Heavens

A: It is the Malkhut of Beriah, which coincides with the Tiferet of Yezirah or the psychological self. On Jacob’s Ladder they can be seen located at the same level but in different realities. It is also called the Veil of Heaven as it either conceals or reveals the heavenly realm. This is where the Path proper begins as one starts to climb the Holy Mountain. However, first one has to climb the seven foothills, that is, to negotiate the path of integrity between Yesod and Tiferet.

One of the signs of entering the Kingdom of Heaven is that one’s perception changes. To quote Jung: “It is not that one sees different things, but one sees differently.” One person described her experience of how a familiar scene suddenly became fresh and clear. She felt that she had been living indoors in a stuffy house, and although she had looked out of the window many times, it was as if she was outside for the first time in her life. Such an insight is either an act of grace or the result of much interior work.

A: One can use the language of music to describe experiences of the higher Worlds. Your perception may depend on whether you are in or out of tune with a particular frequency. Different frequencies are a good analogue for different levels of consciousness. When your higher centres are active you may hear sounds that are otherwise inaudible. Not all people are visual or clairvoyant. Clairaudience is another way to receive impressions and even instructions from above.

The poetic expression “music of the spheres” can also refer to the harmonies and disharmonies between the celestial bodies in our solar system which affect the psychological World of Yezirah. At a higher level are the heavenly spheres where angelic choirs are said to be singing and praising God. Sometimes even hearing refined earthly music may lift us up to the sphere where the composer’s inspiration originated.

A: Philosophers and scholars, believers and mystics perceive the Heavens differently. You must trust your own experience. A vision can be a transpersonal insight into the macrocosm. For example, the kabbalistic tradition speaks about the Pargod or great cosmic curtain which sets out the patterns of history. Each thread represents a person’s path and destiny through many lives, while the gold, silver and copper colours symbolise the human, animal and vegetable levels of mankind. A prophetic vision may reveal or warn about some event in the future concerning a large number of people collectively or you personally.

Visions may come to you spontaneously, but creative imagination can also produce visions. They are often seen in guided meditations which are interior journeys based on archetypal principles. For example, the practice of the Merkabah Riders was to explore the heavenly realm based upon the model of Ezekiel’s vision. The story of four rabbis who entered the Heavens tells us that one went mad, one came back as a non-believer and one dropped dead. Only rabbi Akiba came back safely and gave an account of his ascent.

A: Its position on Jacob’s Ladder is where the three upper Worlds meet, the Keter of Yezirah, the Tiferet of Beriah and the Malkhut of Azilut. Again, this is not about shifting levels but realities. It is like a spiritual dawn when the Light of the Divine arises in your consciousness and you see the Kingdom of God. Kabbalistic astrology places the planet Neptune at the Keter of Yezirah, and indeed its transits may activate awareness of the higher Worlds.

The fourth Heaven is also the location of the Heavenly Jerusalem and the “residence” of the current Messiah. The Path of Awe leads there and many devout and committed individuals have been granted glimpses of its radiance on the way. Those who have attained enlightenment have actually arrived there. However, the journey does not end there but leads to the higher Heavens above either while incarnate or in the afterlife.

A: Icons are windows to the Heavens. They can be visual or in words like standard prayers. For example, hearing “Shema Yisrael. Adonai Eloheynu. Adonai Echad” (translated “Hear o Israel. The Lord is our God. The Lord is One”), with or without music, is a reminder of a spiritual tradition which can evoke deep emotions and a higher state of consciousness.

Visual icons in the Orthodox Christian tradition depict the holy family, saints or angels. Often the background is not a blue sky but a golden yellow light symbolising the divine dimension behind these heavenly beings. Other traditions also use icons, such as Buddhist tangkas which are very rich in their celestial symbolism. There are also metaphysical icons such as the diagrams of the Tree of Life and Jacob’s Ladder. Icons can be used as objects of devotion and contemplation, but they are not to be worshipped as idols.

A: It is the same difference as between the soul and the spirit. The soul or the psyche is the yeziratic vehicle of a person, while the spirit resides in the heavenly realm. They are different realities like the elements of Water and Air. The upper Yezirah or the Heavenly Paradise overlaps the four lower Heavens, while the three higher Heavens relate to the Fire of Azilut as can be seen on the Jacob’s Ladder diagram.

These Worlds are also inhabited by non-human entities called angels in Paradise and archangels in the Heavens. It is said that angels work in pairs, one to start a process and the other one to stop it. This is the interaction between the two pillars, while those on the central pillar are the balancing factor. These intelligences are attached to sefirotic principles and triads which define their particular function in the grand scheme of Existence.

A: Human consciousness is the bridge between the upper and lower Worlds. It is a taste of that heavenly realm when you realise that you are part of Creation. Knowledge is more than just information; it is direct experience. It is said that everybody has at least one such moment in their lifetime when they glimpse the vast scale of the Heavens, but many prefer to forget or are afraid, depending on their psychological loading.

Take for example the second Heaven, the Yesod or Foundation of Beriah. It is the focus of the two side sefirot of the third Heaven and a receptor of the influx from above like a mirror that reflects an image without discrimination. When one can perceive that level through the Daat of the psyche, one can accept opposites and polarities and understand them to be but parts of a greater cosmic whole. A proverb says: “A wise man regards gold and mud as equal.”

A: The Hesed of Beriah is the cosmic principle of love counterbalanced by the severity of Gevurah. These two sefirot together with Tiferet compose the fifth Heaven of Holiness. It is the cosmic heartbeat and the pulsating radiance of the universe. Such love is a dynamic force which brings forth new life every spring after the severity of winter. Its timescale is difficult to comprehend.

For most people unconditional love is only a distant ideal at the level of their yeziratic Hesed. It is not easy to love one’s enemies. One needs a transpersonal view and spiritual compassion towards the human condition which oscillates between expansion and contraction life after life. Nothing works in isolation. As we can see on the Tree, love is a necessary part of the journey but it is not the ultimate goal.

Consider the diagram of Jacob’s Ladder. Take for example the Hod of Beriah in its aspect as the principle of healing. It overlays the Binah of Yezirah, but it also resonates with the Hod of Yezirah, which is associated with the planet Mercury and the medical profession. Meanwhile the Nezah of Beriah overlays the life principle of the Hokhmah of Yezirah. It also resonates with the vitality of the yeziratic Nezah and the planet Venus. The archangels Raphael and Haniel are personifications of these principles.

Metaphysical contemplation can be expanded from invisible principles to physical phenomena. “As above, so below.” The visible heaven has always intrigued human curiosityand led to the belief in supernatural forces which govern human affairs. Astronomy and astrology have emerged from thousands of years of observation and recording of celestial phenomena. The question about preordained fate and free will has led many to adopt a view that the stars are not the causes but only pointers towards heavenly powers behind terrestrial events.

A: No. Only the World of Azilut is eternal within the grand scheme of Existence. It contains everything that was, is and shall be. The movement of time begins in Beriah, the World of Creation. The beginning of time is universally recognised in various Creation myths from a Cosmic Egg or a Cosmic Tree to the biblical account of the Seven Days. Likewise there aremyths and visions about the End of Time. Kabbalah speaks about shemittot, great cosmic cycles in which time is closely linked with the purpose of Creation.

The spirit of Adam has manifested as a chain of myriad lives in the lower Worlds through the Gilgulim, the wheels of transmigration. During this sacred journey humanity will slowly realise that the aim of this long pilgrimage from the beginning to the end of time is to aid God to behold God.