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ShareWe do not have to abase darkness in order to exalt light... Demonization of darkness is at the root of body-hatred, hatred of women and their bodies; destruction of peoples the colours of the earth; fear and hatred of the erotic; queer/transphobia; Islamophobia; Judeophobia; fear and hatred of paganism and earth-based traditions; fear and hatred of people with disabilities; fear of wombs, fear of tombs… Is there any room anymore for Endarkenment?
25 percent of the universe is made of dark matter, and only five percent is made of the stuff that we are used to. … Our galaxy is only here because it is swimming in an ocean of dark matter that provides the gravitational pull to keep the galaxy there. Like, the galaxy formed because there was dark matter...This is the fish scientist discovering for the first time that there's this thing water that we're swimming through... And so the rest is indeed dark energy. And I'm excited that I have no idea what dark matter is.
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
When God began to create heaven and earth— the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—
תהו ובהו. תֹּהוּ לְשׁוֹן תֵּמַהּ וְשִׁמָּמוֹן, שֶׁאָדָם תּוֹהֵא וּמִשְׁתּוֹמֵם עַל בֹּהוּ שֶׁבָּהּ:
תהו ובהו DESOLATE AND VOID — The word תהו signifies astonishment and amazement, for a person would have been astonished and amazed at its emptiness.
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֣ה אֶל־הָעָם֮ אַל־תִּירָ֒אוּ֒ כִּ֗י לְבַֽעֲבוּר֙ נַסּ֣וֹת אֶתְכֶ֔ם בָּ֖א הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וּבַעֲב֗וּר תִּהְיֶ֧ה יִרְאָת֛וֹ עַל־פְּנֵיכֶ֖ם לְבִלְתִּ֥י תֶחֱטָֽאוּ׃ וַיַּעֲמֹ֥ד הָעָ֖ם מֵרָחֹ֑ק וּמֹשֶׁה֙ נִגַּ֣שׁ אֶל־הָֽעֲרָפֶ֔ל אֲשֶׁר־שָׁ֖ם הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃ {ס} וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יהוה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֹּ֥ה תֹאמַ֖ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אַתֶּ֣ם רְאִיתֶ֔ם כִּ֚י מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי עִמָּכֶֽם׃
Moses answered the people, “Be not afraid; for God has come only in order to test you, and in order that the fear of God may be ever with you, so that you do not go astray.” So the people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was. יהוה said to Moses: Thus shall you say to the Israelites: You yourselves saw that I spoke to you from the very heavens:
ומשה נגש בפרקי ר"א גש לא נא' אלא נגש מיכאל וגבריאל אחזוהו בשתי ידיו והגישוהו אל השכינה שלא ברצונו:
Moshe drew near.Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer notes that the word nigash (“drew near”) is actually in the passive voice (“he was drawn near”). The Midrash explains that the angels Michael and Gavriel grabbed Moshe by his two hands and brought him before the Shechinah against his will.
הערפל בגי' שכינה:
To the dense cloud (ha’arafel). The numerical value of arafel (385) is equal to that of the word Shechinah.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר בִּדְבָרוֹ מַעֲרִיב עֲרָבִים בְּחָכְמָה פּוֹתֵֽחַ שְׁעָרִים וּבִתְבוּנָה מְשַׁנֶּה עִתִּים וּמַחֲלִיף אֶת־הַזְּ֒מַנִּים וּמְסַדֵּר אֶת־הַכּוֹכָבִים בְּמִשְׁמְ֒רוֹתֵיהֶם בָּרָקִֽיעַ כִּרְצוֹנוֹ: בּוֹרֵא יוֹם וָלָֽיְלָה גּוֹלֵל אוֹר מִפְּ֒נֵי חֽשֶׁךְ וְחֽשֶׁךְ מִפְּ֒נֵי אוֹר וּמַעֲבִיר יוֹם וּמֵבִיא לָֽיְלָה וּמַבְדִּיל בֵּין יוֹם וּבֵין לָֽיְלָה יהוה צְבָאוֹת שְׁמוֹ: אֵל חַי וְקַיָּם תָּמִיד יִמְלֹךְ עָלֵֽינוּ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה הַמַּעֲרִיב עֲרָבִים:
Blessed are You, Adonoy, our God, King of the Universe, With God’s word God brings on evenings, with wisdom God opens the gates (of heaven); and with understanding changes the times and alternates the seasons, and arranges the stars in their watches, in the sky, according to God’s will. God creates day and night, God rolls the light away from before darkness, and darkness from before light; God causes day to pass and brings night, and separates between day and night; Adonoy of Hosts is God’s Name. The Almighty, [Who is] living and enduring will always reign over us forever and ever. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Who brings on evening.
עֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת לַעֲמוּסֵי בָטֶן
שֶׁהֵם עֲתִידִים לְהִתְחַדֵּשׁ כְּמוֹתָ
Ateret tiferet la’amusei vaten
Sh’heim atidim l’hitchadesh k’motah
a crown of beauty to those carried in the womb who are destined to renew themselves like her.
Dreaming the World to Come Planner, 5783
Seasonally, those in the northern hemisphere now transition into the winter time, when the sun shines less and the nights grow longer. Our time shifts away from the dominance of the Sun and into the domain of the Moon, meaning the energies of the Moon are more activated and pronounced. The Moon represents our internal world - our mind, our emotions, our healing process. With long Moon nights, we sleep more and hence dream more as well… The Moon invites us into these prophetic experiences. Our consciousness learns to engage with the darkness in a different way. Instead of mourning the loss of the Sun, we make magic in the dark. We dance with the Moon, we navigate the waters of our internal world and the subconscious energies that invite us to come alive.
Baruch atah Hashem, Elokeinu Melech ha’olam, asher bidvaro ma’ariv aravim
Kiddush Levanah is a Jewish ritual that invites us to celebrate and sanctify the new moon. The moon holds a special significance for me, as a queer mixed-race Asian Jew, and I’m grateful to the friends, community, and teachers who have led me to hold the moon as a symbol in this way, as a symbol that’s been used by all of my ancestors across space, across cultures, across continents, to mark the passage of time. I often share an image that I now hold, of imagining all those who came before me standing outside at the same time, looking at the dark new moon sky, thinking of themes of renewal, cycles, beginnings.