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Betwixt the Orient and the Occident: It’s No Accident
The Jewish Secret of Oriental Religions Joel David Bakst ©2000
"Abraham married [as a concubine] another woman, whose name was Keturah. She bore him [children]. Abraham gave all that he owned to Isaac
[the son of Sarah]. To the children of the concubines that were to Abraham, Abraham gave gifts. He sent them away from Isaac his son while
[Abraham] was still alive, eastward to the land of the east." Genesis 25:1,2,5,6
“What were these gifts? Abraham transmitted to them esoteric knowledge”. Talmud A question has surfaced in our generation that is begging to be addressed, but it has not yet been sufficiently answered. It is a contemporary riddle whose trail lies buried in ancient history: Why has virtually the entire history of the Jewish people ever since their inception and especially over the last 2,000 years been in the Western World? Jews have been exiled, dispersed, migrated and settled within literally every country in the world – that is, in the Western World.1 Jewish resence in the Eastern Hemisphere, aside from a few anomalies and speculations on the whereabouts of the “Ten Lost Tribes”, has only occurred in the last century or so. Even then it has been quantitatively insignificant and without the remarkable influence and contributions by the Jews of the Western Diaspora. By the same token, anti-Semitism has been virtually a Western World phenomenon. Why is this? The more you look at this question through the lenses of geography and Jewish history the more perplexing and riddle-like it becomes. The Torah tells us that Avraham’s progeny was destined to expand the world over like “the sand of the sea and the stars of the heavens” and all the earth’s inhabitants would receive their blessing through his children’s, children’s children.2 If so why does it appear that only half of the planet is playing out this great cosmic drama? The absence of a historical Jewish connection to Eastern culture and religion is especially meaningful for those of us who have been influenced by Oriental theologies and practices or who have actually gone on spiritual journeys to the East. As inexplicable as the absence of historical Jewish acculturation with the Far Eastern mind has been the modern near obsession of (mostly unaffiliated and non-observant) Jews with the esoteric traditions of the East. Why have literally hundreds of thousands of Jews gone on a journey to the East – even if they never left the borders of America? What is behind the unprecedented Jewish fascination with Hinduism, Buddhism, Yogic meditation and eastern schools of mysticism? Ostensibly, this Jewish love affair with Eastern spiritual esoterica is a quirk of history. Yet, from an kabbalistic perspective there lies beneath the veneer of this relationship one of the most profound secrets of the Torah and the key to understanding the mystery and purpose of Jewish existence. Most teachers of Jewish meditation – where the Eastern impact is unmistakable – have attempted various resolutions to this enigma virtually all, in my opinion, coming from a defensive and apologetic posture. One contemporary explanation of Avraham’s “gifts to the Orient” via Bnai Ketura is proof that in essence the ancient religious practices and beliefs of the East are indeed part of the original teachings of pre-Sinaic Judaism. As the expression goes, “They stole it from us”. According to this view when these Eastern teachings are purified and integrated into traditional Judaism they can become “kosher” for Jews since they originally came from ancient Abrahamic Jewish sources. On the other hand, the orthodox interpretation is that the 'gifts' that Abraham sent eastward with his non-Jewish children (of his maid-servant Ketura) were in fact "impure names”, i.e., names and practices for the spiritually impure. This explanation, in fact, appears to be the intention of the Talmud that states the Avraham gave them “impure divine code/names”. The tradition then is that Abraham sent his less pure sons away to prevent them from mixing with Isaac. This view maintains that Eastern teachings are inherently impure, cannot be purified and were never intended for Jews, the descendants of Isaac.3 The cosmological approach that we are taking here to the riddle of Avraham’s gifts to the children of the East here is neither “this” alone nor “that” alone, but rather it will be more than both views together. In order to present this we will journey deep into the hidden teachings of the Torah. We will begin, in fact, even before the beginning, i.e. before Genesis, before time, as we know it began. As is well known in the holy teachings of the Arizal and elsewhere the account of Genesis is only the third act in the drama of creation. Much occurred before hand to prepare for the appearance of Adam and the present universe. There are actually three stages to the creation process, the first two of which are topics of a special field of Lurianic Kabbalah. The primordial worlds that preceded our present reality are known as Olamot haTohu -- the Worlds of Chaos.4
