written by Brother Gilbert Joseph of the Divine Presence LEB

The Sefer Zohar (Book of Radiance), which is a mystical and hidden or concealed Marian commentary on the five books of the Torah, opens quoting the verse from the Song of Songs (2:2) about one who is a ‘shoshanah’ among the thorns. Shoshanah is translated as a Lily or as a Rose. This is the feminine form of Rose as Shoshanah with 13 petals, the male form is Shoshan with six petals. In Ladino it is translated as ‘roza’. The Zohar considers it to be a rose as well. We can call it a Rose-Lily.

Since ancient times the Rose has been the sign of Mystery. In Aramaic ‘mystery’ is ‘raza’ and the European word ‘roza’ derives from the Aramaic word Raza symbolised by the Rose. The rose was also a symbol of paradise for the early Christians coming from the Jewish concept of the Mystical world called Pardes to which the mystics ascend and descend.

The Immaculate Conception of Mary refers to Our Lady being preserved from all original sin from the moment of her conception in her mother Chana's (St Anne's) womb, this is not a virginal conception as she has both a biological father (St Joachim) and a biological mother (St Anne). The Virginal Conception by Mary refers to her conceiving her Divine Son in her womb through the power of the Holy Spirit with no biological father.

“Like a rose (shoshanah) among thorns, so is my darling among the maidens” (Song of Songs 2:2). 

This first section of the Zohar speaks of the Immaculate Conception using this verse from the Song of Songs to show that Our Lady the Rosa Mystica is saved, by Yeshua through his 5 wounds (gates), from the demonic forces that have ruled men since the Fall. The thorns represent sin and the demons. The 5 leaves that surround the rose are connected here with Salvation. Salvation or God's Salvation is Yeshua (Jesus) in Hebrew. Salvation’s five gates are the five wounds of Yeshua in his hands, feet and heart. 

These five gates of salvation (yeshuot) are also linked to the five books of the Torah. This mystery of the five yeshuot (salvations) being one Yeshua is connected to the five wounds (chaburot) being one Chaburah (see Isaiah 53:5).  This word pronounced as Chavurah also refers to the Passover gatherings of men of about 15 to 20 men in the intermediary days of Passover, which has been linked to the Last Supper meal. Bible Hub under the heading of Chaburah states:

The term "chabburah" primarily refers to a physical wound or bruise, often resulting from a blow or strike. It conveys the idea of a mark or injury on the body, typically associated with suffering or punishment. In a broader sense, it can symbolize the consequences of sin or the suffering endured for the sake of others...

... In ancient Hebrew culture, physical wounds and bruises were often seen as manifestations of deeper spiritual or moral issues. The concept of suffering and its redemptive potential is a recurring theme in the Hebrew Scriptures. The idea of bearing wounds for the sake of others is notably present in the prophetic literature, where the suffering of the righteous is sometimes portrayed as having a redemptive purpose.

Thus, this term of Chaburah is a spiritual and theological source for the concept of tikkun or reparation which develops more fully in later Jewish and Catholic thought and spirituality. 

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his Chaburah (Wound) we are healed" Isaiah 53:5.

Song of Songs 2:2 refers to Our Lady and her Immaculate Conception and the following verse to her Son the Beloved (dodi) who is the Messiah - alluded to as the Apple Tree in the mystical orchard of God's Attributes. The Zohar asks “Who is Shoshanah (Roza)?” The answer is Kneset Yisrael or the Woman of Israel. “For there is a rose and then there is Rosa Mystica.” Daniel Matt states in his footnotes in his translation of the Sefer Zohar: 

“A rose blossom can have thirteen petals in its second tier.”

 The Zohar states : 

“Just as a rose has thirteen petals, so Kneset Yisrael (Our Lady) has thirteen qualities of mercy surrounding Her on every side.” 

It is this Celestial Mother that fully understands the concept of God as ‘Elohim’ (God). She does this through her spousal relationship with the Holy Spirit of Understanding (Binah). This Holy Spirit is called ‘Ruach Elohim’ in Genesis 1. Between the first and second mentions of ‘Elohim’ in Genesis 1, there are thirteen Hebrew words symbolising the 13 qualities of Mercy. These 13 qualities are in a deep way connected with the Spirit of God and his spouse the Celestial Mother. This mystery of the Mother and Elohim alludes to the Mother as Mi Elah? (מי אלה) "Who is Goddess?" and Elah yam (אלַה ים) "Goddess Sea" as the created Goddess or God-like Female (Sophia) who is the vessel or sea of divine mercy. These 13 qualities of Mercy are linked to the 13 rivers of balsam that await the righteous (Tzaddikim) in the World to Come.

The Immaculate Conception in Hebrew is התעברות ללא רבב (hit-ibirut l'lo r'bab which is pronounced as hit'avrot lele revev in modern Hebrew). If we rearranged the letters of ללא רבב  (immaculate) we get לרא לבב (l'ra lebab) which can be read as "to see the heart" or לרא לב ב (l'ra leb b) which can be read as "to see the two hearts". It can also be rearranged as "see two hearts רא לב לב (ra leb leb). We can also find in the first three words of Genesis בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים read as ra Shit ra Elah (see Six see Goddess). 

These Two Hearts (lebab) were the beautiful blossoming Mystical Rose Bush (הַסְּנֶה֙ השושנה) and the Mystical Apple Tree (תפוח עצ). They are the image and model for the Creation. They are the Eternal Blueprint (uman or amon) and the Living Torah. The attributes called the blossoms (nitzaniym) are mirrored in the Patriarchs (avot). Like the Two hearts (lebab) the Patriarchs (avot) and Matriarchs (imot) were in the mind of the Creator as a Blueprint (umanuta) before the actual spiritual and physical creation. In the Olam Haba (The World that is Coming) they were hidden with ‘the Two Hearts that beat as One’. 

