representing the Heart of the Law of the Final Redemption
TABLET 13 contents - explanation of sanctification by definition, brief notes on the 13 Virtues of Esther THIRTY PASSES
SEGULAH - VIRTUES OF THE HEART Gnomen 1 When the love of the faith in God and the love of God’s blessing are firmly established in the person, one is ready to seek further in himself other profound virtues hidden in the heart. ‘Virtues hidden in the heart’ is indeed a subject which has no end but it is also a subject in which the beginning is likewise difficult to find. To overcome some of the obstacles in beginning and ending and in defining , (and in 30 Passes at that) I turn here to a previous formulation of the 13 virtues of Esther. Gnomen 2 These are useful because each one of the 13 virtues contains the desired result of the virtue itself, that is, by the ‘name’ of the virtue or the exprerssion used here to describe it, one can understand the result to which the virtue leads. For example, the first listed virtue is called (1) ‘the constantly renewed compassion for others’. This phrase is both the ‘name’ of this virtue and its general definition. The ‘names’ of the virtues are essential for contemplating in oneself where one’s heart stands and are thus instruments of self-discernment and guides to personal development. Gnomen 3 In general, these 13 Virtues of Esther are well placed here on Tablet 13 which is the general Tablet of the hidden or inner virtues of the heart. One can see that whereas the other 9 Virtues, Faith, Blessing, Prayer etc. have a particular name referring to that ‘faculty of the heart’, the third Virtue has the generalized name of ‘the hidden virtues of the heart’. What is particular to the third Virtue is that the virtues are called ‘hidden’. This ‘hidden’ aspect, however, is not so easy to ‘particularize’ because all the Virtues of the Heart are ‘hidden’ in it until they are revealed in manifest ways. The Virtue of loving the true faith is hidden in the heart until one comes to know it and to feel it and to ‘work’ with it, and so with all the Virtues. Gnomen 4 The main ideea of the term ‘hidden virtues of the heart’ is to emphasis and to stabilize the Sanctification of the Inner Virtues in their application to ‘working’ with others, teaching others, helping others etc. We may say the ‘applied virtues’. And because they are seen in manifest actions and applied derech eretz, one is less inclined to see them as ‘hidden virtues of the heart’. Come then and see that those manifest actions are rooted in the hidden virtues of the heart loved by God and so too their recompense is extremely high in the light of ‘hidden treasures’ perceived by the soul partly in this world and fully in the other world. Gnomen 5 Seeing the manifest virtues as rooted in the hidden virtues of the heart brings that virtue to the level of ‘sanctification’. Here again the name and definition help realize the ‘sanctification’. There are many people whose virtuous actions demonstrate that they possess that virtue in the heart. They have, however, not defined it within themselves to know its name. We have spoken of the sign of Sig. Domenico Manigrasso, peace be with him, who, from the other world, from the mouth of a fish, explained to his son Giuseppe, “I have always had faith in my heart, but I didn’t know the questions”. This means that he had the virtue of faith hidden in his heart, but he didn’t know how to define it. Without the definition, however, although the virtue is there and positive actions derive from it, cannot be properly ‘sanctified’ until their names and general definitions are known and understood. Gnomen 6 The faith of Sig. Domenico Manigrasso has been sanctified, in his resurrection, in the merit of the resurrection of the Teacher of Life, Haim. This was also due to his good fortune to have 2 sons who are working for the Final Redemption in the Mission of the Donkey who eats Bread. In his life-time, however, Sig. Manigrasso could not ‘sanctify’ the virtue of faith openly. He hated the Catholic Church and its Priests and he almost never set foot in a church. In the distorted linguistics of Catholic Italy, il Sig. Manigrasso considered himself an ‘atheist’. This local Italian distortion does not properly imply not believing in God but rather indicates that one does not believe in the Catholic Church. Not having any faith whatsoever in the Catholic Church and unable, for lack of education, to define ‘faith’ and ‘belief’ in terms separated from the Catholic religion, Sig. Manigrasso was left without any definition. If you asked him about faith, he could only tell you what he didn’t believe in. Gnomen 7 Let us imagine, for the sake of understanding, that Sig. Manigrasso was able to explain “I have no faith in that which pertains to the Church but I have faith in the One Living God, the Creator of us all. In Him I have faith but not in the priests and in all they have to tell you”. So would he have been able to teach such to his children from the beginning. So might he have established his own ‘place of prayer’ and his own prayers etc. In short, he would have been able to ‘sanctify’ the virtue of faith in himself and in others. Gnomen 8 What was lacking? Definition. As said, in the case of Sig. Domenico Manigrasso, his life was sanctified in his death and resurrection through the merit of the faith of his 2 sons in the Completed Signs of the Final Redemption. Previously, although he knew practically nothing about the Signs, he was in the sign of ‘absolving the Donkey from his sins’ in the fourth year, in the sign of the Trial of the First Donkey, when the Donkey