Book of Mercy #6-7

[DBCohen]

I.6
Sit down, master, on this rude chair of praises, and rule my nervous heart with your great decrees of freedom. Out of time you have taken me to do my daily task. Out of mist and dust you have fashioned me to know the numberless worlds between the crown and the kingdom. In utter defeat I came to you and you received me with a sweetness I had not dared to remember. Tonight I come to you again, soiled by strategies and trapped in the loneliness of my tiny domain. Establish your law in this walled place. Let nine men come to lift me into their prayer so that I may whisper with them: Blessed be the name of the glory of the kingdom forever and forever.

In I.5 we had the “throne of unemployment”, and here we have the “rude chair of praises” (created by people’s prayers; it is “rude” because of the inadequacy of the prayers, and perhaps that of the speaker’s own songs and psalms). In contrast with the day of rest there, here we have the “daily task” (which means work, but also daily prayers, and in the past, the duties of the priests in the temple, and again, in this speaker’s case, his singing and poetry). He wishes God to “rule my nervous heart” but that with “your great decrees of freedom” – beautiful and true paradox, relating also to the question of the will that we discussed above.

A human being is shaped of mist (God’s spirit) and dust (earth) into a creature who can perceive the mystical depth between the Sefirot, from Crown to Kingdom, according to the Kabbalistic perception described here earlier.

Out of his defeat in adult life the speaker finds his way back to his community and to the sweetness he felt as a child, when he was part of it. In I.5 he reaffirmed his heritage (“How precious is the heritage!”), and here he wishes to bind himself to it even more closely. There is a strong feeling of repentance and the wish to belong.

In Jewish tradition, there are three daily prayers on weekdays, and four on the Sabbath and holidays. A person may pray alone if he cannot help it, but it is preferred to join others and pray together. Some parts of the prayers may be recited only in public, and must be skipped when a person prays alone or without the full quorum (minyan). The minimum quorum is of ten men praying together (in Orthodox Judaism it is still required for ten men to form a quorum, while women pray separately; in Reform and most Conservative congregations, women are counted as part of the quorum). That’s why the speaker wishes to be joined by nine more men in his prayer.

The last sentence refers to one of the major parts of each Jewish prayer, in which the Shema is recited; this is the verse from Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is one”. After reciting this verse out loud, every person whispers another verse (not a biblical one), which is almost identical to the way LC quotes it here: “Blessed be the name of the glory of his kingdom forever and ever”. It may be meaningful that LC writes her “the kingdom” instead of “his kingdom”, but I’m not sure we can read too much into it.

In a way this psalm represents a peak; the speaker is very close to where he wants to be and feels comfortable, within the community and the heritage. But perhaps this is only a temporary situation, and in the coming psalms we will see him falling off this peak again.

[DBCohen]

Sorry I forgot to add earlier all the blessings for the holidays and for the new year for everyone on this thread. May you all have the best of time,

DBC

[lizzytysh]

Thank you, DBCohen, and I return the very same wishes to you, too.

Thank you for your seriousness in continuing this fabulous thread. It's been like wanting to take a course your whole time in college, one that's offered only once a year, during alternate years and only to those about to graduate, and it always fills up immediately. The scheduling of the class was slated such that you'd have to miss out on it because you're graduating during an off-year; and then you learn that it's going to be offered only one more time and because of that, it will be during your final semester before graduation ... and you happened to be on campus the day you got this information, and then found out that they're allowing early registration for it . That's what having and reading this thread has been like . Thanks!

Thanks, too, to James, Simon, Jack, Joe, and all the others who have been participating .


~ Lizzy

[JiminyC]

I didn't even see your latest postings there DB, the turning of the page with Lizzy's input had led me astray.

I.6
Sit down, master, on this rude chair of praises, and rule my nervous heart with your great decrees of freedom. Out of time you have taken me to do my daily task. Out of mist and dust you have fashioned me to know the numberless worlds between the crown and the kingdom. In utter defeat I came to you and you received me with a sweetness I had not dared to remember. Tonight I come to you again, soiled by strategies and trapped in the loneliness of my tiny domain. Establish your law in this walled place. Let nine men come to lift me into their prayer so that I may whisper with them: Blessed be the name of the glory of the kingdom forever and forever.

