FROM THE NEW MOON TO THE NEXT
Introduction
Once upon a time, there was a little
boy. During the first seven years of his life,[1]
he was very happy and loved his family very much. However, it had already been
decreed in Heaven that the boy would undergo various changes: his family would
be separated and he would have to move many times. He would have to move and
change so much that he would not even realize anymore that he was a little boy,
or even that he was a human being. The decree was not inherently bad – if the
boy came to realize the changes that were taking place, he would be able to return
to his previous condition, and become a man.
Phase 1: The Land of the Donkeys (Egypt)
When the little boy was almost seven,
he was told that his grandfather had passed away in a far away land. The
grandfather had left a great treasure there, and someone now needed to take
care of it. The little boy’s father decided to move the entire family to this
land. Much of his extended family was already living there. The land was very
primitive and deeply immoral: it was known as “the nakedness of the earth.” In
truth, it was not inhabited by people, but by donkeys. The move
was shocking, and the behavior of the donkey-children upset the little boy.
Some of the little donkeys were quite nice and friendly, but others made fun of
the little boy for walking upright and for never using bad words. After the first day
of school, when the little boy’s mother came to pick him up, he started crying
a very deep cry, as if to say: “Mommy, this place is not for me.” The little
boy’s mother didn’t say anything – she just hugged him.
One day after school, the little boy
came running home to his parents, particularly shocked. “What happened?” they
asked him. The boy explained: two of the little donkeys in his class were going
to have a birthday party on the same day. Everybody was deciding what party to
go to. The general consensus was that the donkeys should go to the party that
offered most party treats and refreshments.
The little boy wanted to go to the party of the donkey he liked the most.
The little boy’s family did very well
at first. The boy’s father built on the wealth established by the boy’s
grandfather, and expanded it exponentially. However, with time the family
started adopting many of the customs of the donkeys and mules. Influenced by
these values, the little boy’s father and mother ended up separating.
The little boy’s father decided to
marry the daughter of a king of the donkey people. Eventually, the boy’s father
moved away from the land of the donkeys, leaving behind the boy and his mother.
The little boy also had a brother, three years younger, who was placed in a
little basket, taken by the father, and raised in part by the father’s new
wife.
As the little boy and his mother
stayed behind, they both became more and more attached to the Land of the Donkeys. They saw a certain beauty in their lifestyle, like a pearl covered in
sand. They constantly spoke about the oppression in the land – how the poorer
donkeys were exploited, enslaved really, by those with more money and power –
and how this needed to be changed. The boy really believed that things could
change in the land, and that the donkeys could learn how to
correct their violent, idolatrous, and morally corrupt ways. He believed much
more in the donkeys than the donkeys themselves, and truly considered himself
part of the donkey people.
The boy also had a wise music
teacher, an owl, who would help him explore his inner feelings – both his
patriotic feelings for the land of the donkeys, and those of an entirely
different nature, related to a Promised Land far away. The music classes
blended all of his feelings, into a language that was both specific to his
situation, and yet extremely universal.
By the time the boy celebrated his
coming of age, he was completely adapted to the Land of the Donkeys. It was a
little after this time, when he reached the age of 14, that he was exiled to
the Land of the Dogs.[2]
Phase 2: The Land of the Dogs (Babylonia)
The little boy’s departure from the
land of the donkeys was somewhat sudden and traumatic. He left a land that was
warm and tropical, to a land that was very cold. While he was there, he became
friends with a rock badger. The Badger was born in the Land of the Donkeys, but
had been now in the land of the dogs for many years. The Badger had a
completely open mind, rational and beautiful, and was not afraid to explore
hidden crevices and caves. The Badger was also concerned with the exploitation
of the poorer animals – darker dogs were exploited and discriminated against by
lighter colored dogs, even if the exploitation could not be compared to the one
the little boy saw in the Land of the Donkeys. The Badger questioned the exploitation
nonetheless, and also questioned the very purpose of everything else - of laws
of the land, and beyond, the reason for work, and for living in general. These
questions freed both the Badger and the little boy, and they would discuss them
for hours on end. Life for them became a great open adventure. It was
incredible to them that very few dogs seemed to be asking such questions – they
were fed answers on a daily basis – their television sets seemed tell them what
to think, what was important, and what wasn’t. The boy began to feel a certain
level of disdain for those under the influence of this culture – at the same
time, he began to feel that he was not a donkey after all, but perhaps a
different animal altogether, like the Badger.
This is not to say that during this
time the little boy did not become friends with any dogs. He did become friends
with a few them – and came to become friends with many more dogs, once he moved
to live with his father.
That’s right. In yet another
unexpected turn of events, the little boy was given the choice to come live
with his father. This would involve his brother eventually going back to live
with his mother, though only for a short time. This switch that was also completely
unexpected. As the donkey-princess would tell the boy, even after he arrived,
it was always expected that the boy’s brother would remain by the father, and
the little boy would be with his mother. In fact, his relationship with the donkey-princess was uneasy from the start. It was difficult to live in his
father’s court - his stepsisters and his brother clearly received preferential
treatment. The little boy was oppressed, treated like a second-class citizen in
what was supposed to be his own home. The little boy knew of this oppression
before coming, but he felt it was more important to come and learn from his
father.
It was at that time that he became
good friends with a group of three dogs. These dogs were different than the
ones he had met while living with his mother. They reminded the boy much more of
himself. There was something very familiar about the place he was living now,
as if he had lived here before. In any event, he was incredibly touched by
their accepting nature and their loyalty, especially by one of them, the Hound.
