Nick Orzech

Week Two: Worship in Corporeality

It is readily apparent that the mystical strains of Judaism emphasize
the need to fully infuse every action in our earthly lives with the divine
presence, through constant remembrance of the imminent presence of God
in creation, purity of intention, and by being guided in even the most
mundane tasks by the religious tradition. A number of the selected texts
indicate that living according to the mitzvot is actually serving on a supernal
level to unite the fractured Godhead, which is inherently tied to sexual
metaphor and symbolism used elsewhere. This may ultimately stem not only
from a desire for sanctity but from the contention that Man was made in the
"image of God and the ways in which Man relates both to his Creator and
the power of his own creative will, subjects referenced evocatively by Rabbi
Jacob Joseph of Pallone.
One biblical account of creation describes speech as the medium of
Gods creative power, and posits that Man is created in the image of God
Himself. This has been interpreted generally as meaning that Man has, above
the instinctive level of the rest of the animal world, the ability to create his
own reality, or cognitive frames of perceiving reality, through the use of
language, representing also our capacity for rational thought. This
mysterious and creative gift can be seen as a reflection of Gods ultimate
creative faculties, and it is by shaping the world around us that we show the
status granted to Man and imitate Him in a way. It would seem in light of the
readings, if this is the power which R. Jacob Joseph speaks of in the first
selection), that this creative faculty functions in two major arenas,
intellective and active, whose relationship is revealed to be tied to Mans own
relationship with God.
Beyond general exhortations such as intend all corporeal acts for the
sake of heaven, which urge keeping in mind the constant presence of God,
R. Jacob Joseph makes the very evocative statement that it is necessary
to connect the act with thought which is its soul which is called your power.
And this is called the unification of the Holy One blessed be He. The power
of man is thus described as the thought or intention which, when paired
with its pure act, is of great metaphysical significance. This connects,
through mystical metaphor, with the repeated allusions to sexual intimacy in
the texts. The book of Proverbs says to know Him, just as Genesis tells us
Adam knew Eve (Gen. 4:1). As any act can be interpreted to be a
composition of two principles, one the creative power of man (masc.), and
the other submitting and aligning this power with the injunctions of divine
law (fem.), even minor chores can be said to have supernal sexual
principles acted out, once the man/woman has realized the union of their

own desires with those of the divine will. Thus, Mans creative power is
realizing that within himself is a masculine compliment to the divine
feminine (and the opposite), which not only brings Man close with God, but
brings about ultimate divine unity. R. Dov Baer says Prayer is sexual
intercourse with the Shakhinah, expressing the same concept, that when
ones intentions and thoughts are aligned with God and his active presence in
ones life, the individual experiences a union with an aspect of the divine that
is, from the perspective that we all bear within us a glimmer of Godliness,
really the union of God himself.