Only A Few Spots Left…Sex, Spirit, & Shadow, Sept. 18-20, San Fran with Marc Gafni
The Three S’s of Dynamic and Personal Evolution
with Diane Musho Hamilton, Marc Gafni, and Sofia Diaz
September 18th-20th, 2009
San Francisco, California
Standard Registration: $450
Advanced Registration: $299 by September 1st
Sex, Spirit, & Shadow
COUPLES SPECIAL: 2 for $549
What participants are saying about Sex, Spirit, & Shadow:
“I send blessings and my eternal gratitude to all of you who made this last week possible. Sexuality, Spirituality and & Shadow gifted me with new eyes. Eyes of the heart, of the soul and of the mind. My life has been transformed. My husband noticed it the first day and every day after it just got better and better. He is so thrilled with the dramatic change in my life that he is already making arrangements to be involved in a Men’s workshop that Rabbi Marc Gafni is doing. Thank you for facilitating a safe environment that allowed me to see into my unique self and discover how I really want to show up in this world. I love you all so much and I hope to see you again very soon.” ~ Stepheny A.
Join us as we explore. engage, and uncover the interconnection of sexuality, spirituality, and shadow. By interweaving wisdom from the three traditions of Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei, Rabbi Marc Gafni and Sofia Diaz, we will explore why it is critical to integrate sex, spirit, and shadow on the spiritual path.
Through yogic practice, meditative inquiry, and interpersonal intimacy, we will deeply discover and refine how we engage these domains in our personal and professional lives.
Working in groups, with partners, and individually, we will:
* Explore the profound, provocative, and radically surprising relationship between sexuality, spirituality, and shadow
* Learn why it is vital to include these three domains in your spiritual journey
* Learn how to integrate all three of these vital domains into your practice life
* Untie knots in order to experience greater freedom, clarity, and compassion in your life
* Finally break down obstacles and melt away barriers that prevent you from living your Unique Life mission
* Uncover shadow material that has prevented you from living with an open heart
* Expand your mind and consciousness through perspective practices
* Learn how to conduct body, breath, and energy to gain greater intimacy
* Offer your deepest presence as love even when you are contracted
Rarely are contemplation, ecstatic movement, holy consideration and community evolution brought together, delighted in, and made manifest as an effective teaching vehicle.
If you crave great company, the profound pleasure of growth and laughter, and being challenged to the greatest depth of your gorgeous and evolving being, you will not want to miss this great adventure.
is a gifted teacher of Hatha yoga, sacred movement, and feminine spiritual practice, deriving her form of teaching and body philosophy from the South Indian Temple Arts and their accompanying scriptures. She has apprenticed with dance and music masters of the Balasaraswati lineage of Devadasi Sadir. She is also a core founder and faculty of iEvolve: Global Practice Community.
Dr. Marc Gafni is a rabbi and iconlastic teacher of Kabbalah and Evolutionary Spirituality. He is a core founder and faculty member of iEvolve: Global Practice Community as well as director of the Integral Life Spiritual Center of Integral Life. He has written seven books, including the national bestseller Soul Prints, and The Mystery of Love, a Kabbalistic exploration of the relationship between the sexual, the erotic, and the sacred. Gafni’s teaching is marked by a deep transmission of open heart, love and leading edge provocative wisdom. Gafni’s path of personal evolution, in both the agony and the ecstasy of what he calls “sacred autobiography,” woven together with profound reverence and reading of sacred texts have formed the context for his personal realization. It is from this place of broken-hearted humility, radical joy and and sacred audacity that he teaches.
Diane Musho Hamilton is a gifted mediator, facilitator and teacher of Zen and Integral Spirituality. She is a co-director of the Integral Life Spiritual Center and has worked with Ken Wilber and Integral Institute since 2004. Diane is the Senior Teacher for Integral Recovery. She is the lead trainer on Integral Life Practice. She is also a core founder and faculty of iEvolve: Global Practice Community.
Logistical Information and Schedule
Our event will be held at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square in San Francisco, California.
To reserve a hotel room at the Hilton, visit here: http://bit.ly/35Yktv
To register and pay by credit card, please click on the appropriate “Buy Now” button above to register and process your card through Paypal. Please email kellysosanbearer@gmail.com to confirm your registration. You will receive a “Welcome Letter” one week before the event with more details regarding our time together.