The boy and the Hound were very similar in many respects, and even physically
somewhat resembled each other. Even though the boy still saw himself as a
different kind of animal, he could see himself now more as a dog as well. It
was at this time that all four friends were exiled, each to a different place. The
boy was sent to the Land of the Cats.[3]
Phase 3: The Land of the Cats (Persia)
The move to the Land of the Cats was also shocking, though
not nearly as shocking as his previous moves. The Land of the Cats was still
relatively close geographically to the Land of the Dogs. The boy kept in touch
with his dog friends, and he found out that the changes they were facing were
also quite intense, perhaps more than they could handle. Over time, the boy
discovered that the Hound went through a very difficult period, but recovered
and went back to his old self. Another literally became crazy, and the third
adopted an alternative lifestyle.
Almost immediately upon entering the Land of the Cats, the
boy became friends with a rabbit. This Rabbit had very open ears and eyes. The
Rabbit was mysterious and thoughtful, full of inner feeling and tremendously
accomplished in all areas of language and the arts. The Rabbit could
communicate quite well with nature, and with much smaller animals and insects.
Once, the boy and the Rabbit took a trip to the park, in one of the many deep
conversations between the two, the boy figured out what kind of animal he in
fact was: a toucan. A toucan was a colorful, playful, and tropical animal,
which lived among many different cultures, and traveled on a regular basis –
that was him.
The Rabbit taught the boy how to also
keep his ears and eyes wide open, to be open to change and to new
experiences. The Rabbit would say, “When
the student is ready, the Teacher appears.” The boy now also began to be able
to see different messages or signs that appeared to be being sent to him from
Above. The boy also learned from the Rabbit how to interact with smaller
animals. In one of their trips to foreign and historically dangerous lands, the
Rabbit told the boy about how to interact with a group of bees that seemed to
be persecuting him: “They will not harm you, if you do not harm them,” the
Rabbit said.
There was something almost magical
about the Land of the Cats, and the boy began to experience all that it had to
offer: sunrises, deer and horse-rides, plays, and lectures... during the
summers and vacations he would travel and meet other animals, some of whom had
a deep impact on him. The land was very advanced, and much of the inhabitants’
time there was dedicated to learning, to improving themselves. It was an
idyllic living of sorts. He even had an angel as a roommate. And yet, he felt
like an outsider there, in a way that was much more pronounced than in any
other land he had been to before. He slowly began learning more about his own
ancestry, about the beliefs, rituals, and experiences of the Promised Land. He
often found the Teacher’s messages in them as well. Yet, it all seemed so
archaic though, so limited.
The boy was already not so little
anymore, and he was already at an age where it was expected in the culture that
he have some kind of mate or girlfriend. The boy looked and searched, and it
seemed pretty clear that there wasn’t anyone quite like him in the Land of the Cats.
He then received permission from his father to have a relationship with a cat,
if he found one he liked.
It was around that same time that the
boy did in fact meet a special cat. Their relationship was quite strong.
However, the boy clearly understood that the cat wasn’t like him, and that this
relationship could not last. On this point, the Cat’s view couldn’t have been
more different. She felt that she could very well be like the boy, that the
relationship was likely to be eternal, and that those investing in the
relationship had to assume as much. This of course, required incredible
commitment, and the boy was not at all familiar with the concept. Toucans need
to stay light, he thought, to be able to fly. In those days, the boy was
“flying” so much from the things he had learned from and experienced with the
Rabbit, he could not be tied down by the Cat’s heaviness. Yet, strangely, the
Cat anchored the boy, and in a way permitted him to “fly” the way he did.
Needless to say, the relationship
eventually ended, and the boy hurt the Cat quite badly. The boy however,
completely unequipped for the loss of the anchor in his life and by the
enormous guilt he now felt, was faced with his most serious personal crisis. As
the boy would soon learn, amazing things happen in times of struggle and
internal conflict. Nevertheless, the
heaviness, the conflicts, and the pressures on the boy were starting to become
unbearable.
The boy’s 20th birthday
was approaching, and great news arrived: he was granted the right to return to
the Land of his Ancestors. This was the ancient, Promised Land he would sing
about, and yet it was also a very young new country.[4]
Phase 4: The Promised Land
Right away,
when the boy arrived in the Promised Land, he met a hawk. The Hawk had tremendous perspective. It seemed to understand well
where the boy was coming from, yet was willing to share with him the ancient
customs of his own tradition. The Hawk was a friend and a guide. It once
happened that the boy slept in the same palce as the Hawk, and the Hawk had one of the boy’s dreams. Based on the dream, the Hawk showed the boy a
path of how he could change, mature. It
became clear that it was time for the boy to stop being a toucan, and become a
horse. The boy now saw a path in which he could gain the weight and
responsibility of his tradition – in the Promised Land, these customs now made
more sense. It all seemed worthwhile, and not at all limiting as it had felt in
the Land of the Cats. Nevertheless, the
Hawk would stress that it was important for the boy not to overdo it – not
to get lost.
The boy’s transformation from toucan
to horse was something out of a movie. Each month he would make a commitment to
work on a certain character trait, or an aspect of the tradition. The boy came
to realize that this had to do with the fact that he was like the moon, and
that all the changes he undertook were related to his portion in the Book.
Also, as the boy discovered spirituality, he discovered the concept of purity,
and the Living Waters. The boy always had a fascination with water, and with
the sea. Now he saw that in order to make a change one had to first make
oneself like nothing; to go underwater, in order to be reborn. He started to
understand that in order to truly be taught, one had to be like nothing before
the Teacher.
Through the commitments made by the
boy, he started noticing that he was getting heavier. He knew that in order not
to get lost he had to maintain a balance with his old self. During his
transformation, he became like a centaur, or even better, a pegasus – a flying
horse. Strong, firm, stable legs, but with arms and mind wide open, ready to
fly: “Hineni, I am here,” he would
yell, “to fulfill Your will, ready to be taught.”
