33
a blond bride all in white, walked through the falling snow flakes to her wedding this afternoon, here on the mountain in Utah. a vision of white on white. tonight, in kabbalistic circles, is the night of the Hilula, the sacred wedding, known as Lag Ba’omer – the 33rd night of the omer count. The wedding that is celebrated is in fact the death of Rabbi Simon Bar Yochai, the grand master who wrote the Zohar – the mystical book of illumination, in which this grand death scene is described. Why wedding and not funearal – the master ascended, reuniting his soul with the divine soul, re-married to eternity. Bonfires are lit on this night, and hymns sung for him, and mystical explorations conducted into the night. There are many more layers to this night, one of which is that this the night on which a terrible battle ended, and some say a terrible plague, where 24,000 young men of Israel died. Some shave their beards and cut their hair tonight (i’m not, holding on to 50) and many get married. In the mystical grid night 33 is Hod of Hod – splendor within splendor, white on white. the wedding of death, the funeral of earthly attachments. the impossible flames of the possible.
My bonfire tonight will be a hundred white candles, and 80 seekers on a mountaintop pausing to end the sabbath with fire, wine, fragrance and intention, and pausing to take time out and honor time. and honor our teachers – whoever they are or were, whatever illuminations they showed us on our path, whatever visions and glimpses of eternity and splendor they have shared with us. I honor the wise woman, beloved friend, who opened my eyes to the Zohar Melilsa Helner Esher, far away so close in Jerusalem. honor your teachers tonight.
17 to go.
