This is part of a series exploring the seven lower Sephirot (spheres) of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. These spheres are the seven core emotions that drive human interaction.
This week we are exploring the sephirah of Tiferet. Tiferet integrates the realms of Chesed, love and expansion, with Gevurah, which creates space through restriction and restraint, to create something that transcends the sum of its parts. It speaks to beauty, harmony, truth, and compassion.
reject binaries
welcome in more elements
and create harmony
I live for nuance. I love distinctions. Exceptions are the rules.
Except when it comes to my own rules and structures.
Then I can get rigid and inflexible.
I spent years creating a carefully constructed routine to help me do my best work, and I have attempted to stick to it faithfully. I don’t like when it gets disrupted.
And right now I’m in the midst of a big disruption.
My rhythms are disrupted. I’m out of my normal habitat, stretched thin, and often feel like I’m falling short of my best work.
It is clear that something needs to change. My current process and pace are unsustainable, unhealthy, and unproductive.
This is how it is. Right now.
As befits the stubbornness and tenacity of my sun in Taurus, I tend to dig in with both heels, gripping to what is calling to be released, refusing to let it go.
The more I cling, the more everything disintegrates in my hands.
This isn’t going to work out well.
What is rigid can be broken with ease. Taurus seeks to build what can be sustained and what will endure. This requires fluidity and adaptability.
The question that keeps coming up for me is:
Is it time to quit writing a daily blog?
This is a binary, all-or-nothing question.
Binary thinking is an invitation to suffering.
This week of Tiferet is about rejecting the binary to create harmony and finding the nuance of a situation.
Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder writes that
Tiferet is sorely needed in situations where rigid structures and opinions have replaced the fluidity that life requires.
This certainly seems like one of those situations. Life is clearly requiring some fluidity here, and rigidly adhering to a structure that is not currently serving me is clearly not a great approach.
This challenge seems like a good challenge to bring to the week of Tiferet, and to share here as a real-life, real-time example of how we can use this path of the Omer journey as a lens on the issues that arise in our lives.
Chesed of Tiferet: Expanding Options and Welcoming All Voices
Chesed is most often translated as “love” or “loving kindness.” Chesed is more generally about expansion. It is the flow that is contained by the structure of Gevurah. The biblical archetype of Chesed is Abraham, who was known for his open tent and hospitality to strangers. He welcomed everyone.
At Chesed of Tiferet, we add “complexity” to a situation that might otherwise feel over-simplified to find a solution that meets all needs. We do this by “welcoming” in more elements to find nuance that we might otherwise overlook.
This can mean inviting more voices to the conversation, or considering additional options that we might otherwise overlook.
A related frame that I learned from Tony Robbins is that any decision requires more than two options. Two options locks us into binary, “this-or-that” thinking.
Chesed of Tiferet would invite me to expand my options beyond “should I quit writing a daily blog?”
In addition, I might consider what voices and perspectives might be missing, just as I would do in a group dynamic. The only difference is that I’m considering my inner parts and voices, and my own needs.
Reflection Inquiries:
- What inner voices aren’t being invited to the conversation?
- How can I invite them in and truly listen to them?
- Where is there an opportunity for nuance?
Gevurah of Tiferet: Create Space for All Voices
welcome all your parts
each one has a distinct voice
listen to them all
Gevurah of Tiferet is about the strength to refrain from taking action to create space for what will emerge naturally. The essence of Gevurah is about cultivating the trust to create space; it is the strength to hold back from too much interference and thereby allow things to unfold.
In the context of a group or interpersonal dynamic, I might consider what is impeding the expression of other voices, and how to restrain that interference. For example, if my expression of my opinions stifles other voices in a meeting, then I might refrain from stating my opinion until after others have spoken.
When the debate is internal, I can ask similar questions:
- What inner voices are dominating this conversation about my current routine and how it is impacting my work?
- Which parts of myself are being left out of the conversation?
- What parts of myself are trying to be seen or heard? What is blocking them?
- Would harmony naturally occur if certain parts weren’t so dominant?
How can I hold back the parts of myself that dominate this conversation to better see and address all of my parts and all of my needs — without suppressing them?
The point is not to suppress any voices. Rather, I want to create a space for all of my parts to be heard equally.
Join Me Live
Each week during this Omer journey I am hosting a live interactive community gathering.
This is a space for deeper exploration of the week’s theme and how it’s showing up for you. There will be opportunity for connection, sharing, and reflection.
The calls are on Thursdays at 12 pm EST.
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