The boy also started realizing the
things that he had done wrong in the past, and fixing them. At the height of
his reawakening, he had a very powerful dream: he saw himself committing one of
the mistakes he made in his previous life as a toucan. Still in the dream, he cried
out to the Teacher directly, “How could you let me do this?” and throwing
himself to the ground. Incredibly, instead of hitting the floor, the boy went
flying ever higher and higher, transcending many many levels and spheres. He
woke up completely exhilarated. There were other very powerful spiritual
experiences too during this time in the Promised Land, many of which he shared
with the angel that accompanied him.
Despite the
Giraffe’s warnings, eventually, the boy did overdo it. He decided it wasn’t
good enough to be a horse, and decided he wanted to be a lion. He discovered a
way in which this could be done (at least for a short time): he had to make a
special vow. He was still very far from knowing and doing even the basics, but
there was something, almost an addiction, that kept pulling him to reach
higher, so he did it.
Living like
a lion was clearly much more than the boy could handle – it was somewhat of a
bitter life for him, sapping a lot of the happiness he had been feeling. During
this time, he met a very kind bee. This bee brought him a lot of honey, and
also taught him a lot about the Book. The boy enjoyed the bee’s company very
much. One day, however, without much explanation, the bee flew away.
His vow came
to an end, but so did his time in the Promised Land. The heaviness persisted to
such an extent that he had to leave. His father told him he had to go back to
the Land of the Cats.
Phase 5: Back in the Land of the Cats
He figured that once he was back in
the Land of the Cats, he would go back to being a horse again. It didn’t quite
work out that way. The day he had left, his mother accompanied him on his way
out of the Land, and on that day he had another very powerful dream. It was
told to him that he would now be entering a field, an orchard. In that field,
he would be faced with challenges, and that the outcome of those challenges was
yet unknown. If he failed, he could become crazy, he could die, or he could
even do the work of evil; but if he succeeded, he would become an expert. He
was no longer a lion, and not a horse either; he was certainly not a toucan. As
he would still learn, what was needed now was to be an animal that would be
strong and focused enough to hold on to what he had learned in the Promised
Land, no matter what – he was to become a bull.
He arrived at his new home in the
Land of the Cats, and from the window he could see a vast field. At first, he
didn’t see how living outside the land again could be so much of a challenge.
After all, he had been so powerfully charged by his experiences in the Promised
Land, that he could not foresee any major obstacle. He soon learned it was going to be quite difficult: he was quickly reminded that
following the instructions of the Book outside the Promised Land felt very
limiting and demanded great self-sacrifice. Furthermore, his father and his
entire court were very much opposed to the lifestyle and the sacrifices demanded.
When he arrived back at the Land of
the Cats, all of the friends from there that he had made prior to leaving to
the Holy Land now had very little in common with him, and not much interest in
catching up. At least at first, he was all alone. He did receive one visit: the
Badger from the Land of the Dogs. It was a great surprise and an encouragement – he was reminded that, after all, he had faced dramatic changes before.
Badger from the Land of the Dogs. It was a great surprise and an encouragement – he was reminded that, after all, he had faced dramatic changes before.
Eventually, his animal friends of the
past were replaced, almost systematically, with other animal friends, that were
somehow more pure than those before. He again had the company of an angel – but
this time one that would teach and guide him how to adapt his traditions to his
environment. He met other rabbits, and eventually even another very special cat,
who had soft eyes. He also sought to teach others of the incredible experiences
he had had, the intense spirituality he had found in the Promised Land. He
tried to teach his students to see that everything is connected, and to show them how to try to feel
the Teacher’s feelings, to feel His presence here and everywhere.
One day, the
boy learned that there was going to be a big festival in the field across from
his window. He had a strong feeling that he was going to meet someone special
there that day. For some reason he arrived at the field already at night, and
the festival had already ended. “I guess I was wrong,” he thought… then, he
heard a voice from the very middle of the field – it was a rose. In turned out
that the Rose had been planted there completely “by chance,” waiting for
someone to plucked it out. The boy became very good friends with this Rose. He
realized that the Rose had been in the dream he had when he met his mother, leaving
the Promised Land. The dream had been about going into the field. Of all the
acquaintances and friendships he made after coming back from the Land, it was
perhaps with the Rose that he could most identify, open up, and share his
thoughts. There was also something about their clear differences – he being an
animal and she a plant, that made worries about being judged or about hidden
motives/desires disappear. He met other roses in other fields too, but the
bonds with them were clearly not as strong as with the Rose. He felt that when
he would try to explain to others his experiences, the signs he saw, and the
connections between different events, they probably thought that he was a bit
crazy. Perhaps the Rose also thought he was a bit outside the norm, but so was
she.
The boy
started teaching others about the Promised Land’s ways, and after his first
student’s graduation, it became clear that the boy had succeeded in maintaining
what he’d learned about in the Promised Land despite all the challenges and
sacrifices it brought. However, this had come at a high price. The boy wasn’t
happy. He didn’t understand anymore why he was doing what he was doing… it had
become somewhat irrational. His emotions and thoughts were not fully stable. At
times, he would get depressed. It was at this point that he realized that he
had to let go to some extent. He had to live life too, to the best of his
ability. He did not resemble that horse anymore, running free in the wind.
