Spiritual Guides (Magidim) Chapter 22 of Sefer Yikra B Shmi By HaRav Ariel Bar Tzadok Copyright 1994 by Ariel Bar Tzadok. All rights reserved. A Selection from: Sha arei Kedusha The Gates of Holiness, Part 4 By HaRav Haim Vital, author of the Kitvei HaAri zal As said earlier, a meditator must be alone, sitting with his eyes closed, enwrapped in a Talit (prayer shawl). He must separate himself from the physical world, even as if his soul has left his body and risen above. After this separation, one is to recite a Mishna, any one he chooses, and he is to repeat it continually over and over again. This should be done as quickly as possible, but without garbling or skipping a word or letter. The intention here is to join your soul with that of the Tana (the teacher) of your chosen Mishna. This is accomplished by you (your mouth) becoming the vessel for the words of this teaching. The voice which proceeds from the vessel of your mouth contains the sparks of your inner soul (higher Self) which come forth and recite this Mishna. You thus become a chariot (merkava) that the Tana of the Mishna can dwell within. His soul will dwell in yours. When you have recited the Mishna enough times, and if you are worthy, it is possible that the voice of the Tana will speak through you. He can come to dwell within you as you are reciting his Mishna. As you recite, he may speak to you, bidding you Shalom; all that you would now think to ask him, he will answer you. He shall speak through your voice; your ears will hear his words. You are not speaking of (or by) yourself, for he (the Tana) speaks (from within you). This is the meaning of the verse The Spirit of HaShem speaks within me; His word is upon my lips (II Sam 23:2). If you are not yet ready to achieve this level, there is another way possible. Speak very quickly so your speech is quicker that what you can pay attention to, then shall you go into a trance. Within an image (picture) you will see the answer to your question. Be it clear or by allegory, this depends upon your preparation. If you do not succeed in either of these two ways, know it is because you are not yet worthy, or that you haven't properly separated from the physical world. 1
Selections from: Magid Mesharim - The Teachings of the Guide By HaRav Yosef Karo, author of the Shulkhan Arukh Says Rabbi Yosef Karo, I started to read Mishnayot and after I had finished five chapters, while still reading the voice of my beloved knocked (on the door of) my mouth to play upon it (as a musical instrument). It started by saying, "HaShem is with you wherever you go, and in all that you do. All that you do, G-d shall prosper (the works of) your hands. But only if you cling to me, my awe, my Torah and my Mishnayot, always. Introduction Do not separate your thoughts from my Mishnayot even for a moment. For I, I am the Mishna that speaks from your mouth. I am the Mother, the Sustainer of mankind. I will teach you and give you success in the path that you shall go. VaYikra I, I am the Mishna, that speaks from your mouth, I am the sustaining mother; I am the angel of the covenant of whom Jacob spoke the angel who has redeemed me (Ber. 49). VaYehi We must now address the topic of Magidim (spiritual guides). 1 As one progresses in the meditative path it is not at all uncommon for an entity to either physically or astrally appear or otherwise make known its presence to the aspirant practitioner. In most cases the function of this entity is to act as a guide or teacher. Yet there are those cases where this entity acts as either a messenger from a higher authority or as a deceiving spirit from a more diabolical source. All is in accordance to one's actions. The types of entities and their number are too numerous to be dealt with in full here. Therefore, I shall only generally cover the major types, that I have already referred to, as well as explain how we can tell the difference between the true and the false. This is not an easy task, yet it is essential. Astral beings are as real as physical ones. They too have an agenda of their own. So it is very important that we communicate with only the correct entities and are able to verify it so. We must be able to immediately recognize the entities of the dark side and avoid any contact with them. The most popular spiritual guides in Kabbalistic circles are the Souls of the Sages of Israel. These are they, who after evolving beyond any personal need to incarnate on the earth plane, remain available on the Yetziratic/astral plane to guide the aspirant in the path of deeper and truer Torah knowledge. These Sages are the souls of the Tzadikim (the righteous), referred to in Biblical and Talmudic literature. Kabbalistic literature is full of documentation of individual Rabbis acknowledging the identities of and their relationship to their Magid. The place these souls are said to inhabit is the supernal Garden of Eden. Again this is not a geographical location but rather a code name for the Beriatic level. For here the Righteous bask in the emanation of the ten sefirot of Atzilut, referred to as the Tree of Life in the center of the Garden. Here, they have achieved actualization of the inner I, the true Self, and are no less than the fullness of their true Selves, thus they are fully evolved souls. They have an outlook and insight of reality that is beyond the scope of limited Asiyatic human experience. But again it is their job to share this wisdom with the aspirant who seeks it and is ready for it. 1 I once had a conversation with a fellow Rabbi who told me how he was disappointed that I claimed to have a Magid. This somewhat puzzled me, so I asked him why? He told me that only the greatest Rabbis can merit having a Magid. I had to inform him that this is not true. Rabbeynu HaAri'zal has quite clearly stated in a number of places that one creates one s own Magid(s) by the very thoughts one thinks and by the actions that one does. Though not all Magids manifest the pure truth, each one of us, nonetheless, has one or more. After I explained this to this Rabbi, documenting my sources, I, in turn, asked him, "don't ask me why I have a Magid; ask yourself, why don't you have yours"? 2
