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Ariel Ben Avraham

VZot HaBracha: The blessing of all blessings (II)

“That [high in the Heavens] is the dwelling place of the eternal God, and below are the mighty ones of the world. He drove the enemy away from before you; and He said, ‘Destroy!’” (Deuteronomy 33:27)

We can understand God’s “dwelling place” as the ways and attributes with which He directs His creation and relates to it. These certainly are “high” places that establish our bond with Him. That connection occurs in the highest level of consciousness.

It is also the place where the ethical ways and means of goodness are destined to rule all aspects and expressions of life. “Below” relates to the material world, where we are mighty when we allow goodness to fill what we believe, discern, think, feel, say and do.

The real powerful force and asset we have is goodness. It is our strength and might, where there is no space or time for anything different from its ways and attributes. Hence it allegorically says “Destroy!”, in regards to removing evil and wicked ways, whose purpose is to make goodness their prey.

Once we live in goodness as the cause and effect, origin and purpose of life, whatever opposes is doomed to disappear. Likewise, we avoid or remove what or who spoils the goodness we enjoy. In this awareness, goodness is also our safety.

“And Israel dwells in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone; in a land of grain and wine. Yea, His heavens drop down dew.” (33:28)

Here “alone” means to live only in goodness. This verse refers to the Messianic era, where we will live exclusively in goodness and its safety. Israel will be a fountain of goodness in the land (life) of goodness. There the sustenance (“grain”) is goodness and its rejoicing (“wine”), nurtured directly from the “dew” of God’s heavens.

Living in the goodness of life, represented by the Promised Land, is a divine gift. Yet, not necessarily an easy task to achieve. First, we must remove the enemies of goodness that prey on it. We have to eliminate the negative traits and trends in consciousness, and subjugate our evil inclination to serve positive deeds and aims. For this, we certainly need to be strong, determined, and committed with the courage only goodness can inspire in us.

This is the same promise the Creator made to Joshua, as we read in the haftarah for the final portion of the Torah.

“There shall not any man be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you, nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.” (Joshua 1:5-6)

About the Author
Ariel Ben Avraham was born in Colombia (1958) from a family with Sephardic ancestry. He studied Cultural Anthropology in Bogota, and lived twenty years in Chicago working as a radio and television producer and writer. He emigrated to Israel in 2004, and for the last fourteen years has been studying the Chassidic mystic tradition, about which he writes and teaches. Based on his studies, he wrote his first book "God's Love" in 2009. He currently lives in Zefat.
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