Report on Book by Rabbi David Cooper:  GOD IS A VERB

The following is a presentation on David Cooper's book God is a Verb. The report is this reader's interpretation  of some highlights of the book. If my interpretation at any point falls short of Rabbi Cooper's writing, I hope that I have encapsulated some of his thoughts, at least in spirit. (D.Borsella)

David Cooper, the author of “God is a Verb,” views Kabbalah is a way of perceiving reality. What could this mean? The term Kabbalah means “to receive.”

But to receive WHAT? To receive nothing less than teachings about the universe! 

To receive these teachings from whatever God, gods or divinities—that you might hope or believe is out there. (Or within us).

In this process, a teacher might be helpful but is by no means necessary. The information is out there for all of us to receive.

But we have to want to receive it. We have to leave the space for the information to come in. We need quiet and we might use any of a variety of techniques-- contemplation, meditation, dream work, --that allows for self insight.

You live Kabbalah. You live Peace. Peace, by Cooper's valuation, is not a passive noun. Peace is an ongoing process that has to be constantly worked on. Peace is a relationship...living in peace, e.g. Like any other relationship, we have to work at it hard, like working on a relationship with a lover or a parent or a friend. The process is active and ongoing.

There was a very popular Rabbi called Reb Shlomo Carlebach. Carlebach talked a lot about what he called “holy beggars.”  He thought that these “holy beggers” -- perhaps some of us just experience them as “beggers” --held the world together, sort of as a balance.  He would cross the street to encounter a begger, he would stop his car if he saw someone stranded by the road.

He wouldn't just give money, he wanted to talk with them, He saw everyone that he encountered as a “soul” and he was of the belief “the soul is pure.”To this rabbi, the world balanced on the willingness to everyone to help everyone else. His usual greeting –to anyone-- was “Mamash! Heligeh bra-the.” Something like “Wow! Holy brother!”

An influential l6th century Kabbalist, Isaac Luria, talks about “Raising Holy Sparks.” Many Kabbalists use an analogy of a time after creation when the something went awry; either God didn't quite do it right, or else something catastrophic happened shortly afterward. Luria thought that we and the world had holy sparks, but the sparks got mixed up with the husks, kelippot.Our task is to hunt out the sparks and raise them up. You have a fixed amount of gold that you can pour into your mold. But when the gold was poured into the mold, the mold or vessel cracked, and all the gold flecks floated away. What has to happen is that we now have to gather up all the missing gold into one place, in order to cast the mold again.

The task is made harder because as the god flecks are spread across creation, each one is surrounded by a fleck of dust that hides it.. The gold is the light of divine consciousness. Each atom is a spark of holiness. And everyone has a spark or two within, though often hidden.What I love about Cooper's book is that he actually has some good suggestions for how one might live a life that will help us to raise some of of those sparks.He calls it the path of TZADDIK, the path of Jewish Enlightenment. It sounds to me like a good path for anyone. Let's look at it.

The lst rung on the ladder is learning, study. The idea is study of spiritual works, a certain amount of our time to the pursuit of spiritual wisdom. I personally think we could take a wide swath with this. I've had people tell me that feel themselves as praying when they are reading poetry. (Astronomy, geometry, geology, history—almost any subject, to me, can bring us to spiritual wisdom). The Benedictine path also has study as one of its key activities.

Respect. Treating others with respect, treating ourselves with respect. This respect aspect is a little more complicated than it sounds, as put forth by Rabbi Cooper.Cooper notes  that we are not in a position to judge other people. He also places a high premium on careful use of language. Precision with language. A type of precision that might suggest that when you address someone, you are attentive and thoughtful. Gossip is to be disdained.

3. Another tenet is generosity. Giving to needy people Giving to charities. One might perhaps calculate net income and make a commitment to give away a % that is do-able.

Now, more than ever, people are depending on food pantries, soup kitchens. Most churches—perhaps synagogues and mosques? - collect food. When some people shop, those who can afford it, they perhaps are able to buy perhaps a half-dozen extra cans for giveaway.

