Year of joy and happiness

Year of smiles and laughter

Year of prosperity and growth

Year of health

Year of success

Year of loooooooooove

Year of peace

A good year: a Shanha Tova

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1. A Blast Into the Shofar

How Many Times is the Shofar Blown on Rosh Hashanah – and Why?

The majority of Ashkenazi Jews blow the shofar 100 times. The majority of Sephardic Jews blow it 101 times. Yemenite Jews blow the shofar 41 times on the holiday. There are several explinations that expain the reasoning behind the perscribed number of shofar blasts.

The 101 Tears of a Mother

In the book of Devorah, the Jew’s were battling the Assyrians for years. The prophetess Devorah foresaw that the Assyrian general would not die in battle, but by the hands of a woman. Just as she predicted, as the Assyrians were losing the battle against the Jews, Sisera fled to the tent of Yael. Yael craftily orcherstrated Sisera’s death. She fed him salty cheese and wine, which put him to a deep sleep.  Once he was in a drunken slumber, she drove a tent stake through the general’s head, klling him dead. Although, this was a great thing for the Jewish people, saving them from a dangerous enemy, it was still a devastating reality for Siseria’s mother. Siseria’s mother felt anger towards the Jewish people more than anything. It is said that she cried 101 tears when she heard of her son’s death. 100 of those tears were directed from her anger towards the Jews, and 1 of those tears was directed from her pure love for her son.

For this reason, Ashkenazi blow 100 blasts from the shofar. The 100 blasts can counteract Siseria’s mother’s 100 tears of anger towards us. But her one pure tear of love, we cannot counteract with even the longest and most powerful shofar blast. So, Ashkenazi stop at 100, honoring the tear of love. It is a reminder for us that we should make teshuva out of love for G-d, not out of anger or fear.

The Halachic Ashkenazi Reason:

According to the Talmud, a Jew must only hear nine shofar blasts in order to fulfill the requirement for Rosh Hashanah. However, there was a debate as to what the authentic shofar blast truly was.  As we know, there are three different ways the shofar is blown. These three sounds (tekiah, shevarim, teruah) vary in length and style and have different spiritual connotations.  The Rabbis could not decide which form or combination of these blasts was the exact sound of the shofar that we are supposed to hear. Therefore, every combination possible of these three types of blasts is sounded. Each combination is bracketed by one long tekiah sound. The total of combination blasts  makes up 100 shofar blasts.

The Sephardi Mystical Reason:

There is a very kabbalistic reasons why the shofar is blown 101 times in Sephardi communities. The Hebrew letters Samech and Mem represent the name for the most harmful angel. The gematriah, numerical value, of these two letters is 60 (Samech) and 40 (Men).  In order to counteract the energy of this dark angel, the shor blower calls upon the energy of the  good angel, Michael. Michael’s name in Hebrew has the gematriah of 101: (mem=40, Yud = 10, Chaf = 20, Aleph = 1, Lamed = 30)

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1. Selichot: Preparation for the Day of Power

Some people hate crowds, preferring to have their spiritual experiences in private. Yet, I love the spirit of unity that is found amidst the chaos of Israeli spiritual gatherings. I especially love the madness of crowded bus rides and journeys with throngs of other Jews who are all traveling on one specific journey. Of all such gatherings, my favorite is the yartzeit, or death anniversary for the Ari (the Arizal or Rabbi Issac Luria.) I have faithfully attended it for the past three years in a row, finding that, although I spend half the time crowded for space and pushed about, it is again and again a mystical experience I simply can’t miss. Which is why two weeks ago I traveled to Tzfat (also known as Safed or Zefat), in order to visit the grave of the Ari on his yartzeith. This year, his yartzeit fell on July 25/26, the 5th of Av.

The Lion of Mysticsm

Knicknamed “the Ari,” which literally means “the lion,” the Ari was the one of the leading kabbalists in . He lived in the mid 16th century, during the golden age of kabbalah in Tzfat. Having studied the Zohar for years and meditated intensely on mystical secrets, he gave many lessons on kabbalah. Most of his teachings were complied into a series of books by his foremost student, Rabbi Chaim Vital. His books include secrets of reincarnation, how to achieve a prophetic state, and other sorts of mystical wonders. These teachings branched into a whole school of kabbalah, called “Lurianic Kabbalah.”

The Grave Hoppers

In Israel, it is common to see flocks of religious people flocking to the gravesites of Tzaddikimm, people who are widely recognized to be righteous and holy, on their yartzeits. Jewish mysticism teaches that there is always a minute percentage of a person’s soul that is connected to their grave. On the day of the yartzeit, a larger percentage of the soul can be accessed at their burial site. Thus, on such special days, people feel like they can access some aspect of the energy and spirit of Tzaddiks, and in the merit of the Tzaddiks, have their prayers answered by G-d.  flocks of religious people flock to the gravesite of the tzaddik.

The Reverence and Rituals of the Ari’s Faithfuls

There is a special crowd drawn to the Ari on his yartzeit. It is a group of people, from all different religious sects, many of which practice more “traditional” and less “halachic” Judaism. Most of them are called by a personal connection either to the Ari’s teachings, or to his spirit.

As soon as the Shabat was over on July 25th, people hurried over to the Ari’s grave. Although it was dark and on a regular night, I would’ve been scared to walk through the old graveyard, there were so many feverent people gathered there that I couldn’t think of being scared. All night, people sat by the grave, praying, reciting tehilim, or meditating on the special energy. Around 3 in the morning, many of the men began a special ceremony, chanting specific verses together, many of which are related to the Selichot services that take place during the Hebrew month of Elul. At certain points, the shofar was blasted. As I was not quite sure what this ceremony was about, I felt in awe as I listened, enchanted by the mystery of what was enfolding.

