{"id":1328,"date":"2012-10-02T16:57:50","date_gmt":"2012-10-02T20:57:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/?p=1328"},"modified":"2021-04-20T23:43:30","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T06:43:30","slug":"the-sign-of-the-twins-on-the-reconciliation-of-the-divine-and-its-likeness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2012\/10\/the-sign-of-the-twins-on-the-reconciliation-of-the-divine-and-its-likeness","title":{"rendered":"The Sign of the Twins: On the Reconciliation of the Divine with its Likeness"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Image Gemini<\/a> by Erich Ferdinand (License: CC-BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

From Takanat HaShavim, 6d, 7a-b, 9b by Rav Tzadok HaKohen Rabinowitz<\/a> (1823-1900, Neustadt, Poland)
\nEnglish translation adapted from that of Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky (K.K. Ansche Chesed, Manhattan, NY)<\/p>\n

\nThrough true cleaving to G!d….then death will be swallowed up forever. Through this, the image and likeness will be completed, about which it is taught [in Bava Batra 75b<\/a>] that in the future, tsadiqim<\/em> will be called by the Name of the blessed Holy One. That is as is said in the Midrash that a human king cannot raise another person to his level, but the blessed Holy One transforms tsadiqim<\/em> to be like Him.<\/p>\n

However, after sin, not only was the radiance of the Adam[1<\/a>]<\/sup> diminished, but death was decreed. And mortality itself caused the Adam to no longer be like G!d, no longer living eternally. And thus, after sin, the divine image is no longer complete, and one can no longer be called by the Name of the blessed Holy One, as it were. But then we will be called by G!d’s Name, through true cleaving, beyond the level of prophecy, and we will attain [what is taught in Shir haShirim Rabbah 5:2[2<\/a>]<\/sup>] that we and G!d are twins, not one greater than the other — something which could not be uttered had G!d Himself not stated that humans would be created in our image, after our likeness.<\/p>\n

The sages said [Talmud Bavli Rosh Hashana 17b] on the verse, “YHVH | YHVH El Ra\u1e25um,” [the repetition of the divine name means]: I am the same before you sin and the same after you sin and do teshuva. This means God will once again be literally the same as before. For through sin, the Name changes, and is not pronounced the way it is written. But after repentance, the Name will be restored, as it was before….<\/p>\n

Teshuva will continue expanding until the Messianic era. And through this one of the roots of our inheritance from our ancestor Yaaqov, whose bed is complete [i.e. all his descendants follow his legacy], this is not so apparent in our day. For in our great sins, we have many heretics and those who abandon the faith. But God has promised that we will not lose a single one in the end, and that G!d will gather the scattered from the four corners of the earth. Then Yaaqov will be truly complete.[3<\/a>]<\/sup><\/p>\n

And this true completion will be evident in the messianic time when we learn the truth of the sages teaching that teshuva is so great that it supersedes a prohibition of the Torah. Which prohibition does it supersede? The original prohibition from Eden: Lest he stretch forth his hand and take from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From Maor VeShamesh, Ramzei Shavuot
\nA teaching on Sukkot<\/a> by Rav Kalonymus Kalman Halevi Epstein<\/a> (1753-1825, Cracow, Poland)
\ntranslated by Jeff Amshalem<\/a><\/p>\n

The three supernal wisdoms [called by the names of G!d] Ehyeh<\/em>, YHVH<\/em>, Ehyeh<\/em> together make the gematria of \u1e25ayyim<\/em>, \u201clife\u201d.[5<\/a>]<\/sup> face to face,[6<\/a>]<\/sup> and so the supernal wisdoms overflowed and released their bounty onto the world\u2026 \u1e24ayyim<\/em> also has the gematria of lulav, which also hints at unity, as our sages said, \u201cOne who sees a lulav in a dream is of one heart with his Father in heaven.”[7<\/a>]<\/sup> [This is why the lulav and etrog must be held together,] for G!d forbid there should be some separation \u2014 rather, one heart, as one man, and because of this G!d gave the Torah to His people, in the third month, the sign of the Twins,[8<\/a>]<\/sup> and if you know the signs then you will see that the Twins are face to face, which hints at unity and love, which was the prerequisite for receiving the Torah.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n


