for the sake of unity of the Holy One, blessed be He, with His Shechina.
were we always a monolatrous people? were we forever faithful?
for surely, the children of judah remember their altars,
and the trees sacred unto asherah, as jeremiah lamented. [1]
king josiah tore down the houses of the kedeishim, burned the asherah,
and cleansed jerusalem's holy temple of baʿal-worship. [2]
today what is left of the priestesses? where are the kedeishim?
their names have all been erased, and their devotees are no more. [3]
today we may imagine asherah's batim as tefillin of avoda-zaros woven [4]
outside the bedrooms of the polyamorous neopagan kedeishos of ʿishtar.
but these are not the baʿalim or asherim of our ancestors.
the avoda zara of yesteryear is now forever lost to us.
the zohar reveals that the hei in hashem's name is called asherah [5]
this is the holy Shechina; she has always been here.
the sin of our ancestors was to separate these divine aspects into idols.
blessed is the one trusts in the L-rd, whose trust is only in the L-rd. [6]
[1] jeremiah 17:1–2
[2] 2 kings 23:4–6
[4] 2 kings 23:7
[5] zohar 1:49a (bereishis 81:210–211)
[6] jeremiah 17:7
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