As there are different levels of human consciousness so are there Magidim of different levels, each correlating to where the aspirant is, at that moment. It is not at all unusual for one to receive a number of Magidim, one after another until one learns from the Shekhina Herself and beyond. Yet one must always be cautious, for as I have said, as there are Magidim of light, so there as Magidim of the dark side. These are earth bound Yetziratic/astral entities who due to their self made pollutions are unable or unwilling to ascend higher on the scale of spiritual evolution, and are stuck, bodiless in the astral realm seeking victims through whom they can express themselves. These can come to confuse and challenge your belief in the revealed written word of HaShem, and try to convince you to do other than what the Torah says, while at the same time deceiving you into believing that what you're doing is truly right. If your heart is impure this can happen. These entities try to deceive people into violating the Torah and thus securing their souls bondage to the dark side. While this danger is quite real, it is also not too difficult to avoid. The solution is simple: correct action, correct attitude and correct intent. Have faith in HaShem, humble yourself before Him, trust in His guidance, call exclusively upon His Name, and observe His Torah. He will not hide His Face from any who does all this. Challenges must come; they are a necessary part of growth. As in any school, testing proves to you yourself that you have mastered the material or path, in this case the knowledge of intuitively knowing the difference between good and evil. The test gives you the self assurance and confirmation that you are maturing and growing on the path of HaShem. So be not dismayed by any test or failure. Fear not if you feel any malevolent or negative feelings or presence. Stay on target and accept the presence of the dark side as your test. Cling to HaShem, resist the dark side, shine your light by performing the mitzvot and these exercises, and the dark will pass away before the light. With this introduction let us proceed to discuss the types of Magidim and how their presence is to be invoked and their wisdom received. Many are under the impression that the exclusive way to receive a Magid is for that Magid to physically appear as a person and communicate with you as one friend would to another. This can and does happen. The most well known of this class of Magid is Eliyahu HaNavi, who is known to have many a student in every generation. It is not only the greatest Kabbalists who learn with him. Yet the physical revelation of his presence is not necessary, for his presence can be felt as well. Eliyahu, and others, can in a way ride piggy-back on your soul, meaning to incarnate an aspect of his being in your soul and unconscious. Therefore even without your knowing it, his soul within you motivates you to act his actions. You, in essence become a merkava for HaShem by becoming a merkava for Eliyahu. This experience is called in Hebrew, Ibbur, which literally means pregnancy, for you are pregnant with the soul of the Sage within you. Within this context of Ibbur, a holy Sage can incarnate in many at a time. An entire community or generation can be filled with aspects of his being, even as HaShem will guide. Within this context the inner spiritual guide is experienced as a driving force, inner feeling, conviction or determination to act and do whatever it is that is to be done. Yet one can go beyond this to actually talk to his inner guide. If one is not there (or not needed to be there) one can channel a Magid by calling out to him and preparing one's soul to commune with that chosen master. This is traditionally, but not exclusively practiced with the Sages referred to in the Mishnah and this is the favored practice among many Rabbis for the added in-depth insight these Tana im (Mishnaic teachers) provide into the study of the Written and especially the Oral Torah. The method for channeling a Tana, or for that matter any Biblical sage, is outlined in the opening quote I have translated from Sha'arei Kedusha. After one has gone through his preparatory 3
stages of meditation as outlined in Chapter Four, one can, instead of permutating the letters, use a verse of scripture or Mishnah as a "mantra". This verse or Mishnah is continually repeated once one has achieved a trance like state of consciousness via the basic HaShem meditative breathing techniques. After this state of consciousness is achieved and one is repeating the chosen verse or Mishnah, the author of that Mishna or the one whom the Torah verse recited speaks of, will try to reach out and talk to you. After all, he/she is your brother/sister in Israel. It is only fitting that our older siblings want to and do reach out and help us. Our major concern now is how to recognize their voice when it speaks. It is easy to recognize a Magid if that teacher incarnates literally and physically before us, either in the image of a body of light or of flesh and blood. This can happen either as an autonomous experience initiated on the part of the Magid or it can happen in the greater context of a vision, which we will discuss later. While it is not easy to certify an Ibbur experience, it is also not necessary to do so. An Ibbur does not