Instead he was a bull with a seemingly huge burden on his back.[5]
He needed
time to figure things out… he went to the ocean, and there he met a sea-dog
(seal). This Sea-Dog was very sweet. It helped him let go to some extent. He
became a dog himself, but he quickly understood that this wasn’t him. He
decided he wanted to be purer, and became a goat – he soon felt that this also
wasn’t him. He understood that his fall into being a dog and a goat was a big mistake,
but one that could still be forgiven, and that he could still transform himself
back into being other purer animals. He
then transformed himself into a ram. This was more balanced – with the right
priorities in place. He finally got back to being like a bull, but this time he
was an ox - with a strong desire for upholding the ways of the Promised Land while
continuing to learn much more about them.
It was not much after that he was
told that it was time to leave the Land of the Cats, and go to the Land of the
Bulls.
Phase 6: Land of the Sheep
On his way to the Land of the
Bulls, the boy was able to negotiate with his father’s court to allow him to
spend a year studying the law of his ancestors… he was not allowed to go back
to the Promised Land again, but he could stay in a certain area within the Land
of the Dogs where others like him could study about the Book and its Law.
He spent day after day learning and
learning, enjoying the “burden” of his people’s holy laws and customs. At that
time, he became very close with a lamb. He studied together with the Lamb every
day, and the two become very close. Then, one day, the boy felt the urge to
leave his study partner – study with others – after all, he only had one year.
That day a very big tragedy happened in the world.[6]
The boy didn’t understand the connection between the events, but he felt as if
he had broken from the path he was meant to take, hurting a good friend in the
process. The next day he went back to studying with the Lamb.
During that time, he was able to make
full use of his status as an ox. His roommate for a great part of his time
there was another ox he had become friends with in the Land of the Cats. He friend
was such a great ox, however, that compared to hime he felt more like a donkey.
The two tried studying together, but they seemed a bit incompatible in their
studies, though very much complementary in other aspects.
Also during
the time that he was in the Land of the Sheep, he met a young lion cub by an
amazing “coincidence.” With the Lion Cub, he began to learn about the dynasty
of the Great Lions and about the last two Great Lions in particular. The boy
kept in touch with the Lion Cub throughout the rest of his life. These Lions
were extremely connected to the Law and Book, and their connection was much
more positive and spiritual then that of most of the sheep he encountered.
A few months prior to the boy’s year
of study in the Land of the Sheep coming to an end, he went to visit his next
destination, the Land of the Bulls. During that visit, he had a third powerful
dream, this time with the last Great Lion. In the dream, when the boy looked
into the eyes of the Great Lion, he was sent flying higher and higher through
many different spheres, just like the dream he had had in the Promised Land.
The Great Lion then said, “You are very spiritual. You should be a teacher.”
“But I’m about to go to the Land of the Bulls to learn its laws!?!” the boy
replied. The Great Lion answered, “Do it, but do it for the Book.”
The year in
the Land of the Sheep was full of learning of growth, but there was also a
darker side. The atmosphere and the environment of the Land of the Sheep
reinforced a few dangerous concepts. One was expected to behave in a certain
way, and that those who chose that way knew infinitely more than the boy and
the rest of the sheep. Because of this, the boy became like a sheep himself. As
a sheep, the boy was willing to faithfully sacrifice many aspects of his prior
self for what he now was told.
Unfortunately, sheep have a history
of being slaughtered, and eaten alive by other animals. The boy’s father did
not like sheep – in fact, he appeared to have almost a trauma regarding the
subject. The father’s court, which was already partial against the boy in the
first place, conspired against him, and made it so that the father almost ate
his own son alive. The boy barely escaped. After the escape, the boy laid down
his head to rest, and once again the Great Lion appeared to him in a dream. It
gave him the strength to keep going.
Phase 7: Land of the Bulls (Greece)
The boy arrived in the
Land of the Bulls, faced with a bittersweet situation. He was sent by his
father to learn the laws of Bulls and their philosophy. On his first day,
his friend the Ox accompanied him to class. Despite it all, he still thought of
himself as a sheep, and it proved to be quite difficult for him to focus on
anything other then the Law and the Book. He also surrounded himself by other
sheep, almost as a form of protection. The protection did not work very well,
and he also started seeing tremendous problems with these sheep’s behaviors.
While many of their ways were praiseworthy, there also seemed to be a bit of a
distortion of the Law and the Book itself - a distortion that deeply impacted
their ability to succeed in this extremely high pressured environment. The
pressure was indeed very high, with those that failed to learn the law of the
land threatened with all sorts of punishments.
It was at the height of this
pressure, during the actual exams, that the boy was asked to help out someone
new to this land, who needed a place to stay. The boy offered his home, and the
night before the guest was to come, he had another dream. In the dream a holy
person came and said to him, “So you want to learn how to pray? I’ll teach you
how to sing.” On the next day, he went to pick up his guest: a big bear. As
soon as the two met, the boy could tell that their connection would be very
strong. The Bear and the boy’s birthday were only one day apart, and the Bear
also knew the Lion Cub. The boy did in fact learn a lot from the Bear, whose
charisma, persuasive abilities, and spiritual power immediately attracted quite
a following. But the Bear was also quite demanding, and the boy felt that in
order to stand strong against the bear’s constant tugging and hugging, the boy
had to quickly learn to be a bear himself. It was thanks to the bear that the
boy stopped being a sheep.
The Bear was on a mission, and the
boy helped him as much as he possibly could, even during his final
examinations! After three months, the authorities didn’t let the Bear live with
the boy anymore. With the stipend he received from his father, the boy
sponsored the Bear’s journey of 40 days and 40 nights, which culminated with
the Bear receiving the Book on his birthday, a day after the boy’s own
birthday. The boy handed the Bear the
key to the Book.