One can also read ra elah as "see 36" alluding to the 36 candles or lights at Chanukah, which is a manifestation of the Divine Will, as Jewish tradition states that Adam lived in Divine Will in the Garden of Eden for 36 Edenic hours before the Fall (this may have been 36 years in our time). We can see the seven Hebrew words of Genesis 1 as the seven branched Menorah with et את as the middle one. The two left over beits  ב''ב can be read as Bava Batra or the final gate or portal alludִִִing to the 50th gate of Binah (Divine Understanding associated with the Celestial Mother). 

The two left over letters of yod and mem can be seen as an abbreviation י''ם for yemot haMashiach (ימות המשיח) which means the "days of the Messiah". Or the beit ב and yod mem ים that surround ra Elah רא אלה (see the Goddess) is b'yam בים (in the Sea). This is alluding to the Mystical Sea which is also called the Sapphire-Blue Sea. In the Temple this Sapphire Sea is represented by the Bronze Laver (that is decorated with roses) with its waters that mirror the Sapphire-Blue sky and the Sapphire-Blue marble floor in the Holy of Holies.

Daniel Matt states: “The leaves of rose plants grow in clusters of five, nine and thirteen leaves.” Also between the second and third mentions of ‘Elohim” in Genesis 1 are five words that are connected in the Zohar with the five gates of Salvation (yeshuot). This Salvation (yeshuot) is directly connected to the raising of the cup of Salvation also called the cup of Blessing. This in veiled terms is directing us to a meditation on the five wounds of the crucified Messiah made present in the Eucharist, in the raising of the Eucharistic Cup of Blessing and Salvation, which is Yeshua (Jesus) himself. Thus this opening section of the Zohar is in veiled form revealing the mysteries of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and then moves on to the Virginal Incarnation of Jesus (Yeshua).

“From the second ‘Elohim’ till the third, five words appear. From here on the creative Light, that is concealed and contained in the covenant, enters the Rosa Mystica and emits seed into her.” 

 The Zohar then associates this process with the number 42 which is a veiled reference to the word ‘imma’ (אמא alef mem alef) and 'My heart' (לבי lamed bet yod). Imma means Mummy or Mother in Aramaic and Hebrew. This is connected to Genesis 3:15 where the Woman (isha) is the mother (imma) of the Divine Seed. The mysteries of the Spirit and of the Mother are closely connected at the level of Understanding (Binah). 

I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. (Genesis 3:15 DRB) Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem et semen tuum et semen illius ipsa conteret caput tuum et tu insidiaberis calcaneo eius (in Latin Vulgate).

In 1947 in Italy the Virgin Mary appeared to Pierina Gilli and called herself Rosa Mystica. Her second apparition was on July 13 1947 and the 13th of each month was to be a Day of Rosa Mystica and the annual day of celebration for Rosa Mystica was to be July 13th. This modern Rosa Mystica devotion stresses the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th in which a special hour of Mercy is kept. It is as if the Virgin Mary has come to confirm the insights about Rosa Mystica and the Immaculate Conception found in the opening verses of the Zohar. 

The Magen David (the Shield or Star of David) is a symbol of the Rose with its six points representing the six petals of the Rose (shoshan). The two triangles are the two mems of the name of Miriam. It is the union of the Divine Wisdom (the mem pointing downwards - mem sofit) with the Mother of Understanding and Wisdom (Sophia) (the mem pointing upwards). The Magen David is seen as a Key – it is the Key of David. This key is the key to the Tower of David and the key to the Rose Garden. These triangular mems also represent the Triune God and the three fiats of the Divine Will – the Fiat of the Creation, the Fiat of the Redemption and the Fiat of the Kingdom of the Divine Will. These three fiats represent the unfolding or blossoming of the Universal Rose (Rosa Mundi). 

Each of the triangular ‘mems’ represent the Two Hearts – the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts which are the two cherubim (male and female) on the Ark of the Covenant. The Creation is seen as a Rose that is unfolding or blossoming over the six days of Creation. This is the Rosa Mundi – the rose of the world or the Universal Rose. This Rose represents the model and image of the Creation. Mary united with her Son’s Heart is the Mother of the Universe and the model of the Universe.

Our Lady in Eternity (represented by ‘mi’ meaning "who" as the female cherub on the Ark of the Covenant), as the Mother of Wisdom or Sophia, descends and becomes the Daughter of Elohim (God) and the Daughter of the Church (Kneset/Kehilla). The concept of the Mother in eternity is her adornment (title) as the Mother of the Creation. When she descends she puts off her adornments and comes with her garments (the 10 created Sefirot) in a humble and hidden way. She is the lowly handmaiden and daughter of God. At the Annunciation she becomes the living Ark of the Covenant (see Luke 1 and Revelations 11) who bears Elohim in her womb. 

In the Zohar (1:2a) it speaks of the mystery of Mary’s coronation - referring to the verse: 

“Behold, the Ark of the Covenant, Sovereign of the Earth” (Joshua 3:11). 

The Zohar applies this phrase to the Celestial Mother/Daughter, who as the Mother and Daughter of Elohim is the image of the House of Elohim (the Temple). Mary mystically adorns male garments as the Sovereign and Warrior of the sons of Elohim. She leads her warriors to become like Elohim. This is the mystery of Divinisation. The mission of the humble daughter of Elohim is then achieved and she enters into her joy or triumph. This is the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart. This is the fulfilment of Zephaniah 3:14. 

