MOTHERS
The 12 Feminine Dimension of the Tribes
ASNAT: Tishrei / Ephraim
Crowning H-shem for Our Past (Zichronot)
Asnat was the granddaughter of Leah. She was the result of the rape of Dina. She was adopted by Potifar, married Yosef, and gave birth to 2 tribes: Ephraim and Manashe. The product of a rape was the zivig for Yosef HaTzadik… a paradox!
The Depths of Leahs Tears for Her Daughters
We can never really know the depth of Leah’s tears and how she was definitely crying for beyond her own life. What she saw of what could become of her daughters. But the power of prayer to turn around the most tragic incident… The only story we hear about a Bat Yaakov is that she was raped. Its a very intense phenomenon and statement about the Shechina in Exile. Yet we know that the essence of our soul is never touched by any story.
Asnat Was Not Marred by Her Story
The essence of Dina, and the essence of Asnat, her daughter, were mamash Kodesh Kadoshim, that were never touched by any incident. Asnat is a living example of how she continued with her life, not marred by her past. She was able to be a zivug with Yosef HaTzadik, her Uncle.
Being Leah’s granddaughter, I’m sure she learned the secrets of women’s prayers. Her neshama was born from the deepest klipot and rose to the heights of mothering two tribes from Yosef HaTzadik. The more we do hitbonenut on this core etzem of our neshama, that was never touched by the story, we can really connect with H-shem’s love for us.
Rosh Hashana – Healing Our Past
On Rosh Hashana, we weren’t only crowning H-shem with a present, we are also in the zichronot, crowning H-shem for the past. When we know that H-shem was king, throughout all our past stories, B’ezrat H’, and we continue to make him king in the present and the future, then we can heal knowing that H’ was totally in relationship / kingship with us, throughout all of the past incidences of our life.
H-shem’s etzem is Revealed in the Traumas
In the traumas, davka, is where H-shem’s etzem is really revealed. Knowing this gives us the strength to do teshuva on what we are responsible for and the choices we made. With the vidui, we are declaring we will not repeat these poor choices in thoughts, speech and action.
10 Yemei Teshiva, the most inner time of deep dialogue with H-shem
While H-shem was in the field, in Elul, we can experience Him in the depths of our heart in Tishrei, during the 10 Yemei Teshuva, the most innermost time and space, of deep dialogue with H-shem. A time to really search in our hearts where we were off in our connection of Malchut, with which we have just crowned H’shem.