I've no real interpretation here of any worthy consideration at this time, but thought I'd bring the topic forward. Hope everyone is in good health.

Although I would like to state that the last line seems remarkably Christian orientated, I am sure I've heard that last praise sometime during my own time in Church - which is very seldom. Perhaps this is the introduction of duplicity?

[lazariuk]

Yes, thanks. I thought that maybe I should write that I read this thread with great interest if I want it to continue, maybe I should manifest a concrete interest, I thought, be sure people that I'll continue to follow this thread even if this is the only post I post in it.

I thought that your post followed well the one before it. Seems to me that it is moments such as these that Leonard is writing about.

Jack

[lazariuk]

I didn't even see your latest postings there DB, the turning of the page with Lizzy's input had led me astray.

I.6
Sit down, master, on this rude chair of praises, and rule my nervous heart with your great decrees of freedom. Out of time you have taken me to do my daily task. Out of mist and dust you have fashioned me to know the numberless worlds between the crown and the kingdom. In utter defeat I came to you and you received me with a sweetness I had not dared to remember. Tonight I come to you again, soiled by strategies and trapped in the loneliness of my tiny domain. Establish your law in this walled place. Let nine men come to lift me into their prayer so that I may whisper with them: Blessed be the name of the glory of the kingdom forever and forever.

I've no real interpretation here of any worthy consideration at this time, but thought I'd bring the topic forward. Hope everyone is in good health.

Although I would like to state that the last line seems remarkably Christian orientated, I am sure I've heard that last praise sometime during my own time in Church - which is very seldom. Perhaps this is the introduction of duplicity?

The line before it is remarkably Jewish orientated.
Here is what Leonard once said

It was only after studying with my old Zen teacher for many years, when I broke my knees and I couldn't practice in the mediation hall, that I began practicing Judaism. I began laying tefillin every morning and going through the Shemoneh Esrai and really understanding that there were these eighteen steps and that they were a ladder and that these were a way of preparing yourself for the day if you really penetrated each of those paragraphs.

If nine men are needed to climb into prayer then the other nine that are needed are probably women.
Perhaps this is the introduction of unity.

jack

[lazariuk]

If nine men are needed to climb into prayer then the other nine that are needed are probably women.
jack

I want to change that to STEP into prayer. I think that climb is the wrong word.

Jack

[DBCohen]

As I’ve explained on the previous page, the last sentences of I.6 are clearly related to the Jewish prayer, but as always, Christian allusions cannot be excluded either. After all, the first Christians were Jews, and they brought their heritage into the Christian tradition in prayer (where we still find Hebrew words such as Hallelujah, Amen etc.), and the Scriptures. What you’ve heard in Church, James, could be, for example, from Revelation 1:6 “and he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (the version you’ve heard may be a little different, according to the translation used; I quote here from the American Standard Version). The first part of this verse is based on Exodus 19:6 “and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation”, while the second half brings to mind other biblical verses or Jewish prayers. The two traditions certainly have a lot in common, even when they differ on some crucial points. LC made it clear that by adopting his own tradition, he does not exclude others.

[lazariuk]

If nine men are needed to step into prayer then the other nine that are needed are probably women.

jack

Here is a picture of the nine women helping someone step into prayer. Four are in the front and the other five are off in the distance.

http://www.mezzo-mondo.com/arts/mm/boug ... OW021.html

Jack

[JiminyC]

Thank you DB, I've had long thought over the left and the right in the Kabbalah symbolism intelligence being feminine and wisdom being masculine, and Jack has caused me to question where indeed is the institute of humour.

Bacchus mythology was of note for its lack of structure but certainly had a great influence on Greek mythology and is prevalent again nowadays more in a metaphorical sense. I also find comfort in Chinese philosophy, that a Bacchus ideology exists even there; unfortunately my reference book to this chaps name has been loaned.

I think your chap Satyr there is a little reluctant to follow in prayer Jack, but always good to see a bottom or two.