"Rejoice, O fair Daughter of Zion, all Israel cry aloud: here is joy and triumph for thy Royal Heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem". 

This humble daughter of Zion is the Heavenly Ark of the Covenant, Sovereign Queen of all the Earth. The Zohar says in regard to her: 

“ ‘Then I conduct them from above to the house of Elohim, to be Elohim, like him’. With what? With joyous shouts of praise, the festive throng.”

This House or Temple of Elohim is seen in the figure (komah) of Genesis 1, which is both a mystical Temple/House and a mystical Body (Shiur Komah). The seven days of Creation allude to the seven lower Sefirot or Attributes of the Divine Body of Zer Anpin (the Son). The seven days of Creation are seen as prophetic of the time to come when Creation will be restored to its fullness (after the Fall and the reign of Death) through the triumph of the Divine Will in the Moon (Mary in Eternity). 

"Rabbi Yehudah said,'These are the seven days of 'milluim' investiture - milluim, filling, indeed, for at that time the world is rendered firm and fragrant, restored to fullness'." 

Thus the full brightness of the moon on Day Two will be restored or revealed. This is the Milluim Miriam - the investiture or coronation of Mary. This Milluim Miriam has already occurred in Heaven but it will occur on Earth with the proclamation of the fifth Marian dogma of Miriam haKedosha as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix of all Graces and Advocate. 

The Zohar also champions the Immaculate conception of Miriam haKedosha, who was never tainted by the stain of the Devil. 

"The Moon is not tainted by the evil Serpent, of whom it is written: A whisperer separates an intimate (Proverbs 16:28)."[Zohar] Satan is that ancient whisperer who whispered like a hissing serpent to Eve " You surely will not die". 

The Zohar (in 1:34a) proclaims that the time when the fullness of the Mystical Light of the Mystical Sun and Moon shall shine, is when Satan and Death are defeated (Isaiah 25:8) and YHVH will be one and His name One as promised in Zechariah 14:9. 

All is made in the mystery or concept of this feminine Wisdom or Understanding (Binah) who is the spouse of the Spirit of God (Ruach Elohim). As Wisdom 7:26 states: 

“She is the radiance of Eternal Light, an immaculate mirror of Elohim’s glory and an image of his goodness.” 

She is the sister spouse of the Holy Spirit, the mother of the son and the daughter of the Father. She is the Isha (Woman/Spouse) of Genesis 3:15. 

“Though she is only one she can do all things, and while remaining in herself she renews all things” (Wisdom 7:27). 

Father Manteau-Bonamy discusses the Marian insights of St Maximilliam Kolbe: 

"If Mary, as a humble daughter of Adam, came into existence only after...generations of human beings, she was already present in God's own mind, outside of time, in the Holy Spirit himself. In God's eternal Now where she exists forever, she lives and reigns as the Sovereign Mother, above all other creatures, cooperating in God's divine task of governing the world, embracing the entire scope of Creation, before her and after her. That is why Father Kolbe does not hesitate to identify Mary with Wisdom, "the artificer of all"(Wisdom 7:22)." [Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit by Fr. H M Manteau-Bonamy O.P.] 

This understanding of the Celestial Mother accords with the mystical teachings of the Zohar. The Zohar is, I believe, in its hidden genesis a Jewish Catholic mystical book revealing to the enlightened Chaverim (friend or companions) the mysteries of the Celestial Mother. 

Kabbalah means a receiving. The Torah on Sinai was received by Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses Our Teacher). The Revelation on Sinai is Kabbalah. The Oral Torah – preceding and prefiguring the Written Torah and following or succeeding it, in order to complete, understand and explicate it. This Oral Torah is also perceived as the Mother (Shekhinah) in Eternity, who encompasses her Son the Living Torah who is revealed in the written Torah. The antediluvian Patriarchs, the postdiluvian Patriarchs and the Hebrew Patriarchs encountered this Oral Torah who is the Shekhinah [the female Presence] who reveals the Eternal Word of God, the ‘Shokhen Kavod YHVH’ [the dwelling glorious Presence of God]. He is hidden in the depths of her Immaculate Heart which manifests as spiritual fire. She as fire is enveloped and protected by the Cloud who is Joseph in Eternity manifesting as the protector of the Messiah and his Mother. Joseph is thus the icon of the Father (Abba). Miriam haKedosha is the fire and icon of the Holy Spirit. 

Catholic and Orthodox traditions speak of Chanah (Anne), the mother of the Virgin Miriam (Mary), praying in a garden watching the birds nest when she received a divine message to meet her husband Joachim (Eliakim/Heli) at the Eastern or Beautiful Gate (also called Golden Gate). It would seem that Yoachim and Chanah were staying at Chanah's House in Jerusalem at this time. 

After St Joachim had a negative experience with a priest at the Temple he went into the hills to pray and Chanah (St. Anne) went to pray at the Mystical Rose Garden at the Kiphonus Gate (the Rose Garden Gate). From there it would seem that Chanah went via underground tunnels beginning at the Kiphonus Gate to one that came out near the Beautiful Gate (Shushan or Golden Gate) where she met St. Joachim. They then went back into the tunnel that ran under the Gate to a special place in the tunnel where the Immaculate Conception occurred. 

Two other created parztufim (persona) in Kabbalah are called Yisrael Saba (Grandfather Israel) and Tevunah (Savta/ Safta) (Grandmother), who are seen as the lower Abba and Imma. They are the spiritual concepts of Joachim (Yoakhim/ Eliakhim/ Jachin) and Anne (Chana) (the Celestial Grandparents) in the mystery of the Immaculate Conception.

