Songs of Finitude

For a full explication of Finitude and its implications, I refer the reader to the writings of my mentor and friend, the late Dr. Alvin J. Reines, which can be found at www.polydoxy.org For a full explication of finitude, see the writings of my late friend and mentor, Dr. Alvin J. Reines, which can be found at www.polydoxy.org

The concept of tzimtzum ("contraction, in-drawing") comes from Jewish mystical tradition. According to this doctrine, prior to the creation of the universe, Deity's light was infinite, and in order to bring the universe into being, Deity had first to "make room" for it! This was done through tzimtzum, by Deity's "contraction" of its essence.

Rabbi Akiva (50 – 135 CE) ranks among the greatest of Jewish sages and was the spiritual leader of the Jewish community of Palestine. He was imprisoned and sentenced to death by combing by the Romans for his support of the Bar Kochba rebellion. Combing, like crucifixion, was an ingeniously sadistic Roman method of execution. Wool combs, which were essentially pieces of wood with long metal spikes, used to separate and smooth sheared wool, were used instead to tear the skin off the condemned. It is impossible to determine the actual circumstances of Akiva’s death; accounts range from the fantastic to the somewhat pedestrian assertion that he died in prison while awaiting execution. According to some accounts, Rabbi Akiva’s execution took place at the time of the morning prayers, when Jewish law would have required the recitation of the Shema – “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is One! And you shall the love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might…” One account has him calmly explaining to his disciples, in the midst of this torture, that he now understood that “with all your soul” meant even if God takes your soul. While this narrative is clearly fantastical, it is true that two of Akiva’s central teachings were that true love of God meant a willingness to suffer martyrdom, and that martyrdom atoned for sin. As a mystic, Akiva yearned for a more immediate experience of God. In Jewish mystical tradition, as in virtually all others, close encounters with the divine are viewed as dangerous in the extreme, potentially lethal (e.g., “You cannot see my face, for no human can see me and live.” Exodus 33:20). Legend has Akiva and three of his contemporaries engaging in a mystical rite designed to achieve that proximity. Of the four, only Akiva emerged unharmed: one died, another went mad, and the third became a heretic!

– “the voice of the bridegroom.” From the Seven Benedictions of the traditional Jewish marriage ceremony. The final benediction reads, in part, as follows: “Soon may there be heard in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of joy and gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the jubilant voices of bridegrooms from their nuptial canopies...."(italics added)

I have known Terry Lillian Segal since she was 7, myself being 10 years older. This poem grew in response to my attempt to describe to another friend just what it is she does. To refer to her as a "massage therapist" borders on an abuse of language.