The path of lovingkindness.

This asks a bit more than giving a $ to a beggar or directing him to a restaurant and buying him a sandwich. Most of us are busy people and find it hard to give time.

It is suggested you keep a journal to keep tabs on lovingkindness things you do every day. It could be volunteering if only a couple of hours a month; perhaps finding a nursing home patient who doesn't have anyone on the outside, and visiting the person when you can. . Send cards to cheer people up. Spend a little time with a lonely friend even if the person gets on your nerves. Pay attention to the checkout clerks at the supermarket, the dollar store, Walmart—any kind of service person you run into, and say something to make them feel that you recognize their personhood. Let someone in when you're driving.

Cooper would seem to think that these acts of lovingkindness are very, very important because like many kabbalists. he would seem to have the belief that what happens here on earth affects and can pollute the astral plane. And therefore, acts of lovingkindness raise extra divine sparks and help to put the broken mold back together.

The path of moderation: I'm going to ask you a few questions, so that you can think the answers to yourself. The answers are too much, too little, or just about right.

I eat.....I watch TV and videos..........I entertain myself.........I spend time with the family or loved ones.........I work on my inner life........I read inspiring books.......I talk........I listen..........

The path of purity. Purity is defined here as a level of attachment to God in which thoughts have more of a selfless quality.( I don't think you really need a belief in a traditional God for this path) I think the idea is to avoid being egotistical. Purity as used here would not seem related to sexual chastity, but it would likely inform honest and responsible behavior in sexual matters (?)

Being modest. Accepting responsibility. Being honest to oneself. Avoiding excuses. Avoiding avoiding.

Overly Pursuing pleasure, fame or status can lead a person off of this path.

The path of Joy.

In the Kabbalistic path, stories are often used to illustrate a point.

Rebbe Nachman tells a tale of a very happy man, Moshe, who found a beautiful and very valuable stone.No one in his little town knew how much it was worth, and so he had to travel from Odessa all the way to Amsterdam to get it appraised and possibly sell it. But he had no money for the trip. Finally he found a sea captain who was willing to take him to Amsterdam with payment upon arrival. The captain agreed but charged l0x the going rate.All during the trip the captain joked about all the people he had thrown overboard. Moshe would take out the stone every day to admire it, mainly for its beauty, not for its value.But one day he fell asleep at lunch and awoke to find out that all of his leftover lunch had been cleaned up and tossed overboard—including the stone.

Moshe was sure that the captain would kill him when they got to Amsterdam and he found no way to pay. The day before arrival, the captain asked if Moshe would put the entire cargo, a huge sum, in his name on paper because of his own bad reputation. Moshe agreed.That night there was a strange, eerie, almost unearthly wind. During the night the captain died.The ship docked and Moshe was a very wealthy man. Through it all, he remained a smiling man, a man of joy. His joy and laughter was contagious. It changed the world around him.  The stone had been merely a means of getting Moshe on the boat. None of us know how life is going to turn out. All we can do is retain an attitude of joy no matter what happens.  Nothing is more infectious that enthusiasm and joy. (*Story from Cooper book)

Still another path - the path of awareness. (p. 175 for helpful exercises).

The path of awe

The sense of our responsibility for each of our actions, words and thoughts – our responsibility for each other –and for capturing these divine sparks-- is so powerful that it might well leave us in awe. Has anyone here not held someone else's life in their on hands? One instance when we do so is each time we get behind the wheel of a car. THAT fills me with awe.  Also we know that just one rude remark can affect another person for a lifetime. A parent told her daughter “I love you because you're my daughter, but I don't like you.” Another parent told his child “your brother is better than you.”  There are circumstances where you can change a person's life—for the better or for the worse—by one word.

The book God is a Verb tells us much more. I would recommend the book for anyone on a spiritual path. I have also found Rabbi Cooper's guided meditation tapes and CD's to be very helpful...