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Meta*Tron
We have solved the question raised in the very beginning of this chapter as to the meaning of the puzzling quote from Sha'ar Be'er Sheva. concerning the Kietz HaP'laot-the "Wondrous and Hidden End". We have also revealed the identities of two important Jewish archetypes - Sasson and Simcha - who both play leading roles in this wondrous, yet hidden process. What remains now is to reveal one more identity, who, although remaining the most hidden of all, is playing the most crucial lead role. Who is this
"one celestial creature
with its name "Yisrael"
engraved on its forehead,
standing in the center of the universe"?
From the context it is clear that, whoever or whatever this entity is, it has been directing and is singlehandedly continuing to direct the entire explosion and acceleration of both spiritual and secular knowledge. But, just what is Israel's connection with the power of this awesome angelic creature and why is it standing in the center of the universe?
If the reader will recall above in Chapter 1 it was explained that Mashiach ben Yoseph functions on three major levels:[390]
1) Mashiach ben Yoseph is any individual who is involved in the specific activities of Mashiach ben Yoseph, i.e., return to the Land of Israel (including its expansion and rebuilding), learning and dissemination of the Kabbalah, and utilization of specific scientific knowledge. Such an individual's mission in life then becomes as a "cell" in the larger body of Mashiach ben Yoseph.
2) Mashiach ben Yoseph is an actual individual who exists in every generation. This is the sod of the verse, "The righteous (Tzaddik ) is the foundation channel (Yesod ) of the world." How, where and in what role and personality he will manifest is dependent upon a multitude of factors. His ability, however, to evolve from a potential to a totally actualized Mashiach ben Yoseph depends upon the collective merit of the Nation of Israel.
3) Mashiach ben Yoseph is a meta-archetype, i.e., an all encompassing collective consciousness which networks and directs a vast matrix of smaller and distinct yet interdependent processes. A meta-archetype in Torah literature is known as an arch-angel. In this case it is the super arch-angel known throughout the Talmud, Midrash, Zohar and the Kabbalah writings of the GRA as Metatron.
The celestial creature in question here is none other than Metatron, the very soul and collective mind of Mashiach ben Yoseph and the guiding light for the stimulation of all human knowledge. In the GRA's Lost Doctrine of Kabbalah and Science this is far from being a new development. Metatron is explicitly mentioned by name ten times throughout Kol HaTor.[391] Referred to by its many other names and aspects, Metatron appears dozens of times from the beginning to the end of the work. And this is not only the case in Kol HaTor. The name Metatron appears regularly in Kabbalistic and Chassidic literature and throughout the Kabbalah writings of the GRA and his school of thought[392]. In paragraph #15 of Sha'ar Be'er Sheva R. Hillel revealed how Yoseph the Tzadik was initiated into the sod of science:
[According to tradition, Yoseph attained these levels] in the following manner: The night before Yoseph's release from prison he was taught... the Seven Wisdoms by the Archangel Metatron.
Mashiach ben Yoseph is a difficult and challenging principle. Now, this force known as Metatron challenges us even further. Yet, the two are really one and the same only that Metatron is the deepest essence of Mashiach ben Yoseph. In fact, together with Mashiach ben Yoseph, the Trein Mesheecheen, Sasson and Simcha, the sacred Nachash and Leviathan, the concept of Metatron is the very backbone of the GRA's cosmology of creation and his understanding of the purpose of the Jewish people. If we are to believe in the GRA's mission and accept his system of thought then we will have to get used to thinking in terms of Metatron because Metatron is as Jewish as you can get.
In the Talmud (Yevamot 16b) Metatron is also known as the Prince (or Genius) of the Universe who oversees and directs the revelation and discovery of human knowledge from the very beginning of time until the end. The name "Yisrael" is engraved upon its forehead because the essence of Metatron, who is just the higher soul of Mashiach ben Yoseph, is the collective consciousness of the Community of Yisrael. In fact, in the Zohar and in the writtings of the GRA, "Yisrael the Younger" is another name for Metatron.[393] He stands vertically in the center of the universe extending from the top to the bottom because it is the collective Tzadik, Yesod Olam - the Divine Channel and "Central Column" [394] - through which all Wisdom - the Gates of Wisdom above and the Wellsprings of Wisdom below - flows to the world.
To be sure, many questions regarding Metatron remain. To do this highly involved subject proper justice would require a large volume. One principle, however, should be kept in mind: Metatron is more of a formula than an entity. In the Kabbalah the Hebrew letters that form the term Metatron are used as an equation that is applied in general on three very different levels. Only the exact ratio is always retained. These levels are 1) personal, 2) generational, and 3) millennial. Metatron is the channel that they all share in common. It is the Central Column that stretches through them, quite literally, like the Chut HaShidra - the thread of the spinal column, the backbone of creation.
