Geburah
The God name for Geburah is Elohim. Geburah means
"strength". Like Binah above it Geburah is a feminine Sephirah associated with
restriction. The actions of Geburah are often seen as harsh punishments.
Just as Chesed can be viewed as an overindulgent parent, so Geburah can be seen
as an overly strict parent. Geburah is also known as Din, meaning
"judgement". But as with all Sephiroth Geburah has its place in the Divine
scheme of things. Geburah sits opposite Chesed and interacts with it. If
either one of these Sephiroth acted on its own the results would be disastrous
for mankind. Too much mercy (Chesed) would lead to behaviour unrestricted by
any moral code. It would negate the need for people to actively use their free
will to choose the good and avoid the bad. Punishment for evil deeds would not
exist. On the other hand, the unmoderated actions of Geburah would see
mankind being severely punished for even the smallest deviation from the Divine
Will. Again this would negate the need for
free will simply because the populace would be cowed into
submission. However, the interplay between these two parallel Sephiroth
ensures that exactly the right amount of reward and punishment is meted out to
each individual. just as in more mundane fields some people respond better to
praise and others to judgement, so it is in the area of spiritual
endeavour. In the sequential process of the Tree G-d starts by being
merciful (Chesed) and moderates this in Geburah. It would be an entirely
different universe if the roles were reversed i.e. justice being the prime
force with mercy tempering it. Geburah, in its aspect of Din, leads on
to an apparent paradox we have all observed in the world around us. It often
seems that those who strive to live a spiritual life are beset by more problems
(Din) than those who choose to live outside of a true moral and ethical
framework. Judaism explains this pointing out that there is an afterlife
where we will be judged after the physical body dies. In this afterlife all of
our actions are judged, the Divine rewards and punishments meted out during our
life are assessed and the resulting verdict arrived at. The scale of possible
verdicts range from being allocated a place within the inner circle of the
afterlife closes to G-d, and thus experiencing the greatest reward, to a
verdict of expulsion from the afterlife, regarded as the greatest
punishment. Because G-d is essentially loving and merciful it is deemed
that the few bad deeds of the pious be punished in the physical world. This
ensures that the good deeds are fully rewarded in the afterlife. The "debt" for
the bad deeds having already been paid. On the other hand, the evil
person receives their reward in this life for their few good deeds, leaving
only Geburic judgement to be meted out after death. Thus, perhaps, we
should se the obstacles and trials we experience in this life in simple terms
of accountancy. We should welcome them as opportunities to pay off the debts in
our spiritual account. It is only in this physical life that we have the
ability to spiritually progress or regress. Once we reach the afterlife our
account is fixed and we cannot avoid the reward or punishment that is
rightfully ours.
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