Worlds in Collusion In order to understand the significance of the gifts Avraham gave to the Children of the East a brief explanation of the Worlds of Chaos is required. These three stages, although they follow a progression, are not linear. Rather, these universes form a triangular relationship to each other, i.e., right, left, middle. The terms for these three different realities are akudim ("bound"), nekudim ("points") and berudim ("connected").5
LEFT nekudim ("pointed") akudim ("bounded") RIGHT
berudim ("connected")
MIDDLEThe necessity of a triune structure to the creation process is simple. Man is made in the image of God. This means that even the details of our anatomy mirror that of the Creator. Our brain and the physiological manner in which it processes thought are also a microcosm of the Divine. In the last few decades the science of neurosurgery has revealed that we have not one, but rather two brains within us, each with its own mode of perception. In general the right hemisphere is intuitive, unifying, subjective and holistic. The left hemisphere is analytical, dualistic, objective and disparate. As a thought develops it is first received in the right brain as an intuitive flash subjectively bound up in itself with such unification that it cannot yet be expressed. The illumination is then transferred via a set of nerves (the corpus callosum) to the left-brain where the singular idea is broken down into its distinct points and objectively analyzed and then communicated. The final product, the actualized idea, is the child (olam berudim) produced from the union of the father’s seed (olam akudim) and the mother’s egg (olam nekudim). This relationship, which replicates itself throughout creation, has an echo in the philosophical construct of thesis, antitheses and synthesis. Those familiar with the basic sefirotic pattern will recognize this triune structure as hochmah, bina, and daat (or replicated over again on a lower level as chesed, gevyurah and tifferet or in general as chesed, din and rachamim). “Right brain” (hochmah), “left brain” (bina) and middle brain (daat) are ancient terms fundamental to the Kabbalah. Without the Torah construct of cosmic split-brain hemispherericity it is impossible to appreciate the underlying symmetry of creation. This paradigm is the key to understanding the secret of Avraham’s gifts to the Orient. The world of berudim ("connected") is also known as the world of restoration or rectification (tikkun). It is the integration and tikkun of the two prior stages. But the mode of synthesis here is not simply a grey formed by the mixing of white and black. Rather, berudim is a paradoxical union of opposites containing both the collectiveness of akudim and the individuality of nikudim. It is a gestalt whose whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts. The first of these two realities, the world of akudim, corresponds to the right hemisphere of the Divine thought process. It contains all the details of creation, yet still in a state of absolute unity. In the World of akudim ("Bound Up", i.e. unified) the concept of separateness, multiplicity and duality has not yet begun. There is only absolute Oneness. The second universe, the World of Nikudim, corresponds to the left hemisphere of the Divine Thought process. The same cosmic code and minutiae of all people, places and things that would ever exist that were unified in Akudim now explodes into separateness, multiplicity and duality -- the World of Nikudim ("Points", i.e. individuation). It is upon the “ground” of this primordial discharge that Genesis; also known as the World of Berudim (interconnected, i.e. integrated whole) the third and concluding stage of creation is built. 6 This is the literal meaning of the Torah’s opening verses, “In the Beginning…And the ground [the remnants of the previous worlds] was tohu [unordered and imbalanced]…”. A new ordered and balanced world – Olam HaTikkun -- was resurrected and born. A resurrected world of magnificent cosmic balance was the world into which Adam and Eve were placed. There were a few finishing touches that were needed before the zenith of creation would be revealed as the Great Shabbat was approaching. Adam and Eve were directed concerning these crucial acts. They were on a mission from God, there was only one game in town and they were the man and woman of the hour. But there were a series of tragic miscalculations and Adam triggered an imbalance in the entire framework of creation, causing aspects of it to collapse and “fall”. In the Kabbalah the Fall of Mankind or the chait of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is referred to by a technical term – the n'filah, simply "The Collapse". There are many details here that are