Please also send an email to kellysosanbearer@gmail.com with your full name and email address to receive confirmation after you register.
Please note that credit card refunds are subject to 6% processing fee and may not be granted after September 1, 2009.
We will start at 6:30pm Friday with registration and begin promptly at 7pm. Saturday 7:30am-9:30pm, Sunday 7:30am-4pm.
If you are flying out of California on Sunday, it is best to leave on the last flight out to allow yourself plenty of time to travel to the airport from the hotel.
Supplies
Please bring with you a yoga mat, a meditation cushion, a journal and pen, a water bottle and anything else you may need during our time together. Yoga mats, meditation cushions, and journals/pens will not be provided.
Marc Gafni
Join us at Integral Spiritual Experience
Follow me on Twitter
Join me on Facebook
http://www.greatintegralawakening.com/marcgafni.html
http://books.google.com/books?q=+inauthor:%22Marc+Gafni%22&source=gbs_authrefine_t
Sex, Spirit, & Shadow, Sept. 18th – 20th, Tiburon, CA with Marc Gafni
Sex, Spirit, & Shadow:
The Three S’s of Dynamic and Personal Evolution
with Diane Musho Hamilton, Marc Gafni, and Sofia Diaz
Sept. 18-20, 2009
Bay Conference Center
Tiburon, California
Standard Registration: $450
Advanced Registration: $299 by August 1st
What participants are saying about Sex, Spirit, & Shadow:
“I send blessings and my eternal gratitude to all of you who made this last week possible. Sexuality, Spirituality and & Shadow gifted me with new eyes. Eyes of the heart, of the soul and of the mind. My life has been transformed. My husband noticed it the first day and every day after it just got better and better. He is so thrilled with the dramatic change in my life that he is already making arrangements to be involved in a Men’s workshop that Rabbi Marc Gafni is doing. Thank you for facilitating a safe environment that allowed me to see into my unique self and discover how I really want to show up in this world. I love you all so much and I hope to see you again very soon.” ~ Stepheny A.
Join us for the kick-off on an integrally-informed community practice series, exploring the interconnection of sexuality, spirituality, and shadow. By interweaving wisdom from the three traditions of Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei, Rabbi Marc Gafni and Sofia Diaz, we will explore why it is critical to integrate sex, spirit, and shadow on the spiritual path.
Through yogic practice, meditative inquiry, and interpersonal intimacy, we will deeply discover and refine how we engage these domains in our personal and professional lives.
Working in groups, with partners, and individually, we will:
* Explore the profound, provocative, and radically surprising relationship between sexuality, spirituality, and shadow
* Learn why it is vital to include these three domains in your spiritual journey
* Learn how to integrate all three of these vital domains into your practice life
* Untie knots in order to experience greater freedom, clarity, and compassion in your life
* Finally break down obstacles and melt away barriers that prevent you from living your Unique Life mission
* Uncover shadow material that has prevented you from living with an open heart
* Expand your mind and consciousness through perspective practices
* Learn how to conduct body, breath, and energy to gain greater intimacy
* Offer your deepest presence as love even when you are contracted
Rarely are contemplation, ecstatic movement, holy consideration and community evolution brought together, delighted in, and made manifest as an effective teaching vehicle.
If you crave great company, the profound pleasure of growth and laughter, and being challenged to the greatest depth of your gorgeous and evolving being, you will not want to miss this great adventure.
is a gifted teacher of Hatha yoga, sacred movement, and feminine spiritual practice, deriving her form of teaching and body philosophy from the South Indian Temple Arts and their accompanying scriptures. She has apprenticed with dance and music masters of the Balasaraswati lineage of Devadasi Sadir. She is also a core founder and faculty of iEvolve: Global Practice Community.
Dr. Marc Gafni is a cutting edge, gentle and provocative spiritual artist and teacher, public intellectual, bestselling author, television personality, social activist and lover of people. He is a rabbi and teacher of Kabbalah and Evolutionary Spirituality and received his doctorate from Oxford University. He is a core founder and faculty of iEvolve: Global Practice Community. Marc is also the Spiritual Director and VP of Strategic Planning for Integral Recovery.
