Scripture and Divine Revelation can only be truly understood by those who are able to think mystically, intuitively and laterally. Like the Stag leaping across the mountains, in the Song of Songs 2:8, one must leap intuitively from concept to concept to glimpse a trace of that’ knowing’ (da'at) which is beyond all knowing.[6] At the heart of the practice of Eucharistic Adoration and the deeper penetration of the Divine Revelation is the encounter with the face of the mysterious ‘other’. The concept of the face is important in both Biblical and Jewish thought from which Catholicism in its Eucharistic theology and practice draws its concepts. The face is also important in many forms of dance such as the Ballet and the Tango. The cherubim atop the Ark of the Covenant allude to this ethical focus which is articulated by the Orthodox Jewish philosophy and Talmudic expositor Immanuel Levinas.[7]
The space between the two faces of the cherubim (and their embracing wings), when they are facing each other, is considered in Judaism the holiest space on earth.[8] This is the mystical dance space. When the Jewish people practiced loving kindness (chesed) then the angels faced one another and Israel was blessed and the Divine Voice spoke between the faces of the cherubim [9] (one face is male and one face is female according to Jewish teaching [see Rashi]). When Israel sinned the cherubim would look away from each other and their purifying gaze would fall upon the people. This movement of faces and wings is seen as a form of mystical dance. This face to face contact and rendezvous reminds one of the Latin American dance, the Tango, in which the dancers demonstrate an intensity as much through the face to face encounter as to the dance steps.
This intimate mystical dance or prayer struggle between Philosophia and Theologica, oral and written, male and female, faith and reason, Judaism and Catholicism, ethical transcendence and eschatology begets its Eucharistic fruit of Adoratio (Eucharistic adoration connected in Latin to the mystical kiss) which leads to new mystical and Torah insights that for the Hebrew Catholic leads to a deeper and richer Eucharistic-centred Torah-observant way of life.
This dance of the faces of the two cherubim also alludes to the mystery of the two faces of Genesis 1 hidden in the mystery of the Light of Messiah concealed in Miriam's Well. This is the mystical Dance of Light. Miriam's Well is the female vessel that is called song and dance (the said amar) and the conceptual male Light of the Messiah is the singing and dancing (the saying yomer). Thus this is linked to Miriam's song and dance (in the immanent eternal now) at the Exodus with the women of Israel and Moses' song (the transcendent eschatological singing of the future). In the Eucharist and in Eucharistic Adoration the immanent and transcendent encounter one another in a dance-like intimate virginal union.
The Rabbis link the concepts of song, music, dance, well (be’er), waters, sea, Miriam and gathering (mikveh/ kneset/ congregationesque) together, in Genesis 1, Exodus 15 and Numbers 21. Dancing with the light that is in Miriam’s Well, is the “Face upon the Waters”- the primordial waters of the well. The light she (the face upon the waters that is Miriam in Eternity) receives, is the light of the Messiah.[10] This mystical or primordial ‘twilight’ (two lights as one) represent the mystery of the Incarnation and Annunciation in the ‘immemorial past’ at the beginning (bereshit). This is the light and spirit of the Messiah blazing forth as the conceptual “face upon the deep” who hovers or interacts in a dance-like choreography with Miriam (the mystical Miriam who is Our Lady in Eternity) the conceptual “face upon the waters” and is encompassed in the darkness (the mystery of Joseph in Eternity) of the primordial mystical womb of Miriam’s well.
The ‘face upon the waters’ circling the ‘face upon the deep (tahom)’ in Genesis 1:2 represents this wrestling or struggle or circle dance, that brings forth the hidden light or blessing. This is linked by the mystical Rabbis with Proverbs 8:26 the ‘Circle over the face of the deep’, Job 26:10 the “circle over the face of the waters’. This concept of the spiral circle dance is associated with Miriam dancing with the women at the Red Sea.[11] It also alludes to the Jewish bride (kallah) circling her bridegroom (khatan) in the Jewish wedding ceremony (Psalm 19:5-6). This is part of the mystery of “a woman shall encompass a man”(Jer 31:22.) as a mystical besieging or wrestling in prayer by the Mother or Woman (symbolised by Rachel) that produces a ‘son’ ( Gen 30:7-8) who will continue the dance of life. Miriam (as the upper mother Binah or Understanding) and Rachel (as the lower Mother Shekhinah) in Eternity can represent Our Lady but the mystical Rachel (as the upper daughter Da'at or hidden Knowledge and the lower daughter Malkhut or Kingdom) can also represent the servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta, in the Kingdom of the Divine Will on earth.
