Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair says, “Heedfulness leads to cleanliness, cleanliness leads to purity, purity leads to separation, separation leads to holiness, holiness leads to modesty, modesty leads to fear of sin, fear of sin leads to piety, piety leads to the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead, and the resurrection of the dead comes from Elijah, blessed be his memory, Amen
This classic Rabbinic teaching is found in the Mishnah and (with some variations) in the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds. It became the basis for one of Judaism’s most well known ethical treatises, Messilat Yesharim, The Path of the Upright . Like the ladder in Jacob’s dream, moral development is seen as a rung-by-rung ascent to the heights, with no shortcuts on the way. It is a painstaking climb up the mountain, with a Messianic future vision at the end. This is the basis of the Musar movement, a program of ethical growth that is being revived today across the Jewish spectrum.
Mussar work provides a contrast–or really a complement–to the notion of peak experiences as a spiritual foundation. There are moments of spiritual ecstasy, and there is the practice (often hard work) to internalize them. Without the work, the peaks would remain fleeting highs, but without the peaks, the work might become dull and dry. I recommend studying A Code of Jewish Ethics (2 volumes: You Shall Be Holy and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself) by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin. Ideally, read it with a partner or a group and help one another climb the path.
Featured Image:
By Hugh Miton, via Wikimedia: A multiple exposure of a Jacob’s Ladder, demonstrating where the name originates. An electrical arc rises between two wires.
Join the Sharing Circle to discuss your peak and mountain experience, or return to the Gateway of Mountains.
it is Tikkun leyl Shevoeot, I study your mountain teachings, climb the innermost ladder up to the crown and above my head….into the tree of Life in me, Tree-ing me… Tree upon tree. Light upon Light. There are no mountains in the Netherlands. A few hills, dikes and and higher up earthy settling places. I have not much climbing experience, (oh yes small steep stairs, living on a third floor without an elevator). So, what is my peak experience down under see level here? Water is a great mirror and means of transportation. Clearing space, having a low flat wide horizon gives old strong high grown trees the quality of a mountain. And the clouds, clouds upon clouds, they form magnificent moving alive mountains. I am in awe of the beauty of nature, creation and creatures….. and receive God’s Presence “oter Israel b’tipharah”, crowning Israel, all peoples who wrestle, with ups and downs, in the light of God, with Beauty. Thank you for climbing mountains…..for me, with me. Having the willingness to experience Kabbalat Torah…..
Carola, I once heard the most astonishing recollection from a Righteous Gentile in our Northern California community. He was a teenager in Holland when he joined his family in fighting the Nazis and rescuing Jews in the Holocaust. When he was shipped off to a concentration camp, as he emerged from the cattle car, his eyes saw mountains for the first time and he was transfixed by their beauty. It was his last moment of joy and transcendence before the hell of the camps, but he survived the ordeal and went on to educate generations about tolerance.