Shalom, Shalom. We continue with our focus upon the PARASHAT ACHAREI by placing our ATTENTION on the following passage found in the SIDRAH, it is written, “When he is done atoning for the Sanctuary, the Tent of Meeting, and the Altar, he shall bring the living he-goat near. Aaron shall lean his two hands upon the head of the living he-goat and confess upon it all the iniquities of the Children of Israel, and all their rebellious sins among all their sins, and place them upon the head of the he-goat, and send it with a designated man to the desert. The he-goat will bear upon itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land, and he should send the he-goat to the desert.” (Leviticus 16:20-22) In this passage of TORAH, HaShem gives instructions on the sending of the goat to Azazel to the desert as an aspect of the performance of the YOM KIPPUR service. At this point, it is essential to our understanding that the YOM KIPPUR service is designed to AID in the ASCENSION into a CONSCIOUS UNION with ECHAD. The CONSCIOUS UNION that we are making reference to is what is termed the ATONEMENT.
In the UNIVERSE of BECOMING, the ATONEMENT is perceived as the MANY BECOMING ONE. This is one of the MECHANICS that was given to the Jewish People to AID in the fulfillment of our general PURPOSE described as the MANY BECOMING ONE. The many BECOMING ONE occurs as the result of the Jewish People executing UNITY first and then all the rest of the FAMILIES on the earth bless themselves in this by following the ensample that we PROVIDE, yea, the WALLS of SEPARATION that are entertained in the MIND have to fall and form BRIDGES. Within the service of sending the he-goat to AZAZEL are hidden principles that will aid in the PURSUIT of UNITY.
Within the divers aspects of the YOM KIPPUR service performed by the KOHEN GADOL are REVELATIONS on how to ASCEND into the HIGHER LEVELS of CONSCIOUSNESS where DIVISION will cease. The service commences with a RECOGNITION of the need to REPENT, REPENTING, and finally RESTORATION into a CONSCIOUS UNION with ECHAD. The question is, “How is the UNITY experienced by ONE who has an IMPERSONAL perspective of G-d?”
The service on YOM KIPPUR gives rise to the experience of MOVEMENT. The MOVEMENT deals with receiving FORGIVENESS, restoration to A CONSCIOUS UNION with ECHAD and finally the removing of IMPRESSIONS and DESIRES that are at the SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL empowering one not to repeat the offense. It is the RIDDING of IMPRESSIONS and DESIRES that the SENDING of the he-goat to AZAZEL is alluding to.
The term AZAZEL is indicative of the place of EVIL FORCES. The he-goat that is left alive and sent away is revelatory of RIDDING Oneself of the cause of the sin, yea, YETZER HARA, that is, the evil inclination. Without the sending away of IMPRESSIONS and DESIRES, the potential to repeat the SIN remains. In other words, the goal is to FREE ONESELF from DESIRE. When DESIRE is concentrated upon, it becomes THOUGHT; when THOUGHT is CONCENTRATED upon, it becomes WORDS; when words are concentrated upon, it becomes ACTIONS; when actions are CONCENTRATE upon, it becomes TENDENCIES; when TENDENCIES are concentrated upon, it becomes HABITS; when HABITS are concentrated upon, it becomes a CHARACTER; when a CHARACTER is concentrated upon, it becomes a DESTINY. This discloses that DESIRE effects DESTINY, thus for ATONEMENT to occur, one must not just be forgiven and PURE SOUL CONSCIOUSNESS be restored, but the desire must be removed to be like the CREATOR.
The CREATOR does not DESIRE but rather BESTOWS. Thus for the CREATURE to ASCEND out of DESIRE into BESTOWING, that is, to be AT-ONE-MENT with the CREATOR, we must rid ourselves of YETZER HARA (the evil inclination) which is symbolized in the sending away of the he-goat to AZAZEL. When the ascension occurs, the experience is that of ONENESS or UNITY.
It is out of BESTOWING that diversity came. The diversity is in DESIRE, thus when DESIRE has departed, the ASCENSION into BESTOWING can occur where we are ONE with the CREATOR. Therefore we were instructed to send away the live he-goat to AZAZEL to be mindful that IMPRESSIONS and DESIRES are to be sent away to experience AT-ONE-MENT.
Labels: Acharei, Ascension, Judaism, Neo Hasidic, Parashot, Spirituality, Yom Kippur