The Tree of Life in the World of Yetzirah
- Steve Gold
- Jul 12
- 3 min read
Okay, so this time around, we’re going to get a little heavier and more intense. Perhaps this would be better suited for the dreary months of winter, but I have been moved to share it now, so here goes.
Several years ago, in my online wanderings and searching for Jewish Yoga content, I happened upon a group called Yoga Mosaic. It was founded by Estelle Eugene, a Brit who is a subscriber to this email list. She was joined by two other British Jewish Yogis, Bill Heilbronn and Marcus Freed, and some Americans also. We had wonderful conversations through an active blog that was on a website they established. Some years later, this group morphed into what today is called JewishYogaNetwork.org. Although I have never personally met any of them, I have had wonderful exchanges over the years with these British Jewish Yogis par excellence. Bill, Marcus, and I have exchanged our writings over the years, and they both contributed to a collaboration of essays I put together for my book, IVRI: The Essence of Hebrew Spirituality; 21st Century Perspectives on an Ancient Tradition.
I recently came upon a booklet of Bill Heilbronn’s that I had downloaded and printed, Tikkun-Olam; The Holy Magic of Healing and Transformation. I have been re-reading it and have come to realize what a wonderful summarization it contains of many basic and more advanced and deeper principles of Kabalistic teachings. I am providing below just a little snippet that I found to be a good “tip of the iceberg” encapsulation of some of these principles. I am also attaching a file that contains the entire booklet comprising 76 pages. I found it interesting that given the vast amount of books and authors out there on this topic, that I have studied most of the books and authors he provides in is “Suggestions for Further Reading” at the end of the booklet.
Kabalah is a vast and often-times intimidating and complex subject. I find Mr. Heilbronn to be an excellent writer and thinker who brings not only his knowledge as an intellect, but also his experience as a practitioner, to bear on his works. I invite you to explore it to whatever extent you are comfortable. Even in its rudiments, Kabalah can get dense and challenging quickly, and is best taken in small doses to allow time for inner processing and absorption. As with many books on Kabalah, this little tome is loaded with graphics that are helpful in conveying the subject matter.
Om Shalom and Happy Trails!
PS Perhaps what moved me to send this out now: I just conducted an internet search to discover that he transitioned just a little over one year ago, at the age of ninety-nine years and one day. Here is a link to a wonderful tribute to him by the British publication, Yoga Magazine, for which he had become a frequent contributor: https://yogamagazine.com/a-tribute-to-bill-heilbronn/
The Tree of Life in the World of Yetzirah – the Psycho-spiritual nature of Man
The upper face (spirit) is a manifestation of all that is potentially Holy in our being. It is often called the spark of Divinity in us, and in the language of spiritual psychology it is termed the transpersonal Self.
The lower face (psyche) corresponds to the individual self. It must be emphasized that the individual self, whose ego lies at its center, is equally an essential part of our being. In Kabbalistic terms it is often called the foundation for there can be no complete biological existence without it.
It is indeed its foundation, for a person with no individuality would have no ability to ground the spiritual in the world of action, essential for the fulfillment of our destiny. A person without an ego is psychologically speaking, in the vegetable state, completely dependent upon others for survival. In the language of spiritual psychology it is termed the personal self.
It must be appreciated that these allegories and graphic illustrations must not be mistaken for representations of discrete entities. Spirit and psyche are qualities of awareness in which the human entity may elect to take its stand: either by being egocentric and denying its potential, or by taking responsibility for becoming truly human and opening itself to the Holy.
Although the ego is a central part of our total humanity, it has within it a potential for psychic disaster if it assumes the central position in the personality, that is if one becomes ego-centric. It is this ego-centricity that has to be overcome and not the ego itself.
The personal self has within it the potential for growth into maturity if it can establish an authentic communion with the transpersonal Self. The first task of spiritual development and integration of the personality is to become aware of the reality of the nature of the transpersonal Self.
--Bill Heilbronn, Tikkun-Olam; The Holy Magic of Healing and Transformation
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