Julius Shuckling The soul of man is God’s candle. Swaying back and forth

                                                                                       Julius Shuckling The soul of man is God’s candle. Swaying back and forth

Shuckling

The soul of man is God’s candle. 

Swaying back and forth

By Julius

Wilson’s Arch in Jerusalem is an ancient stone arch that was part of a series of arches that supported a bridge that connected between the Temple Mount and the Upper City. It was named after the British explorer Charles William Wilson, who identified the arch in 1864. The striking size of Wilson’s Arch that once spanned 42 feet along with enormous stones, serve as a reminder of the astounding building expertise of King Herod.Today Wilson’s Arch serves as a synagogue and contains many Torah Scrolls used for Bar-Mitzvah’s, weekday and Shabbat services. Many different prayer groups, or ‘Minyans’, can be seen conducting services simultaneously and almost at any hour one can find a ‘Minyan’ to join.We now continue to The Jerusalem Archaeological Park and the Robinson’s arch, where we will witness the glory and magnificence of the Second Temple as it rises from the ruins.

 

Buddhist take their shoes off before entering their house of worship, the Buddhist sit on the floor for most of the worship service. Jews of which I am sit in a pew, stand, nod, bend at the knee, and stand on their toes. Noding could come from Psalm 35:10 which reads, My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you O Lord? and or Proverbs 20:27 that the soul of man is God’s candle. Swaying back and forth while praying represents a candle’s flame that flickers back and forth while burning. I can go on if you like.

 

The idea that body movement can express devotion to God appears in the Book of Psalms: “All my limbs shall say ‘Who is like You, O Lord?’” (35:10) In Midrash Tehillim, an 11th century exegetical text, the rabbis interpret “all my limbs” quite literally:

 

With my head, I bend my head and bow down in prayer…And I also wear phylacteries [tefillin] on my head. With my neck, I fulfill the precept of wrapping oneself in fringes [tzitzit]. With my mouth, I praise You, as it says: “My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord” (Psalms 145:21)…With my face, I prostrate myself, as it says: “He fell down on his face to the earth” (Genesis 48:12)… With my nose, when I smell spices with it [during the havdalah blessing said] at the outgoing of Shabbat. With my ears, I listen to the singing of the Torah.

 

In this text, the body is presented as a tool for praising God, mostly in terms of the way ritual objects are used on the body, but also in terms of the body’s own movements. Today, the physical actions listed in this midrash, as well as a number of other body movements, have become an established part of Jewish prayer.

 

During the morning K’dushah, we rise up on our tiptoes three times for “kadosh, kadosh, kadosh.” The Kabbalists were the first to suggest that the triple sanctification of God’s name is an indication that one must reach to God with one’s whole body. It is also an imitation of God’s ministering angels.

By Julius