Katnut d'Katnut

For those who feel called to live out their vocation as a Catholic Jew in the spirit of Khasidut here is a suggested day. A gentile Catholic may adapt this to his own customs but keep the basic framework.

1. In the morning awake with the thought that I will live this day not for the things of this world but for those of the next world as I pray the Modeh Ani prayer and wash my hands with the blessing. The first three pourings on the hands we unite with the Thrice -Holy God, with the second three pourings on the hands we give thanks for Creation, Redemption and Sanctification.

2. We do our prevenient act of praying to do all our acts of the Day in his Divine Will for all and on behalf of all from the acts of Adam until the Last Man.

The Jewish experience of God is 'devekut' which means 'cleaving to God'. This experience leads one to action - to a spiritual way of sanctity. This may lead one to the Jewish spiritual way of chasidut, 'the way of Mercifulness' - to become a Chasid 'a merciful one'.

This is the Sefirot array including the outer face of Keter which is Divine Knowledge (Daat).

Click the image below and see a diagram of the Kingdom of the Divine Will.

Two signs of a Breslov (Lev Basar) Khasid as a follower of Rebbe Nachman.

1. Hitbodedut [spontaneous conversation with God]

2. Halakah [learning how to be a Jew]

Hitbodedut is devotion to the daily personal Holy Hour in which one enters into intimacy with Hashem. This is a separate time from set prayers it is the time to pour out one’s heart to God. This is the whole essence of Torah activated in our lives. This is living out the commandment of ‘Love of God’.

In the Jewish Mystical Tradition the Divine Heart is made up of 32 paths of Wisdom. Each of these 32 paths are linked to the ten sefirot (attributes) and the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The 32 mentions of God's name elohim in Genesis 1 are linked to these 32 paths. There a few different ways of presenting this in Jewish sources. In the sefirotic array the diagonal lines are made up of the 12 elemental letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Introduction to the Jewish Mystical Tradition

Pope Sixtus IV (1471-1484) believed that the Jewish Mystical Tradition called Kabbalah was an important means for deepening our understanding of the Catholic mysteries of the Faith. He ordered the translation of the main texts of Kabbalah into Latin and ordered that all Divinity students study these texts for their insights into the deep mystical truths of the Catholic mysteries.