SELECTIONS FROM KEDUSHAT LEVI
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The Institute for Jewish Spirituality
Ki Tetze
s.v., ki tivneh bayit chadash ve-asita ma-akeh legagekha
“When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, [so that you
do not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone should fall from it]” (Deut.22:8).
Here’s what the practice should be: when we experience some joy from the Blessed
Creator, we should make a point of putting it into words. Bring this joy into expression
(lit., letters) through words of Torah, prayer, songs or praise, in order to connect this joy
above in the Blessed Creator.
This is the intention in the verse: “when you build a new house” – when you experience
some new joy – “you shall make a parapet” – you should raise this joy higher and
higher through the letters, as above. This is the significance of “ma-akah (parapet)”, since
we build the parapet on the highest part of the house.
But, this also is the meaning behind the word “legagekha (your roof)”, to bring the joy
into the letters. As we know (Zohar II 126b), the power that animates the letters is
Hashem, HVYH (the Name of God); the power is in the very letters of the Name HVYH.
And, the numerical value of “gagekha” is, like that of HVYH, twenty-six.
For Further Thought:
This is such a wonderful “wake me up.” It is certainly possible to read this verse and
concentrate on the obligation to DO something, built a parapet, and miss the beginning.
That is: WOW, A NEW HOUSE! How often do we move right by something new and
miss the opportunity to see in it a moment of “new joy”? This lesson is such a reminder
of what we might experience when we say “shehecheyanu.” First, there is the experience.
Then, there is the directing of heart, mind and intention back to the Source. Even if it is
“just” new underwear for the coming New Year on which to say the blessing, isn’t it
amazing that we get something new, that we get to be renewed?
It is worth noting that the experience of “some joy” comes from God. It is not a matter of
our separate, subjective, independent experience, in which we determine that we have joy
– it is a gift. As such, it is not something that we are to “enjoy” and keep to ourselves. It
is not a possession, so much as an inspiration. When we experience joy, it is an invitation
to express ourselves in words of praise, thanksgiving or prayer. Rather than hoarding joy,
we are to bring it into the larger cycle of experience; return the energy through our words
of Torah or prayer.
Again, note the very Hasidic emphasis on the letters of language. The letters are the
building blocks of all words, therefore of all expression. They are the foundation of
creation, and are the packets of energy that enliven and sustain all things in existence.
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Bringing our inner energy and attention to our speech-act, we acknowledge and identify
that energy, and thereby connect with the divine in the letters. Our experience of joy has
the potential to be a moment of experience of the divine in our lives.
Guide:
1. Levi Yitzhak starts out by describing the situation in which we “experience some
joy from the Blessed Creator” – a moment without reference, without orientation
in time or space. Have you ever found yourself suddenly, “inexplicably” filled
with a divine joy? When was that? How did you respond? Are there any
conditions that might make this more or less likely to happen (intellectual,
emotional, physical, spiritual)?
2. Levi Yitzhak suggests a connection between getting/having something new and
experiencing joy. Is that your experience? Do you experience having things as a
joy or as a burden? What brings you joy? How long does it last? When it is not
present, how do you respond?
3. There is a dynamic in the mystical system that seeks to connect “kol” (the
undifferentiated sound that flows from the divine source, identified with Tiferet,
the Holy Blessed One) and “dibbur” (speech, identified with Malkhut, the
Shekhinah). Putting our experience into words makes the connection of thought
and experience concrete. Would the idea of giving expression to your emotions in
words be less “noisy” if you thought of it as connecting the Shekhinah with the
Holy Blessed One? What might that feel like? How would that be different from
just “saying things”?
4. Most of our homes don’t have or need parapets. We don’t spend time on our
roofs, and (except for expert roofers) we don’t expect anyone else to be up there
either. So, get a picture in your mind of what a “parapet” would look like around
the flat roof of an ancient biblical home. In your imagination, can you make an
association between the “parapet” and the place where Levi Yitzhak wants you to
bring your joy? Could the “parapet” be a crown, and could this be a hint of raising
everything up to Keter, to the Eyn Sof? What is the relationship between
experiencing a joy from the Holy One, and experiencing Ayin? But, if the goal is
to experience Ayin, who would be the “I” who is experiencing the joy? Does the
experience of joy help or hinder in the spiritual process of self-effacement, of
letting go of physical permanence to step beyond the limits of I to enter the One?
Practice:
Is this a Jewish teaching or what?! Whatever it is that happens to you – talk about it! Yet,
one of the lessons many of us have learned in our contemplative practices is that silence
is also a great teacher. Is there anything in what Levi Yitzhak teaches, in how he
approaches “putting things into words” that might redeem this practice from our overly
verbal, noisy culture?
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Consider: is Torah study different from conversation? Is sacred conversation different
from normal chatting? Do you have a form of prayer that is not so wordy, that helps to
focus your joy? What about singing – would that work for you as a way to raise the joy
back up to its source?
Practicing silence is not censorship, nor is it the denial of the value of speech. Rather, it is
an invitation to notice, deeply, clearly, personally, how we wish to speak, what words
truly need to be said. Out of silence, it is possible to turn even mundane conversation into
sacred speech. It is possible, as the Baal Shem Tov taught, to be connected to the divine
even when engaged in telling stories or carrying on a conversation. Rather than being
distracted, having two things going on in one’s mind at once, this practice is supported by
being clearly focused on and connected to God, so that the words of conversation and
even entertainment carry the message: God is here, too.
Pay attention to your speech. Reflect.
Prepared Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Jonathan Slater
© Institute for Jewish Spirituality 2012
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