beyond the scope of this chapter, but it is important to understand one cosmic principle: where the major impact of the Cosmic Collapse took place. The Kabbalah teaches that in general all right sides are associated with the expansive/masculine/unifying divinity of the hasadim and all left sides are associated with the contracting/feminine/polarizing divinity of the gevurot. Although these two primordial forces are equal in quality and necessity, they are not equivalent in manifestation or in their vulnerability to become imbalanced. As is known, gevurot are potentially more powerful than hasadim but paradoxically they are more volatile. Putting it simply, if something goes wrong in the scheme of things the first to get hit and the hardest to fall are the gevurot, the “left side” of creation. When Adam “sinned” he generated a chain reaction along a universal “fault line” that primarily caused the “left” side of his world to shift downward. He now had to repair the damage. This meant that he was required to descend “downward” and to the “left” of creation in order to do the tikkun. This is the meaning of the verse, “For on the day that you eat of it [triggering the cosmic fault] you will surely die [forced descent]”. Adam’s mission now was to descend into the lower realms of the “left side” of creation to retrieve and repair the damage. Where that “left side” of creation is located should now be obvious. When the anatomy of the brain is superimposed onto the globe of the earth an amazing symmetry appears. The two hemispheres of the earth line up with the two hemispheres of the brain! Relative to each other, the religions and intrinsic modes of perceptions of the Orient and Occident reflect the brain’s own hemispherericity. In general Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. are based on a unified view of reality. In general Christianity (and all of its variations) and Islam are based on a dualistic view of reality. The Torah, Jews and the Land of Israel are right in the middle functioning as the global and spiritual corpus collusum. Judeo-Christianity is a Christian theological term created in order to “graft the branch back into the root”. Such a conception of “Old Testament” Judaism is certainly Western duality, but authentic Torah Judaism is not. In fact, when the Hellenization, Christianization and Westernization of Torah are stripped away esoteric Judaism is more Eastern than it is Western! Betwixt the Orient and the Occident lies the mystery of Jewish existence and it is no accident.
The Return of the Children of the EastBnai Ketura, the Children of the East, completely disappeared from the scene. The Torah never again mentions them or their descendants. They play no role in the direction and mission of the initiates into the esoteric Jewish tradition – Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron or King David. There is no mention, that is, until the reign of King Solomon. The only other time in Scripture that the term Children of the East is mentioned is in the Book of Kings I (5:9-13), when a stage of unification similar to that of the messianic future was reached. And God gave Solomon much wisdom and tremendous understanding. He expanded [Solomon's] heart so that he could understand [the details of wisdom that are numerous] like the sand that is on the shore. Solomon's wisdom thus surpassed the wisdom of the Children of the East [the knowledge rooted in the primordial worlds] and the wisdom of Egypt [the knowledge of the occult and demonology]. He was wiser than all men... He spoke [of the healing properties] of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that comes out of the wall. He spoke of the animals, birds, insects, and fish. King Solomon was not only the master scientist, but also the master kabbalist. Accordingly, the wisdom that he had amassed was not only of a secular nature, but of a corresponding spiritual nature as well. "It was revealed to him (Shlomo HaMelech) the nature of the entirety of the creatures, all their forces and their components in profuse detail. Likewise, he knew the [spiritual] root of each and every one..."7 King Solomon had inherited the secret tradition of the Jews and he was the man of the hour. It was, in fact, the 11th hour and Shlomo HaMelech was perfecting the complete and final tikkun for the eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. He had penetrated more deeply into the lair of the primordial serpent than any of his predecessors and was only moments away from nullifying the cosmic root of evil and reversing all reality back to the higher dimensional state before the Cosmic Collapse. As part of this universal Jewish mission King Solomon elevated and synthesized the fallen sparks of the two great, global traditions: the mystical wisdom of the east - the Orient - and the hermetic/occult tradition of the West - the Occident - into one Universal Torah (Torah literally meaning Teachings). From