Diane Musho Hamilton is a gifted mediator, facilitator and teacher of Zen and Integral Spirituality. She is a co-director of the Integral Life Spiritual Center and has worked with Ken Wilber and Integral Institute since 2004. Diane is the Senior Teacher for Integral Recovery. She is the lead trainer on Integral Life Practice. She is also a core founder and faculty of iEvolve: Global Practice Community.
Logistical Information and Schedule
To register and pay by credit card, please click on the appropriate “Buy Now” button above to register and process your card through Paypal. Please email kellysosanbearer@gmail.com to confirm your registration. You will receive a “Welcome Letter” one week before the event with more details regarding our time together.
Please also send an email to kellysosanbearer@gmail.com with your full name and email address to receive confirmation after you register.
Please note that credit card refunds are subject to 6% processing fee and may not be granted after September 1, 2009.
We will start at 6:30pm Friday with registration and begin promptly at 7pm. Saturday 7:30am-9:30pm, Sunday 7:30am-4pm.
The event will be held at the Bay Conference Center in Tiburon, CA.
If you are flying out of California on Sunday, it is best to leave on the last flight out to allow yourself plenty of time to travel to the airport from the hotel.
Sex, Spirit, & Shadow 5-Day Event, May 20th – May 24th, Colorado with Dr. Marc Gafni
Sexuality, Spirituality, & Shadow:
The Three S’s of Dynamic and Personal Evolution
with Diane Musho Hamilton, Marc Gafni, and Sofia Diaz
May 20-24, 2009
Westminster, Colorado
Standard Registration: $1200
Advanced Registration: $1000 by May 1st
Join us for the kick-off on an integrally-informed community practice series, exploring the interconnection of sexuality, spirituality, and shadow. By interweaving wisdom from the three traditions of Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei, Rabbi Marc Gafni and Natya Priya Sofia Diaz, we will explore why it is critical to integrate sex, spirit, and shadow on the spiritual path.
Through yogic practice, meditative inquiry, and interpersonal intimacy, we will deeply discover and refine how we engage these domains in our personal and professional lives.
Working in groups, with partners, and individually, we will:
* Explore the profound, provocative, and radically surprising relationship between sexuality, spirituality, and shadow
* Learn why it is vital to include these three domains in your spiritual journey
* Learn how to integrate all three of these vital domains into your practice life
* Untie knots in order to experience greater freedom, clarity, and compassion in your life
* Finally break down obstacles and melt away barriers that prevent you from living your Unique Life mission
* Uncover shadow material that has prevented you from living with an open heart
* Expand your mind and consciousness through perspective practices
* Learn how to conduct body, breath, and energy to gain greater intimacy
* Offer your deepest presence as love even when you are contracted
Rarely are contemplation, ecstatic movement, holy consideration and community evolution brought together, delighted in, and made manifest as an effective teaching vehicle.
If you crave great company, the profound pleasure of growth and laughter, and being challenged to the greatest depth of your gorgeous and evolving being, you will not want to miss this great adventure.
Sofia Diaz is a gifted teacher of Hatha yoga, sacred movement, and feminine spiritual practice, deriving her form of teaching and body philosophy from the South Indian Temple Arts and their accompanying scriptures. She has apprenticed with dance and music masters of the Balasaraswati lineage of Devadasi Sadir. She is also a core founder and faculty of iEvolve: Global Practice Community.
Dr. Marc Gafni is a cutting edge, gentle and provocative spiritual artist and teacher, public intellectual, bestselling author, television personality, social activist and lover of people. He is a rabbi and teacher of Kabbalah and Evolutionary Spirituality and received his doctorate from Oxford University. He is a core founder and faculty of iEvolve: Global Practice Community. Marc is also the Spiritual Director and VP of Strategic Planning for Integral Recovery.
Diane Musho Hamilton is a gifted mediator, facilitator and teacher of Zen and Integral Spirituality. She is a co-director of the Integral Life Spiritual Center and has worked with Ken Wilber and Integral Institute since 2004. Diane is the Senior Teacher for Integral Recovery. She is the lead trainer on Integral Life Practice. She is also a core founder and faculty of iEvolve: Global Practice Community.
Logistical Information
To register and pay by credit card, please click on the appropriate “Buy Now” button above to register and process your card through Paypal. Please email kellysosanbearer@gmail.com to confirm your registration. You will receive a “Welcome Letter” one week before the event with more details regarding our time together.
