The cycle of a year is not merely a series of discrete points-in-time strung together. The distinct feelings and activities of each period flow into each other, forming a seamless and continuously unfolding psycho-spiritual journey. As with every journey, there are ups and downs, ebbs and flows, highs and lows. If we engage con-sciously with this journey, the endless cycle can become an evolving spiral of spiritual growth. Every year we can re-experience the subtle seasonal shifts from a higher level of understanding , and harness them for deeper contemplation and action. To do this, we need to understand the metaphysical patterns at play behind the scenes and screens of nature.
What are the spiritual ‘reasons’ behind the summer’s heat and the winter’s frigid cold? Why does spring so often evoke feelings of hope, and autumn subtle feelings of loss or melancholy? What do these congruences between moon and mood teach us? What are the spiritual energies fueling these experiences in time? How can we leverage the different subtle qualities throughout the year toward creating a more meaningful, happy, and productive life?
Each year, we experience a linear progression of spring, summer, fall, and winter -with all of their attendant physical and spiritual ramifications revealing themselves one after the next. At the same time, we also experience the cyclical nature of the year. The seasonal coordinates and phenomenal displays of nature repeat year after year and may appear indistinguishable, as if we are living through the same patterns over and over and again.
The Torah introduced a new way of observing and counting tune to the ancient world; one that is linear and progressive, rather than cyclical and repetitive. In this view, time began at Creation, and we are steadily progressing in a continuous quest toward Complete Redemption. Some ancient Kabbalistic texts do speak about recurring universes which are called Shemitos / seven-thousand year cycles, (Sefer Hatemunah, Hakdamah Temunah 3, p.27). Yet, according to all Torah sources, time is a creation, and so by definition, time itself began at a certain point. This new way of seeing time allowed, and allows, humankind to think of our future. Awareness of this new horizon empowers us to create a better tomorrow for ourselves and for the world.
Thé universe is progressively evolving, not stagnating or regressing to a more primitive order. Nonetheless, even as all matter is evolving, we still have free choice. We can respond spiritually to the material, technological, and social progress happening all around us and become more and more refined. Or we can choose to evolve only superficially -perhaps living longer and increasing in material wealth and quantity of information, but stagnating spiritually. Sadly, the past century has shown us that advanced technology can be used to destroy more lives than ever before thought possible; and rationality and sophisticated knowledge can breed prejudices of the darkest kind. In any journey there may be setbacks -this is natural. The challenge for us (at this stage of history) is to avoid becoming dispirited or pessimistic. We must instead take our tremendous propensity and craving for progress in physical as well as intellectual pursuits, and channel this inclination roward spiritual pursuits as well.
In all of creation, only human beings are able to progress or regress spiritually. Everything else is designed to be spiritually stationary. When plants, animals, angels, minerals, molecules, or elements are created, their mode of functioning is pre-programmed, so-to-speak, and they do not change qualitatively throughout the duration of their “individual” existence. Most things and beings are therefore basically predictable. We, on the other hand, have the amazing ability to become whatever we desire. There is no limit to the levels of self-elevation or self-degradation we can attain. Yesterday’s behavior is by no means an absolute indicator of how we will behave today. Self-transformation remains forever a real possibility. And yet, despite this linear model of time and change that we have just outlined, it cannot be disputed that time flows cyclically as well, such as in the recurring seasons of the year. Every year spring arrives with the energy of Pesach, and every year autumn offers up the energy of Sukkos. And yet, concurrently, time is also progressing forward. The best way to describe this simultaneous coexistence of linear and circular paradigms as expressed in the our calendar is that times flows as a spiral-turning round and round again, yet simultaneously progressing forward and upward. As we will explore in greater detail, the calendar achieves this spiral dynamic of time by counting and combining the solar and lunar cycles.
The ‘spiral’ of time is the Sod HaIbur/ The Secret of the Leap Year, in which we join the progressive movement of the lunar calendar with the cyclical nature of the solar calendar. On the surface this does not seem like such a ‘secret,’ it’s merely a calculation to collate the monthly cycles of the moon with the annual cycles of seasons and sun. But on a deeper level, the ‘secret of the leap year,’ according to our calendar, which combines both lunar and solar cycles, is that by counting time in this way we are balancing and unifying these polarities, and all that they represent, within our lived experience.
In Hebrew, time is called z’man. The word z’man is also related to the word hazmana, which means, to prepare or invite (Sanhedrin, 47b). We can view time as either moving away from the past or toward the future. In truth, z’man suggests both. Z’man flows from the inevitability of the past, but is also pulled from the possibility of the future. It is both moving out of the beginning of Creation, and at the same time moving into a status of Redemption.
How can we ourselves escape stagnant circling in life, engage in forward motion, and spiral upwards into greater spiritual illumination? The cycles of time contain myriad points of light and positive influence. As we traverse the years of our life, we can gather these points of light in ourselves to internalize and activate them. By understanding the different spiritual influences throughout the year, and by gaining access to the corresponding tools, we can garner support and generate the momentum necessary to put stagnation behind us, and begin to spiral upwards.
Book: The Spiral of Time, unraveling the yearly cycle
Author: Rabbi Dovber Pinson
