Day 25: Netzach she’b’Netzach, Endurance in Eternity
INTRODUCTION
The mystery of Kabbalah. Metaphysically, how can timeless divine energy manifest in time? Psychologically, how can we give voice to ideas, feelings, and images still hidden in our unconscious?
Somehow, the sefirot are supposed to explain this.
Honestly, the metaphysical question is a mystery to me. I could not tell you how God Itself operates. But I do know something about my own psyche. And I know my experience of the sefirot points me towards God. I also know that that this season’s journey through the sefirot helps me express the mystery inside me.
Today’s quality is netzach she’b’netzach. For two reasons, I like to think of it as the heart of the Omer journey. First, because we are exactly halfway through. And second, because it names the essential mystery. Netzach means “endurance” in time and also “eternity” outside of time. So, how do we see traces of eternity in time?
But maybe, for you, that is not a mystery at all!
TEXT
Master of the Universe Who reigned / before any form was created. // At the time when divine will brought all into being / then as “King” was God’s name proclaimed. // After all has ceased to be / this Awesome One will reign alone. // This is who was, this is who is/ and this is who shall remain, in splendour. // God is One, there is no second/ to compare with God, or declare as God’s equal. // Without beginning, without conclusion / here is the power and dominion. //
This is my God, my living Redeemer / rock amid my pain in times of distress. // God is my banner, a refuge for me / the portion in my cup on the day I shall call. // Into God’s hand I entrust my spirit / when I go to sleep and when I awake. // As long as my spirit fills my body / Hashem is with me, I shall not fear.
(Adon Olam, anonymous medieval Hebrew poem. Translation adapted from the Artscroll)
QUESTIONS
IDEAS: What do you think existed before anything took form? Why would God be called “King” only after all came into being?
FEELING: How does contemplating “eternity” make you feel?
PRACTICE: What practices help you see eternity in time? Slowing your breathing, for example? Or reading poetry? Contemplating seasonal beauty?
GOD: Which part of Adon Olam is closest to the way you experience (or imagine) the divine?
ABOUT THE QUESTIONS
These questions take off from the text above. And they also go deeper into the day’s reflections in the book Shechinah, Bring Me Home: Kabbalah and the Omer in Real Life.
There are many ways to explore these questions. You can: Tell a story from your own life. Give an example from a book or a movie. Write a poem. Analyze a concept. Offer a definition. Draw a picture. Sing a song.
New to the Omer? Here’s a guide to the theory and practice.
Image Credit: Unless otherwise noted, photos are mine.
