A digital photograph made in VR that shows an avatar bringing light to a tree

Christmas 2017 – Gathering the Light

Photography and Art, Virtual Photography

The Story of Tikkun Olam – Gathering the Light

At the beginning of time, God’s presence filled the universe. When God decided to bring this world into being, to make room for creation, He first drew in His breath, contracting Himself. From that contraction darkness was created. And when God said, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3), the light that came into being filled the darkness, and ten holy vessels came forth, each filled with primordial light.

In this way God sent forth those ten vessels, like a fleet of ships, each carrying its cargo of light. Had they all arrived intact, the world would have been perfect. But the vessels were too fragile to contain such a powerful, divine light. They broke open, split asunder, and all the holy sparks were scattered like sand, like seeds, like stars. Those sparks fell everywhere, but more fell on the Holy Land than anywhere else.

That is why we were created — to gather the sparks, no matter where they are hidden. God created the world so that the descendants of Jacob could raise up the holy sparks. That is why there have been so many exiles — to release the holy sparks from the servitude of captivity. In this way the Jewish people will sift all the holy sparks from the four corners of the earth.

And when enough holy sparks have been gathered, the broken vessels will be restored, and tikkun olam, the repair of the world, awaited so long, will finally be complete. Therefore it should be the aim of everyone to raise these sparks from wherever they are imprisoned and to elevate them to holiness by the power of their soul.

Tikkun

27 thoughts on “Christmas 2017 – Gathering the Light”

      3. Oh my, your ray of light just touched my heart, Robert. It is you and our friends who help each other to let our lights shine even brighter. I wish that one day we can all meet!

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      10. I didn’t mean to suggest that the only reason for bloggers to meet is a Trump protest. I’m sorry if I did. I think meeting other bloggers is a great idea regardless of Trump. I find the idea exciting and anxiety provoking.

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    1. Conceptualizing the good as gathering the light of God makes the idea easy to grasp. When we treat ourselves and others well we bring the light of God into their lives. I think this is the meaning of the story of the Blind Man:

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