Chasidic Service of God: Imagining God's Name

 

 

Visualizing God’s Name (the Tetragrammaton, Y-H-V-H) is an ancient practice based on the verse, “I have set the Lord always before me” (Tehillim 16:8), and the commandment of cleaving to God. It entails forming in one’s mind the letters of the Tetragrammaton in Ashurit script (the lettering used for writing sifrei Torah, tefillin, etc.) The kabbalist R. Yitzchak De-Min Akko – a disciple of the Ramban[1] whose Meirat Enayim is a commentary on the esoteric teachings included in the Ramban’s commentary on the Torah – explains how one achieves closeness to God by means of this visualization:

 

 

By visualizing the letters of God’s Name, a person can fulfill the commandment of cleaving to God.[3]

 

The anthology Shivchei Ha-Besht includes a story about R. Nachman of Kosov, a disciple of the Ba’al Shem Tov, who followed this practice. In a conversation with the Ba’al Shem Tov, they discussed this topic:

 

 

One of the Chassidic masters who made use of this technique was R. Elimelekh of Lizhensk:

 

 

R. Kalonymus offered similar guidance to his chassidim and the readers of his book:

 

 

This much is well known, both in kabbalah and in Chassidism. But R. Kalonymus goes on to add his own innovation – not with regard to the practice itself, but rather in the attention that he devotes to those who are unsuccessful in carrying out this visualization and his suggestion of tools to help them overcome the difficulty.

 

No previous Chassidic work had described any problem that might be encountered in carrying out the visualization, or any solution. We may assume that guidance in this regard was generally conveyed as a sort of “oral Torah” by Rebbes to their disciples. R. Kalonymus was the first to commit it to writing, and his teaching may reflect his own personal contribution. He describes the difficulty of a chassid who tries to follow this practice, but is unsuccessful:

 

 

The description of frustration is surprising: Why does it matter if this individual is unsuccessful? Why he is “unfortunate”? This chassid is experiencing difficulty in following a kabbalistic practice – but there are surely many kabbalistic practices, yichudim, and kavanot that he is unable to follow!

 

R. Kalonymus goes on to explain the importance of this practice for students of Torah in his generation. It is not an esoteric custom for singular individuals; rather, it appears in halakhic literature as a technique that helps to develop fear of God. R. Yehuda Ashkenazi, who served as a dayan in Tiktin (Tykocin) in the mid-18^th century, is the author of Be’er Heitev, which includes a commentary on the Shulchan Arukh and halakhic rulings and cites many sources from the Zohar and the writings of the Ari. In his commentary on the words of R. Moshe Isserles (the Rema), “‘I have set the Lord before me always’ is a great principle in the Torah and in the virtues of the tzaddikim,”[8] he writes:

 

 

This indicates that the practice is to be found not only in chassidic works, such as No’am Elimelekh, but also in halakhic literature. Thus, anyone who strives for punctilious observance of the commandments, including all the laws codified in the Shulchan Arukh and elaborated upon by the commentaries, will try to perfect this practice, too. This explains the frustration of a scholar who is unable to form the letters in his mind.

 

R. Kalonymus attempts to solve the problem by analyzing the causes of the difficulty. When a person tries to create a mental picture of something, even if the image is very familiar – say, for instance, the image of his father – he will generally find that the harder he tries, the harder it seems to visualize the image, to the point that he feels that it has escaped his mental storage system. There is a reason for this: “Since he is exerting his mind and his self-conscious intellect, his power of imagination is weakened and even drifts completely away.”[10] When the conscious will imposes itself on the imagination, the thinking about the desired object fills the consciousness, and imagination dissipates and disappears.[11]

 

There are some people who, owing to the more elevated sanctity of their bodies and souls, are more easily able to visualize God’s Name:

 

 

In previous generations of Chassidut, the chassid would sanctify himself through the journey to the Rebbe – both in terms of his preparations for the journey and by virtue of the actual encounter – and then he would be capable of visualizing God’s Name. But now, with the deterioration of the generations and the decline of Chassidut, a special remedy is required.