As male, the tenth sefirah (attribute or emanation) of the Sefirotic array is seen as malkhut (kingdom) and shokhen (male presence) as the bouncing or dancing scrotum (galgalim/ mystical rounds) of the mystical dancing David or Messiah son of David, who dances naked before the presence of God . The tenth sefirah as a feminine Mirror, is perceived as Shekhinah (the female presence), Malcah (Queen), Kneset Yisrael (community of Israel), Galgal (circle or womb) and Bat Kol (daughter of All). She is seen as the dancing feet of the Shulamite Bride, the mystical Miriam or Rachel and the Mother of Sorrows.
To participate in this mystical Dance one has to strip themselves spiritually naked at the highest level of humility called bitul in Hebrew which leads to mesirut nefesh (total self-sacrifice and dying to one's own will). David dancing like a fool before the Ark symbolizes one becoming simple (tam) as a fool for Messiah. These are the poor in spirit or naked in soul who will inherit the kingdom of the Divine Will on earth.
The ten cantillations of the Hebrew text, which allows the Scriptures to be chanted or sung, are also linked to the ten sefirot in the Zohar. Rebbe Nachman develops a way in which an ordinary person can be healed and sanctified by the means of music, melody, song and dance.[12] These are also the ten dance steps of the Divine King who created the universe with the ten sayings of Genesis 1 which expands into the 13 aspects of Divine Mercy and Love. This is the mystical Hasidic Dance of the Spirit which becomes 'incarnated' in the actual practice of Hasidic and Charismatic dance and worship as well as Eucharistic Adoration. This is the incarnational principle in which true spirituality needs to be rooted and concretised in the real world of man and his life.
Rebbe Nachman teaches a way based on song, melody and dance that can has therapeutic value and turns depression and anxiety into joy. At the heart of this is the Jewish Holy Hour known as hitbodedut which parallels the Catholic Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration.
I once had the blessing of seeing a older Hebrew Catholic lady moved by the Holy Spirit at midnight, while I was doing Eucharistic Adoration, with such joy that she danced before the Eucharistic Lord with her veil with such freedom and joy, glowing with the radiance of God. This was a one off, as she is not a charismatic and swore us to secrecy as she didn't want her other Catholic friends to know about it. She was a woman who had many sorrows in her life but for a moment she was transformed in joy. At that moment she embodied all the dancing matriarchs of her ancestors in Israel as well as Our Lady as the Shekhinah dancing at a mystical wedding feast of Cana. It always sadden me and I am sure it saddens or grieves the Holy Spirit, when more uptight and rigid Catholics criticise charismatic dancing to the Lord.
As King David stripped himself naked before the Lord in a literal manner and was happy to be seen as a fool, so St Francis did the same kind of thing. Once when I was the leader of a Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration programme at a Church, I was called over to the Church because a very simple young man (with some mental issues) had felt God calling him to strip and come before Him naked, which he did, much to the surprise and shock of the other adorers, as he walked down the aisle of the chapel totally naked to lie prostrate before the Eucharistic Lord!
Fortunately the other adorers were two lovely middle aged Anglo-Indian ladies with their husbands, who were very kind to him and the husbands took him back to his clothes and helped him to get dressed and then came to get me to have a talk to him. I explained to him that his desire to be naked before the Lord was wonderful but he should do that spiritually rather than literally and how it was a shock for the other adorers especially the ladies. He listened and understood as he was actually a very pure, gentle and innocent young man.
The Anglo-Indians and I decided to not tell anyone else, as we didn't want to frighten off the other adorers! However, the whole incident did make us get the giggles and we had a good humoured laugh when the young man was gone! A very holy priest friend of mine surprised me, when he said he felt envious, in one sense, of the young man and St Francis and wished he had more desire and motivation to be naked and free before God! Do we have that desire to so humble ourselves that we come before him spiritually naked and poor, ready to die to our own will and to embrace his Divine Will and its Kingdom? Or are we like Queen Michal the daughter of King Saul who despised King David her husband when he danced naked before his Lord and made a fool of himself?
A very talented Hebrew Catholic friend of mine in New York, Jason, has taken a poem I wrote and set it to music and original art work of his and produced this. I love what he has done. My poem is called "Our Lady Danced at Cana" written back in 2016. The words fit amazingly well with the artistic unfolding of Creation.