this kabbalistic perspective the two great global traditions of the Orient and the Occident are vestiges of the two primordial universes – akudim and nikudim -- that existed prior to our present reality, the universe of berudim. How can the present Eastern and the Western civilizations be remnants of worlds that existed in the past, especially the world of nikudim that was completely destroyed? An answer is that our present universe is partly reconstructed from the fragments and residue left from the Worlds of Tohu, plus some new cosmic glue injected to resurrect and hold it all together (i.e., “Let there be light…”).8 Akudim, is the hidden landscape upon which the “right-brain” of creation, the Orient, is constructed. Nikudim is the hidden landscape upon which the “left-brain” of creation, the Occident, is constructed. Each civilization has been playing out its destiny based upon its primordial archetype. Each is distinct from each other and true to its cosmic essence. Stranger Than Science Fiction There is, however, a deeper explanation that beckons some of us who suspect there is something utterly profound taking place – even more boggling than what has been explained so far. According to the secret teachings of the Kabbalah our world is more “unworldly” than we can ever imagine on our own. Here the Zohar warns us that “Not every mind can handle this”. Let us remember that time, as we know it did not begin until the manifestation of the universe of berudim, a.k.a. Genesis, the third stage of creation. The universes of akudim and nikudim were not, however, yet defined by time, as we now know it. The linear movement of time appearing as “past”, “present” and “future” did not manifest until after the dimensional collapse (the “Fall”) of higher reality. (We cannot conceive such a reality -- although higher dimensional mathematics is helpful -- because it requires an acausal progression of events among other strange and baffling phenomena). When Adam existed in his higher dimensional state, all three universes existed as one triangulated super-universe. The two worlds of the Tohu were transcendent to, yet immanent within, Gan Eden. The Garden of Eden was not just the malchut of the creation process, the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, the end point and bottom most rung of genesis. Rather, the celestial Garden of Eden was literally the Kingdom of all Heavens that ever were or ever would be. The Gan was not simply a universe, but rather a multiverse.9 Adam and his Garden were the point singularity of all possible realities, the meta-vortex within the Ain Sof, known in Kabbalah as the malchut of the Ain Sof. Because of their catastrophic miscalculation, however, Adam and Eve caused all three universes – the primordial multiverse -- to crash together into a mutated hybrid contortion, a.k.a., our present universe and its history, as we have known it. Moreover, worlds in collision are actually worlds in collusion because these three words have partially merged together, interact with each other and are in collusion with each other. If this sounds strange and incredulous, it is because the secrets of the Torah are beyond science fiction. Yes, three different universes that occupied three distinct dimensions have collapsed and are now “squeezed” into one very strange and artificial composition. As unbelievable as this may appear it is not a metaphor or a mystical idea. According to our handed down esoteric Judaic tradition this is literally and frightfully true. This is the unimaginable cosmological destruction generated through the collapse of the Tree of Knowledge into the lower dimensions. Akudim, the “right-brain” of creation, is literally the underlying form that molds the collective thought patterns of the right-brained perspective of God. Nikudim, the “left-brain” of creation, is literally the underlying form that molds the collective thought patterns of the left-brained perspective of God. Berudim, the “middle-brain” of creation, is literally the underlying form that molds the collective thought patterns of the middle-brained perspective of God: the Jews and their Torah. Based on this understanding, many question and anomalies can now be elegantly resolved. For example, The Eastern account of the history of the world is billions of years old and will continue for billions of years to come. There is no concept of an accelerating messianic age, i.e., necessary redemption and total tikkun of all creation, the Great Shabbat. They are correct and true to their collective nature because, that is how time is experienced in the dimension of Akudim – time is virtually timeless! Another example is the obsession the Western world has, via Christianity, with corporealizing divinity in the form of a man. They are also correct and true to their collective nature. The left-brain is dualistic by nature and needs to communicate in concrete and corporeal expresssions.
