So Sayeth the Rabbi

So, there I was minding my own business Friday night innocently opening an email. It was a reply to my Veteran's Day post that I placed on a local pagan list. Only, it wasn't a reply to that at all.

My friend and local anthropologist, Penny, invited me to attend a lecture given by a local rabbi on the qabala. Given that I start any teaching I do the qabala by stating that we don't use the qabala as a Jewish person would, I thought it would be a jolly good idea to learn how Jewish folks did it.

I left Bakersfield earlier than I had intended in order to make it back in town in time. I immediately liked the Rabbi. He radiated good fun energy and love. A synagogue was a new experience for me. We sat very close to the holy place. This was not a place called a holy place. It was a holy place. I really enjoyed the energy. The guitar and drumming made this pagan feel right at home.


I noticed a friend of the rabbi's stare at me during many parts of his talk. I thought this a bit odd.
It has been said that a magickal lodge is a group of people that get together and agree to a common mispronunciation of Hebrew. The rabbi of course doesn't have that problem and it was a joy to hear the words I have used pronounced properly. I was really overjoyed to hear him explain things about the Kabbalah that I worked on and learned intuitively through the study of the Qabala.

At one point we had to tell the person next to us what we really really really wanted. I spoke of my desire to manifest the highest aspects of my soul in the hear and now. I also said that I used the qabala as taught in the Golden Dawn tradition to do so. Much to my surprise, the rabbi then declared that our partners would publicly share what we just told them privately. My partner forgot everything I said on the soul but did mention my interest in the Golden Dawn. When he did so the rabbi's eyebrow's shot up. As soon as my partner stopped talking, the Rabbi declared I'd teach them about the Golden Dawn. I have a fifteen minute presentation to prepare.

Once things wound down to a bit of social chit chat, the staring person came over to me as she's always wanted to meet a Golden Dawn person. It would appear that I have more introductory teaching to do with her.