Ariel Ben Avraham – JERUSALEM IN THE BOOK OF PSALMS (X)
“And I am like an olive tree in the house of God, and my trust in the loving kindness of God for ever and ever.”
(Psalms 52:10)
King David’s love, devotion and praise to the Creator are emblematic, for there has not been someone like him to exalt His works and wonders.
These qualities also embrace those of an olive tree, deep rooted, strong and long lasting. There seems to be a corresponding nature between the aforementioned qualities and the trust derived from them, with the eternal loving kindness by which God sustains His creation.
Let’s remember that olives produce the oil to light up the darkness of the late and early hours of the day. Every time we hear or speak about anointment, it is about our capacity to enlighten ourselves with the multidimensional and transcendental meanings of the Torah.
This is the same anointment that leads us to our final redemption with the ultimate knowledge and awareness of the Creator in our consciousness that takes place in “the house of the Lord”.
Planting consciousness in this house like olive trees means to live permanently in the awareness of the truth that God’s loving kindness is from where we came, and to where we are destined to live forever and ever.
“Who shall give from Zion the redemption of Israel? The Lord will turn the captivity of His people. Jacob will be glad, Israel will rejoice.” (53:7)
The verse tells us that God’s final redemption for Israel, and consequently for humankind, comes from Zion as the connecting place between the Creator and the material world.
We must realize that Zion, as the total awareness of our connection with God, is the time and space of our complete freedom from anything different from God’s ways and attributes, which we understand as pure goodness free from what is alien to it.
Our captivity encompasses all that lacks goodness, which is living in the negative and destructive predicament of the evil ways of an egocentric approach to life.
As long as we don’t lose focus of goodness and acknowledge it as our essence and true identity, we recognize ourselves as Jacob and Israel, the two aspects of a life committed to reveal God’s will for the material world, which is to make goodness prevail.
Once we allow goodness to manifest in all levels, aspects and expressions of human consciousness, we begin to rejoice and be glad of living in true redemption, free from the captivity of evil.
As we see it in the following verse, living in this awareness is the culmination of the fulfilled prophecies in the Hebrew Bible with their transcending and eternal quality.
“I will dwell in Your tent forever. I will take refuge in the covert of Your wings, forever.” (61:5)
In the Hebrew tradition, tents are related to places of learning and study of the Torah in regards to how God relates to His creation. God’s tent is as unfathomable and impenetrable as the Creator, for He is eternal.
This is the transcendental time and space where our consciousness is promised to dwell as in a refuge under eternal divine protection.
Ariel Ben Avraham
Kochav Yaakov, Safed, northern Galilee, IsraelAriel Ben Avraham (f. Zapata) was born in Cartagena, Colombia in 1958. After studying Cultural Anthropology in Bogotá moved to Chicago in 1984 where he worked as a television writer, reporter and producer for 20 years. In the 1990’s he produced video documentaries related to art, music, history and culture such as “Latin American Trails: Guatemala” distributed by Facets.org. Most of his life he studied ancient spiritual traditions and mysticism of major religions, understanding the mystic experience as the individual means to connect with the Creator of all. Since 2004 he studies and writes about Jewish mysticism and spirituality mainly derived from the Chassidic tradition, and the practical philosophy of the teachings of Jewish mystic sages. The book “God’s Love” is the compilation of many years studying and learning Jewish mysticism. The messages of his book are part of the content, exercises and processes of a series of seminars, lectures and retreats that he facilitates in Israel.