\nJeff Anshalem adds<\/a>:<\/p>\n

On Shabbat \u1e24ol Hamoed Sukkot we read of the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai, seemingly a strange choice for Sukkot, but the Maor VeShamesh explains what\u2019s common to both: unity. Unity between us, symbolized by the joining together of the Four Species (Vayikra Rabbah 30:12), evokes unity between us and G!d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Contrast the fable of Narcissus with the myth of the First Day in Genesis 1:2-4. Divine likeness is born of reflection: the illumination and enlightenment of Divine creative consciousness above the abyss of primordial waters. Sentient reflection also manifests as both an I\/Thou and an I\/Other division, a bifurcation that is healed with compassion, lovingkindess, and the maturation of an empathic consciousness. That which is reflected in the primordial waters, the divine likeness and light reserved for the righteous, is the potential of a mature sentience called Adam haQadmon<\/em>, the Cosmic Adam, or stated differently, our potential as human beings, as sentient beings is that of the Universe recognizing itself.<\/p>\n

  1. the Earthling (ANV)[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  2. For a full treatment of this idea, see Yair Lorberbaum, In God’s Image: Myth, Theology, and Law in Classical Judaism<\/a><\/em>, p.162-165, Cambridge University Press, 2015.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  3. Yaaqov corresponds to the sefirah of Tiferet, and is called shleimah, the complete\/perfect one. cf. Reb Dovid Seidenberg on the Ushpizin at the Open Siddur Project.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  4. Gematria is a system of counting the numerical value of a word (since each letter is also a number) and comparing it to other values to find hidden meanings, as we will see.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  5. Between earth and heaven, between the sefirot, and between G!d and Israel.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  6. The sefirot are often called \u201cfaces,\u201d and when there is unity between them they are said to be \u201cface to face\u201d rather than \u201cback to back\u201d; this also evokes the Torah\u2019s statement that Moshe spoke with G!d \u201cface to face\u201d (Ex. 33:11), and the saying of the sages that the cherubim over the Ark of the Covenant faced each other when the Jews did G!d\u2019s will and faced away when they didn\u2019t (Bava Batra 99a on Exodus 29:20 and 2 Chronicles 3:13).[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  7. Yerushalmi, Nedarim[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  8. aka Gemini; a rare reference to astrology in \u1e24asidic writing, though there is actually an extensive connection between Jewish astrology and the kabbalah.[↩<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Jeff Anshalem writes, “On Shabbat \u1e24ol Hamoed Sukkot we read of the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai, seemingly a strange choice for Sukkot, but the Maor VeShamesh explains what\u2019s common to both: unity. Unity between us, symbolized by the joining together of the Four Species (Vayikra Rabbah 30:12), evokes unity between us and G!d.” . . . → Continue reading: The Sign of the Twins: On the Reconciliation of the Divine with its Likeness<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mythology","category-yiddishkeit","odd"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Sign of the Twins: On the Reconciliation of the Divine with its Likeness • Aharon's Omphalos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2012\/10\/the-sign-of-the-twins-on-the-reconciliation-of-the-divine-and-its-likeness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Sign of the Twins: On the Reconciliation of the Divine with its Likeness • Aharon's Omphalos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jeff Anshalem writes, "On Shabbat \u1e24ol Hamoed Sukkot we read of the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mt. 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Varady","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Aharon-Varady.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Aharon-Varady.jpg","width":1061,"height":1062,"caption":"Aharon N. Varady"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"description":"Aharon's Omphalos is the hobbit hole of Aharon Varady, founding director of the Open Siddur Project. He is a community planner and environmental educator working to improve stewardship of the Public Domain, be it the physical and natural commons of urban park systems or the creative and cultural commons of libraries and museums. His advocacy for open-source strategies in the Jewish community has been written about in the Atlantic Magazine, the Yiddish Forverts, Tablet, and Haaretz. He is particularly interested in pedagogies for advancing ecological wisdom, developing creative and emotional intelligence, and realizing effective theurgical praxes. He welcomes your comments, personal messages, and kind words. If you find his work helpful to your own or you'd simply like to support him, please consider donating via his Patreon account.","sameAs":["https:\/\/aharon.varady.net","http:\/\/facebook.com\/aharonium","https:\/\/x.com\/http:\/\/twitter.com\/aharonium"],"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/author\/admin"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Erich-Ferdinand-Gemini-CC-BY-2.0.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgdGV-lq","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":543,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2008\/12\/hanukah-sukkot-bet-and-the-brumalia","url_meta":{"origin":1328,"position":0},"title":"\u1e24anukkah: Sukkot Sheni and the Brumalia","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"December 23, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"With the dissemination and availability of 2 Maccabees (preserved in the Catholic and Orthodox Christian cannons), more Jews are learning that the eight day festival of lights originated as a renewal of the eight day festival of Sukkot.