relate to any trance consciousness and is usually brought about due to a pre-existent correlating aspect in the host soul. The major aspect of Magid revelation is yet in another way. As we have said, the Magid being a spiritual/astral being needs a physical form through which his communication can be vibrated and thus understood here on the Asiatic earth plane. Granted, the Magid can appear in a body or communicate via visions, but for whatever laws and ways of the spiritual realm, these are not the general, chosen way. What is the accepted norm is for the Magid to temporarily unite, not only with your unconscious higher Self, the I within, but with your Asiyatic ego consciousness as well. Therefore, what results is that you have "two consciousnesses" present in one body at one time. It's a type of possession but of the holy kind, being possessed or shared by a holy spirit from HaShem, instead of, G-d forbid, the opposite. Nonetheless, the spiritual law of physical/astral communication is here the same, be it used for good or for evil. A Biblical example of this holy type of Ibbur "possession" is Pinhas, the son of Eliezer, the son of Aharon the Kohen. The Zohar and the Ari'zal teach that when Pinhas carried out his act of zealously assassinating Zimri, he was assisted by the souls of his dead brothers Nadav and Avihu who temporarily incarnated within him to give him the added strength to carry out his destiny. Now, to get back to subject. As you are meditating, reciting your Mishnah continually over and over, with rhythmic breathing, visualizing the letters Yod Hey Vav Hey, you might feel the urge to talk, to say something. You might not know what it is you want to say, but you know your lips just feel like moving. Usually we deny this feeling, passing it off as fantasy or imagination. Well, it might be your imagination, or it might not be. You won't know until you have given it the chance to speak. Listen to this voice. Allow it to speak through your mouth. Communicate with it. You ask a question with your mouth and allow the voice to answer you with your mouth. You might think that you are talking to yourself. Maybe you are, maybe you aren't. This procedure was used by Rabbi Yosef Karo. Continue meditating on HaShem, keeping the visualization clear in your mind's eye, and let go, free associate, talk and communicate. You'll soon know if the voice within is really from beyond your ego-consciousness. It very well might be your higher Self, the inner I talking with you. Just remember, the higher Self has an autonomous existence way beyond the limits of Asiyatic earth bound ego consciousness. The inner I, your higher Self is many times your Magid and was incarnated as this or that Sage. This can lead to some very revelatory wisdom about oneself, if and when realized. You can tell who is speaking simply by listening to what is said or what is shown. If it is beyond the limits of 4
the education and experience of your Asiyatic ego consciousness, you can bet it is from beyond it. Now don't get confused or dismayed, many times the Magid must speak through visual images rather than through one's voice. This is because one usually hasn't sufficiently prepared himself by letting go of his attachments to the external world. Again in such a case, continue and persevere. Write down in your spiritual diary all pertinent information. I assure you that most Kabbalists receive their wisdom in just this way and that many books were literally channeled verbatim via this method. This was the method used by Rabbi Avraham Abulafia. This is similar to how HaShem communicated the Torah to Moshe. This is how holy books are still written today. In matter of fact this is the definition of holiness; that which comes from i.e. is channeled from HaShem. This is the meaning of divine revelation and prophecy. With a united/dual consciousness, that of the aspirant with that of the Magid, one not only receives via the oral word but one's entire consciousness is opened as well. This allows the aspirant entrance and perception of the spiritual world that the Magid himself lives in and is experiencing at that moment. This combined consciousness is usually what happens during visions and prophecy. This phase of united consciousness is the best time for writing in your spiritual diary. The greatest Atzilutic revelations are received from the Beriatic souls, those closest to Atzilut, those who are the garments of the Atzilutic sefirot themselves. Eventually one can achieve such a level of channeling that one channels the spirit of the Torah itself. This elevates the level of communication to be pure Atzilutic influx. Again this usually happens through the medium of the aspirant's own voice, yet the speech is his, but the voice is from beyond. This is the union of YKVK and Adonai (voice and speech) as referred to in the Merkava mandala. You must learn self confidence and believe that you can do all this, and that you will! Be persistent and patient. Work this meditation into your permutations if you'd like. After reciting the sefirah of the day, choose your Mishnah or scripture verse, memorize it in the original Hebrew. Sorry, translations don't work here. Choose a verse with the name of the Tana with whom you want to join in it. If a scripture verse, choose one with the name of the Biblical Sage in it. Recite it according to the meditative path I have provided for you earlier. Be diligent in your performance. Be correct in you attitudes and actions. Open yourself up to HaShem and close yourself off from anything outside yourself, including all psychological contaminations. Be bold, and talk to your Magid; be even bolder and allow him to talk back to you. Listen to what is said and write it down in your spiritual diary. 5