Gifts From the OrientThe Occident refers to the Western world and the Orient refers to the Eastern world. It is interesting to know the origins of these words in English. Orient points (“orientation”) to the direction of the rising of the sun and Occident points to the direction of the setting of the sun. The root meaning of Occident is “to fall”, i.e., where the sun “falls”. That the word Occident means, “to fall”, from a cosmological perspective is revealing, because it is in the left hemisphere, the side of the gevurot, as explained, where the greatest aspect of the Fall of Adam occurred. And it was there where Adam with his maps and blueprints was sent on his mission to “repair the world”, i.e. essentially the Western world. The collection of these maps is the esoteric tradition of the Torah that had been transmitted to Adam who in turn initiated his son Seth. This transmission continued through Noach and the Patriarchs. Avraham knew these maps and directed every step of his life in accordance with them. The gifts he gave to the bnai Ketura were based precisely on these primordial maps of creation. “To the children of the concubines that were to Abraham, Abraham gave gifts.” According to tradition he gave them shem tumah, lit. names or formulas of impurity. But why would he give his own children spiritual impurity and why did he send them off to the East if his work was in the West? When Avraham gave his gifts to the children of Ketura he achieved two goals. One, he was returning what actually belonged to them, i.e., to their collective soul which was rooted in the primordial World of Akudim. Avraham is the “father of all nations” and the blessings for all mankind are channeled through him. He is the spiritual father of the Occident and the Orient. The gifts were aspects of the “right side” of his universal soul that had to be returned to their source. This was in order to re-structure not only a global balance, but also a primordial cosmic balance to rectify the Fall of Adam. This process was to continue, as Avraham is part of a triune oversoul that consists of himself, Isaac and Jacob. They are the incarnations of the three sefirot of Hesed, Gevurah and Tifferet – right, left, middle. Avraham, himself is too extreme and must produce an Isaac at the opposite pole. Cosmic harmony is not reached until Jacob, the balance and beauty of the Patriarchs (Tifferet means both balance and beauty). Jacob will then be called by the name Israel completing the process. The second purpose is purification. The children of the East and their gifts are the residues left over from the Death of the Primordial Kings. This part of Avraham needed to be purified out of his collective soul in order to prepare for the universal tikkun. Yet, “One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor” and one man’s k'lipa (impure shells) is another man’s food. What was expelled, as impure residue from Avraham’s perspective, was nourishment and food for the soul from the perspective of the Bnai Ketura. Avraham, as an incarnation of an aspect of the original Adam, was on a mission to purify the soul of mankind and filter the cosmic fall-out that remained from the Tohu and then compounded by the miscalculation of Adam in Gan Eden. The gifts that Avraham gave are the residue left over from the Death of the Primordial Kings. They are the “ground” of the Tohu. This part of the collusion of the three worlds needed to be purified out of the collective soul of Avraham in order to prepare for the formation of the Nation of Israel (Israel being the additional name given to Yaakov). Yet, Children of the East and their gifts still contain the sparks of Avraham and therefore are called Avraham’s children.10 The immutable connection between the Children of Israel with the Children of the East would lie buried within their collective soul for thousands of years with barely a hair’s connection. The reunion of the sparks of Avraham would not materialize until the future. This is the fulfillment of the prophecy that quoted by the ARI zal that, “In the future Bnai Ketura would become servants to the Nation of Israel”. According to the explanation presented here the meaning of this tradition is that the teachings of the East, the essence of Bnai Ketura, are destined in the future to serve the Children of Israel. Jews are intended to master Oriental wisdom, not to practice or to participate in it per se but rather to learn the truths of the East and understand, integrate and apply them