To register and pay by check, please make payable to “Diane Hamilton and Associates” the full tuition amount and send to Diane Hamilton, 1375 Military Way, Salt Lake City, UT, 84103. Please include the full name of the participant to be registered and the email address on the check. In the memo section, please write SSS.
Please also send an email to kellysosanbearer@gmail.com with your full name and email address to receive confirmation, and so we can look out for your payment via mail. Allow up to 30 days for the check to clear.
Please note that credit card refunds are subject to 6% processing fee and may not be granted after February 1, 2008.
We will start at 8am Wednesday with registration and begin promptly at 9am. Thursday- Saturday 7:30am-9pm. Sunday 7:30am-3pm.
The May 5-Day event will be held at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Westminster hotel. To reserve a hotel room at our discounted group rate of $119/night, please call and ask for the “iEvolve” group rate. If you are interested in sharing a hotel room with another participant, please email kellysosanbearer@gmail.com
The SpringHill Suites by Marriott Westminster hotel is approximately 25 minutes from the Denver airport.
Driving Directions
Denver International Airport – Take Pena Blvd. and merge onto I-70 West. Exit onto I-270 West (exit number 279). Merge onto US 36 West (Boulder-Denver Turnpike). From US 36, take Church Ranch Blvd./104th Avenue. Exit and turn left. Turn left at 103rd Avenue.
Airport Transportation Information – Super Shuttle (303-227-0000) – Hourly departures from DIA to Boulder from 7:10am to 11:10pm. Return trips to DIA depart the hotel hourly between 4:45am and 10:45pm.
If you are flying out of Denver on Sunday, it is best to leave on the last flight out to allow yourself plenty of time to travel to the airport from the hotel.
http://www.holons-news.com/node/252
http://www.kenwilber.com/blog/show/481
http://mileskessler.gaia.com/blog/2009/1/big_mind_intensive_with_genpo_roshi_and_diane_musho_hamilton
http://kellysosanbearer.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/ievolve-global-practice-community-updates/
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/big-mind-houston-hosting-diane-musho-hamilton-sensei-for-the-zen-of-big-mindbig-heart-workshop-dec-5th-dec-7th-73447.php
http://kenwilber.meetup.com/58/calendar/9667590/
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Diane_Musho_Hamilton
http://in.integralinstitute.org/therapia_diane/index.aspx
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58142854264
http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j37/integral-feminism.asp
http://www.ievolve.org/
http://www.ievolve.org/about-us
http://www.ievolve.org/teachers
http://www.ievolve.org/dragons-den
http://integrallife.com/group/integral-life-spiritual-center
http://integrallife.com/group/integral-life-spiritual-center/leadership
http://integrallife.com/group/integral-life-spiritual-center/people
http://marcgafniandfriendsunplugged.wordpress.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Gafni
http://www.brainsack.com/marc-gafni-teachings-2009/
http://integrallife.com/contributors/marc-gafni
http://in.integralinstitute.org/contributor.aspx?id=34
http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Marc-Gafni
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/marc-gafni-blog-spiritually-incorrect-67622.php
http://www.marcgafni.com/?lan=english&cat=6
http://www.marcgafni.com/?lan=english&cat=29
http://www.marcgafni.com
UPDATE: iEvolve: Global Practice Community Telecourses and Upcoming Events
iEvolve Upcoming Telecourses
Integral Life Purpose
Unique Self: Realizing the Unique Purpose of Your Life as Your Spiritual Path
A Three-Week Telecourse with Dr. Marc Gafni
Starts: Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Ends: Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Investment: Early-bird cost of $125 (regularly $149, offer expires March 18th)
Registration is limited to 100 participants – Sign-up today!
To register and for more information, visit: www.ievolveglobalpracticecommunity.com
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Integral Practice: A Year-Long Telecourse
With Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei and Dr. Marc Gafni
Starts: Monday, April 20, 2009
Ends: Monday, March 15, 2010
Registration is limited to 75 participants – Sign-up today!
