HOD/EMPOWERING

By: Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz

Dear friends ,
We tonight enter into the 5th week of The Sefirat Haomer…Here are some ways of internalizing the empowerment available to us in this week of Hod..

Blessings,
yitzchak

WHEN YOU EXAMINE CLOSELY TO SEE HOW EMPOWERED OR DISEMPOWERED YOU AND OTHERS ARE IN EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE,
AND HOW MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE IT MAKES, THEN YOU REALIZE THAT EMPOWERING YOURSELF AND OTHERS IS PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST PRIMAL OF ALL HUMAN DRIVES.

A. HOD\EMPOWERING----Some general points of
orientation

1.VIS A VIS NETZACH
Hod is on the left side of the Sefirotic setup----opposite the Sefira Netzach
…These 2 are like 2 sides of a coin….The Netzach dynamic of dominant
competitive conquering and overcoming of all obstacles that stand in it’s
way….therefore , Netzach is in need of support---a support system …..This
need spurs Hod into responding by becoming Netzach’s chief enabler or
empowerer….In terms of relationships, this means that the Hod partner is
awakened to be of service to their partner, since their prime goal is to
enable their partner to become empowered and succeed.

2. VIS A VIS SOME POPULAR HOD DESCRIPTIVE TERMS
A. ‘DEVOTION’------One who is motivated to empower, can be
counted on to be very devoted constantly.

B. ‘ADORATION’-----A true empower-er is driven to do so,
because they adore the one that they empower.

C. ‘SUBMISSION’-----As opposed to Netzach’s conquering
domination, the Hod empower-er constantly has their sights on
submitting themselves to Netzach’s empowering needs.

D. ‘GLORY’-------An empowerer sees to it that the other person
Shines---that the empowerment that has been lost becomes found
----until it manifests as true glory.

E. ‘RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIP’-------When an empowerer
steps into a relationship, they naturally elicit the other person’s
response---a response that inspires them to elicit a response in turn.

F. ‘THE GID HANASHE’ [sciatic nerve]-----Eisav’s Angel, though
He lost the ‘wrestling match’ with Yaakov, nevertheless managed to
leave Yaakov [the Jewish people ] partly damaged….the damage was
to the sciatic nerve in the left leg –the part of the body that
corresponds to Hod/empowerment….the damage that resulted was a
lack of spiritual empowerment—the diability to stand up on one’s
own feet , literally and financially , when it comes to matters of the
spirit, such as Torah support.

G. ‘AARON THE HIGH PRIEST’-------Aaron possessed the trait of
enabling and empowering those who were lacking, including those
who were disempowered by broken relationships.


B. A HOD\EMPOWERING MEDITATION
AWARENESS OF DISEMPOWERMENT----bring
to mind an experience or situation in your
life….ask yourself how empowered or powerless
you are….on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you
rate the experience….extend this to another
experience and another until you begin to develop
a sense of the level of empowerment that you are
holding by presently in most all situations that you
find yourself.

RE-EMPOWERING OURSELVES----- begin to reempower
yourself by re-focusing on all the
powerless experiences of your life….find something
in or around the experience that you feel to be
positive and that has redeeming value for you
[including the realization that ultimately this
experience is G-d sent and ultimately for your
best] —focus on this to the exclusion of all the
other negative aspects of the experience….if you
still feel disempowered, then give it over to
Hashem, expressing your need for Hashem to take
over control [until ultimately you will be reempowered]….
do this [and any other type of reempowering
tool that comes to you] for another
challenge in your life , and another and another,
until you feel that you are beginning to experience
a shift in your life….

RE-EMPOWERING OTHERS------ begin to shift
the focus of attention in your re-empowerings
from yourself to others, repeating all that you’ve
done in the previous steps for yourself, and to do
it instead for others…

RE-EMPOWERING THE PAST AND FUTURE-----
begin to extend your empowerings to your past, by
simply saying thank you for all of the empowerings
that you have been given and that you have been
allowed to give to others by the ONE
ABOVE….keep repeating the thank you and let
the memories come to mind, one by one…..see how
often that your and others powerlessness was
replaced by empowerment, and be thankful for
that, and for how often you and others you have
helped, have been bestowed with empowerment in
your life…….with this awareness, project a future
of empowerment ---a level of empowerment that
is beyond any level that you have ever experienced.

Website: http://www.paradiseprinciple.com/

Email: yitzchakschwartz@msn.com