While the boy offered a certain level
of hospitality to the Bear, the Bear also made it so that the boy received
enormous hospitality from a family that had been the first to receive the Bear
in the first place: the Camels. The Camels, especially Mrs. Camel, had enormous
admiration for the Bear, and were instrumental in making sure that the Bear
could receive everything he needed in order to be able to read the Book. Mrs.
Camel held on to every word uttered by the Bear, treating him as she would
treat a prophet.
Mr. Camel was very well respected in
the community – he was one of its prominent teachers and spiritual leaders. The
Camel’s ways of following the Law was quite different from what the boy had
experienced so far. It was very much tied to older desert customs, meant for a
more secluded life that did not seem consistent with the faster pace of life in
the Land of the Bulls. These were beautiful customs in large part rooted in
those of Promised Land, and the boy grew enamored of them. He almost became a
Camel himself.
Much of the strong feelings the boy
started having for the Camel family customs and for the Camel family itself got
translated into feelings for Mr. Camel’s oldest daughter, the Morning Star. In
reality, the feelings the boy had were not based on anything concrete. Due to a
series of unexplainable signs and wonders, and also the encouragement of the
Bear, now a major influence in the boy’s life, the boy felt he was meant to
marry the Morning Star. But she was always secluded and above grasp (she was
also often quite sick). When she did appear she rarely said more than a few
words, so highly esteemed was the virtue of modesty in the Camels’ home.
The signs became stronger and stronger, and
during this time, the boy was on a spiritual high he had never attained, not
even in the Land of the Sheep. He felt that the Bear, the Morning Star, and the
boy himself had an important role to play. The boy tried as hard as he could to
find a cure for the Morning Star, and even managed to prescribe her cures, both
spiritual and physical. At first, the Star did even improve. He was also intent
on going back to the Promised Land, to the place of his dream. Along with all
these efforts, the boy felt strongly that he had to tell the Morning Star a
stark fact: she had to come down from her place in the sky. Quoting a verse
from the Book, he explained to her that otherwise her household would be lost
and salvation would come through another source. The daughter failed to act,
and indeed her household did eventually fall apart.
It started when the boy’s mother and
brother came to visit the boy, and were present when the Bear received the Book.
They were taken aback by the entire situation – the boy was paying minimal
attention to his studies despite the harsh punishments involved. They perceived
in the Bear qualities that were clearly problematic, such as delusions of
grandeur and lack of concern for others. After their brief stay, they relayed
the information to the boy’s father.
The boy’s father, troubled from the
very beginning with the boy’s direction, had spent a long period with little
contact with the boy. It was as if the two were hiding from each other. The
boy’s father did not know about the Camels, and not even about the Bear. When
he realized the dire situation at hand, he came himself to visit the boy.
The boy’s father first spoke to the
boy, trying to dissuade him from abandoning his studies and going to the
Promised Land. The boy listened but was not convinced; he felt it was the Will
of the Teacher to go against his own father, mother, and brother. The father
then went to confront the Camels, Mr. Camel in particular. During their intense
confrontation, in which the father completely humbled Mr. Camel (who in turn
was not used to being treated with such directness), the boy experienced
another sign, perhaps the strongest of them all. It became clear to him that he
was not meant to go to the Promised Land right now, that this had been a test,
and that everything would be ok.
The boy’s father helped the Bear go
to the Promised Land, with a stipend for him to study the Law and the Book he
just received, on condition that during an entire year he would not speak to
the boy. As to the Camels, interestingly enough, Mrs. Camel appeared to side
more with the boy’s father than with Mr. Camel, and the Camel family was broken
up. The Morning Star did not recuperate. The boy would later realize that he
would need to fulfill the role of the Morning Star himself.[7]
The boy
survived his first year of studies, and the father arranged so that the boy could
return the following year without incurring the punishments that usually
accompany his less than stellar showing. In his second year, he was invited to
live in the house of a Tiger. The Tiger was a superstar, with a very similar
background to that of the boy. The Tiger had lived in the Land of the Dogs, the
Land of the Cats, the Land of the Bulls, and even in the Land of the Pigs –
what appeared to be the boy’s next destination. The boy learned tremendously
from the Tiger, including how to be engaged with the knowledge, culture and
technology of the lands of others, without losing one’s own identity. In fact,
one could draw many parallels and comparisons between different cultures that
could prove very useful in understanding the Book.
After waiting a year, the boy went to
the Promised Land to visit the Bear. He saw in the Bear a split personality –
part-prophet, part-scoundrel – and decided it was time to let go of the Bear as
well. Like with the Morning Star, he would have to play the role of the Bear,
too.
Almost as soon as the boy moved in,
the Tiger had become engaged to a deer. However, the Deer’s family refused to
accept him. Part of the issue was that the Tiger did not give up his identity
as a Tiger. He wanted to be both a tiger and a deer.
When the boy understood that this was
possible - to be more than one animal at once - that he didn’t have to choose
between animals or let go of the previous phase, he began again from scratch,
going back to being a horse. The boy began changing from phase to phase at a
much faster rate but retaining the earlier stages as well. Each animal phase
now lasted months or even weeks, as opposed to years.
The boy’s studies also improved, as
well as his ability to interact with the cultures around him in the Land of the
Bulls. The boy’s future started to look quite promising, despite the enormous
tension between his desire to devote himself completely to the Book and the
demands made on him to dedicate himself to learning he laws and philosophies of
others. A wise and humble Sparrow helped him navigate between these two worlds.
The Sparrow also managed to help the boy and his father to better relate to one
another in a series of heart-wrenching dialogues. Sparrow received payments
from the boy’s his father, but still managed to not only be reasonably
balanced, but even to allay many of the father’s fears and traumas.