\u00a0 That essential Fall pilgrimage and fertility festival (which included the joyous water-drawing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mythology"","block_context":{"text":"Mythology","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit\/mythology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":796,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2009\/12\/metaphors-liberate-us","url_meta":{"origin":1328,"position":1},"title":"Metaphors Liberate Us","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"December 31, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"In an age when the possibility of living in the land of Israel is no longer an abstract yearning, at a time when Jerusalem is rebuilt (with a soon to be active light rail system!), and after nearly 2000 years without the physical presence of a Temple nor the daily\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mythology"","block_context":{"text":"Mythology","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit\/mythology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/first-light-of-freedom-e1483925040265.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2232,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/05\/short-reflection-roots-federation-gmilut-hasadim","url_meta":{"origin":1328,"position":2},"title":"\u05d2\u05b0\u05de\u05b7\u05f4\u05d7 | A Short Reflection on the Roots of the Federation and G\u2019milut \u1e24asadim","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"May 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I was incredibly honored to have been invited by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati to speak this evening at their 120th Annual Meeting. Long-lived community bodies can seem to be just part of the landscape, as old as the mountains and somewhat inscrutable, so it seemed appropriate to me on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Judaica"","block_context":{"text":"Judaica","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/13221168_10154180639698718_4876296485565266344_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/13221168_10154180639698718_4876296485565266344_o.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/13221168_10154180639698718_4876296485565266344_o.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/13221168_10154180639698718_4876296485565266344_o.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/13221168_10154180639698718_4876296485565266344_o.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/13221168_10154180639698718_4876296485565266344_o.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":403,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2008\/10\/lingle-and-boxer-spar-for-mccain-and-obama","url_meta":{"origin":1328,"position":3},"title":"Lingle and Boxer Spar for McCain and Obama","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"October 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Hawaiian Governor Linda Lingle and Californian Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) debated each other this past evening while representing John McCain and Barack Obama respectively at A Presidential Candidates Forum: America in the World - Friends, Foes, and the Future. The debate between the two Jewish politicians was organized by The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Politics"","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/adventure\/politics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/dsc01591.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2052,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2016\/03\/preserving-and-sharing-photo-captions-in-picasa-before-google-shuts-it-down","url_meta":{"origin":1328,"position":4},"title":"Preserving and Sharing Photo Captions from Picasa (before Google shuts it down)","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"March 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When my father wanted to share an album of captioned photos with a colleague, he used to be able to simply send them a link in an email. This no longer works since the captions he saved in Picasa are not displayed in Google Photos! The solution I worked out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Family"","block_context":{"text":"Family","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/adventure\/family"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/kodak-760h-carousel-slide-projector-with-lens-stack-loader-box-remote-works-e960a4d39aec83d65112f369e9893eaa-e1458677999597.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/kodak-760h-carousel-slide-projector-with-lens-stack-loader-box-remote-works-e960a4d39aec83d65112f369e9893eaa-e1458677999597.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/kodak-760h-carousel-slide-projector-with-lens-stack-loader-box-remote-works-e960a4d39aec83d65112f369e9893eaa-e1458677999597.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/kodak-760h-carousel-slide-projector-with-lens-stack-loader-box-remote-works-e960a4d39aec83d65112f369e9893eaa-e1458677999597.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30,"url":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/2006\/05\/rejoining-tetragramaton","url_meta":{"origin":1328,"position":5},"title":"Rejoining Tetragrammaton","author":"Aharon N. Varady","date":"May 8, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is one more attempt at trying to explicate the mystery of Leviathan and Behemoth. This is a work in progress, but for those among you interested in myth and esoterica and\/or Judaism, you may forgive its rough edges. Writing this took me most of yesterday evening and much of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mythology"","block_context":{"text":"Mythology","link":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/category\/yiddishkeit\/mythology"},"img":{"alt_text":"Behemoth and Leviathan 1825, reprinted 1874 by William Blake 1757-1827","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/William-Blake-Behemoth-and-Leviathan-1825-reprinted-1874-Public-Domain.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/William-Blake-Behemoth-and-Leviathan-1825-reprinted-1874-Public-Domain.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/William-Blake-Behemoth-and-Leviathan-1825-reprinted-1874-Public-Domain.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/05\/William-Blake-Behemoth-and-Leviathan-1825-reprinted-1874-Public-Domain.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1328"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3172,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1328\/revisions\/3172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aharon.varady.net\/omphalos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}