The entire next day, the Ari’s grave continued to be full of visitors until nightfall. There were several prayer minyans for the 3 designated prayers a day. And busses kept driving in and out of the parking lot, bringing more and more loads of faithful pilgrims.

There was a strong feeling of unity amongst the many people gathered for the yartzeit. Free drinks and refreshments were available in mass, so that everyone who was there could make a blessing and enjoy a taste of nourishment in the Ari’s merit. At the bottom of the graveyard (which is situated on a hill), many different groups had set up tables, offering books, jewlery, or other Judaica items. Since the yartzeit took place during the 9 days of Av, no music was being played. Nonetheless, there was a holy spirit of festivity. For, the anniversary of a tzaddik is supposed to be a joyous event, celebrating the tzaddik’s merits and their elevation to heaven.

My Personal Connection to the Ari

For me, the Ari’s grave is one of the places where I feel most spiritually connected. When I first came to Israel a few years ago, I spent a few days going from one holy grave site to the next. Although I prayed at each site, I found it hard to connect. It was only on the last day of my little tour that I went to the grave of the Ari. And there, in the midst of the old graveyard of Tzfat, I felt as though I was being embraced by more warmth and understanding than I’d ever felt before. It was an extremely emotional experience, allowing me to open up to the realization that Jewish spirituality was a path I truly wanted to follow. Since then, I have visited the Ari’s grave many times, always to be comforted and find some sort of guidance.

Thus, I left Tzfat truly inspired this past yartzeit, feeling blessed to  have had the opportunity to connect with so spiritually high of a soul.

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1. Ana El Na Refa Na La: Please, G-d heal her
This was the simple one line prayer from Bamidbar (Numbers 12:13) which Moses used to ask G-d to heal his sister Miriam. Today it is used as a meditative chant for general Jewish health.

2. Ben Porat Yosef, Ben Porat Alei Ayin: A fruitful son is Yosef, a fruitful son by a spring.
This was blessing from Genesis/Bereshit that Jacob gave to his son Joseph before he passed away.

3. Gam Ki Elech Begei Tzalmavet, Lo Ira Ra Ki Ata Imadi: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you     are with me.
Translation of David’s famous Tehillim (Psalm 23), which was originally written in Hebrew.
Even in tough circumstances we need to understand that all the hardships are for good, to educate and to make us stronger. By wearing this Kabbalah symbol, you may attract Divine protection and increase your faith.
4. Shamreni Mi Kol Tzara Mi Kol Pachad Ve Mi Kol Choli: Guard me from trouble, fear and sickness
This Biblical verse begs G-d for complete protection from all negative circumstances. By wearing this Kabbalistic symbol, you are drawing down the guardful watch of G-d Himself, who will help ward off all forms of pain and evil.

5. SAL – Samech – Alef – Lamed (Seter Ata Li) Techaneni Shefa Bracha Vehatzlacha: G-d Endow Me with Abundance, Blessing and Success

This is a Kabbalistic verse that has the power to attract an abundance of blessings in every aspect of life. It can help usher in wealth into your life, as well as all sorts of other blessings you are longing for. G-d wants to give us everything good we can possibly have. However, many layers, often self-procured, block the goodness from pouring down on us. This necklace helps to shatter the impeding layers between us and G-d, so that the blessings awaiting above may rain down on us!

4. Mayim Rabim Lo Yuchlu L’chabot Et Ha’ahava Uneharot Lo Yishtefuha Imyiten Ish Etkol Hon Beito Baahava Boz Yavuzu Lo: Many waters cannot quench love, nor will rivers overflow it.

This verse comes from the world’s greatest love poem: Shir Hashirim/ Song of Songs. It conjures the deepest power of love: its infiniteness and ability to withstand any obstacle. Sadly, many people do not experience true love. Their love has all sorts of preconditions, and is subject to change and even transformation to hate, or lack of care, based on certain problems. However, we all have the ability to tap into the deepest form of love and feel the blissful beauty of this ideal in our lives. When worn as jewlery, this verse can act as a segula (charm) to help those who are single attract their soul mates, and those who are in relationships to strengthen their bonds of love.

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We all want the best life possible

The best life for most of us includes health and wealth, love and protection. Public attention has recently been turned to Kabbalah, attempting to attain these aspects of the good life through its wisdom. Kabbalah is ancient Jewish mysticism that has been a closely guarded secret in the Jewish world for two thousand years. In fact, according to traditional Jewish law, only learned men over 40 who had mastered the whole Torah were allowed to even begin to study the complex mysteries of the Zohar, the foremost Kabbalistic text.  Even then, these students of  Kabbalah were under the strict watch of their Rabbi.

Kabbalah is everywhere

The secret seems to be out; we have seen it pop into the mainstream with the help celebrities such as Madonna and Britney Spears following the trendy L.A-based Kabbalah center. Many people are now sporting red strings around their wrists and wearing jewelery inscribed with mystical Jewish prayers.  The questions is: what is the real purpose of these prayers and what do they mean? The answer to this question is complexed. Yet, these prayers and customs are well-established in Jewish faith and practice. For centuries, Rabbi’s have perscribed such kabbalistic pendents and pieces as cures for a variety of issues.

These prayers are not magical spells…

Exactly. Wearing a piece of  Kabbalah jewelery engraved with a prayer and expecting miracles to somehow happen because of it is not how these powerful pieces were intended to work. These signs and prayers, worn as jewelery, are simple reminders to increase in the wearer faith in the real benefactor of our lives and to help focus our energy towards positivity and the belief that good things are on the way!

To be continued next time:

What do these Hebrew prayers mean?

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1. Kabbalah: What do these Kabbalah Prayers Mean?