There was also someone else that
helped the little boy tremendously: a little girl. The little girl had the same
birth date of the Bear (one day after the boy’s). She had the same name as the
boy, and even came from the same city in the Land of the Donkeys. She also had
a younger brother with the same name as his brother, and both brothers lived in
the same land. The girl’s father and the boy’s father had introduced the two,
after both had come from a short trip to the Promised Land. The little girl’s
family clearly had very good values. Her father reminded the boy of Mr. Camel,
but of a reformed Mr. Camel, who believed in the importance of being engaged
with the lands of others and having a profession. He also had a deep connection
with the Great Lions. The little girl’s mother also had a very deep connection
with the last Great Lion, and had even received a blessing from him to write
books, which he repeated twice. The mother fulfilled this blessing, by writing
various books. One book started with the verse the boy had quoted to the
Morning Star. Another started with the following quotation from the Holy Book:
“"He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts up the beggar from the
dunghill, to set them among princes and cause them to inherit the throne of
glory." Also, the little girl’s grandmother lived with the little girl,
and she was very kind and musical. It turned out she was a friend and colleague
of the Owl.
The little girl was beautiful inside
and outside - so beautiful in fact that at first the little boy was nervous to
even look at her. That nervousness certainly came out on that first encounter,
in which all four, the little girl, the little boy, and their respective
fathers, sat down for lunch. The little girl was full of life and happiness,
and had a forgiving sense of humor. There was a certain tenderness about her, a
nobility and sensitivity that were hard to miss. Every encounter with her was
filled with excitement.
The little girl also had very
powerful dreams, which she would tell to the little boy. These dreams seemed
clearly related to the little boy’s own life.
And yet, the little boy was quite
hesitant about pursuing this relationship beyond friendship. The boy was still extremely
dedicated to the Law and customs he had learned. The girl was also familiar
with them, especially given her connection to the institutions of the Great
Lions, yet was clearly not as observant as he was. He also had not completely
given up hope on the Morning Star, and was intent on returning to the Promised
Land eventually. Despite all the many “coincidences” and good chemistry, after
a summer of friendly encounters, the boy returned to his studies without making
any romantic overtures.
As the boy returned to his studies
for his third and final year, he moved to a more metropolitan area in the Land
of the Bulls. He also welcomed an old moose friend, who the little boy had
known well in the days he lived in the Land of the Donkey. The Moose reminded the boy of
what he was like in those days, in his first time away from home, before the
many transformations that followed.
After a short time apart, it became
increasingly clear to the boy that the girl was his soul-mate. On the birthday
of the last Great Lion’s wife, the boy spoke to another spiritual leader in the
Land of Bulls, who basically told him that the little boy’s reservations
regarding observance levels should not prevent this wonderful match from taking
place. It was ok to make some compromises for the greater good.
The little boy wrote to the little
girl, sent her gifts, called her, and eventually even traveled many hours to
visit her, during both their birthdays. Their friendship turned into romance,
in which the little boy now saw them both as deer. The little girl came to
visit him once when their birthdays were celebrated a second time that year,
and then the boy went to visit her again during the Festival of Redemption. One
the Second Festival of Redemption that year, as the little boy finished his
studies, the little girl came to the Land of the Bulls to rescue him. The
little boy went to live in the Land of the Pigs, close to where the little girl
lived.
Phase 8: Land of the
Pigs (Rome)
Although things were looking brighter for the boy, after his
studies of the law, he was now expected to work hard, for the king of the Pigs,
who was allied with the boy’s father. The Pig king was ruthless and
domineering. He had a horrible temper and had no qualms about destroying a
person’s sense of self-worth and self-respect. All around him lived in fear,
and his appearance and demeanor was such that at any moment you might hear a
swear word or something a long the lines of “off with his head!” Yet, the Pig
king had taken an immediate liking to the little boy, and the boy learned a lot
from him. Interestingly, the Pig king saw the boy as his protégé.
It was soon after the boy’s 27th
birthday that he asked the little girl to marry him despite not having yet a
prospect of stable future under the rule of the Pig king. The boy worked hard
to keep his job, but eventually he became exhausted. He also felt he was not
remunerated properly, and felt the need to dedicate appropriate time to his
observances and studies despite the increasing demands of the king. The boy’s
zealous observances now deeply annoyed the Pig king, but the boy started caring
less. It one day struck the little boy that, just as in the most difficult days
in the Land of the Bulls, the only one the little boy needed to fear was the
Teacher Himself. From that day on it also seemed that the Teacher wanted the
boy to leave the Land of the Pigs. Everything that could possibly go wrong
seemed to go wrong, and at every turn the little boy was castigated for it.
After all that the little boy had been through, he was not taken aback by this
as he might have been before. Yet, enough was enough, and he ran away.
Phase 9: Refugee on the Way to Israel
With nowhere to go, and no source of income, the little boy
still did not break his engagement with the little girl. He felt deep inside
that he would find a way to make it so that he could sustain himself and live
with the little girl in the Land of Sweet Waters. In the meantime, he had six
months to figure out a plan.
After wondering around as a refugee,
receiving rejection after rejection, the boy found asylum in the Land of the
Frogs. The Frog had a small kingdom also very close to the Land of the
Sweet Waters, with much potential for growth. They also had an alliance with
people from the Land of the Donkeys that was very economically beneficial. The
little boy’s own connection to the Land of the Donkeys was seen as a very big
plus. The little boy worked directly under the Frog King, who taught him many
skills, and played a role that was quite similar to the one the Tiger had
played previously. Again, the little boy had to work very hard and was often
quite exhausted. Nevertheless, the little boy somehow found the time to
establish himself in the Land of the Sweet Waters, and get married without
changing the initial date of the wedding. Soon after the wedding, in the Land
of Sweet Waters, he ran into the Ox. It turned out that the Ox had also moved
to this Land, and he helped the boy take up much of his holy studies and
customs once again. He also met another lion, whose many teachings appeared to
be custom fit exactly for the boy.
