“Lord, lead me in the path of truth”

as i am about to reach for the door every day that i leave my house, i say this simple prayer. it isn’t intended to be a paraphrase of Psalm 25:5, though it is very close. and, yes, baruch haShem, i do put my hope in G’d all day, but i really am most concerned about that path of truth. i want that to be my yesod for the rest of the day, everyday.

no, i’m not habituated to falsehood, ch’v, but i know good and well that i will need to be led when i’m absent from the truth…even by way of momentary distraction….because the absence of truth is not a neutral state. it is falsehood, even when not driven to evil. it is falsehood because it is absence of G’d for a moment…ch’v…and i must be led out of it back onto the path, for i will not know it for what it is without a nudge.

or know it for what it isn’t, when it is a momentary lapse. “trust but verify” actually is a good watchword for yesod in yesod. for the spirit state associated with the foundation of the body is emet (‘truth’ and ‘verification’), G’d’s own seal. and when i pray to be led in truth, i’m asking for the sign of verification that i am continuing on the humble walk with G’d, and not dancing down, however joyously, some other path. all i look for is that subtle dance lead, that tad of pressure, that slightest pull in a different direction.

or maybe just a directing of my eyes to my tzitzit so i can remember the 4 corners of the world and the doubling of each set of strings at each corner. 8 (beyond the natural 7) to remind me that G’d  surrounds me……doubled as yesod in yesod…16…

“emet v’yatziv…v’nachon v’kayam…v’yashar v’ne’eman…v’ahuv v’chaviv…

v’nechmad/v’nayim…v’norah v’adir…u’metukan/um’kubal…v’tov v’yafeh”

(true/certain…established/enduring…right/faithful…beloved/cherished…

delightful/sweet…awesome/mighty…correct/acceptable…good/beautiful)

emet represents the realization of G’d’s will (beginning), the plan for the continuation of that will (middle), and the fulfillment, the verification and seal of that will (end). G’d is not only beginning and end, but also middle, which is where, broken matzah that i am, i find myself.

only with truth in truth, yesod in yesod, wherein truth is made foundational to every act, can we even reasonably hope for the fullness of self in every moment, the completedness of it simultaneous with the beginning of it in the next moment. and only with focus on it can we simply be in the moment fully with every step.

try to imagine the opposite….focus on falsehood….what would it be? to be lost and doomed to evil eventually. when in truth one can see falsehood, but the very second one steps away, even just distractedly, one is, well, distracted, hence in need of a nudge, a lead…maybe a whack upside the head….to get back to the truth.

G’d is my foundational rock; hence ever-ready to be my redeemer…in truth.

mussar for yesod she b’yesod

with another….bein adam l’chaveiro    can you tell all the people you know the truth? if not, why not? examine that closely….is there a falsehood in your relationship that needs communicating?

with yourself….bein adam l’atzmo    can you tell yourself the truth? that is the very foundation of human potential, for when you can do that, you will know G’d. go ahead, tell yourself the truth about yourself and your condition…to yourself. you’ll find a path thereafter.

kabbalah for yesod she b’yesod

in assiyah….the world of doing/completion    a tzadik, or tzadik emet,  is called the “foundation of the universe”. are you a tzadik? if you were, you would have the power to ‘decree’ that G’d fulfill in actuality all of G’d’s promises. it is said that each of us has the potential to be tzadik emet…to realize one’s own deepest potential….which becomes the realization of G’d’s potential in Creation. now, get started.

in yetzirah….the world of feeling/formation    yesod is also the seat of sexuality, and thereby, of creativity of foundational sorts….and of procreativity. fulfillment and satisfaction are down with each other. yesod that is in yesod….consider this….and then do something holy about it.

in b’riyah….the world of thought/creation    Proverbsi 24:3…

“by wisdom is a house built, and by understanding established”

and a word to the wise is sufficient…so….word!

in atzilut….the world of nearness to G’d/intuition    which is more foundational? spirit or flesh? why? meditate on how both are foundational, in truth.

kinyan 41 of 48 ways to acquire Torah

Mityashev Libo b’Talmudo….Thinking ‘Heartily’ in One’s Study.  you should not make your study of Torah dry and nought but demanding. we are meant to study in joy, with full hearts…if not, how could one possibly get “a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12)? no less a than the brilliant talmudist, r’ Chaim of Volozhin, urged the same thing:

“who studies gladly for a single hour will learn vastly more than one who studies glumly for hours on end”