 

The solution is to try at first to concentrate not on forming the letters of God’s Name, but rather on a broader scene, and then, as part of that scene, to visualize the Tetragrammaton. As an example, R. Kalonymus proposes that the person imagine himself sitting amongst the congregation in the synagogue during the reading of the Torah, and his name is called for an aliya. He ascends the bima and recites the blessings over the Torah, and the reader begins to read. He follows along with the verses in the Torah scroll, reaching the words, “And the Lord spoke to Moshe, saying…” He gazes at the verse, which includes God’s Name, “and in this manner he visualizes the entire verse, including the Name of God, in his imagination, without being hindered by his evil inclination.”[13]

 

This “remedy” plays a trick on the person’s nature, as it were, in order to achieve the desired result, and is an example of R. Kalonymus’s efforts to find different solutions for various problems faced by the chassidim of his generation. At the same time, he did not regard such “remedies” as a full and complete solution:

 

 

One needs extensive practice to develop the imagination, along with a profound familiarity with the recesses of the psyche, allowing one to develop other ploys that facilitate control over the mental and imaginative processes.

 

 

In his book Tzav Ve-Ziruz, which includes a spiritual autobiography, brief thoughts on the meaning of life, and practical advice in Divine service, R. Kalonymus writes:

 

 

This advice reflects R. Kalonymus’s approach in enlisting the imagination as part of one’s personal character development. One should contemplate a vision of oneself for the future, and then direct his path and his actions towards that vision. The use of the imagination in this context allows one to escape the boundaries of the static reality in which “I am who I am” and to generate real change. The imaginary “me” is a sort of ideal or dream that I have for my life, and thus my imagination facilitates growth towards a better reality.

 

The main innovations of this teaching are, first, the idea of envisioning a future, improved version of oneself, and second, guidance as to dealing with the gap between that ideal and the current reality. The gap is unsettling, and it goads one into constant spiritual work to achieve one’s imagined vision.

 

In a similar manner, R. Kalonymus teaches us that imagination can be an effective tool in dealing with anger:

 

 

The fact that R. Kalonymus recommends directing one’s anger (and even actual insults and abuse) towards an imaginary representation of another person indicates that in this context, he does not seek to identify the imagination with the reality. In addition, it is worth noting that R. Kalonymus attaches importance to the expression of negative feelings, rather than suppressing them – but only in a manner that will not hurt the other person in any way.

 

 

The danger of employing the imagination is that a person will become accustomed to living in an imaginary reality, enjoying his illusions and perhaps forgetting their real purpose. With this in mind, R. Kalonymus adds a general comment concerning the use of one’s imagination. He makes it clear that the main, important goal is to reveal and connect with one’s psyche; the mental images are not an end in themselves:

 

 

There is something else that concerns R. Kalonymus: the possibility that encouraging the use of the imagination will lead to fantasies and dreamy illusions. To combat this danger, a person must practice his self-control and self-regulation in relation to his thoughts, rather than allowing them complete freedom. R. Kalonymus emphasizes that there is no need to create artificial visions, which have their source in the external wrapping of the intellect. Rather, the images should arise naturally from within the person:

 

 

For your feeling will thereby pass away, and the images that arise from [conscious] searching are merely the work of the intellect. What we want is for God to help us to see from the perspective of the psyche, which is higher than the intellect. The intellect invents a sort of analogy that makes something seem similar to something else. What we want is to reveal a spark of the perspective of the children of prophets, which is inside us. And to this end we must expose and bring out powerful thought and imagination of holiness… Not empty fantasies, which are worthless and far from a psyche of holiness… let only the imagination of the psyche and visions of holiness arise in you.[18]

 

What is the right way to use one’s imagination, without slipping into fantasy? How can one achieve mental images that arise from the psyche rather than foreign “imports” introduced by the intellect?

 

R. Kalonymus explains that every person experiences imaginary images in accordance with his own character. Some people experience brief, transient mental pictures; others imagine longer scenes. Every person imagines within his own inner world, and the images that are produced are influenced by the pictures he carries inside him. Thus, for example, the images that arise in the mind of a carpenter will be different from those of an artist or a merchant, since each of them will experience mental visions that relate to his sphere of work and involvement. However, each of them uses his imagination not only while they are actually engaged in their work, but also later on; even in their old age, when their inner world is aroused, they will experience mental pictures relating to the reality with which they are familiar. The idea is, then, that there is no need to exert oneself in an effort to “invent” images; rather, one should allow them to float to the surface of his consciousness, without actively seeking them. This is the demand that is made of a Jew, whose imagination is “the perspective of the children of prophets” and whose holy psyche is capable of producing “holy thoughts and visions.”

 

The practical conclusion that R. Kalonymus proposes is to allow the products of the psyche to emerge on their own:

 

 

Translated by Kaeren Fish