OMER

נֶצַח שֶׁבְּתִפְאֶרֶת

Day 18  Netzach She’b’Tiferet

L’ilui Nishmat of my dear mother,
LIBA BRACHA BAT DOVID HALEVI V’CHAYA SHANA

The first day of Tiferet always coincides with the first day of Rosh Chodesh Iyar. Tiferet and Iyar are connected to healing, as The B’nai Yissachar teaches that Iyar is the primary month of total healing- spiritua/l ruchnius healing, emotional healing and physical healing. This is reflected in the letters of the name Iyar ALEF, YUD, RESH which we know stand for Ani Hashem Rof’echa, Hashem is our Healer.

איר

Yakov Avinu is Tiferet

Tiferet is middah of our truth / Emet, which is represented by Yaakov avinu, Titain Emet L’Yaakov.  Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan says that in the life of Yaakov Avinu we see the first person in Torah who reveals the full spectrum of all emotions and situations. We see him in love, in anger, in fear and in war. We see him as son, father, husband, and brother. We see him poor, rich, hunted and patriarch. He juggles the role of a privileged citizen of his home land and a fugitive and exile. The Gemara says a person who can honestly express emotions is truly healthy and balanced. Tocho Kevoro, the inside is reflected in the outside. He is our role model for Tiferet.

Rachel and Leah are Tiferet

Along with our imaot Rachel and Leah, which represent the 2 consciousnesses of human beings, one more physical and the other more ruchnius, that we all have both inside of us, and of which we are constantly adjusting and bringing into balance and harmony within ourselves.

Devora HaNavia

The Koidenover Rebbe says that there are 7 prophetesses, neviot, corresponding to the seven Sefirot. This allows us to expand our understanding of the nature of Tiferet, which is connected to Devora Ha Navia.

Devora represents balance /  Tiferet which manifests in her multiplicity of roles in which she excelled. Many of us women often feel we are balancing multiple roles in our life… which we strive to achieve balance and harmony. Devora was a brilliant judge, a navi’ah /prophetess, wealthy, and according to The Gemara (Megilla 14, Yalkut Shimoni), a wise, caring, and successful wife.

Rav Hirsch says that Devora was a woman of fiery enthusiasm, who used her talents to inspire Jews to cleave to Hashem. 
This represents exactly our midda of today. Netzach she bTiferet.

7 Permutations of the Light of Tiferet

We learn that Every day of the omer has an inner chius/ liveforce and shefa/ abundance
Each day has infused in it, a particular permutation of light. There are 7 permutations of this light of Tiferet
And today is the The 4th day which is  Netzach she Tiferet

This week we are drawing down the energy of Tiferet which is compassion / rachamim and truth, harmony and balance
Of expansiveness in this area, which is the ability to hold the paradoxes of life

So we are doing this Cheshbon hanefesh, which is Not only counting, but an ACCOUNTING
Theres so much light and abundance of this energy of Tiferet flowing into our lives
But Where may I have a particular block with this energy?

So we will be trying to find it in ourselves. And in our body…

Tiferet is our heart center / Netzach our Right leg.

We are creating a channel / a merkava (channel) for ourselves for this divine sefirotic energy to flow into the world. With Netzach, resilience, we move forward to balance and alignment with our center. This is the force that you can access for the rest of the year, And the rest of your life!

NETZACH SHE BTIFERETis the symphony of balance

Netzach of Tiferet is about being consistent in our goals of healing, its about bringing healing into our lives on a permanent basis. Bezrat Hashem. When we look at nature, we are seeing NETZACH SHE BTIFERET OF HASHEM. Hashem’s masterful and perfect balancing of the most complex parts, opposites and contradictions. Today as spring continues to deepen and the world around us continues to awaken, we are healing more deeply. The word netzach  shares a shoresh with the menatzeach, which means an orchestra conductor. Hashem masterfully conducts the orchestra of the world through Netzach sh b Tiferet.

Tiferet is the force that merges the flowing energy of CHESED with the structured energy of GEVURA to create both internal and external balance and harmony. A person with tiferet has a healthy balance of Chesed and Gevura. Tiferet is the energy of integration and bringing into balance of the different parts of our selves and our experiences.

TIFERET is represented Wind & Clouds

TIFERET is represented by the Wind/Ruach and also the Clouds which represent Harmony. Have you ever felt a deep sense of peace / shalom, looking down at the Earth through the air and clouds from the window of a plane?

Take a moment and imagine the soothing yet invigorating sensation of the wind against your face.  The Winds sooth us and heal us. They move the clouds which provide life-giving rain. in fact, the clouds, are movement, and the ability to move, is the key sign of health itself.

Tiferet is about movement. The movement of CHASH / MAL (Electricity). Chash / quiet is Gevura. Mal / chesed, talking / tefillot is
Chesed. Feeling into the chius, The lifeforce of Chash / mal as you process this realignment [tiferet] of your inner kedusha. You are activating holiness with your intention to take the time to do this work.

Notice Winds of of your Breath, inhaling and exhaling
Our Neshima which is connected to our Neshama, our soul.
The movement of breath,
brings you to a place of inner calm, centeredness, presence inner balance

With the tiferet harmonizing element of Air / Ruach it also contains inherent paradox. One the one hand, Air is ephemeral, seemingly non-existent. On the other hand, it is the element that is most obviously necessary for survival. Though it is invisible and permeable, a strong gust of wind can easily knock someone over, as if the Air were solid.

THE FREEDOM / ABANDONMENT CONITNUUM

But perhaps the most interesting paradox of AIR is its influence on the FREEDOM / ABANDONMENT CONITNUUM
to feel free, a person must feel that she has space and open air, the ability to move and express herself, to go where she wants to. to be who she truly is. However, if a person has endless opportunities and channels for self-expression, it can become to airy, and the result is often a loss of self – loneliness, and purposelessness.