from a Torah perspective. Why have so many Jews gone on the journey to the East? What is behind the unprecedented Jewish fascination with Hinduism, Buddhism, Yogic meditation and eastern schools of mysticism? Why is this happening now? The answer is that as we enter the final stages of the Messianic Era Avraham’s ancient gifts are being opened. The “sweet aroma”11 of Bnai Ketura is arousing segments of the Jewish people to once again encounter the long, lost “other“ children of Avraham. Kabbalistically the ARI zal explains that this is the reason that Avraham also married Hagar who, according to tradition, is another name for the original Ketura. This strange scenario recapitulates what occurred to Adam. Adam initially married “the First Eve” (Lilith) before entering into union with (the second) Eve in order to expel the impure residue and spiritual impurity that had contaminated his soul that was left over from the Tohu. Thus, Avraham took Hagar to purify his body in order that Isaac would be born pure and untainted. Bnai Ketura are born after Hagar and therefore are partially rectified. The cosmic necessity of Bnai Ketura was to give birth to the overpowering gevurot that would have otherwise been transmitted and released through Isaac. If this would have occurred, however, the world could not have endured because Isaac himself is the vehicle for the strong forces of gevurot. Therefore they had to come through Avraham and this upon the background of the primordial world of Akudim is what created the unique senario. The Wisdom of the East is the sweetened gevurot of Avraham bound up in the right brain of the Godhead. When Mashiach comes, however, all three worlds will receive their tikkun and regain cosmic balance. Oriental wisdom and Occidental understanding will be sublimely integrated and unified within the mystery of the middle, the Cosmic Balance. The entirety of world history as we have known it will reveal its absolute perfection and all mankind will see the breathtaking, divine symmetry of the cosmos and the mission of the Jewish Nation -- Betwixt the Orient and the Occident: It’s No Accident. “And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of God's house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow to it. And many peoples shall go and say, 'Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.'"12 1 Also see note below from Ari on reason for the exile of a least one Jew to every country in the world. 2 Genesis 3 Either way it is interesting to note that the deity Brahma, one of the Hindu trinity, is very close in sound to Avraham. Additionally, a Brahmin is a member of the Hindu priest class. Likewise, the deity Sarasvati – the female consort to Brahma -- contains the name Sara. 4 See also my commentaries Fallen Angels and Cosmic Fallout and Worlds in Collusion for other aspects of the Tohu. 5 These terms are actually found in the Torah’s narration of the three types of color coding of sheep that Ya'akov orchestrated. They are called, "Akudim," "Nekudim," and "Berudim," or, ringed (bonded), spotted (pointed), and streaked (connected) (Bereisheet 31:10). Although, on the surface Ya'akov was increasing the number of sheep and his material possessions, on a esoteric level, he was entering into the essence of the primordial worlds of the Tohu. He was affecting tikkun in the archetypal roots of creation to correct the Fall of Adam. 6 Known in the Zohar as the matkalah – the Cosmic Scale of Balance. 7.Leshem Sh'vo V'Achlamah Sefer De'ah 2:4:21:2, p. 169. See also Ramban's (Nachmanides) introduction to his commentary on the Torah (English edition, p. 12). 8 This is elaborated in profuse mathematical-like detail in the writings of the Ari zal. 9 Multiverse is an actual term used in modern cosmology and astrophysics to describe new, radical descriptions of reality. 10 Zohar Chadash 11 The name Ketura shares the same root as does the word for incense, ketoret. She was called ‘Incense’ because her acts were sweet as incense (Rashi quoting Midrash Rabba). It is also interesting to note that to this day the Orient, especially India, is famous for its incense. This modern Eastern influence has made incense very popular in the West. Ironically, sacrificial use of incense was paramount in Biblical times and the sweet aroma of the East has reawakened Jews to their own ancient tradition of the role and power of incense (e.g., frankincense and myrrh). 12 Isaiah 2, Talmud Pesachim 88a
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