As a practising Jewish mystic, I
frequently contemplate how common objects can become “imprinted”
with spiritual “strength”. Recall my post of bimahot,
for example. The great Rabbi Adin
Steinsaltz wisely summed
up an underlying concept in Jewish mysticism in this manner: “The
observed universe around us is only a part of an inconceivably vast
system of worlds”. Most of these worlds being spiritual; they
occupy the same place as the physical universe we perceive, but we
cannot normally sense them.”
Rabbi Aryeh Kaplin
further observed
that, according to Jewish
mysticism, that “these
worlds
are highly coupled, that is, what actions you do in this physical
world is reflected in many other worlds.”
Moreover, with the
Divine spirit, the
Nefesh,
which has been gifted to
all of us, one
may observe, and
even effect, these
otherwise undetectable dimensions in
a conscious, purposeful
manner.
An
example of such a purposeful manner is the posing and subsequent
capturing of a person by photographic means. Think
of this process as “recording” a person's physical image, but
owing to the raw nature of the photochemical process that ambrotypes
and mezzotints employ, a
person's Nefesh
is also recorded or reflected in one or more of the highly
coupled spiritual
worlds. By
means of
the practise of Ma'aseh
Markavah, with which
the mystic seeks to perceive these
spiritual worlds connected
with the convolution of photochemistry
and the subject's spiritual essence, such an image can be recalled.
In
conclusion, concious, concentrated, and purposeful direction of
spiritual activity is one of the ways a “haunted” artefact may be
created.
These
ambrotypes and mezzotints come from my small, but select, collection.
Unlike paper photographs (including
cabinet cards), ambrotypes and mezzotints seem to be able to capture
the spirit of the subject better - literally.
The blind Japanese man is my favourite. He has a strong presence –
even what was imprinted on this ambrotype. Stop in for
a visit or attend one of my workshops and
I will show you what I mean!
Photos by the author
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