1) The level of the individual functions according to the principle, "The righteous (Tzadik ) is the foundation channel (Yesod ) of the world." The spinal column, with all of its neural processes and inner powers, is a personal vehicle for the manifestation and mission of Metatron within one's own body, of reclamation, elevation and transformation. According to the GRA's system of Kavanot -Meditations, herein lies the sod of the four sets of "bendings and raisings" that serve literally as the backbone for the Shemonah Esrey - the silent standing prayer performed three times daily. This system is also applied in the performance of all Mitzvot, blessings and study.
2) The level of the generation also functions according to the principle, "The righteous (Tzadik ) is the foundation channel (Yesod ) of the world." As known in the Kabbalah of the GRA each and every generation in its entirety is one human-like structure (Shiur Komah ). Every individual is part of this larger organic unity with some functioning as the feet, some as the legs, the arms, the eyes, the internal organs, etc. Connecting heaven and earth - the higher and lower parts of the generational body - the Tzadik is the backbone of humanity. The Tzadik or Tzadikim of any generation, with their ability to make spiritual connections, are a collective vehicle for the manifestation and group mission of Metatron within one's generation, of collective reclamation, elevation and transformation.
3) The level of millennial time also functions according to the principle, "The righteous (Tzadik ) is the foundation channel (Yesod ) of the world." As explained in the Introduction it is axiomatic in the GRA's system that all time and the unfolding of historical events is one self-contained and self-referential unit which, as the Talmud states, exists in its present mode for 6ooo years. Metatron is the backbone of the time-line of chronology, and its mission, on this level, is the reclamation, elevation and transformation of the events of history itself - from the fall of Adam until the end of the 6th "day" of creation. It must be remembered, however, that the GRA's description of time is unified into one continuum with space. In other words, time and space are two aspects of a higher reality. Therefore, the 6000 units of time are also 6000 spatial coordinates that constitute one divine structure. This structure, which is known in the Kabbalah as Adam Kadmon - Archetypal Man/Woman - is only the "backside" or the inverted form of the true face of space-time which has been in a deep state of exile (see our reference to evolution and geological time). The GRA's mission was to initiate the redemption of historical time and space by stimulating the "nerve endings" at the base of the central column of historical time - the millennial Metatron, "the foundation channel (Yesod ) of the world." For the GRA the confluence of the two branches of Supernal Wisdom - Kabbalah and Science - was to be one of the major sources of Metatron's accelerated awakening.
The soul of Yisrael is central on the map of creation and the Jews are, in fact, behind a conspiracy to take over, not only the world, but the entire universe of space and time. This is a far cry, however, from the commonly held antisemetic idea of a Jewish conspiracy. Rather, it is a conspiracy of the messianic Light of Kabbalah and Science. It is a universal "overmind" that has been animating and networking all communication, all civilization, all history. Mashiach ben Yoseph may appear "dead" on the outside but the Overmind of Mashiach ben Yoseph - Metatron - is very much alive, wide awake and working in both the secular and the religious communities. In the context of the millennial Metatron, Mashiach ben Yoseph is the ultimate Meta -system that is animating, directing, redeeming and meta-programming the very secrets of creation being revealed through secular discovery and religious scholarship. The Nation of Israel, which is collectively known as Yoseph,[395] has been master-minding a world wide messianic confluence of techno-spirituality, stimulation and redemption, elevation and transformation, all towards a new synthesis and revelation of the NewTorah of the future.
The quote above continues:
The words, "Who is like Your people Israel, one nation in the world? " (2 Samuel 7:23) will then shine forth in brilliant colors. And the verses, "All the nations of the world will see that you are called by the name of God and they will be in awe of you" (Deuteronomy 28:10), and "[God] will grant you ascendance above all the nations that He has made, for praise, fame and beauty" (ibid. 26:19) , will be fulfilled.
The future vision of the the messianic reunion of Higher Wisdom and Lower Wisdom forms the underlying theory of the GRA's Doctrine of Torah and Science even now in the Messianic Era of Mashiach ben Yoseph. It is a meta -system of Supernal Knowledge that is aesthetically breathtaking in its universal beauty as well as logically compelling in the solutions it offers to the many questions dealing with the awesome history and mission of the Community of Israel. Yet, The GRA's vision is also challenging in the personal reevaluation of the consequences involved for both the secularist and the religionist. What is at issue here is not only the compatibility of science with religion or secular knowledge with spiritual truth. Rather, the GRA's messianic vision of redemption demands a deep reevaluation of what we thought was simply physical and secular, on the one hand, or purely religious and holy, on the other. The GRA's doctrine forces a paradigm shift in thought, i.e., it is not simply a matter of understanding a few new pieces of information. Rather one's entire Weltanschauung must shift altogether at once. This is a process of changing not so much what we are looking at, but from where are we looking.
