TORAH SCIENCE FOUNDATION ACTIVITIES IN LOS ANGELES

• THE RENOWN KABBALIST AND TEACHER, RABBI YITZCHAK GINSBURGH WILL GUIDE US TO A JOURNEY INTO THE WISDOM OF THE TORAH AND ITS ILLUMINATION OF THE ORGANIC UNITY BETWEEN THE TORAH, THE ARTS AND THE SCIENCES

• INSPIRING MUSIC BY ALEX ILYN, CLARINET, R. DOVID SUDALEY, CELLO AND SHA-RONE KUSHNI, PIANO, WITH THE “KOL AM” BAND.

• ENJOY AN ART EXHIBIT FEATURING THE TORAH-INSPIRED PAINTERS FROM JERUSALEM AND HEBRON, TUVIA KATZ, BARUCH NACHSHON, DOV LEDERBERG AND YAEL AVI-YONAH

Art is the vessel through which mankind expresses his G-d given ability to create while living in an already created universe. Science is man's endeavor to describe the creation and the natural laws of the universe. Both disciplines have evolved over the millennia to their remarkable present development. TIFERET ventures into a new dimension: Exploring artistic expression and scientific knowledge through the prism of the higher wisdom of Torah.

The TIFERET Festival celebrates the underlying, organic unity between Torah and the arts and sciences. The numerical value of the Hebrew words for art, omanut (497), and science, mada (114), is equal to the word Torah (611). Both art and science contain sparks of holiness and truth that when working together with the eternal wisdom of Torah, become key instruments of Divine revelation. In return, creation is blessed with deeper dimensions of Torah understanding.

NATURAL CONSCIOUSNESS: Accessing Unlimited Creative Energy. Join us in a two-day workshop for men and women lead by the renowned Kabbalist and spiritual leader, Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, offering a groundbreaking approach towards spiritual harmony and the harnessing of unlimited creative energy. In the post 9/11 world in which truth seems more elusive than ever, basic teachings of Kabbalah provide us with clear and accessible tools to change the way we think and live. At the center of this learning is the concept that humans are literately created in the image of God, and that the integration of key Divine attributes opens the way for a quantum leap in life quality and accomplishment.

Part I: NATURAL CONSCIOUSNESS: Apprehending the Divine Spark Within. Kabbalah teaches that a balanced and mature faculty of da'at, consciousness in general and self-consciousness in particular, is a critical requirement for healthy human development. Yet exaggerated self-consciousness gets in the way of a true relationship with G-d. “Natural consciousness,” a way of becoming modeled after Divine consciousness—experiencing reality as does its Creator—is the answer to this paradox. Natural consciousness makes it possible to relate to others (and to ourselves) with love and compassion. The mastering of natural consciousness provides us with Divinely inspired tools for action, such as:

• Nosei hafachim, “bearing opposites,” a state of consciousness and way of acting that encompass and transcend polarizing opposites such as “masculine/feminine,” “boldness/prudence,” “courage/compassion”
• Nogea v'eino nogea, “touching yet not touching,” the Divine way of molding reality, in which great power is applied in the gentlest of ways
• Ratzo vashov, “run and return,” the masterful rhythm that teaches us how to surrender to the most exalted spaces and how to return to ordinary reality with joy and inspiration.

Part II: Tikun Pegam Habrit (“Rectification of the Blemish of the Covenant”). Most people actively seek ways to boost available energy, with coffee being high in the list in the Western world. The second day of the workshop will explore a very different approach to access infinite creative energy, addressing “the rectification of the blemish of the covenant.” G-d made a covenant with our forefather, Abraham, the first Jew. The covenant is an existential, supra-rational union between G-d and the Jewish people. The covenant was blemished by two collective sins: The eating of the Tree of Knowledge (by which Adam and Eve lost the opportunity to become the first Jews) and the building of the Golden Calf. To this day, the Jewish people remain actively engaged in the rectification of these blemishes of the covenant. In our times, the Divine covenant is blemished whenever life energy is wasted. The essence of tikun, “rectification,” is the fine tuning of our beings so that we become unobstructed, clear light conduits able to fully utilize the unlimited Divine energy that is always available to us. Workshop participants will learn how to reach into the unlimited energy of the World of Chaos within the rectified vessels of a will and good deeds designed to accomplish everything that our Creator desires from us in life.