Shiflut, Lowliness...
Malkuth, Kingdom, corresponds to the attribute Shiflut, Lowliness. It is here that the mystic journey begins. Lowliness is the first rung of the ladder that brings us up to G-d. In an introduction to Hasidic tales that I was reading, it talked about Shiflut and Kavanah being the two most common themes in Hasidic writings. They are two important concepts relevant to what I've been discussing as well.
Shiflut is the plural form of Shaphal, Low or Humble. I will use Humble in relation to Shiflut, because I think it describes Shiflut best in English. It is different than Bitul, Selflessness, because it includes a realization of the self, but a realization of the self in relation to something greater. To live in the Kingdom, you have to acknowledge the King, the Crown, Kether. Shiflut is about that acknowledgement.
Malkuth is represented by the letter Daleth. This shows Shiflut well. As I discussed before, Daleth is in the form of a person bowing. They know they are so poor that they are as low as they can get. That's where we need to begin. Daleth is the poor man that the rich man, Gimel, chases after. But Daleth is also the Door. Shiflut is the Door we must pass through to begin to ascend, to begin to draw near to G-d.
Shaphal is spelled Shin (Tooth), Pe (Mouth), Lamed (Ox's Goad).
Shin is the marker for the tefilin. On one side, it has three heads, on the other, four. It signifies this world on one side and the next world on the other. Shin signifies and Fire and Change. The three heads represent changelessness, potential change, and actual change. Shin is the Fire of Torah, which burns away everything that isn't of the Torah, isn't of G-d.
Pe is the Oral Torah, and the power to bless or curse. The Mouth contains the power of speech. But the Mouth also contains the Tooth, Shin. From the Mouth comes the Fire of the Torah.
Lamed represents teaching and learning. It is a Yod above, the teacher, teaching the Kaph below, the student. It is the Torah that is taught. It is the Mouth that the Torah comes from. The teacher speaks from his mouth and the student listens. Lamed is the heart that receives the teaching of the Torah.
After the Fire of Shin has burned away all that is not of G-d, and we received the Torah into our hearts, it changes us. We still know who we are, but we understand how low we are in comparison to the teacher, how low we are in comparison to G-d. This is Shiflut.
The letters of Shaphal are also Shefel. Shefel is the low tide, with Gei'ut being the high tide. Remember the Great Sea which is Mem? It contains Netzach, Hod and Yesod. It is pulled by Mazal, back and forth between High Tide (Gei'ut) and Low Tide (Shefel). At Low Tide, the Great Sea of Mem recedes back to Malkuth. At High Tide, it brushes Tipherah, Beauty. If we ride the waves, we pass from Malkuth to Tipherah. But to ride them, we must first be there at Low Tide, at Shefel, at Shaphal, at Shiflut. In Humility, in Lowliness, we catch the Low Tide and are washed to the High Tide. Gei'ut also means Majesty. We start Humble, but end Proud, not a bad Proud, but a Pride built on the Foundation of Shiflut.
Shefel, Shin, Pe, Lamed, added up is 410. Gei'ut, Gimel, Aleph, Vev, Tau, adds up to 410 as well. Both are the same. The High Tide and the Low Tide are the same thing at different points in time. Humility and Majesty are the same things at different points in time. G-d raises up the Humble. 410 reduced is 5, Heh. Heh is the first breathe, G-d breathing life into creation. Life is the Tide, sometimes up, sometimes down, sometime High, sometimes Low, sometimes Humble, sometimes Majestic.
We talked about the Mirror of Aleph. The Yod above is near to G-d, lifted up. This is Gei'ut. The Yod below is far from G-d. This is Shefel. At the point we realize we are furthest from G-d, there is G-d is, because only with that realization can we accept what he has to offer.
Shiflut is the outward act of expressing how low we are in relation to G-d's height. We bow before him, aware we are low compared to him. And only then will he lift us up.
~Muninn's Kiss
Shiflut is the plural form of Shaphal, Low or Humble. I will use Humble in relation to Shiflut, because I think it describes Shiflut best in English. It is different than Bitul, Selflessness, because it includes a realization of the self, but a realization of the self in relation to something greater. To live in the Kingdom, you have to acknowledge the King, the Crown, Kether. Shiflut is about that acknowledgement.
Malkuth is represented by the letter Daleth. This shows Shiflut well. As I discussed before, Daleth is in the form of a person bowing. They know they are so poor that they are as low as they can get. That's where we need to begin. Daleth is the poor man that the rich man, Gimel, chases after. But Daleth is also the Door. Shiflut is the Door we must pass through to begin to ascend, to begin to draw near to G-d.
Shaphal is spelled Shin (Tooth), Pe (Mouth), Lamed (Ox's Goad).
Shin is the marker for the tefilin. On one side, it has three heads, on the other, four. It signifies this world on one side and the next world on the other. Shin signifies and Fire and Change. The three heads represent changelessness, potential change, and actual change. Shin is the Fire of Torah, which burns away everything that isn't of the Torah, isn't of G-d.
Pe is the Oral Torah, and the power to bless or curse. The Mouth contains the power of speech. But the Mouth also contains the Tooth, Shin. From the Mouth comes the Fire of the Torah.
Lamed represents teaching and learning. It is a Yod above, the teacher, teaching the Kaph below, the student. It is the Torah that is taught. It is the Mouth that the Torah comes from. The teacher speaks from his mouth and the student listens. Lamed is the heart that receives the teaching of the Torah.
After the Fire of Shin has burned away all that is not of G-d, and we received the Torah into our hearts, it changes us. We still know who we are, but we understand how low we are in comparison to the teacher, how low we are in comparison to G-d. This is Shiflut.
The letters of Shaphal are also Shefel. Shefel is the low tide, with Gei'ut being the high tide. Remember the Great Sea which is Mem? It contains Netzach, Hod and Yesod. It is pulled by Mazal, back and forth between High Tide (Gei'ut) and Low Tide (Shefel). At Low Tide, the Great Sea of Mem recedes back to Malkuth. At High Tide, it brushes Tipherah, Beauty. If we ride the waves, we pass from Malkuth to Tipherah. But to ride them, we must first be there at Low Tide, at Shefel, at Shaphal, at Shiflut. In Humility, in Lowliness, we catch the Low Tide and are washed to the High Tide. Gei'ut also means Majesty. We start Humble, but end Proud, not a bad Proud, but a Pride built on the Foundation of Shiflut.
Shefel, Shin, Pe, Lamed, added up is 410. Gei'ut, Gimel, Aleph, Vev, Tau, adds up to 410 as well. Both are the same. The High Tide and the Low Tide are the same thing at different points in time. Humility and Majesty are the same things at different points in time. G-d raises up the Humble. 410 reduced is 5, Heh. Heh is the first breathe, G-d breathing life into creation. Life is the Tide, sometimes up, sometimes down, sometime High, sometimes Low, sometimes Humble, sometimes Majestic.
We talked about the Mirror of Aleph. The Yod above is near to G-d, lifted up. This is Gei'ut. The Yod below is far from G-d. This is Shefel. At the point we realize we are furthest from G-d, there is G-d is, because only with that realization can we accept what he has to offer.
Shiflut is the outward act of expressing how low we are in relation to G-d's height. We bow before him, aware we are low compared to him. And only then will he lift us up.
~Muninn's Kiss