Miriam haKedosha is the immaculate created likeness of God and all souls find their source in her. She is the Mystical Moon and the Dark Night and the Dark Waters, the Mystical Rose, the immaculate mirror of the divine Heart, the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant, the Davidic Queen Mother (G'virah), the mystical Temple of Gold, the Chariot and Throne of God and His created Glory and Splendour (Zohar). Everything in Scripture and in Catholic and Jewish Tradition points to Her and her Son, thus bringing back to the Thrice-Holy God all the Glory that He is due. In her self, she is nothing but the humble handmaid of the Lord, in Him, she is everything - Bakol  (meaning with or in all) the mystical Daughter of Abraham. The mystical "Book of Bahir" (63) proclaims her as the Mother, Sister/Spouse and Daughter of the Divine King through whom we must gaze in order to enter the Divine Heart. 

I was in the Succah of some Orthodox Jewish friends and we performed the Jewish ritual of waving the four species for Sukkot - the Jewish festival of Tabernacles. They had a diagram showing how the different species symbolised different parts of the body. The lemon or citron is called an etrog or esrog and is considered feminine and represents the heart and also the breast due to its shape.  During the ritual one holds the etrog in a manner which reminds one of those pictures of the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart in which Jesus and Mary hold their heart in their right hand.

However, for me as a Catholic Jew, I perceived the etrog as symbolising the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady rather than the Sacred Heart of Yeshua, to fit with its feminine meaning in Judaism. Of course in a sense all our hearts and souls can be seen as feminine. One of the most beautiful of literary icons is Jesus describing his loving heart as a Mother Hen gathering its chicks under its wings. These wings invoke the imagery of the wings of the Shekhinah (female Presence). In fact there is a mosaic icon of this literary icon at the Dominus Flevit (The Lord Wept) Church on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

 The idea of the rose-lily among the thorns represents the concept of the Immaculate Conception and Heart. This Immaculate Heart is represented by the Etrog.

 וְעַל דָּא שְׁבָחָא דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא דִּמְשַׁבַּח לָהּ לִכ"י, כְּשׁוֹשַׁנָּה דְּאִיהִי בֵּין הַחוֹחִים, דְּאִיהִי מְעַלְּיָא וְסַלְּקָא עַל כֹּלָּא. כַּךְ כְּנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּין שְׁאָר אוּכְלוּסִין, בְּגִין דְּהִיא סַלְּקָא וּמִתְעַטְּרָא עַל כֹּלָּא. וְדָא שׁוֹשַׁנָה בֵּין הַחוֹחִים, וְאֶתְרוֹג בֵּין הַחוֹחִים, לְאַחֲזָאָה שְׁבָחָא דִּכ"י, עַל כֹּלָּא. 

"Thus, the praise offered by the Blessed Holy One to the Lady of Israel (Kneset Yisrael): Like a rose among the thorns - which is the finest, transcending all (Kola) - so is the Lady of Israel among all of the legions, for She ascends and is crowned over all (Kola). Surely a rose among the thorns and an etrog among thorns, showing the praise of the Lady of Israel above all (Kola)." (Zohar Shmini 3:37b-38a)

I was reading an article about the unique Greek word kecharitomene (fully graced) that only appears once in the Greek Scriptures. When the Archangel Gabriel greets Mary as Kecharitomene he is not referring to the Incarnation as she has not as yet given her fiat or yes. Kecharitomene is not a noun or adjective. It is a verb in its perfect past participle form. Thus we can say it is referring to a continuing grace that has its origins in her perfect past. The origins of her perfect past refers to her Conception which is perfect or immaculate.

Father Giacinto Marie Dagesse in his wonderful article "Who are you, Kecharitomene? You are the Immaculate Mediatrix of all Graces" writes: 

"Now, conception indicates a beginning or origin. It is the very movement from potency to act realized. And so, fully in accord with the mind of the Church, we may rightly associate these two personal and actual identifications: Kecharitomene and the Immaculate Conception...The Church teaches: "God, by the one and the same decree, had established the origin of Mary and the Incarnation of Divine Wisdom" (Bl. Pius IX, Ineffabillus Deus). This "origin" of Mary surely refers to her Immaculate Conception...".

I began to ask myself: when was this "one and same decree" conceived and then spoken. It is obvious that it was conceived in the mind of God in Eternity. When did this decree enter time? It was spoken or sung forth in the Beginning of Creation. In Hebrew the word beginning is "reshit". Thus, this first origin or beginning of Mary is alluded to in the first word of the Bible Bereshit which means literally "with or in beginning". Thus the word Bereshit refers to the concept of the Immaculate Conception and the Incarnation being in the mind of the Creator and being the template or blueprint for his creating of all Creation. In this sense we can say with St. Hildegarde that Our Lady of Wisdom (Sophia) is in this sense the co-Creatrix as well as Mediatrix of all Graces and Co-Redemptrix from all Eternity in the mind of God. 

We must always keep in mind that co- means with and does not mean equality. Thus, when we use the term co-Creatrix it is in the context that God is the sole and only Creator. Mediatrix in the context that Jesus is the sole and only Mediator between God and Man. Co-Redemptrix in the context the Jesus was the sole Redeemer. These terms are used in the sense of being partakers by grace and faith in the Divine Acts.