Despite the Frog King’s great
kindnesses toward the boy, the boy knew that the Frog King had to have his own
self-interest in mind. The boy did not want to risk the same fate of some of
the others that were close to the Frog King but then lost favor with him. Therefore, the
boy continued to look a more stable position, one which would allow him to
enjoy life with his new wife, and allow time for him to study and observe the
Law and the Book.
It did not take long for this true
miracle to take place. The little boy was swept up and landed in the the Land
of Eagles. The Eagles were incredibly merciful and understanding. Their land
was also close to the Land of the Sweet Waters. Working for the Eagles was
honorable and enjoyable. Under their guard, the boy was finally allowed to lead
a stable and balanced life. [8]
He was even able to spend a significant amount of time improving his business
skills in a land reminiscent of the Land of the Cats.
Phase 10: Land of the Sweet Waters (Times of Redemption)
The Land of the Sweet
Waters was by the seashore, but also very much like a forest. The little boy
soon found out that the little girl could be many animals – a deer, a lioness, a
dolphin, a sea lion. While the boy’s color was blue, the little girl could be
many colors, all colors in fact. She was the color white. Through her, the
little boy realized that he could have all his different phases, but that at
the core he was a human being like her. He was that same little boy… an infant,
lying next to wild animals, as in the Book’s vision of the final
redemption.
The boy was almost 28 when they got
married. Soon after the wedding, the boy felt that in 100 weeks something
amazing would happen. 100 weeks later they had a son, who was both like the
angels that had helped the little boy during his journey, and like a little cub
that was fiery like the sun. The man finally understood the true meaning of
what it meant to be a lion – to transmit everything he’d learned until now. A
year and a half later, they had a little girl, an olive tree, who shined like
the moon. The man then understood what it was like to also be a wolf,
protecting his dear daughter from whatever harm could come her way.
The man came to understand how to
structure his different phases so that he could now be all the phases at the
same time, as long as he made himself into a vessel. The Teacher taught him how to use the phases as tools in
which to build homes for Him: the home with his wife and children, the home at
his house of worship, the home in the house of study, at work... even his own
body was to be a home for Him. The man now understood why he needed to live in
so many different lands. He also understood that, in order for his vessel to
have pure oil, the man needed to feel crushed inside. His Father and Teacher
had sent him to all of these lands for his own good. All the animals of the different lands were also human like him, and that they also had phases, too, just like the world itself. The man then started writing down all his
adventures and his conclusions in a book.
Phase 11: The Pig and the Hare - Rome and Yishmael Combined
Despite this balance and stability, there was a growing sense inside the
man that the “status quo” was somehow unsustainable. His family was growing,
his wife was pregnant again and his position with the Eagles did not seem to
have many prospects for advancement. The man prayed regarding this, and it was
not long after that his prayers appeared to have been answered. He was offered
a new position, in a land adjacent to that of the Eagles, ruled by the Turkey
Vultures. He accepted the position, after some initial and lingering doubts on
both sides. It was a big “leap of faith,” as this position offered both change
and hope for a better future – this certainly appeared to be “the one.” However, the disappointments
were almost immediate. The man worked extremely hard, and the “pure oil” inside
him - his faith, will, and pleasure in what he did were once again revealed.
Despite that, his work was not recognized – reports of it were completely
distorted. As it turned
out, the Turkey Vultures were very similar to pigs. The man even had to work
with a Pig, as well as a Hare, who acted as if they were actually a single
entity. Both of them had no scruples about not telling the truth and covering
up their lies. Nevertheless, whereas before, as a boy, he might have been
intimidated by the situation, the man proved to be quite determined to face the
lies head on, albeit with some diplomatic maneuvering. With one confrontation
after another, it became clear that the hope and change promised by the Turkey
Vultures was a mirage. Miraculously, very miraculously indeed, the man was able
to escape and return to work in the Land of the Eagles relatively unhurt.
The man did not leave the Turkey
Vultures completely unscathed because at the last minute he returned zealously took on the Pig and the Hare. It involved some self-sacrifice, and after this his left side was
slightly hurt, and it would take some time for him to fully recover. In the
midst of his returning to the Land of the Eagles, another son was born, this time
a little Wolf, who also had the beautiful qualities of a giraffe and a deer.
Phase 12: Back in the Land of the
Eagles
The situation in the Land of the
Eagles was now much better than before. The recent experience in the Land of
the Turkey Vultures proved to be quite helpful. First, it helped the man
realize how great things were in the land to which he was now returning;
second, with the knowledge he had obtained from all his experiences, he was now
able to grow much more on his own.
The man now aimed to grow to become
an expert in his fields, while continuing to build his homes. Incredibly, his
financial future became much more secure despite, or exactly because he did not give in to the Turkey
Vultures.[9]
There were still moments of insecurity and difficulty, but the man had faith in
the Teacher.
In another very fortunate turn of
events, his loyal friend, the Hound, decided to move from the Land of the Dogs
to the Land of the Sweet Waters. Incredibly, soon afterwards, his good friend
the Donkey also moved from the Land of the Bulls to the Land of the Donkeys,
and then to the Land of the Sweet Waters as well.
The man finally had time to finish
his book, and he and the little woman’s mother decided to write it together in
the native tongue of the Land of the Donkeys, in accordance with a blessing
given to his mother-in-law by the Great Lion himself. Soon afterwards, when the
boy was 33, the first book was completed and ready to be revealed.
