### The Gates of Light #### Framing the Text (Interpretative Introduction) This text expresses the core Kabbalistic world view according to which all existence is constantly flowing out of divine nothingness (also called “the One”) through the sefirot. In this image, Mount Zion, which is the Temple Mount, is the conduit through which divine abundance flows into the world. The flow begins in the heavens, and then descends on Mount Hermon - the highest mountain in Eretz Yisrael - in the form of dew or rain. From there it somehow flows to the lower "mountains of Zion". From Zion, the divine abundance flows in to the House of YHVH, and from it to Jerusalem and the world.   The following image might help us understand the text: Imagine Mount Zion, the Temple Mount, as you see it from one of the mountains surrounding it (like when you’re standing at the top of the steps in the Jewish Quarter, or if you’re up on the Mount of Olives). It is a majestic sight: Covering the top of Mount Zion is a massive rectangular structure. In the center stands the Dome of the Rock: The golden dome reflects the sun from every angle, and extends down to a circular base of pastel blues, greens and yellows patterned in Islamic shapes and calligraphy, beneath which stands an octagonal structure decorated in the same pastel colors and patterns. Inside the structure, beneath the dome, lies the foundation stone, the stone from which (according to tradition) the earth was formed. The Dome of the Rock is framed by the Old City on one side, and the churches of the Mount of Olives on the other, but what truly fills your vision is the expanse of the sky, rising up from the dome and surrounding it on all sides.   The sky (shamayim) symbolizes the sefirah of Tiferet, the Vav of the divine name, which is the river through which divine abundance flows from the upper sefirot, higher even than the sky, and unseen by the human eye, until it reaches the end of the river, the sefirah of Yesod, which is Mount Zion. The divine abundance takes the form of rain that falls from the sky onto the mountains, and the dew that condenses on it from the atmosphere, until Mount Zion is filled with fresh waters. (In actual fact, the mountains around Jerusalem do collect rain and dew in deep cavities which then flow out from crevices in the rock in the form of springs). Imagine that from the top of the mountain, where you can see the foundation stone inside the Dome of the Rock, the water flows down in every direction to give water first to the city of Jerusalem Al-Quds and then to the whole world.   For context, remember that the prophet Isaiah (Chapter 2) imagined that in the End of Days, Mount Zion would rise up higher than all other mountains, and that the peoples of the world would flow up to it to hear God’s word, and then the word and spirit of God would wash down from the mountain and cleanse the peoples and the world of all violence and injustice (Isaiah 2). Another prophet, Zachariah, considerably less humanistic than Isaiah, envisioned that in the End of Days a great river would open up and flow out from Jerusalem (Zachariah 14).  Now consider that in fact millions of people direct their spiritual lives to Al-Quds / Jerusalem, praying and directing their intentions to the holy city. Mount Zion is in reality charged with a tremendous energy of human consciousness - religious, political, personal – that powerfully impacts millions or even billions of lives. It is not exactly a metaphor to say that a vast flow of energy emanates from this mountain, and this city, into the world. But is it divine abundance? Or is it a burning fire of dehumanization? I think it is both. That’s what this text is about. And in Kabbalistic fashion, it is fractal, it is not just about Jerusalem Al-Quds, but about humanity everywhere, and even existence itself. It’s a Kabbalistic prism on all things. ![[2 Revised Sefirot Chart.png]] <div style="page-break-after: always;"></div> #### Primary Text: The Gates of Light | The Gates of Light - Second Gate | שערי אורה - שער ב' | | -------------------------------- | ---------------------- | | ![[The Gates of Light on Zion]] | ![[שערי אורה על ציון]] |   #### Commentary and Questions ![[The Gates of Light on Zion - Commentary]]