The word kecharitomene (full of Grace) in Luke 1:28 is in the Peshitta Aramaic מלית טיבותא malit tebuta in which it literally means filled Ark.  Thus, "tebuta" (תבּוּתא) translates to "ark" or "chest", similar to the Hebrew word "tebah" (תֵּבָה), and is used to refer to the Ark of the Covenant. This fits with the concept in Luke 1 which alludes throughout to the Virgin as the living Ark of the Covenant. Translations of kecharitomene in to Hebrew give it as meleat haChesed (full of mercy or loving kindness) or meleat haChen (full of grace) or Ashet-Chen (woman of grace). Maybe the original Hebrew was meleat tebah (מלאת טבה).  

Tebah is also used to refer to Noah's Ark and the Ark of Moses. The other Hebrew word for Ark is Aron which is used for the Ark of the Covenant but not the other two arks. Of course, it is also possible that Gabriel used the Aramaic word tebuta in his greeting due to its association with the Ark of the Covenant. So the greeting may have been "meleat tebuta". It should also be noted that tebah is a feminine noun. These Arks are associated with water as Noah's Ark sailed on the sea and Moses ' ark on the River and thus the Ark of the Covenant with the Sapphire blue sea in heaven. We know that the Temple had white, blue and red marble in it. Was the floor of the Holy of Holies covered with sapphire-blue marble to mirror the heavenly Temple described in Exodus?

Bereshit can also be read as Bat Reshit or Daughter of Beginning. The Jewish rabbis associate the concept of reshit with Wisdom based on the verse in Proverbs 9:10: "The fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom..".  They often interpret Bereshit as "With Wisdom or In Wisdom God created the heavens and the earth." The Ramban (Nachmanides) writes in his commentary on Genesis:  

"...Now Israel, which is called reshit as mentioned above, is the "Kneset Yisrael", which is compared in the Song of Songs to a bride and whom Scripture in turn calls daughter, sister and mother. The Rabbis have already expressed this in a homiletic interpretation of the verse, 'Upon the crown wherewith his mother has crowned Him [Song of Songs 3:11]', and in other places." Similarly, the verse concerning Moses, 'And he chose a first part for himself' [Deut. 33;21], which they interpret to mean that Moses our teacher contemplated through a Isparklarya (lucid speculum/ clear crystal mirror or looking glass), and he saw that which is reshit (the first) for himself, and therefore merited the Torah. Thus all the Midrashim above have one meaning...."

The Ramban reveals that this Bat Reshit (Daughter of Beginning/Wisdom) is the feminine blueprint (umanuta) of Torah in which Moses gazed and beheld the divine mysteries of the Torah. 

The Ramban states that the darkness (khoshek) mentioned in the second verse of Genesis is a different darkness than the darkness mentioned further down in verses 4-5. The first darkness is the uncreated male darkness (v'khoshek) and the second darkness is the created female darkness (hakhoshek). The 'vav' at the beginning of this first mention of darkness alludes to the male and the 'heh' on the second one reveals the female darkness. This male darkness that is connected or veils the face over the deep (Jesus) can be associated with the concept of the protection of the Father. 

The Father refers to God the Father and also on another level to the Shadow of the Father the Tzaddik Joseph. Thus this conceptual dark Shadow of the Father, who is Joseph in Eternity, hides or protects the lights of the Immaculate Conception and Incarnation hidden in the dark waters (the female darkness and waters) of Miriam's Well, which is also the Mystical Womb from before the Dawn. Our Lady is the Mystical House of Reshit and St Joseph is the protecting Master (or Husband) of this House (or Home). Rebbe Nachman teaches that one can rearrange the letters of BeREShiT בראשית to ROSh BeiT ראש בית (the Head or Master of the House) which he refers to the concept of Joseph. 

The concepts of heart and flesh are united in Jeremiah 31 when he refers to the new Covenant (brit) and the basar lev (heart of flesh). In fact the very term Breslov or Breslev alludes to basar lev. This heart of flesh refers to the Eucharistic Heart of the Messiah which the Messiah also offers to all his lovers. This Eucharistic food for His lovers is the bread or manna of the Divine Will- which is the deepest penetration of the Eucharist at the level of receiving the grace of living or dwelling in the Divine Will. The literary icon of Jesus the Messiah (consecrated flesh), Mary (Imma) and Joseph (Abba) in Rebbe Nachman's teaching focuses us on the purity of heart and flesh needed to receive new revelations or insights into Torah that ascends our minds and hearts to the Messianic, Marian and Josephine levels of living in Divine Will.

Reb Nosan of Nemirov and Breslov tells us that this mystery of the mystical kavanot-meditations on the Kiddush in Likutey Moharan 36 are further revealed in Likutey Moharan 101 which uses the same verse  in Psalm 27 to discuss this mystery. Rebbe Nachman reads this verse as  

"When two lovers (mrei'im) come close to eat my flesh, my foes and enemies they stumble and fall" 

in accord with rei'im in Song of Songs 5:1 and other verses as friends or lovers rather than evildoers. In Likutey Moharan 36 Rebbe Nachman links this mystery of the Messianic Kiddush to the mysteries of YaH and Bereshit that I discussed in my previous blog post in regards to the mysteries of the Immaculate Conception and Incarnation. Like St Paul, Rebbe Nachman has glimpsed the mysteries of the Third Fiat or Heaven and hidden them in his writings in a form that can be read on different levels. 

Luisa Piccarreta's writings speak of the eclipsed state of Joseph and this alludes to the ''darkness over the face of the deep'' in Genesis 1. Jesus is that face and his infinite seas are the deep (the mystery of the Incarnation of the God-man). The darkness who is Joseph in Eternity is the protecting dark cloud hiding the mysteries of the Immaculate Conception and Incarnation from Lucifer and his angels. He also hides in the darkness the synergy of the Spirit of God and Our Lady who is the "face over the waters" (the created seas of the attributes (love etc) which is the Mystery of the Immaculate Conception). 