This is the struggle of Air and the tension within Tiferet which is the movement to become balance to this dichotomy. When we align with the qualities of Tiferet, we have more integration, and more allow the process for healing. Tiferet enables us to be more holistically effective to transform our lives to positivity. And brings us closer to becoming our truer, Higher selves.

Nekuda sound of OH / CHOLEM

The healing qualities of Tiferet are expressed in the sound vibration of Tiferet. It is the nekuda sound of OH. The CHOLEM is a dot placed at the top left of a letter or directly above the VAV, which is the letter of connection and integration. Lets use the CHOLEM to awaken within us the inner balance, calm, healing and hope

TIFERET MEDITATION

Close your eyes Take a few deep breaths.
open your senses.
Uncross your arms and legs
Feel the weight of your body and feel on the seat. Notice the feeling of air or wind on you skin. Open your ears
Notice  the sounds around you.
Notice the song of diversity surrounding you
Can you expand your awareness further?

Lets all say it together and find Tiferet in our body.

We will be taking a deep breath in through our nose.
and visualize a violet hued purply CHOLEM hovering in front of and slightly above you.
Feel you mouth and lips begin to form the soft gentle shape of and OH
That will produce an OH sound.

So with  the image of the CHOLEM in your mind, take a deep breath.

Exhale softly and slowly making the solf OH sound
Elongate the sound for as long as possible.

Feel the sound vibrating in your body

What happens to your body?

When the body produces this sound, did you notice the movement of your  head naturally and ever so slightly lifts up?
How does it feel for you when you embody and resonate with the sound of the cholem and the sefia of TIFERET?
What happens?
Try it again
Breath in and out…. OHHHHH

CONSCIOUS ENVISIONING / CHALOM

The word cholem hints to another word that has the same Shoresh… CHALOM, DREAM.
It is through dreaming, that healing takes place.
This is true for both the subconscious dreaming that occurs when we sleep, and
Conscious dreaming that we do where we intentionally envision a different reality or future.

CONSCIOUS ENVISIONING is the koach hamoshech, the drawing down the reality of a better, more healed future. Hope.
It is this hope that is the energy for self-healing and world healing.The Gemara has an entire chapter devoted to this, in Brachot Chapter 9.

On a scientific level, sleep and dreaming heal us biologically, emotionally, and psychologically. Hope creates a consciousness and even a visceral experience that, although I may not understand things right now, or know how everything fits together at this moment, I believe, that one day it WILL make sense, that the pieces WILL fit together and there WILL be healing.

TIFERET is Connected with the 8th Bracha of the Shemona Esrei.

The bracha of REFUA. HEALING. As we say, Rfoanu hashem vna’rafai. … in some siddurim it has the CHOLEM written 4 times for Hashems 4 letter name in the bracho. The Gemara places the bracha of Healing in the 8th position which our chachamim tell us has the ability to have an integrative healing experience. The number 8, as it is one beyond 7. 7 represents the physical reality ie. 7 musical notes, 7 days of the week, 7 continents, etc. and  8 represents the energy of hope and dreams and miracles, as in the 8 days of Chanuka. The number 8 carries with it the ability to perceive and experience the beyond. Ie. Infinite. The sideways 8. It is this higher vision grants us true Healing.

So while we recite the bracha of refua this week, in addition to asking hashem for healing, maybe we can actually focus and feel the experience of the bracha and energy of Tiferet. To be able to Hold the contradiction and complexity of life situations a bit more easily.
Simply notice it when it comes up. By becoming away of the patterns of air within you. Notice what inspires you

Become aware of air
What ideas are drawn us toward you?
WHY are we drawn towards certain ideas
Notice with curiosity and without judgement

TZFAT is the holy city of air
Contemplate, What ways does AIR positively and negatively manifest in your life?

MEDITATION - CONTINUED

Connect with the positive aspects of air
your abilities to inspire other, Your ability to be inspired
to be both the giver and the taker
mashpia and Mekabel almanat lhashpia

Envision the letter vav, which represents the month of Iyar.
Imagining you body as a vav
Feel free to stand up if youd like…
Imagine its large beginning at the top
Imagine The top as the endless light of Hashem, the Ohr Ayn Sof
The light flowing into your mochin / consciousness
Imagine the light healing any negative thoughts or fears or doubts you may have
breath

And allow the light continue to flow down through chochma right side of your head
To daas which is located in the place of your neck
Recognize if theres any constriction there
Often we feel it in our neck
Check in if you feel any residual Paro in the back side of of your neck
And choosing to let go of it
open to the front part of your neck
Letting the light shine in
And gently putting attention there
Allowing it to expand

imagine the long part of the vav descending
Bringing healing to your neshama / soul and your guf/ body
BREATH /be receptive to this opening

And allow your focus to drop down into your heart center
The place of tiferet
Breath into your heart … with compassion
Shine the healing out to your family and the world
Reflect it and send your light to all the women here
 
Notice the balance in your life
Daven for the netzach she btiferetin the lives of those around you
To be able to hold paradoxes in our lives and in the world.

Hiskashrus vhiskallelus
Contemplate…
Maybe theres a place within myself that I have not allowed a certain part of me to shine, express itself and add to the symphony of my life and maybe even to the world?
What small change can I make to allow that part of me to sing more fully?
Think about that for a moment while you breath

As we discover our truer essence, an identity that was always there
May we return to our temimus / our simplicity.

With this Tefilla may Hashem help to do this TIKKUN / fixing of Netztach shbTiferet. May Hashem send us a bracha of the Geula. May the geula come to each person and to Am Yisrael and may we feel the inner and outer Tiferet in our lives and in the world.