Today is the 24th of Tamuz, 5770
These days I’m reading More Nebukhim, ‘Maimonides Guide of Perplexed’. In the third section of the book, chapter 51, Maimonides talks about the way of ‘knowing’ (in the sense of connecting to…) God and he gives the following example: the King (God) resides in an inner chamber of the Palace. Some people, the prophets, are inside the palace wandering in the hallways, looking for the King. Some people know of the Palace and are searching the paths that lead to it. Others also know of the Palace, but they are confused and keep looking in the wrong/opposite direction, ironically, the more they search for it, the further away they get from the Palace. And finally, most people, who have no clue of a Palace or they just don’t care about it…
The ‘prophets’ are not crystal ball readers but those few individuals who, first of all, have gain perfection in their character: They are ‘rich’ because regardless of how much they posses, they manage to ‘need’ very little and they are fully content having the minimum necessary to live. They are ‘wise’ or completely ‘humble’ because they are constantly learning from others and they never consider they know enough. And finally they are ‘strong’ because they have control on what they eat, on what they say, on what they see and on what they think.
As you can see, the way to the Palace or ‘the Jewish spiritual journey’ requires first of all, a good dose of self-discipline and character refinement.
The blessing of ‘milk and honey’: http://www.aish.com/ci/s/97371409.html