Joseph living and dwelling in the heart of the House of Nazareth, which is the heart of the Kingdom of the Divine Will, is totally eclipsed or darkened and inundated by these seas so that he can become a pure mirror or reflector of these seas in a hidden manner to Luisa and others. In the same manner in which Our Lady is the Dark Lady (Black Madonna) and the Night (Lilah) in order to perfectly reflect the Divine Light so does the darkened or eclipsed Joseph. Our Lady was always dark and inundated or full of grace whereas Joseph had to be darkened (as he was not immaculately conceived) in order to be inundated or filled.

John the Baptist himself was not one of those who lived in the Kingdom of the Divine Will but he was the preparer of this Kingdom as one sent by God as a testimony to the Light (photos) which comes forth from the Divine Word. John himself was not the light (phos) as he didn't dwell in the Kingdom of the Divine Will on earth but he came to witness to the Light (photos) which radiated from the source of this light (phos) that animates all. The Greek uses two different forms of the word for light as phos and photos. Phos seems to be the source of the Light, who is the Word. Photos seems to be the light that radiates from the source in John 1:4-9. This light (phos) is connected with the "vayhi or" (and there was light) of Genesis 1, that was hidden in Miriam's well (Or haGanuz), which concealed the dual mysteries (twilight) of the Incarnation and Immaculate Conception. This was, according to the Jewish mystics and rabbis, the concealed created female light. This light in Judaism is called the light of the Messiah. The LXX Genesis also uses these two different forms of light (phos and photos).

The Fathers of the Church such as Irenaeus, Tertullian and John of Damascus referred to a more ancient reading of John in which John 1:12-13 is read differently so that we can read it as referring to the virgin birth of Christ. These translations allowed for the use of the singular 'was' not the plural 'were' in translations of verse 13 (see Father Aidan Nichols "There is No Rose" and Father Christiaan W. Kappes "The Immaculate Conception"). The word tekna (children or sons) is the Greek translation of Beni (sons) in Hebrew, however the original text may have been ben (son) or beni (my son) alluding to the Akeidah (binding of Isaac).  Isaac is referred to as both beni (my son) and yachid (only begotten) in Genesis 22. Is John confirming a prophetic interpretation of the Akeidah as referring to the Word become flesh (the Lamb of God) who will be the beni and yachid of God himself?

I would read John 1:12-13 as "As many as received him, he gave authority (of the Child (Beni) of God who caused all to come into being) for those believing on the Name of him. For He (the Child of God) was born not of bloods, nor the will of the flesh nor of the human will, but of God was he only-begotten (yachid)." The word in Greek for bloods is aimata which refers to menstrual bloods which the Greek Fathers taught meant that the Virgin did not become ritually impure as other women before conceiving a child. She was the all-holy and all pure one. Some of the Fathers also taught that this also meant that her hymen was intact before, during and after the birth of Jesus. 

Thus, the Virgin had not reached the stage of fertility in puberty before the Holy Spirit overshadowed her and miraculously enabled her to conceive immaculately and virginally. She was the living Ark of the Covenant who was immaculately conceived as well as conceiving the God-Man immaculately and virginally. She is the all-holy and all-pure Mother of God who was at no stage impure or lacking in holiness.

Our Lady is the Voice of the Word. John the Baptist's whole mission has come to him and been invested in him when the voice of Our Lady greeted his mother St Elizabeth and he leaped as he was sanctified and cleansed from original sin. At the same time he received his mission as the prophet of preparation through this Voice of the Virginal and Immaculate Mother (Luke 1 :41). He prepares the way (hodon) of the Lord. In Greek hodon is in the feminine and this way is Our Lady, who leads us the quickest and deepest to the Lord, who is her Son. This is in accord with the old Catholic saying - to Jesus through Mary. John the Baptist is referred to as the "Voice of one crying in the wilderness" (John 1:23 and Isaiah 40:3). This is the wilderness or desert of the "Exile" of this fallen world in which the Immaculate Voice enters to bring forth the Word who is her Son.

The greeting of Our Lady to St Elizabeth that caused the babies to leap in the womb was probably the same greeting he had received from the Archangel Gabriel of "Simchi" (Rejoice). As King David leapt with joy and devotion before the Ark of the Covenant so the babies leap for joy (simchah) at the sound of the voice of Our Lady who is the living and heavenly Ark of the Covenant.

John's baptism is connected with water and Our Lady is linked to the concept of waters (mayim) in Genesis 1:2 where her name Miriam (מרים) is hidden in the well of the text beginning with the final mem of mayim counting 26 letters three times (Mem Resh Yod Mem = MRYM=Miriam). These waters also allude to the waters of the wombs of Our Lady and St Elizabeth in which Jesus and John dwelt. St John of Damascus taught that just as Jesus was not purified by the baptismal waters of John's Baptism but the waters were sanctified by him so Our Lady was not purified by the ritual baptisms of Judaism (mikva) but she purified them (see Fr Christiaan W. Kappes  "The Immaculate Conception"). 

The connection between waters of the mikva and Our Lady also is found in Genesis 1 in the concept of "the gathering of the waters called seas" (Genesis 1:10). In the Vulgate Latin it uses the word Maria for this gathering (congregation/ mikva/ kneset) of waters. She is the Kneset Yisrael as the mother and revealer of Israel and its Messiah. Kneset Yisrael is often identified as the Matronita and the Shekhinah in Jewish mysticism.