Investment: Early-bird cost of $489 (regularly $569, offer expires March 18th)
To register and for more information, visit www.ievolveglobalpracticecommunity.com
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iEvolve Upcoming Events
Sexuality, Spirituality, & Shadow:
The Three S’s of Dynamic and Personal Evolution
With Diane Musho Hamilton, Marc Gafni, and Sofia Diaz
May 20-24, 2009
Boulder, Colorado
To register and for more information, visit www.ievolveglobalpracticecommunity.com
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Integral Journey of Love
…Creating a WE Space of Insight and Compassion
With Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei and Rabbi Marc Gafni
Friday, May 29th
Unity Church
6pm-10pm
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Followed by…
Integral Journey of Love: Weekend Retreat
With Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei and Rabbi Marc Gafni
May 30-31st
University of BC
Vancouver, BC, Canada
To register and for more information, visit www.ievolveglobalpracticecommunity.com
http://marcgafniandfriendsunplugged.wordpress.com/
http://www.catalystmagazine.net/content/view/646/
http://marcgafni.gaia.com/blog/2009/1
http://marcgafni.gaia.com/profile
http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Prints-Your-Path-Fulfillment/dp/0743417003
http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Marc-Gafni
http://www.marcgafni.com/?cat=29
http://www.marcgafni.com/?lan=english&cat=6
http://in.integralinstitute.org/contributor.aspx?id=34
http://www.mp3.com/artist/marc-gafni/summary/
http://integrallife.com/contributors/marc-gafni
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/a/602/540
http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/directory/person.asp?id=155
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgDRiofetl8
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=xx7PbW_d_ycC&dq=marc+gafni&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=FFKq8ib7kU&sig=c7fMbPFXyXLYD36mWuHo9fVWCq0&ei=nX-MSajhLZicNbDQga4L&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=45577760781
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=447875633
iEvolve: Global Practice Community Updates
iEvolve: Global Practice Community Updates
iEvolve: Global Practice Community is a new global, integrally-informed practice community co-founded by leading Integral Spiritual teachers Sally Kempton, Diane Musho Hamilton, Marc Gafni and Sofia Diaz.
You may have seen the announcement of the Integral Spiritual Experience event sent out by Integral Life and iEvolve: Global Practice Community. And in case you are wondering “Who is iEvolve?” – we are inviting you to come and check us out!
The Integral Spiritual Experience is an iEvolve and Integral Life partnership event, initiated by Dr. Marc Gafni, Sally Kempton, Diane Musho Hamilton, and Sofia Diaz.
Visit iEvolve: Global Practice Community and check out our upcoming events, visit our teacher’s page, join the iEvolve mailing list, listen to our featured dialogue between Spiritual Artist and Rabbi, Dr. Marc Gafni and Integral Rock Star and Comedian Stuart Davis, or sign up for our home study programs.
You can also join us our iEvolve Facebook group!
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iEvolve Events
Sexuality, Spirituality, & Shadow:
The Three S’s of Personal and Dynamic Evolution
A Three-part Event Series
With iEvolve co-founders and faculty
Diane Musho Hamilton, Marc Gafni, and Sofia Diaz
Part 1: February 13-15, 2009
Salt Lake City, Utah
Investment: Early-bird price $385 (regularly $450, offer expires Feb. 1st)
Scholarships are available
REGISTER today!
Join us for the kick-off on an integrally-informed community practice series, exploring the interconnection of sexuality, spirituality, and shadow.
By interweaving wisdom from the three traditions of Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei, Rabbi Marc Gafni and Natya Priya Sofia Diaz, we will explore why it is critical to integrate sex, spirit, and shadow on the spiritual path.
Through yogic practice, meditative inquiry, and interpersonal intimacy, we will deeply discover and refine how we engage these domains in our personal and professional lives.
Working in groups, with partners, and individually, you will:
* Explore the connection between sexuality, spirituality, and shadow
* Learn why it is important to include these three domains in your spiritual journey
* Untie knots in order to experience greater freedom, clarity, and compassion in your personal and professional life
* Break down barriers that prevent you from living your Unique Life mission
* Uncover shadow material that prevents you from living with an open heart
* Expand your mind and consciousness through perspective practices
* Learn how to conduct body, breath, and energy to gain greater intimacy
* Offer your deepest presence and love even when you are contracted
Rarely are contemplation, ecstatic movement, holy consideration and community evolution brought together, delighted in, and made manifest as an effective teaching vehicle.
If you crave great company, the profound pleasure of growth and laughter, and being challenged to the greatest depth of your gorgeous and evolving being, you will not want to miss this great adventure.
