessed Holy One created Adam male and female, as it is written (Genesis 1:27), "Male and female He created them." Is it then possible to say this? Is it then not written (Genesis 1:27), "And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him"? It is only then later written (Genesis 2:18), "I will make him a helper opposite him," and (Genesis 2:21), "And He took one of his ribs, and closed the flesh under it." [We therefore see that the male was created first, and only later the female.] But we must say that the Torah uses [three different words]: "formed" (yatzar), "made" (asah), and "created" (bara). When the soul was made, the word "made" is used. [The word "created" is then used:] "Male and female He created them." The word "formed" was used when the soul was combined with the body and the spirit was brought together. How do we know that "forming" means bringing together? For it is written (Genesis 2:19), "And the Lord God formed (gathered) all the beasts of the field and all the flying things of the heaven, and He brought them to the Man to see what he would call each thing." This explains the verse (Genesis 5:2), "Male and female He created them." It is also written (Genesis 1:28), "And God blessed them."

Commentary: This verse mentions Tamar as a reason for expounding the relationships between male and female in terms of the energy that each represents. Tamar shows us the unity of male and female as indicated by the date palm and the above verse “male female he created them.” Lets approach this from the standpoint of thought which issues from the Creator and then transforms itself into the image of that Creator becoming in effect the response of creation directed due to the action of the Creator. Male is the Creator or the active force of Intention. It is what we’ve been calling our ‘heart’s desire’ all along during these discussions. This is referenced above when ‘he brought them to the man to see what he would call each thing.’ What we call something is our Intention. Everything we see above that has to doing with being formed, created or made out of something is the female counterpart of the male principle. These all are various levels of gestation that take place whenever we realize an Intention in our thoughts. 

Here is the scenario laid out by the above verses. We have an Intention. 

"And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him"

This Intention comes from the Creator. It is placed within us as an image of that which the Creator wishes to see represented in His Creation. How will this come about? 

"I will make him a helper opposite him,"

This is the female aspect or the Creation itself. It is the form of the Image that is being cast by the Creator through the agency of His Creation. What is this agency?

"And He took one of his ribs, and closed the flesh under it."

This is say that Creation is one with the Creator. Ribs are the housing or container of the body. Taking the representation of this container all that is now make takes on it semblance as in closing the flesh under. This container is where our thoughts take form as when the soul is brought into the body bringing both together. The soul is the thought and the body is the Creation. The two are one. Why does God bless these two who are one? Because this is necessary for Creation to continue to flow and grow and maintain the same kind of momentum exhibited from this first act of renewal. The Lord God mentioned above references our thoughts above that act to bring to us everything that we would have and therefore cause to be named or come into Creation as a living thing. These living things are the life experiences that we go through.

There is a Divine Presence below, just like there is a Divine Presence above. What is this Divine Presence?.... "The whole earth is filled with His glory... I will surround you and see you all day long." - The Bahir

Bahir: Verse 170. What is the meaning of "Victory of Victories"? There is a single Victory (Netzach). Which is it? It is the one that inclines toward the west. And what is secondary to it? This is the one that inclines toward the north. And the third one? This is the one that is below. The third one? But you have said that the Chariot has two wheels. We must therefore say that the end of the Divine Presence is also called Victory. This is the meaning of "Victory of Victories." "Victory" is one, and "Victories" is two, giving [a total of] three.

Commentary: The wheels of the chariot or the Ophanim are going in directions at right angles to each other which brings to mind a gear like arrangement. The sum total of both directions turns out to be a third direction. Here we are talking about what is flowing into and then flowing from Netzach or the eighth Sephiroth. Like the Sephiroth the energy of the Divine Presence flows from above to below and then again to the above from below. This is explained further in the next verse 171 but for here the context becomes Netzach as a source of empowerment. What specifically could be happening here at Netzach to make it the subject of this particular discussion tying it into the Divine Presence? We'll delve into this here and expound upon it in the next verse during the commentary there.

First of all take the energy of the Divine Presence. What is this? It is the energy of thought patterns that have linked themselves to unity through Torah. Admittedly this is hard to explain. Once a connection is established within Torah this facilitates the formation of paths of consciousness between Torah and the inner central core of your being tied to your soul and ultimately where the spark of G-d rests. Thoughts align themselves into associations of ideas forming the unseen latticework whereby this connection is able to operate. In any system of transference of energy where there are valves to regulate the flow of energy the rate of egress through the valve usually has a certain point where the valve will open. Too little and the valve remains closed until the threshhold is reached and then the valve opens allowing the energy (water, electricity, mind stuff, etc.) to pass freely through. Netzach then is a nexus it is being pointed out to allow the two way passing of energy flowing downward and upwards along the Tree of Life considered as a diagram of the Sephiroth with the various energy signatures that each Sephiroth has. Victory that is one is the passing from Netzach through to Yod the next Sephiroth. This is the West or to the left of Netzach but still moving downward. The Netzach that is described as Victories is the result of the return flow of energies that is moving upwards perhaps directly to Binah and Chokma in a straight. The third of the Victories that is described is the movement both from Tiphereth to Netzach and to Tiphereth from Netzach. These are the forces working as described by the thought form of the Ophanim and the wheels of the chariot. These wheels also refer to the energy centers within called chakra's in Eastern meditational symbolism.

The central idea to remember here is that thought raised to a vibrational level of unified awareness becomes self aware causing the flowing of what is called the Shekinah which is none other than our sense of the Divine Connection or Presence that we feel as our thoughts align themselves with the Creator blessed be He. More on this in the next verse.

Verse 171. His disciples said to him: From above to below we know. But from below to above we do not know. He replied: Is it not all one ­ below to above and above to below? They said: Our master, ascending is not the same as descending. One can run while descending, but cannot do so while ascending. He replied: Go out and see. He sat and expounded to them: There is a Divine Presence below, just like there is a Divine Presence above. What is this Divine Presence? We have said that it is the light that was derived from the first Light, which is Wisdom. It also surrounds all things, as it is written (Isaiah 6:3), "The whole earth is filled with His glory." What is its function? What is this like? A king had seven sons, and he assigned each one a place. He said to them, "Sit here, one above the other." The lowest one said, "I will not sit at the bottom. I do not want to be far from you." [The king] replied, "I will surround you and see you all day long." This is the meaning of the verse, "The whole earth is filled with His glory." Why is He among them? This is so that He should support them and sustain them.

Commentary: The question concerns what is the below to above that is being explained. The students understand the flow of energy in terms of coming from Keter and flowing through each Sephiroth into Malcuth via the seven earths. What they don't understand is the return flow. What could initiate such a return flow? The answer is given that the King described in the mini parable is always surrounding the centers of awareness watching all day long. When we pray our prayers align themselves according to our merit in various centers of awareness. These centers are symbolized by the glyph of the Tree of Life. Like the example given in verse 1170 these prayers build up and cause the valves to open releasing more energy causing us to feel the Shekinah and then to let go and let this energy pass through us. As it passes through it receives the watchful attention of the holy one blessed be He. This attention is alluded to by the phrase "I will surround you and see you all day long." The reason for this is that these prayers reference holiness and in effect give off holiness. When this holiness is earthed it is then that it sets up the return flow mirroring the reflection of thought producing after its kind the image of that reflection above which then turns it around to begin this process all over again.