Using the bricolage (likutey) approach, St Lawrence of Brindisi came to rich theological insights about Jesus, Mary and Joseph. He stressed the Divine Maternity of Mary as the basis for Mariology better than any Catholic writer before him. His Mariale has 84 sermons on the theme of Mary that he gave. His trust in her was incredible and one must remember he led Catholic troops into battle against the Turkish Muslims unarmed with only a crucifix to protect him. In 1601 he rode into battle on a horse at the head of the Catholic army of 18,000 troops against the 60,000 Turkish troops with only his crucifix and while he wore out or had shot under him five horses he survived without an injury. He worked many incredible miracles witnessed by many people at the time. 

He understood that Jesus and Mary were inseparable in God’s plan in a similar way that Rebbe Nachman saw the Abba and Imma as two who could not be separated. He saw that the roles of the Messiah and his Mother were included in the one Divine Decree of the universal primacy of the Messiah. The Messiah and his Mother always act together and thus Lawrence saw the role of Mary as co-redemptrix at the foot of the Cross. He also taught the concepts of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption long before they became dogmas. Pope John XXIII in 1959, when he proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church, said that Lawrence’s Mariale contained the “most complete doctrine regarding the Mother of God”. Father Blaine Burkey considered St Lawrence a giant of Josephology and refers to him as a Doctor of the Incarnation based on his five sermons about St Joseph. Thus by his gleaning of insights from diverse Jewish and Christian sources St Lawrence enriched our understanding of the mysteries of Divine Revelation.

The priest in the Divine Will movement, that I respected the most, was the late Franciscan Father Robert Young who also accepted that St Joseph lived in the Divine Will. It was also the Franciscans that understood that Mary had been immaculately conceived and argued with the Dominicans over this for centuries before the Magisterium decided the issue definitely and infallibly in 1854. Even the great Dominican theologian and philosopher St Thomas Aquinas was wrong on his teaching in regard to this mystery of the Immaculate Conception.

Today, we have very erudite and theologically impressive men, who like St Thomas Aquinas was wrong on the immaculate conception, so are they in regards to Joseph living in the Divine Will. They are sincere but they are sincerely wrong. In order to virtually deny the direct references to Joseph living in Divine Will in the writings of the servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta, they have to preform theological gymnastics in order to exclude St Joseph from the fullness of the gift of living in Divine Will.  The whole thrust of Josephology in the Church and the reclaiming of the role of the Father has to be ignored or sidelined.

I suggest these men study the teachings of the great doctor of the Church St Lawrence of Brindisi in his understanding of the Holy House of Nazareth - of Jesus, Mary and Joseph - as the Incarnational Circle. This Incarnational Circle is also known as the Order of the Hypostatic Union. St Joseph is not just one of the saints. He is unique icon and shadow of the Father and no saint including Luisa can have a grace higher than him except for Jesus and Mary. Joseph is one in soul and totally eclipsed in Mary. In fact Luisa is not a cuckoo in the House of Nazareth who throws out St Joseph but in fact all her acts and her unique mission in Divine Will are done in union with Jesus, Mary and Joseph. All our acts in Divine Will we unite with Luisa, as she unites with Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in order to bring the fullness of Glory to God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Yehuda Liebes, a leading Israeli scholar of Jewish Mysticism believes that the main mission of Rebbe Nachman was to make reparation or tikkun for this Sabbatean heresy and to redeem the lost sparks of wisdom found in it. While arriving at this conclusion independently of Liebes, I would agree with his opinion except I distinguish Sabbateanism and Frankism as two separate movements. 

Liebes, like most writers and scholars following Gershom Scholem, perceives Frankism as almost synonymous with Sabbateanism. Thus, in my opinion, he misunderstands both Rebbe Nachman and Frank and their relationship to Sabbateanism. Frank was a former Sabbatean who led his followers away from the spiritually and morally impure and depraved Sabbatean teachings. He did this by a renewed focus on and study of the mystical Book of the Zohar and an emphasis on the mysterious Eleh or Matronita (Goddess of the Zohar). 

Thus, the Frankists  or Zoharists were at the forefront of a Marian renewal movement which would lead to a new Marian Age in which the Roman Catholic Church through the Pope would proclaim the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and Assumption. Frank began to realise that the only one who could repair or remedy (tikkun) such spiritual pollution and corruption was the noble Lady of the Zohar. Those devoted to this Lady were able in union with her to perform complete or universal acts of reparation. Frank himself was slandered, misinterpreted and condemned by many in both the Catholic and Jewish communities of the 18th century (and even today). 

Rebbe Nachman referencing the Zohar, associates the Lady Mother with the Beautiful Maiden without Eyes. Weiss has demonstrated that this Zoharic imagery is connected to the idea of Ecclesia and Synagoga (whose eyes are veiled) with the concept of the Virgin Mary.  Rebbe Nachman will further develop this theme in the Likutey Moharan and also in his folktale of the Lost Princess. Elliot Wolfson also associated this maiden without eyes in the Zohar, with the Shekhinah and the sorrowing Rachel. Ellen D. Haskell has also perceived the Zoharic image and the suffering Rachel to Christian ideas and imagery. Sharon Koren also perceives the Marian themes in the Zohar regarding the matriarch Sarah and the Virgin Mary:

The dichotomy between Sarah and Eve in the Zohar evokes the well-known dichotomy between Mary and Eve in medieval Christianity. Though many rabbinic texts posit that the nonagenarian Sarah never menstruated until three angels arrived to announce the birth of Isaac, the Zohar interprets Sarah’s amenorrhea as a mark of her sanctity and unique status among women. Untainted by menstruation, Sarah is able to achieve a level of sanctity denied Eve and her other descendants. Sarah was free of the stain of impurity, just as Mary was free of the stain of concupiscence. (Sharon Koren, "Immaculate Sarah: Echoes of the Eve/Mary Dichotomy in the Zohar," Viator 41, no. 2 (2010): 183-201.)

