Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem
Posted on October 25, 2012 by Annie Matan Gilbert
I have been prompted twice this year so far to share these poems – once inspired by Rav Landes Shabbat Shuva Shiur and then after I read them at Salon Pardes.
I wrote these as part of my final project for an Aleph Rabbinical School class exploring the concept of tzimtzum in Jewish texts. My aim was to weave together images and understandings from the class. You can find more of my poetry on my website: http://www.anniegilbert.com/writing.html
Artist Statement:
The first poem is a journey through Tzimtzum imagery. Exploring Lurianic and Nahmanic creation stories, as well as other Tzimtzum motifs.
One of the reasons I took the course was because of an affinity for Tzimtzemai as a name for Gd. The second poem is an interplay between the story I learned in Kohenet about the journey of Tzimtzemai/Shechina from the broken temple into exile in the wilderness where she is waiting for our return and the themes of Tzimtzum we explored in class.
1.
Precise moment of Gd
Glowing orb
In the very centre of the universe
Radiant light of the cosmos
Honed to a pricking point of judgement
The sharp tip of Michael’s sword
Guarding the corners of Eden
The gateway to the Holy of Holies
The keruvim hold the space inside space
The closeness between them a charged emptiness
Filled with Gd
They tighten their embrace
Electric air crackles and sparks
Exploding the very vessels of creation
Leaving shards of perfect imperfection
Under the curtain
And scattered across the floor
Each shard is porous
Like the skin cells
Of the hand of Gd
Held against my forehead
To shield my eyes
From the blinding rays of universal light
Concentrated to a bright speck
Against the expanse of the sky
2.
Tzimtzumai, Tzimtzum
After years of rocking through the wilderness
Folded in the cradling arms of My Levites
I yawned and stretched into the expanse
Between the Shaddaim of the Holy of Holies
Where the air smells like myrrh
Tzimtzumai, Tzimtzum
I rose from the Temple ruins
Came home again Bamidbar
Inside the cracks and crags of the tallest mountains
In the deep earth of dry riverbeds
Tzimtzumai, Tzimtzum
In the nucleus of the rock
That was the pillow of Israel
When he lay down between his past and his destiny
Tzimtzumai, Tzimtzum
Between the rungs of Jacob’s ladder
Where the dream-sky peeks
Through the skirts of My angels climbing
In and out of the world
Tzimtzumai, Tzimtzum
I am the black, starless place
In all the in-betweens
In all the worlds
My legacy
Left empty for you to step inside
Left empty so you can walk around in it
And feel My presence in all the salted corners
Between the heart of the world and its leading edge
Between HaKadosh Baruch Hu-I and Shechina-I
Tzimtzumai, Tzimtzum…