I like the reference to "out of time"; obviously LC is relishing this ancient wisdom that he is immersing himself into, in a daily sense. It brings great refreshment to be able to allow oneself the freedom to live in this modern world and also to relate to timeless wisdom; this also brings about a duplicity of character however where we see so often the struggle between the ego and the super ego which is so often afflicted upon the passenger, that of disregard for differing sensitivities.

"soiled by strategies" I cannot but wonder what strategies has soiled LC, can he only be talking about a desire for financial remuneration, I think he must also be talking of his lack of structure and discipline in his worship, perhaps of his personal philosophy that has carried him to this point.

"Establish your law in this walled place." This is again paradoxical, how is the law meant to enter? Evidently he may be referring to himself as a well for knowledge, but again he seems to have a defensive attitude, almost in challenge to this faith that he chases.

He is definitely a character, but aren't we all.
Cheers.

[lazariuk]

I think your chap Satyr there is a little reluctant to follow in prayer Jack, but always good to see a bottom or two.

Last year while visiting Spain I went to the Dali Museum in Figueres.
In the museum there is a reproduction of that painting.
What is the important interesting part of experiencing art in that
Figueres museum is the museum itself and the artistic environment for
art. The painting is interesting. A comment made about it in (The Art
Treasures of America) is "Look at any of their faces, and you feel that
they need not insult your reason by pretending not to write modern
French and read the fashion-newspaper". When looking at this painting
in the Dali museum you notice that directly above the painting and
looking like it is about to pour out on the Satyr is a large bucket of
water and so you think that the satyr will not need to get all the way
into the pool for him to get totally drenched with water. He obviously
doesn't seem too keen on the idea of going all the way. So when looking
at that bucket and wondering what is going to trigger the drenching you
follow a rope that is tied to the bucket and attached to some pullys
and you keep following the rope until it becomes part of the yarn that
is being used by a woman who is knitting and who looks like she can be
the oldest woman in the world. She seems to be in control of the whole
picture.
That now is of special interest to me as I just read recently that the oldest woman in the world is living in Montreal.

Jack

[lazariuk]

Bacchus mythology was of note for its lack of structure but certainly had a great influence on Greek mythology and is prevalent again nowadays more in a metaphorical sense.

I think your chap Satyr there is a little reluctant to follow in prayer Jack, but always good to see a bottom or two.

BTW Jimmy. Is there anything that strikes you about the role of satyrs in Bacchus mythology and the poem we are looking at?

Jack

[lazariuk]

"Establish your law in this walled place." This is again paradoxical, how is the law meant to enter?

In less than a month I will be going on a 10 day silent meditation retreat and I noticed in the information that they sent me that it is structured that the men and women are kept seperate. It seems they feel that mixing the two will be too distracting. Does anyone know if it the same for the place where Leonard did his meditations? Maybe that is what he means by this walled place where he is joined by nine men.

Jack

Do I have to do this line by line? We are sure a bunch of reluctant satyrs.

[JiminyC]

I can't answer your question with any authority without doing further study of both Jack; my appreciation of Bacchus comes mostly from Bertrand Russell and my appreciation of Leonard Cohen in this context comes mostly from DB.

You sound as though you've a more substantial overview of this work, and personally I would encourage you to share, there is no need to follow my literary critique - which has added little as the general inclination of this work seems to be purely Judaic; as I perceive this thread is as broad or as miniscule as anyone wishes to make it. I’d also encourage you to share as it helps me focus my ideas and find if I’ve any valuable commentary to make.

By the way I am envious of your adventure with the meditation, there are many reasons why the sexes may be kept separate – physical and cognitive, although it does sound quite unique, and I am very curious to learn which religious foundation the retreat is founded upon?

[lazariuk]

I can't answer your question with any authority without doing further study of both Jack; my appreciation of Bacchus comes mostly from Bertrand Russell and my appreciation of Leonard Cohen in this context comes mostly from DB

I just thought it strange that you would be talking about Bacchus mythology and then so lightly dismiss my introduction of a satyr.

By the way I am envious of your adventure with the meditation, there are many reasons why the sexes may be kept separate – physical and cognitive, although it does sound quite unique, and I am very curious to learn which religious foundation the retreat is founded upon?

It is Vipassana meditation and as such has no religious foundation. I find that it is a meditation style that suits me well.

Jack