In the history of the church we saw the teaching of the Immaculate Conception was debated and even the great Marian saint St Bernard of Clairvaux was worried about such a title that would be "adding to the glories of Mary" rather than to Jesus. Pope Sixtus IV a Franciscan Pope supported the idea of the Immaculate Conception and even made a feast day for it, however Pius V who was a Dominican Pope changed the feast name to the Conception of Mary. The Council of Trent sidestepped it in much the same way  as Vatican Council II did for the idea of Mary's as Co-Redemptrix being proclaimed as a title or dogma. In the end in 1854 in a carefully worded statement the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed and all Catholics had to then accept it.

The Book of Zohar also says that God "fills all worlds and surrounds all worlds" (Zohar 3:225a). This Divine Filling of the Creation (also called the Ray of Light) is associated with the letter beth or beit which also means 'house' (bayit/ beth). Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan says in his commentary on the Bahir: 

"the concept whereby God 'fills all worlds' is indicated by the word 'blessing'. Whenever God reveals His Essence in anything, He is said to 'bless' that thing, and the verse therefore states that 'the filling is God's blessing'." 

Therefore, we see that the Divine Wisdom is also Torah. Thus, Torah is blessing or is filled with God's blessing, which is God as Divine Wisdom himself. Rabbi Berachiah in the Sefer Bahir associates the Torah with the Sea referring to Job 11:9. This is also referred to as the Sea of Wisdom and is connected to Imma (Mother/mama) as the vessel who receives and holds the Divine Wisdom. Miriam haKedosha (Holy Mary) is called 'full of Grace' i.e. filled with Chesed (Mercy).

Miriam (Mary) like the Universe is a 'House' (beth/Bayit) that receives the point of Divine Wisdom as a seed, and is then filled with the Blessing from on High. Mary is thus the 'House of God' or 'Temple of God' and the 'Mother of the Creation' and 'Mother of the Church' (Kehilla/Kneset), which is called the 'Household of God' in the New Testament. Mary is also 'Bethlehem' (Beth=House, Lekhem=bread) the House that receives the Living Bread. In one sense, Mary's role in the Incarnation mirrors the Creation. She is also Bat Reshit the  First (reshit) Lady or Daughter (bat) or the Daughter of Beginning.

While the other manifestations of the Divine Will are only in the effects of the Divine Will as a sign pointing to the coming of the Kingdom of the Divine Will, with the Immaculate Conception this Kingdom of the Divine Will on earth, in its fullness, had its genesis after the Fall. It then reigned in the Holy House of Nazareth in the Holy Family but was absent from the earth in its fullness after the Assumption of Our Lady into heaven until 1889, when it was restored in the person of the Catholic servant of God Luisa Piccarreta and its Kingdom is expanding in those who desire to live in and receive the grace of the living in the Divine Will, rather than just following the Divine Will.

Chanukah celebrates not just the Miracle of the Oil but all the manifestations of the effects of the Divine Will in delivering Israel from their enemies. The song Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages) that we sing on Chanukah reflects that tradition. In the New Testament this festival is called the Feast of Dedication which is also alluded to in the first verse of Maoz Tzur.

The Jewish month of Kislev in which Chanukah and Christmas occur is represented by the keshet (bow). This month is celebrated in honour of Mary and Joseph by Christians. The mystery of the Rainbow as the mystical union between Shekhinah (also represented by malkut as Mystery of the Kingdom) and Yesod (Tzaddik/Joseph) represents the virginal nuptial union of Mary and Joseph. This was celebrated in the Catholic Church traditionally on January 23. Thus, Noah as a Tzaddik represents the Tzaddik Joseph and in Catholic Marian spirituality the refuge of Mary's Immaculate Heart is sometimes associated with the refuge of Noah's Ark. Noah's wife's name according to the Book of Jubilees is Emzara which can mean "mother of the seed" - this alludes to Genesis 3:15 and thus she is a type of the future Mother of the Messiah.

The Zohar as the Dark Light is a manifestation of the effects of the Divine Will, revealed in salvation or redemption history. The Book of the Zohar begins, as we have articulated here, with the mystery of the 'Rose among the thorns' which alludes to the Immaculate Conception and reveals that the Book of the Zohar is one that should be read through the prism of Marian mysticism, which reveals that hidden light, which is one light that is two lights of the  mysteries of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin and the Incarnation of the Messiah her Son.  

Added 16 February 2025: Last night I had a dream about the meaning of the Ark of the Covenant. It was connected to the Hebrew letters of sofit mem ם and samech ס. The samech was inside the sofit mem representing the sofit mem with the box of the Ark and the samech as the dome mercy seat or kippor in the shape of a human skull within the Ark. The Hebrew word sam (סם) can have the meaning of place or support. The word for Sapphire (ספיר) in Hebrew begins with a samech. The mem can represent makom (מקום) which means place and is often used in Jewish texts as a word for the Eternal One. Thus, the samech mem can mean the Sapphire Place (מקום ספיר) in the Temple's Holy of Holies, in which the Ark of the Covenant (Aron haBrit or Tebuta) is seen as the Throne of God on which God dwells.