November 12, 2015: Gloria Krasno: The Way of Solomon.

     On this date, we had the good fortune to welcome Gloria Krasno back to SpiritMindBody Group. It has been a long time! Gloria was ostensibly presenting Rami Shapiro's book, The Way of Solomon: finding joy and contentment in the wisdom of Ecclesiastes.

      I took the liberty of copying some of the reviews of Shapiro's book. I have not read the book, but from the reviews, there does sound to be quite a connection between Shapiro's view of Ecclesiastes and some of the Buddhist dharma. There was mention in our presentation today of the Hebrew word which because of the Hebrew language's absence of vowels could represent either vanity or empty. This gives us a new meaning to the phrase, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!" In other words, in Hebrew, all is emptiness.  The opening of the Old Testament book Ecclesiastes uses this word, again and again. It was often translated as the word for vanity. But one of Gloria's favorite writers, Rabbi Rami Shapiro, used the word emptiness here and it makes sense.
    

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Way of Solomon: Finding Joy and Contentment in the Wisdom of Ecclesiastes is Rami Shapiro's new interpretation of one of the Bible's oldest books. Shapiro's fascination with Ecclesiastes began when he discovered that the Hebrew word commonly translated as "vanity" could also mean "empty." For Shapiro, this discovery added a new and Eastern dimension to Solomon's famous line, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!" and drove Shapiro to engage the book of Ecclesiastes in a holistic way. "Solomon looked and saw that all was empty of permanence; and that so much of our energies are invested in a pursuit of permanence that is doomed from the start. Ecclesiastes is his report of his journey to the heart of reality, and his insights into how we should live given the facts of life's impermanence. The only way to do justice to the text is to follow its author in looking at reality," he explains. The Way of Solomon includes Shapiro's translation of Ecclesiastes, notes from his wide-ranging research on the text, and reflections on his practice of meditation with Ecclesiastes. In Shapiro's hands, Ecclesiastes becomes something that many, many Christians are looking for these days--a kind of missing link between Buddhism and Christianity.

Review

"Most people identify Judaism with the Confucian book of Deuteronomy and are unaware of the Taoist voice in Ecclesiastes. Once again, Rami Shapiro discloses the Yin side of Torah in his rendition of the Way of Solomon. He brings balance for the contemporary person to stay in connection with our ever renewing ancient faith." -- Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Director of The Center for Engaged Spirituality, Naropa University

"Rami Shapiro has given us two gifts, an illuminating contemporary rendering of this timeless spiritual classic, along with commentary of everyday, personal stories that reveal the joy-filled wisdom of Ecclesiastes. I loved it!" -- Sylvia Boorstein, author of Thats Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist

"Reading Ecclesiastes with sensitivity and imagination, Rami Shapiro finds startling and valuable insights." -- Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

• "Shapiro's insight is as genuine and deep as it is startling. His long meditation on his chosen scripture and his direct experience as a rabbi shine through on every page." -- Deng Ming-Dao, author of 365 Tao
•  

      Doesn't this make you want to read this book?

     Gloria has the ability to present wonderful mystical ideas, chants, movements, and many portions of the Kabbalah is a delightful upbeat way.

      "Kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) uses a series of kavanot, directions of intent, to specify the path the prayer ascends in the dialog with God, to increase its chances of being answered favorably. Kabbalism ascribes a higher meaning to the purpose of prayer, which is no less than affecting the very fabric of reality itself, restructuring and repairing the universe in a real fashion. In this view, every word of every prayer, and indeed, even every letter of every word, has a precise meaning and a precise effect. Prayers thus literally affect the mystical forces of the universe, and repair the fabric of creation."   From Kabbalah on Wikepedia.

     Here is where Gloria led us today:
The Hebrew: Baruch Ashem. Blessed is His Name. But the word for blessed can be the same as the word for knees. Therefore, it can also mean, 'I bend my knees."  It also means: "I am here, I am alive."  I wanted to expand on where Gloria was going with this -- Here is a link about the mystical meanings of the Blessings uttered daily in Judaism.

http://www.jewishmag.com/92mag/blessings/blessings.htm

     Praying is called davening. Jewish men must pray three times a day at certain times. They can pray individually, but there is even more to be gained by praying as a group. A minimum of men should be present to obtain a minyan and the most benefit from group prayers. Women are not counted in a minyan and do not have to pray at certain times 3 times a day. The reason is that women were traditionally not held to anything that required presence at a certain time because of their duties during pregnancy, birth and after during nursing and child rearing. These prayers consist of a certain liturgy which is specified and is usually sung or chanted. That is why Gloria so uses chanting. Also the Jew at prayer usually sways forward and backward. This is explained in that the Jew prays with his mouth, his heart, and his soul and his whole body. Also it is said that the soul is the candle of God. The flame of a candle sways in the air, and so the Jew praying sways with his whole body. Gloria also strongly feels the need for movement during meditation or any kind of devotion.

     Gloria asked: "Where were you when you found your peace in meditation -- in a moment, in only a second, you found your emptiness. What word do you find for "the one," for "the mystery,"  the word for that great brief experience?  "Our oneness."  Gloria uses "Baruch Ashem." Of course, the Jews do not use the name of God, or even write the name of God, because using the name invokes Him/Her. Traditionally in Judaism, 4 Hebrew letters represent the name for God. Yod Hay Vav Hay.

    Gloria says that she loves chanting, but that all she does spiritually must also include movement. She receives spiritually through movement. She reminds us of the Jews praying at the Temple Wall in Jerusalem. You see them bending repetitively forward and backward as they pray. This movement adds to the holiness and has meaning in and of itself.

     From Ecclesiastes: Turn! Turn! Turn!"

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late! 

 

     Except for the last stanza and the repetition of the Turn, turn, turn stanza, these words are almost directly from Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes. The musical group, The Byrds, and Pete Seeger turned these words into a song in the 1960s which is how most of us recall the words now. 

 

     Gloria asks us to consider that we are told that we were born in the image of God. In mystical Kabbalah Judaism, every Hebrew letter also represents a number. Yod + Hay + Vav + Hay if calculated in its numerical representation equals 26. That is the number of joints in our hand.  If you take the yod hay vav hay and turn the letters vertically one can see how we humans are created in the image of God.

     The yod, the top little comma-like symbol  represents the mind. Don't do anything without the head telling the rest of the body what to do. The first hay represents the arms. The vav represents the spine. And the viscera of our body surround the spine; therefore vav represents your emotions. And the last hay represents our legs and movement. Hence movement is so important in Judaism.

     Gloria tells us that her own personal mantra is Baruch Ashem. She does a movement as she says this mantra. She bends forward at the waist swinging her arms forward and downward toward the floor, and then straightens up and swings her arms up and straight over her head. She repeats this slowly as she chants Baruch Ashem.

     There are several famous teachers that Gloria recommends. Her own personal teacher has recently passed away: Reb Zalman. She also recommends Rami Shapiro,  also Abraham Joshua Heschel, also the writings of Rabbi Terry Bookman who was at Temple Sinai in Milwaukee for a number of years before moving to Miami, Florida and taking over the largest Reformed synagogue in the country there. If your would like to carry your searches further, google some of these great teachers. Or look more into the Kabbalah.