most needed ‘absolution’. So too, after his resurrection, he has come down on several occasions from the Kingdom of Heaven to absolve the Donkey who eats Bread from the Donkey sins that he inevitably falls into along the Donkey Path of a Thousand Corrections. The most difficult of all absolutions in the Donkey Path, however, reached its Sign Peak in this passed terrible but wonderful 14th year of the Completed Signs of the Final Redemption. * * see Documentation in Tribunal of Mordechai ha-Tzadik - for documentation on Sig. Domenico Manigrasso and the ‘absolution’ of the First Donkey see Diary of the Donkey with Three Eyes - Gnomen 9 The example given may suffice to understand that ‘sanctification’ means, in general, ‘setting apart for a specific purpose in one’s service to God’. Obviously that specific purpose needs definition, at least a word or a phrase which has meaning to the person. It is that word or definition that ‘sets apart’ the idea or concept in a known form and ‘specifies’ its intention. The 13 Virtues of Esther are bound to the 13 Stars of the Rose (Shoshana) (see Book of the Stars - The Rose of the Rose of the Rose - for Tables 13 by 13) . The 13 Virtues are more properly ‘virtues’ positive qualities in a person. The 10 Virtues are more properly Measures, in Hebrew ‘midot’ , but it is also possible to call them ‘segulot’ or ‘hidden virtues’ , although the word ‘segula’ carries with it meanings not easily translatable. The third of the 10, in any case, is called by itself the ‘hidden virtues of the heart’. Gnomen 10 (1) ‘the constantly renewed compassion for others’. This is the most general virtue. Compassion here means ‘mercy’ - ‘rahhmanut’ , and in Hebrew means much more - it is the feeling of love and desire to assuage the pain of those that need help and consolation. (See Tablet Virtues of Esther - Faith) The Sages of Israel declare that the true seed of Israel is distinguished in its merciful-heart towards others. The Almighty God is called ‘Ha-Rahhman’ (ir-rahhim in Arabic) The Merciful One. What is loved by the Merciful One? Mercy and compassion for others. Moses, our teacher, received 13 Attributes of God’s mercy (rahhamim). From whatever can be understood from His attributes, such as Mercy, Loving-Kindness, Generous, Patient, Forgiving etc. must be imitated to the extent of one’s understanding. As the Sages, of blessed memory, explain: In the verse ( ) it says ‘and thou shalt cling to Him’: is it possible to ‘cling’ to the Holy One, Blessed is He, Who manifests Himself in consuming fire? But it means to ‘cling’ to His attributes: As He is merciful, so must you be merciful, as He is filled with loving-kindness, so must you demonstrate loving-kindness to others etc. Gnomen 11 (2) ‘constantly renewed faith in the victory of good over evil’. As most, or all, of the Virtues of Esther, this is no small task. It requires, first of all, a basic knowledge of what is good and what is evil and, after this, a strong inner character to be victorious in the spiritual wars (of thought and of sentiment) that every person has to face on the path of his elevation. The more one desires to elevate himself or herself, the more stronger obstacles present themselves. It takes a combative attitude to overcome them as well as self-strategy. It requires wisdom so as to look into oneself as a neutral judge and judge one’s own defects. It needs many things. Indeed, this second Virtue is almost as general as the first and thus it says ‘constantly renewed faith’. One must constantly renew the faith in victory over evil, for such a faith is the source and the root of victory and the lack of it or the weakness in it is the root and the source of defeat. Gnomen 12 (3) the inner strength gained in grasping the living power of God’s Providence. This is a living experience. It does not come until one has fixed his thinking in terms of God’s Providence for many years and has seen himself saved by it time and time again. Faith opens the mind and heart to seeing God’s Providence, as the sign received ‘whoever has faith will see, whoever has no faith will see nothing, hee-haw’. The ‘hee-haw’ of this sign comes to emphasis that the faith spoken of is the simple faith of a Donkey always ready to see the miracles of God Almighty. We speak of ‘simple’ faith in the sense that it is unhampered by human calculation, a faith straight from the heart without the onslaught of thought speculation, as it states, ‘God made man straight, but they sought many calculations’. Gnomen 13 (4) the inner love for the protection of others - The emphasis in all these virtues is their inner attachment to the generality of mankind. They touch a higher soul inside which for its elevation feels bound to the globality of mankind as a whole. In truth we are all brothers and sisters, children of Adam and Eve from Seth. In truth, we are all of the same flesh. We must therefore try to feel others as we feel ourselves in our own flesh. So as we desire the protection of God for our own bodies, so must we desire the protection for all people. Gnomen 14 (5) the inner compassion for the elevation of all - Before one can begin to know this virtue, one must know and see what elevation means in oneself. This means that one has fought battles in himself for years and one knows the pain of losing battles and the elevation which derives from winning battles. Elevation comes through the Measures of the Virtues while the virtues themselves must be dressed in derech eretz. Derech eretz is the elevation of the body, first of all, in its relation to others. The Virtues represent the elevation of the heart. Proper