February 13-15, 2009
Salt Lake City, Utah
Investment: Early-bird price $385 (regularly $450, offer expires Feb. 1st)
Scholarships are available
REGISTER today!
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iEvolve Home Study Programs
Integral Zen: A Year Long Intensive with Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei
Integral Zen is the application of what is known as the Integral map to Zen, itself. By applying the Integral map to Zen Buddhism, not only is the Zen tradition seen in context for the first time, but new insights start to emerge.
If you are a student of Zen, or are interested in becoming one, what can you expect when you enter and practice within the Zen Buddhist tradition, and does it change if you are practicing with a Zen lineage holder informed by the Integral Map?
In this year-long Integral Zen intensive, Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei will guide you through the various dimensions of an Integral Zen practice, from your relationship with the teacher, to the particulars of form, including the various structures that hold it all in place from a four-quadrant perspective.
Join Diane Musho Hamilton Sensei for an Integral Zen year-long intensive home study program.
During this year-long intensive, you will explore, engage and learn:
• The basics of zazen practice
• The Big Mind process – a truly Integral practice- developed by Zen Master Genpo Roshi
• How to cultivate awakening and compassion on your spiritual journey
• How to apply the Integral approach to your Zen practice
• Everyday Zen for everyday people
For more information and to register, please visit our iEvolve Home Study Programs
http://integrallife.com/contributors/marc-gafni
http://www.catalystmagazine.net/content/view/646/
http://www.amazon.com/Soul-Prints-Your-Path-Fulfillment/dp/0743417003
http://in.integralinstitute.org/contributor.aspx?id=34
http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200809/1220289578.html
http://www.emailwire.com/release/15747-Marc-Gafni-Evolutionary-Spirituality.html
http://www.prlog.org/10112382-marc-gafni-has-published-new-website.html
http://www.simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?tab=3&pid=360232
http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/directory/person.asp?id=155
http://www.ievolveglobalpracticecommunity.com/
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What is Original in our Book on Lillith -by Marc Gafni
What is Original in our Book on Lillith
English Overview of the Intention and Orginal Contribution of Gafni and Ezrahi in their work on Lillith.
by Marc Gafni {Reviewed by Ohad}, 2003
This brief overview is intended to explain to the reader the underlying intent of this presentation. The motivation for its writing, however, is not merely academic, it is driven by existential, spiritual, and sociological agendas. It is important that the reader be made aware of them at the outset.
Until modernity, the status of women in Jewish life has been virtually unique. In marked contrast to the host cultures where the Jews found themselves, in ancient, medieval, and renaissance societies, the status, dignity, and rights of women have always been upheld.
In modernity, however, a new voice, emerging from the nineteenth century women’s suffrage movement, has made itself heard.
Feminism may well have excesses in its more radical forms, with which this author would take exception. Particularly those forms which blur the distinction between equality and identify and argue for an existential androgyny, or those forms which undermine the core valuation of the family unit, or even those rooted in overt hostility to the male world, would all fall under the aforementioned exception. Having said that, the core spiritual intuitions of feminism are held by this author to be sound. Specifically, the notion that the female voice is sorely missing in all spheres of life and that it is a voice long repressed by society, and of course the radical equality of men and women are all propositions which this author holds to be sound and a part of the ongoing revelation of the spirit which R. Kuk viewed as such an essential category of revelation.
Any person who holds similar views to the author, and I believe that covers a not insignificant portion of the community, is immediately placed in a near impossible intellectual/spiritual quandary.
On the one hand there is the spiritual voice of feminism. On the other there are the liturgical expressions, like the blessing thanking God for not having been created a woman, along with not a few Rabbinic statements which view woman in a less than positive light, the seeming passivity of women in the halachic marriage ceremony, and of course a host of inequalities in all spheres of Jewish life ranging from the ritual and communal to the judicial and the economic.
The attempt to ameliorate the dissonance engendered leads one of three directions.
The first is to dismiss feminism.
The second is to dismiss Judaism.
The third is to engage in some form of apologetics which explains why the sources and feminism are indeed saying the same thing.
The purpose of this study is to suggest a fourth approach- namely that there is a genre of source namely Lurianic and post Lurianic sources which suggest categories that allow us to interpret our reality authentically without resorting to apologetics.
This tradition- rooted partially in Luria’s understanding of Lilith and his remarkable identification of Lilith with the biblical matriarch Leah, forms the matrix of our study.
