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    Parsha Noah: Defend the world

    Umito Posted on

    In Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers), it is written: “The world rests on three pillars: Torah, service (to God), and acts of loving-kindness. » (1:2) This week Part of the Torah, “Noah” tells of a time when the world was destroyed because these three pillars had collapsed.

    According to Kabbalah, these three pillars correspond to three branches of the mystical tree of Sefirot – the channels of divine energy which permeate all of existence and with which the world was created, namely the sefirot of love, strength and truth.

    The pillar of kindness (right) corresponds to the sefirah of love. Acts of kindness allow the generosity of heaven to flow into the world, which could not exist without love. The wise proclaim: “A day without kindness is a day unlived.” »

    From October 7 Last year, the pillar of kindness was strengthened by myriad acts of kindness and strengthened by the total sacrifice of our holy soldiers.

    The pillar of service (left) corresponds to the sefirah of strength, restraint and focused energy. In the past, “service” referred to the sacrifices made to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Without the Temple, service to God is accomplished through prayer, which represents our ascension toward the transcendent. Through the pillar of service, the world is elevated. In the book Baal Shem Tov al ha TorahThe chapter “The Pillar of Prayer” is dedicated to guidelines for prayer.

    Great Flood of the Bible. (credit: PIXABAY)

    The pillar of truth (center) corresponds to the Torah. Through the Torah Pillar, the physical (below) and spiritual (above) worlds are integrated.

    By resting our actions on these three pillars, we become complete, enabling us to fulfill our purpose in this world and providing a stable basis for the world’s existence.

    A story of destruction and recreation

    Similar to our post-Flood world, Yoram Raanan’s painting Three Pillars presents a story of destruction and re-creation.

    Underneath Three Pillars is an earlier work he painted in a process captured on video. The previous painting is visible in the opening sequence of the video, with its lower portion appearing as a waterside scene, with two tiny black figures who appear engaged in a confrontation.

    In his transformation of the painting, Raanan turned the canvas 90 degrees and, with bold vertical and horizontal strokes, transformed the landscape into a structure of three pillars supporting a ceiling composed of rays of light.

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    The golden pillars in the painting were clearly not intended to represent physical but metaphysical pillars, since the pillars are made of stone and not gold. Although rooted in physical and earthly reality, they rise to touch the heavens.

    Beyond the pillars, a sky-blue door emerges, seemingly leading to another distant realm – an invitation to enter a spiritual dimension.

    Notice how the right pillar is surrounded by purple, purple, and magenta rays flowing around it. These colors reflect the highest ideals of humanity and stimulate our desire to benefit humanity. They express the passion to create, to produce positive energy.

    The pillar on the left appears to be part of a celestial blue door – the door to infinite possibilities of transcendence that can be accessed through prayer. Beyond the gate, there is a hint of what awaits those who achieve this goal: in the distance, another building can barely be made out – perhaps it is a palace or a a temple; perhaps the heavenly Jerusalem, symbol of spiritual desire.

    The middle pillar – the pillar of the Torah – corresponds to the sefirah of truth, which brings harmony, balance and integrity to the world. In the painting, the middle pillar has a partially magenta background on the right and a blue background on the left, and it is balanced between the two. The middle pillar embodies both ascending and descending energies, as in Jacob’s dream of a ladder reaching to heaven, on which angels ascended and descended.

    Sometimes we feel like our world is falling apart and despair looms. As the psalmist asks: “When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? »

    However, our sages remind us that even in times of chaos, our world is based on values ​​and principles. Our learning, our prayers and our good deeds can contribute to the stability of the world. ■

    Meira Raanan is the author of The Art of Revelation: A Visual Encounter with the Jewish Biblea commentary on the paintings of her husband, Yoram Raanan. She is also a teacher of Jewish meditation. Esther Cameron is a poet, scholar and essayist living in Jerusalem. She is editor-in-chief of The Deronda review.



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