derech eretz together with the Virtues of the heart form the Just man who lives in his faith. Gnomen 15 (6) the inner patience to learn the strategies of self-harmony and to desire harmony for all - Here again one needs knowledge and wisdom and immense patience to discover where self-harmony resides in oneself; for sure one has to reconcile health, heart, head, home and sex before finding harmony with oneself. The strategies of self-harmony must be learned by and within each person, for no two people are alike and the measures of one person are never exactly equal to the measures of another. Nor is there self-harmony without a song. For music has the stellar power, and sometimes even the angelic power, to bind the five piece band into a unified musical experience. If one dislikes his own feet, he will never find self-harmony, not appreciating the foundation of his movements. But if he loves his own feet too much, he will go out of key and distort the harmony, for he has made a melody out of an accompaniment. Gnomen 16 Do not swing your arms here and there when you walk more than a natural swinging that derives from the movement of walking, otherwise you demonstrate that you cannot contain your thoughts, and as your arms swing wildly so will your tongue. Gnomen 17 Do not walk with your head turned upwards lest your shoes be dirtied by animal waste. For if your eyes have no fear, your feet will rebel against your foolish arrogance and show you your worth before Heaven. Gnomen 18 If you are wont to talk with both your hands and your tongue, make sure that your hands understand what your tongue is saying, otherwise your jests may be misinterpreted. These are laws of derech eretz and measuring-rods of self-harmony. Gnomen 19 Never believe yourself sufficiently patient, for such a belief may derive from impatience. Self-strategies need self-judgment and self-judgment needs parameters and fixed criteria upon which to establish what is correct and what is incorrect. In the New Language that the Teacher of Life is teaching us, those parameters and those criteria are determined by the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil Corrected. Gnomen 20 (7) The love of seeing others happy and to help people live in decent living-quarters - This is the virtuous desire that people live well. There are many levels of subtle hatreds that totally impede this virtue from revealing itself in the heart. It requires a great deal of shoveling to get that dirt out of the heart. But it also requires discernment because one knows that, in truth, there are many who do not deserve to live well due to the evil that they perpetrate. These must be placed in a prison cell of the heart, separated from the rest of humanity until they repent. Do not punish the rest of humanity because of them. Gnomen 21 (8) The love of truth, of speaking truth, of discerning truth, of being precise in speech, in thought and in action with neutral self-criticism - We have received the sign: On what is the Redemption nourished? On truth. On what is the New Law nourished? On justice. This is the truth but every person will find the truth according to the criteria of ‘truth’ that he knows and understands. Therefore there exist many levels of personal truth all based on the truth received and therefore there is no end to searching for the truth within the framework of the truth. All know that God is One, but no one will perceive this received truth in exactly the same manner. Each person will find levels of truth within himself or herself all based on the truth that God is One. And each level of perception, since it is based on the truth, will have its own level of truth. Large and diversified is the world created by God; it is not small and one-sided. Gnomen 22 (9) The inner quality of re-awakening the faculties of the mind to desire understanding, knowledge and wisdom. You cannot come unto wisdom by yourself except, perhaps, for some lessons of wisdom that life has taught you. Wisdom is the application of received knowledge. God is One. This is the highest wisdom. ‘The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God’. This is received wisdom. It is not found by one’s own reasoning. We believe in it because it is written in Scripture. Its application brings a person to wisdom. Comprehension rides upon wisdom to be carried from one idea to another, for the flexibility of understanding will give no clear results unless the pillars of wisdom are firmly established. God is One. This the great Pillar of wisdom. ‘In that day, God will be One and His Name will be One’. This is received wisdom. God’s Name is not for Himself. Of Himself He has no need for any name. God’s Name is for the sake of the creations who need to call Him. When humanity will be united in the one faith of the true Living God, then God will recognized as One and His Name will be One on earth as it is in heaven. This is comprehension riding on the Pillars of wisdom. Gnomen 23 When the pillars of wisdom have been established and the comprehension has brought the desired results, then the constant memory and further application will bring you to a knowledge which once found will never be forgotten. This comes when at least 4 pieces of knowledge are bound by the same comprehension. The Teacher of Justice, founder of the School of the Essenes, was the Head of the 36 Hidden Tzadikim in his generation. Received and partially deduced but confirmed knowledge. Since the Head of the Hidden Tzadikim is bound to the Prophet Elijah, of blessed mentioning, and is the holder of the Redemptional and Messianic Signs, the School of the