The Kabbalah of Dance A circle dance, according to wikipedia, is probably the oldest form of dance. In Biblical Hebrew there is a specific word for a circle dance, Machol, as King David wrote in the Book of Psalms: “Let them praise His name with a {circle} dance”. The Hebrew word Machol, a circle dance, is related to the word Mechilah forgiveness. What possible connection can there be between a dance and forgiveness? When a person is dancing in a circle he begins the dance at a specific point, and then moves farther and farther away from that point, only to once again return to the same point. If a person would observe a dance for the first time, he would probably wonder what the point is of going in circles, moving away only to return once again? Yet, the nature of dance is that the rhythm, exuberance and joy of the dance is produced specifically by moving farther away in order to return. The Kabbalists explain that all of life is, in essence, a dance. The soul descends into this world, moving away from its sense of closeness to G-d, yet the descent and distance is in order to return closer to G-d with greater passion, excitement and joy. If the soul had not moved away from G-d, it would experience the closeness to G-d as if it were, so to say, sitting on a couch right next toG-d. Yet the descent, and distance, is likened to the excitement and passion which is produced by the dance. The circle dance explains the rhythm of the seventh month in the Jewish calendar, the month of holidays, which is discussed in this week’s portion. The month begins with the days of awe. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we seek forgiveness, we introspect, we realize that, inevitably, over the course of the year, we have moved away from G-d, from our true self, and from our deepest aspirations and goals. We sense the awe. The distance and gap between the person we are and the person we know we could be. Yet, just like the circle dance, the feeling of distance, is just the first part of the story. Specifically because we sense the distance, feel the longing, and seek forgiveness, we are drawn back to the starting point of the circle in a much deeper way. After the distance, after the forgiveness of Yom Kippur, we experience G-d’s love to us in a more profound way. The second half of the circle, is the second half of the month, “the season of joy”, when we sit in the Sukkah, whose walls symbolize G-d’s loving embrace, and experience a far deeper sense of joy than the soul could ever have felt had it not embarked on the dance we call life. Throughout the year we experience the pain, frustration, and disappointment of being distant from the people we love, from our true selves and from G-d. We experience setbacks and challenges. We sometimes seem to be moving farther away from the life we want for ourselves. The rhythm of the month of the holidays teaches us a profound lesson: it is up to us to transform the distance into a circle dance. We alone can transform the pain into longing and the longing into profound closeness. All we need to do is realize that we are in the midst of a circle dance. Adapted from Lekutei Torah, Shmini Atzeres, 86:3.
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