The Pattern of Life IV - Time

To meet in time, come face to face

A symbiotic essence

With which to harmonize, to ascend

To a symbiotic essence 

To grow again 

The cycle of time meets our pattern quite nicely. We spoke about how all things move through three stages. The first is an inspired state, the second a bit more challenging, and the third is the ultimate arrival, the utopian state. 

We often experience time through a narrow perspective. We can believe our time is equal and should elicit the same responses at all times. Like most things in life, time ebbs and flows. Time is not linear nor is it without distinction. Time plays favorites. An arbitrary concept to us, the meaning of time is only that which G-d prescribes it. 

And prescribe it, He does. All time has an energy, a specific essence to which it lends itself. The forces of time impress upon the world and infuse that specific period with its energy. These forces were in existence before creation and is what gives birth to the occurrences which happen at that particular time. Passover is the time of redemption while Hanuka is a time of miracles. These holidays happened in their respective months because the energy of the month demanded they happen then.

The Hebrew word for time, mo’ed, offers insight into the secret of time. A mo’ed is a point in time, a meeting point in time, with its own unique energy. This can be broken down to times of the year, month, week, day, etc. We call holidays, mo’ed. Shabbat is a mo’ed. Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries .. they are markers, to mark the passage of time. They are also channels to connect with G-d. A mo’ed is a point in time to meet with the essence G-d puts forth, an elevated, inspired state. 

The root of mo’ed, ed, means witness. To witness something is to see it firsthand, an active seeing, not a passive one. When we see something it becomes an intrinsic part of us, a knowledge we can’t deny. To witness something is to internalize it, to know it. When we bear witness to time, to the energy of that time, we engage with it, meet it, we embody it and actively allow it to change us. We ride the energy of that time. 

The fullest expression of time can be found in our pattern. Our souls enjoy the bliss of shamayim, heaven, a time of inspiration, and are then thrust down into the world of process, a world with a hidden G-d, a world of friction and trials. Our souls, through our physical selves, toil and work, building and growing, ultimately returning to Olam Haba on a higher level than from whence they began. 

Our time in this world parallels this pattern. The years go through cycles and the same point each year, when sandwiching a year of growth, will be experienced on a higher level than the year before. Moments of inspiration become the springboard for our growth until we meet next. Life is lived as an upward spiral, from mo’ed to mo’ed.

Our weeks are much the same. We begin with the exalted Shabbat, then descend to the mundaneness of the weekdays, where friction occurs, necessitating toil and growth, ensuring we greet the following Shabbat at a higher level. And the cycle continues, with the previous Shabbat always becoming the first and next point of origin for our spiritual development, and the following Shabbat one of transcendence. 

Our days follow this pattern as well. We wake with a burst of energy, a zest, inspired and enthusiastic. We push through the process of the day and finally retire at night feeling fulfilled, able to look back at time well spent. Our day had far surpassed what we had originally hoped for. Accomplishment trumps anticipation. 

The essence of time began before time and extends well after. Its energies affect the natural world as well as our psyches. When we understand time we are able to successfully ride its wave, to maximize our potential. May we all synchronize with the flow of time, use it to its fullest expression and allow it to further our growth as we move through the pattern of life.