Essenes, in its high merit, became the place of revelation of those Initial Signs. This is received knowledge known in the light of the Completed Signs. Gnomen 24 Jesus was for 3 whole years a full member of the Essene School and from it he took some secrets of the Kabbalah Maasit which he used afterwards in his tragic mission. This is received knowledge from the chosen Tzadik, Haim. From the moment that Jesus chose for himself to leave the School and to fulfill his calling, the continuation of the Initial Redemptional and Messianic Signs fell upon him. This is deduced knowledge from the received pieces of knowledge and the knowledge of the Completed Signs. The Initial Signs held by Jesus were falsely interpreted as if they were the Completed Signs and this distorted every possible interpretation concerning the mission of Yeshua. This is deduced knowledge explaining how the true faith of the Initial Signs became distorted into a false faith. When these segments of knowledge come together to form a single understanding, its knowledge will be fixed for always. The above segments of knowledge give over the single and unified comprehension of nothing less than the unshakable knowledge of the true origins of Christianity. Gnomen 25 (10) The quality of being constantly involved in self-correction - All the virtues spoken about here need a special love in the heart for that quality. You will not correct yourself if you have not developed the knowledge of the higher sweetness that follows the bitterness of correction. If you are not able to overcome the psychological trepidation or the fear or the dislike or the weakness (often sub-conscious) of looking your defect in the face, you will never get beyond the external gate of a general desire to be corrected. When it comes to the correction itself which requires a head on collision, you will flee to any other matter or any other subject. Gnomen 26 Most people would like the sweetness of correction without going through the unpleasant process of correction, as they would like to know things without going through the tedious process of studying and reading and thinking. If, on the other hand, one gets through several corrections and he takes hold of the elevated advantages in being corrected, then will he be strengthened in not fleeing from other corrections as they manifest their necessity. For every correction will become as a new set of ingredients to cook a new dish with a new taste and a new quality unknown to him before. Then and only then will you understand why we are born with defects and why we must battle against evil inclinations in order to be loved by God Almighty. If not for defects and for sins, there would be no elevation of the entire being of a person as there is through correction. The fool who shuns correction thinks that he is down to earth but in truth he is beneath the earth as a mole in an underground tunnel. Gnomen 27 (11) The quality of making one’s previous errors the new strength and perfume of his deeds - This, of course, comes after the process of having corrected one’s previous errors. Once you have known the sweetness of correcting your defects and errors so that the virtue of correction is always alive in you, and you have seen in yourself many such corrections, and you have seen in yourself that the corrections are valid and do not break down, then you may begin to reap the extra soul powers which are born of your fatigue in battle and the constancy of your well gained correction. From this comes the strength of ruling over yourself and the force of self-determination and from these one comes to serve God with perfumed deeds in the light of the correction of humanity. Gnomen 28 (12) the quality of amending and asking forgiveness for one’s improper behaviour or indelicate words or deeds towards others - This too will become a virtue in the heart if you are given to love the humility of spirit and the humbleness of character loved by God. Gnomen 29 (13) the quality of being clean in one’s thought and in one’s inner thoughts - If one sees that his thoughts are constantly being brought to think elevated thoughts, this indicates that his inner thinking has been activated and that light from his own soul has found the channels of thought in which to manifest its influence. This requires true comprehension to be reached by acquisition unless its innate quality from the soul was virtually revealed in the person from birth. True comprehension does not simply mean understanding but rather deeply ‘inlaid’ understanding which evolves from re-understanding the same thing a thousand times. Such an involved repetition does not come by itself until the virtue of loving the involvement of interior comprehension has been formed among the Virtues of the Heart. Gnomen 30 With all these virtues, it is possible that some qualities of the virtue are found innate in the person. Every person will have his measures of good qualities and of defects from his birth both from hereditary factors and from stellar factors. Even more than these two is the personal soul of the person which has already been in the world several times and has in it high qualities. The soul, however, also descends in the world because it has been tarnished or lowered in other lives and those defects have yet to be corrected for its higher elevation. Therefore between birth heredity and stellar influences and the personal soul, every person, in general, will find in him or herself both defective tendencies and positive qualities. We are all here for correction and elevation. ======================================================