Luria understands Lilith – the demonic feminine – to be a function of man’s inability to fully receive her. This inability, according to Luria, resulted in her demonization. The unfolding process of spiritual growth, which according to Luria is the purpose of history, demands the reintegration of Lilith into the realm of the holy. This is a radically original Lurianic interpretation, although, as we have tried to show, hints of it are already present in earlier sources.
WHAT IS ORIGINAL IN LILLITH
What is interesting in our presentation is not the history of sources about Lillith. These have been collected by others both within scholarship and without. It is not our noticing of Luria’s re-integration of the femininie which was pointed out to us by Yitzchak Ginzberg in oral and written teachings as well as by others. Nor is our reading of the Talmudic passage on Cheruta, which while expanded by us, was already noticed by earlier scholars of Aggadah. It is furthermore not our noticing of the identification of Luria and Lillith and Leah by Isaac Luria which was already noticed and commented upon by Tishbi as the “wonderful metamorphis of Lillity to Leah” in Luria’s teaching.
What is original and exciting in this teaching is our intrepetation of this Lurianic reading of Leah and Lillith in light of our close reading of both Leah, Rachel, Jacob, Israel, and other key biblical figures and archetypes in the book of Genesis. By bringing together the Lurianic material and the biblical material with a feminist sensibility we believe we have made a significant hermenutic contribution both to feminism, biblical studies and kabbalistic studies.
This paper is a part of a larger work which develops these themes in full.
We will deal in three separate chapters with the following:
- the development of the Lilith story in the primary sources
- a literary analysis of the Genesis story which serves to unpack the Lurianic reading of Leah which allowed her identification with Lilith and thus ipso facto created the mechanism for her redemption by Luria. This involves a close pivotal re-reading of the Jacob, Rachel, Leah dynamic in the book of Genesis
* and we will examine the Partzuf of Leah in some of its Lurianic expressions
* a close reading of the Jacob Israel story in a way that explains the Lurianic reading of these texts and Luria’s deployment of Jacob and Israel in his kabbalah
* a close reading of biblical texts as they unpack the unique literary genre of transmigration -Giglgul, within Luria
The core move that Luria makes is to suggest that not only is Leah Lilith, but also that Jacob is an expression of Adam. Jacob’s fear of Leah is thus held to be similar to Adam’s inability to accept Lilith. According to Luria, however, this inability to integrate Lilith is based not on any essential flaw in Lilith but on a lack of spiritual maturity on the Part of Jacob. Indeed only after Jacob undergoes his transformation to Israel is he able to relate to Lilith in a spiritually appropriate manner. Lilith for Luria represents those parts of the feminine – i.e. intellectual prowess, sexual forwardness and a desire for autonomous control of their own destinies – that the male finds essentially threatening. What Luria suggests is that the ability of Jacob to embrace his Israel side is an expression of Jacob attaining spiritual maturity which in turn enables him to allow Lilith full expression.
One of the major foci of the work will be to show that Luria’s move, although at first blush rooted only in the unique mythology of Lurianic Kabbalah, is in fact based on a close and penetrating analysis of the biblical narrative of Jacob, Israel, Leah and Rachel.
Finally, it is important to note that Luria’s ability to rehabilitate Lilith is based on a broader reading of his writings, particularly what he refers to as Sod Hanesira. Basing himself on an existential reading of the famous Talmudic passage and Zoharic passages on the Lessening of the Moon, Luria suggests that the diminishment of woman symbolized by the moon is a function of exile, particularly the exile of the Shechinah. The redemption of the shechina from her exile is an acknowledged goal of all mystical thought –Luria’s unique contribution is in the identification of Shechina with the concrete status of woman in history. This position is explicated in great detail in Luria’s ‘Shaar Miut HaYareach’.
To get a sense of the full import of Luria’s move and how it allows for non apologetic treatment of contemporary reality I will now briefly cite two examples of such treatment which are not cited in the body of this paper.
The first is by Reb Schneur Zalman of Liadi pp. 138,9.1 It concerns the role of woman in the wedding ceremony as a reflection of the place of woman in society in general. He suggests that the silence of woman in the ceremony is an expression of the exile of the Shechinah and that redemption needs to allow is to hear, “The voice of the Chatan AND the voice of the Kallah.” In this vein he explains the future tense of the last blessing – in the future, we will hear the voice of the Bride, for now her voice has been silenced.2 He explicitly alludes to Luria’s treatment of the lessening of the moon as his theological matrix.
