Sticks and Stones

From the Restored Order Tarot, the Five of Swords; from the Oracle of Kabbalah, Yud:

Yod/Yud painting by Victor Brindatch

Over a decade ago I came across a quote by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel that had a great impact on me: “When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.” In early adulthood, my motive for opening my mouth was to make my opinions known, prove I was right, shut people down, and make myself look smart and clever. But all it actually accomplished was to make me look like an arrogant ass, which had the effect of damaging relationships rather than creating or healing them. The Yud represents a drop of concentrated power; it can be the seed that creates a garden or the spark that ignites a bomb. Words are just as powerful as well. Sticks and stones can break bones, but words can create lasting damage.

Act, Love, Walk

From the Restored Order Tarot, the Two of Swords; from the Oracle of Kabbalah, Yud:

Yud painting by Dani Antman

          Decisions, decisions... Discerning choices can be difficult to make for several reasons: our desires get in the way of reality, our opinions override facts, or our emotions hijack rational thought. Cognitive dissonance (conflicting ideas and attitudes) may require us to have a sit until all those noisy, internal voices quiet down. Yud, often translated as 'hand,' is given the title Infinite Point by Ginsburgh. In geometry, the point begins all figures, whether it becomes a simple straight line or the complex spiral of a nautilus shell. Our choices also hold this power, but in what direction should our point go? Perhaps Micah 6:8 holds a clue, as it encourages us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.

Ecstatic Dance

From the Restored Order Tarot, the Universe; from the Kabbalah Oracle, 'Yod/Yud:'

          The dancer in the Universe card holds a rod of dead wood in one hand and a live snake in the other. I've collected a lot of spiritual knowledge and done a variety of spiritual practices in the decades I've been alive. Yet it is all dead wood if my ego smugly carries it around rather than uses it to transform my thoughts and actions. Kindness, wisdom, and compassion only become real when they are manifested. This is the portal the dancer must pass through. Yud is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, yet it forms some of the mightiest words. It signifies the kind of humility Rumi speaks of:

I am so small I can barely be seen.

How can this great love be inside of me?

Look at your eyes. They are small,

but they see enormous things.

This is the humility born of wonder and gratitude. The love that empowers it is like a candle in the darkness, transforming whatever it encounters. It is the spiritual dance.

It's an Ongoing Thing...

  From the Restored Order Tarot, the Ten of Pentacles:

Three generations of a family enjoy the fruits of success with each other.  The ten pentacles in this card are arranged in a diagram resembling the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.  This diagram represents the process by which the Universe came into being.  But what is also important to understand is that this progression doesn't have a beginning and an end - it is a dynamic state of continuous creation.  Likewise, I must remember that while I can take pleasure in my blessings, I must be a good steward of what I have.  I can enjoy my health, home and assets, but I need to put forth the effort to continue to create this abundance.

     From the Oracle of the Kabbalah comes the letter "Yud:"

Yud is the smallest of the Hebrew letters, and the only one suspended in midair.  Yet as Rabbi Ginsburgh states, it is the "little that holds much."  In his companion book, Seidman writes, "According to the big bang theory of the creation of the universe, all matter emerged from a tiny point that exploded outward, expanding and gradually coalescing into galaxies and solar systems.  Yud represents that beginning point, that small seed from which the whole creation sprouts."  This letter reminds me that the ideas I have won't do me any good as long as they are "hanging in midair."  They must be grounded in reality - the seed I must plant with my own hands.