כלי מלא, לב שבור:Full vessel, broken heart

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Redemption is not a movement from place to place, from Egypt outside, rather there is a spiritual aspect and requirement on Am Yisrael as part of this process of exodus. This redemption, much like any sacred inspiration, requires the preparation of a "full vessel" to contain it. Behold, it (Scripture) says, (Ezekiel 16:8) “And I passed over thee (an allusion to God’s passing over the Israelites in Egypt) and looked upon thee, and behold, thy time was the time of love” — there had arrived the time to fulfil the oath which I had sworn to Abraham to redeem his children. They, however, possessed no divine commands in which to engage in order that they should merit to be redeemed — as it is said (Ezekiel 16:7) “you were naked and bare” (i. e. bare of all merit earned through the fulfilment of God’s commands). He therefore gave them two commands, relating respectively to the blood of the paschal-lamb and the blood of the circumcision - for that night they circumcised themselves, as it is said (Ezekiel 16:6) “[When I passed over thee] I saw thee wallowing in thy bloods (בְּדָמַיִךְ is plural)” i. e. in two kinds of blood. (Bo, Revi’I, Rashi). Millah (circumcision) - a sign of servitude to the Creator of the world, the blood of the Passover [sacrifice] – ritual work (Gur Aryeh, ibid.): in this we will become a "full vessel". The matter of "a full vessel has already been explained to us thank God" (3, 3, introduction and chapter 11)

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The moment of redemption has come: The exit from the rule of impurity and the entry into the High Authority. Their servitude to impurity was broken. The Holy King of Kings, blessed be He, was revealed to them and redeemed them. Leaving [the impurity of Mitzrayim] without entering into His Blessed presence was still not counted as redemption, since there are no more than two authorities in the world: Either a person dwells inside the treasury of the Holy One, blessed be He, or - body, matter and impurity rule over him. If we had come out of Mitzrayim and the Holy One, blessed be He, had not revealed us to raise us to receive His Godhead - it would not have been Dayenu / enough, because then we would not have been redeemed.

“I YHVH am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage:” Together with the Exodus we were blessed with [a connection to] the God of Israel.

These things that are said regarding humility pave the way for us in all Mussar work. A person who does not know the value of his own soul - must not pry into its defects and torment himself for his bad qualities. Our Rabbi and teacher, the light of our eyes Rabbi Yeruham HaLevi, may his memory for a blessing and eternal peace, said: "Woe to the man who does not know the defects of his soul, for he does not know what he must correct. But woe to the man who does not know his virtues, for he does not even know the tools of his sacred work!"

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Excerpts from: The Red Hand Files / Nick Cave

...How does one reconcile the question, “Could I have done more to prevent this loss?” I have faced similar circumstances and feel so much guilt that I could have done something more to help.

Dear Helen and Damian,

“What if I had done this?” “If only I had done that.” These are the thoughts that keep us entrenched in our self-loathing. Guilt-ridden, we turn in on ourselves ...“Could I have done more to prevent this loss?” The answer is probably yes. Now, Helen, let’s be rid of this morbid interiority and move on.

We are broken things, amongst other broken things. We are imperfect and characterised by our capacity to fuck things up, yet still we can move incrementally towards the greater good. This serves as grounds for both self-forgiveness and hope, and reflects our inherent human loveliness.

We all have a job to do, and it is urgent business. We must make this world as bearable as we can. I believe, with no small amount of awe, that we have tremendous potential to achieve just that. I marvel at our collective and individual ingenuity. We are broken, yet – wow, o wow – look what we can do! We can be good to one another! We can love one another! We can be kind!

I have witnessed such kindness from people – ordinary kindness from broken individuals. Kindness that dismantles the structures of self-hatred and cynicism by recognising our shared condition. We are in this life together, each woven into the other, with our individual sorrows being merely a drop in a vast sea of mutuality.

We need one another, Helen, to hell with shame and guilt. We have work to do.

Love, Nick

P.S. Oh, and Damian, please, ‘I Am A God’ by Kanye West.

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"לב שבור הוא לב שלם": מאמירה מסתורית של רב סגפן להמנון רוק ישראלי