Chesed
The God name for Chesed is El. Chesed means
"mercy". As it is placed below Chokmah it has some similarities with the
higher Sephirah. It too is expansive, giving and masculine. In some ways
Chokmah is like an overindulgent parent, always giving in to the demands of the
child. It is the Sephirah through which G-d's mercy and forgiveness are
manifest. The number associated with Chokmah is 4 and it is symbolised
by the square. The square, and its three dimensional extension the cube, is the
most stable of forms. Thus Chesed is the basis upon which all physical forms
are based. Chesed can also be seen as the archetype of the four elements
- Earth, Water, Air, Fire - which combine to form all created
things. God has founded this world on the basis of mercy (Chesed).
Everything that happens has mercy at its core - even those things that we
mistakenly perceive of as being anything but merciful. If a person truly
attains to the level of Chesed then they will realise that even the most
(apparently) negative of events and life experiences stem from
Chesed. Judaic tradition has it that there are 13 degrees of Divine
mercy that we should attempt to emulate:
- act towards other with
principled goodness - even though they may be unappreciative
- treat others with love, even
though they may not (apparently) deserve it
- help other to spiritually
better themselves
- realise that all people are
in essence one organism and that the failings of one harm all
people
- do not indulge in
self-indulgent anger, even when justified. Try to improve others through
love
- release your anger towards
others when you see them do a good deed for others
- emulate G-d by forgiving
those who repent
- do not keep a reckoning of
another's bad deeds. Magnify the good and minimise the bad
- act with love to those who
regret their former deeds
- treat others fairly and in a
spirit of love
- act with patience and
compassion towards the truly pious
- act with love towards all
people as even those who do not deserve your love contain within themselves the
Divine spark
- remember that even those who
seem unlovable were once unsullied by sin. Try to remember them as they were in
this earlier stage.
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