REVELATION PART 2
How might we open ourselves up to the possibility of revelation? I’m going to offer a series of authentically Jewish possibilities that I have discussed in other blog posts, but I want to reiterate here.
Fasting is a core Jewish practice. We all know about fasting on Yom Kippur and the Bible tells us that Moses fasted during his vision fasts on Mt. Sinai. We also know that Esther fasted for three days to purify herself in preparation for her confrontation with Ahasuerus. We fast on Tisha B’av to express our pain at all that has befallen us throughout our history. This is an acknowledgement of our ancestral trauma. Fasting and acknowledging our pain empty us out and leave room for the divine to fill us.
Going into the wilderness is another core practice. The best examples of this are Moses, Elijah and Jesus, who was born and died as a Jew. The Essenes are another example of Jews who sought visions in the wilderness. While it is absolutely possible to have a vision anywhere—I had a vision in a hotel ballroom from which I take my mythopoetic name, and Bernie Glassman, the Jewish zen master had his enlightenment experience in the back of a car in the New York City metropolitan area, it’s easier for most of us to have visions in the wilderness. So go there.
Sleep deprivation at night. This is one I personally never do, so I should probably try it. The way we have come to celebrate Shavuot is to stay up all night studying. I think this is at least somewhat derived from the long Kabbalistic tradition of staying up all night looking for visions during Yom Kippur Katan and other times. Just like with fasting or being in the wilderness, the mind empties our and opens itself up for other things when you are sleep deprived.
Jewish meditation. There are lots of Jewish meditation traditions, many of which center around letters and names for the divine. I know nothing about this and have no practice, but there’s a lot out there on this. The Jewish institute for spirituality is a place to start.
Praying for a vision. Nahman of Bratzlav taught his followers to go out into the woods and cry out about all their pain and ask the divine for help. It is a very small step to take this practice, called hitbodedut, and translate it into asking for a vision or for revelation about one’s purpose in the world.
Above all, pick some of these, combine them and go and do them this Shavuot.