Viewed from the inner perception of Metatron, essentially nothing remains the same. Science is no longer simply science and religion is no longer simply religion. Yet, scientific methodology and experimentation remains steadfast as does the sanctity of Talmudic methodology and the eternity of the Halachah. The GRA's vision of the Supernal Torah is not this or that, but more than both - futuristic evolution united with the most ancient of all visions. If we are to believe the oral tradition that R. Hillel received from his master then this is precisely what we should expect from "the Light of Mashiach ben Yoseph who was sent from heaven to reveal the formulas of the Torah on a level for which permission had never been granted to his predecessors" in order to prepare the "Final Generation" to usher in the last stages in the great drama of creation.
Furthermore, without the vehicles of the redeemed Seven Wisdoms of the natural order that are now being revealed at a staggering rate - the "new physics", the "new biology," the "new chemistry, the "new brain sciences," etc. - we would not be able to tolerate the Inner Light of the New Torah that will be revealed when the Trein Mesheecheen will be reunited. A body without a soul is dead and all the knowledge of the sciences - the "skin" of the universe - cannot produce any source of light whatsoever. Yet, without that body the soul cannot be experienced.
"Od Yoseph Chai" - the destiny of Mashiach ben Yoseph in all of its forms lives on. Nothing can stop the evolution of the Techno-serpent, the rebirth of Leviathan's Universal Knowledge or the universal redemptive power of Metatron. Nothing can dam up the waters from the Wellsprings of Salvation - not its Wisdom from Above - the Kabbalah - nor its wisdom from below - the sciences. It will come in its destined time, but as the GRA emphasized in the strongest possible terms, the Nation of Israel, the central source of the "arousal from below," has the power to hasten the end time, as it is written, "I, God, will hasten it in its time." Mashiach ben Yoseph is a process of global redemption initiated and accelerated through human effort and spiritual creativity.
It is clear, according to the GRA, that a critical role in the mission of Mashiach ben Yoseph is fulfilled by the upholders of the Torah in each generation familiarizing themselves with the Seven Wisdoms in order to redeem the fallen concepts now being revealed through scientific wisdom and technology. Only when science is studied and used in order to decode the Kabbalah, and the Kabbalah is used to redeem the knowledge of science, can we accelerate the revelation of the messianic Light of Knowledge and ignite Jerusalem's great wall of radiant fire out of which will flow the Waters of Salvation.
The GRA, as quoted above, spoke clearly:
We must be well versed in the secrets of our Torah that derive from the Supernal Wisdom. And we must be equally versed in the secret depths of the laws of nature which derive from the wisdom of the Torah. These [two extremeties] are interdependent... There is no greater way to sanctify G-d's Name and save the honor of Israel in the eyes of the nations than to achieve this great end. This is true to an even greater extent now that we are approaching the most opportune time for this vision of the Zohar [to unfold], i.e., from 5600 (1840) onwards. Why should we abandon this great repository of the wisdom of our holy Torah, or any part of it, to others, when it will only result in profaning the Name of Heaven and increase the humiliation of the Torah?
First the gentiles will recognize Israel's superior wisdom in the wordly sciences. Then they will realize that this wisdom is derived solely from the esoteric secrets of the wisdom of the Torah. Only then will the verse be fulfilled, "She is your wisdom and your understanding in the eyes of the nations." And they will exclaim [the concluding words of the verse,] "This great nation is surely a wise and understanding people," i.e. great in wisdom (chochmah ) and understanding (binah ). Only thus will the verse be fulfilled, "[God] will grant you ascendance above all the nations He has made, for praise, fame and beauty."
Our master said these things and spoke at even greater length with such powerful fervor that it is impossible to describe in words or in writing. He expressed his happiness and his recognition for those of his students who had, with God's help, expended every effort to fulfill this great mission for the sanctification of the Name of Heaven and the elevation of the name of Israel.
May it be God's Will that we merit to dwell in the future Succah made from the skin of Leviathan and draw our waters from the Well of Salvation.
[390]. See Kol HaTor, Chapter 1, p. 476 in Kasher. cross-ref to previous chapter.
[391]. Chapter 1, pp. 462, 476; Chapter 2, pp. 506, 484, 485,491,494 (aspect #112) "A bird of the skies will carry the sound and a winged creature will tell the matter" (Kohelet 10:20), This refers to Metatron the Prince of the Countenance, as mentioned in the Tikunei Zohar. He is the Oversoul of Mashiach ben Yoseph. "Bird" alludes to Yoseph and they share the same numerical value, as well"; Chapter 5, pp. 524, 529, 530.
[392]. Lekutei HaGRA page 125, for reference to "one creature" see Day'ah 241, Zohar VaYakel 219b, Mishpatim 126a.
[393] . GRA 's commentary to Tikuney Zohar Chadash, p. 34. See Kehilat Yaakov, s.v. "Metatron."
[394] . SBS, pp. 475,478.
[395]. Kol HaTor, Chapter 1, paragraph 10, p. 473; Chapter 2, 152nd aspect of Mashiach ben Yoseph, p. 500. This is based on Midrash Tanchuma's statement that, "Everything that happened to Yoseph happened to Zion."
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