Phase 13: Beginnings of Revelation (and a
Brush with the Different Exiles):
After his brief return to the Land of
the Pigs, the man appeared to be given opportunities to also go back to each of
the respective lands he had lived in – first to the Land of the Bulls, then
to the Land of the Cats, and then to the Land of the Dogs.
Back in the Land of the Eagles, the
boy took shelter and refuge in a place where people followed customs extremely
similar to those in the home of the Camel. The man spent some time there,
although he did not make it his permanent dwelling as once he might have. At
the same time, the man was also given an opportunity to study in a very
prestigious program back in the Land of the Bulls. This
time, however, the man refused to go back.
Later on the man was given an
opportunity to teach at a school, just as he used to do in the Land of the
Cats. The subject matter was one he had in fact studied while in the Land of
the Cats, as well as in the Land of the Dogs. This would have been an immense
commitment that would take away from his time with his family and would detract
from his focus on the Book, and his own book that he was writing. Again,
the man refused.
In a similar turn of events, his
friend the Hound offered him opportunity to work together, in an enormous
project, which was potentially very lucrative, that would have required much
time and attention, and a lot of interaction with other dogs. The man did not
refuse outright, but the opportunity fell through for other reasons, and the
man’s time was spared once again.
The book written in
the language of the Land of the Donkeys was about to finally come to fruition. Spreading
word of the book could involve a few trips back to the Land of the Donkeys, but
again, the man had no intention of living there again. His eyes were on one day
making it to the Promised Land.
In the meantime, just like with the
Land of the Donkeys, the man did still manage to keep certain aspects of each
one of the other lands in his life as well. With the Eagles, he further
explored the knowledge he had acquired while both in the Land of the Pigs and
the Land of the Bulls. In his classes, the knowledge he gained in the Land
of the Cats was always with him. In the management of his homes and other dealings,
he did occasionally think back to the knowledge he gained in the Land of the
Dogs.
It was around this time, that the man
had a very pleasant surprise. He received a true gift from the Teacher, the
fourth pillar of his home, a beautiful little Lioness-Star. The man’s home was
now complete. Now it was just (!) a matter of getting stronger, gaining
more expertise in his fields, further maintaining his homes, building new ones, and completing the
books ahead of him.
[1]
Each of the first 7 years represents an aspect of chesed, as in the counting of the omer.
[2]
There is an ongoing parallel between the individual (a small world) and the
world at large, the individual Jew and his people. This is based on a teaching
of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. Meanwhile, at this time, the majority of Jews
lived in exile, scattered among the nations of the world. Until very recently,
their history seemed to follow the same cycle: they would start united and
linked to their tradition, then slowly they would assimilate into the culture
of their surroundings, only to be exiled again to a different land. They would
then return to their tradition. Slowly, they would start assimilating again,
and the cycle would repeat itself.
[3]
Meanwhile, at this time, the State of Israel was established. In a show of
amazing diplomatic cunning and military prowess (not usually associated with
the Jewish people of those days), the Jews grabbed a window of opportunity in
history, which allowed them to return to their land. However most Jews lived in
the United States, and the State of Israel itself was still highly dependent on
America. The United States was the world’s only superpower, building off the
work of the world’s largest immigrant population. It had a very close
relationship with Europe, which it had helped reconstruct after World War II.
The Arab states were also now doing very well, due to their enormous amounts of
oil reserves, which the United States and Europe would buy and protect. The
Palestinian people, however, did not benefit much from the oil-money of the
other Arab states. They turned their angst and violence towards the Jewish
people in Israel. And even though they initiated attacks on the Jews on a
regular basis, they were the ones that always felt exploited and attacked.
[4] At
this time the State of Israel was no longer in an early development stage. It
was reaching a point of maturity, where choices had to be made regarding the
country’s direction. The problems mentioned before still remained. In fact,
they had increased to the point of a serious internal crisis. Arabs terrorists
had been exploding themselves along with dozens of civilians, in unprecedented
acts of murder. Israeli leaders were close to agreeing to a “Peace Agreement”
in which they would concede territories to Arabs, in return for peace. These
homicide bombers were against such an agreement.
[5]
Meanwhile, pressure at Israel’s borders. “Peace Process.”
[6]
That day was September 11, 2001.
[7] In
the meantime, the US invaded Iraq; the Shiites and the Sunnis started a civil
war. This was on Shushan Purim.
[8]
Meanwhile, Israel’s political and economic situation improved. Israel’s relationship
with America was strong, even though still marked by some tension regarding
Israel’s borders and religious commitment to the Land. The relationship with
Europe had improved immensely, to the point of significant cooperation. Even
the Arab world inched toward peace, and the Palestinians (who deep inside
identified with Israel more than with any other country) were working toward
peace and their own independence. There were still tremendous lies and double
standards, which Europe and the Arab world spread without any scruples – but
America at least seemed well aware of these lies, even if it did not fully
express its opinion against them.
[9]
Meanwhile, Israel was growing more and more prosperous. It had more rain, and
found great reserves of oil and gas. Israel was also proving to be more and
more tolerant and adept in balancing the many different dimensions of its
national character. It had Jews from every corner of the globe, with different
cultures and rituals, all living together under the same roof. Even Jews from
the Diaspora had the opportunity to connect to the country without necessarily
living there full-time. Still, some parts of the country at time appeared to be
somewhat dysfunctional.
Luring
in the distance was still an existential threat against Israel, due to
religious extremism and a sense that the country still could not overpower all
of its enemies (internal and external). This threat was countered with the
resilient faith of the Jewish people, who by having already experienced so much,
survived and thrived, was confident that its future looked very bright indeed.
The United States also showed a great level of support.