Clearly such a non-apologetic treatment is a far cry from explanations which seek to spiritually justify the silence of the bride under the canopy and her apparent passivity during the ceremony3.
The second example is from Israel of Koshnitz, a contemporary of Shneur Zalman’s in the third generation of the Hassidic movement. In his glosses on TB Ketubot he suggests a radically novel understanding for why a virgin should be married on Wednesday, the fourth day of the week. The first Mishnah in Ketubot explains the preference of the fourth day in terms of the court sitting on Thursday, thus allowing the husband to immediately level a claim against his wife if he suspects her virginity after the marriage night. As we will demonstrate in this work this strange and apparently humiliating process is clearly related to the male relationship to the Archetype of Lilith. Israel of Koshnitz, on the other hand, fully turns the source on its head in claiming that marriage on the fourth day is because this is the day in which the moon was diminished. In effect we are saying to the moon – we recognize the tragedy of your diminishment – redemption is at hand – the status of woman will be ameliorated.
Again the radically non-apologetic nature which underlies his re-reading of the Mishnah is abundantly clear.
Finally, and perhaps most critically, the image of Lilith herself. Her redeemed and non demonic essence suggests a role model of holy eros, intellectual competence and audacity – which is surely vital for contemporary women – fully within the parameters of the tradition.
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Realize Your Potential: A Beautiful Unique Manifestation of the Divine!
Realize Your Potential: A Beautiful Unique Manifestation of the Divine!
Who IS Marc Gafni?
Marc Gafni
Marc Gafni is a cutting edge spiritual teacher, author, television personality, mediator, corporate consultant, iconoclast, and gentle provocateur. He has written seven books, including the national bestseller Soul Prints, which won the prestigious NAPRA award for Best Spirituality Book of 2001, and was a main selection of the One Spirit Book Club and the Amazon.com Best Book in the Jewish Thought category in 2001. This book was also made into a National PBS special and an audio series by Sounds True recordings. Soul Prints is published by Simon & Schuster. Marc Gafni’s second major English language book, also published by Simon & Schuster, is The Mystery of Love. It unpacks an esoteric Kabbalistic tradition about the profound relationship between the sexual, the erotic, and the sacred. The Mystery of Love was critically acclaimed and made into an audio series called The Erotic and the Holy, published by Sounds True. Marc Gafni has been teaching and leading spiritual seminars, learning communities, training programs, and spiritual movements since he was in his early twenties. During much of that time, Marc Gafni struggled with the question of whether to teach conventional spiritual wisdom in a conventional spiritual context, or to follow a more post-conventional style of teaching and living. This tension brought great dynamism to his work, but also caused some dissonance. Now and in the future, Marc Gafni is committed to teaching a post-conventional spirituality that is rooted in traditional wisdom, yet fully adapted to the needs of a postmodern spiritual world. Like some other leaders and teachers in this age of unregulated internet conversation, Gafni has been attacked on some private websites and blogs. He has chosen not to directly respond to the blatantly false or seriously distorted accounts of his life and relationships that appear on these sites. However, Gafni takes full responsibility for any and all of his actual words, actions and subtle creations, both intentional and unintentional. His intention, now and in the future, is to do everything possible to transmute all negative energy within his being and within his circle into love, responsibility, and healing. Marc Gafni is currently the director of a private foundation dedicated to producing a library of teachings on the human spirit, designed to help create a better future for our children and grandchildren. There are seven volumes in various stages of preparation, covering a range of topics. All of these books emerge from Marc Gafni’s own experience as a human being, teacher, and student on the path of life and liberation. Several are being written with co-authors. Topics include: The Unique Self and No Self; Non-dual Humanism; The Masculine and the Feminine; The Dance of Tears–the Path of Laughter; Sex, Ethics and Injury; Shadow Dancing in the Light; Tragedy and Transformation; Sexuality and Kabbalah; Integral Judaism; Integral Kabbalah; as well as a personal sacred autobiography. Marc Gafni is also preparing a series of books on the weekly biblical reading of the Hebrew tradition as well as the sacred cycle of time as a spiritual path in the ancient Hebrew tradition.
