There is a midrashA rabbinic method of interpreting text, often through the telling of stories. on the Akeda story which says that when the time came for AbrahamAbraham is the first patriarch and the father of the Jewish people. He is the husband of Sarah and the father of Isaac and Ishmael. God's covenant - that we will be a great people and inherit the land of Israel - begins with Abraham and is marked by his circumcision, the first in Jewish history. His Hebrew name is Avraham. to sacrifice his son IsaacAbraham and Sarah's much-longed-for son and the second Jewish patriarch. Isaac is nearly sacrificed by his father at God's command (Genesis 22). He is married to Rebecca and is the father of Esau and Jacob. His Hebrew name is Yitzchak., “the tears of the angels had dissolved the knife that was in Abraham’s hand” (Isaacs, p. 64). Whenever I see raindrops falling on a windowpane, I think they must be the tears of angels, sent into the world to help us heal, as individuals, and on a grander scale, to heal our world. I find this especially poignant in these difficult times we are now experiencing, when there is so much pain and need of healing in our world.
Sit quietly. Relax your body. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly. As you inhale, imagine you are breathing in waves of healing energy. Feel these waves flow through your entire body, like an ocean of healing light. As you exhale, envision any negative energy—any pain, tension, fatigue, stress—being released from your body, carried away on the soft wind of your breath, carried away on the wings of angels. With every breath, feel the narrow places within you opening, expanding, becoming filled with waves of deep relaxation and healing energy. Feel this happening in your feet, your legs, your hips, your hands, your arms, your shoulders. Feel this happening in the core of your body—your pelvis, your abdomen, your spine, your chest. Feel this happening in your neck, your head, and your face.
Turn your attention to any part of you that is in need of healing of any kind. See yourself surrounded by angels. See how these angels cry for you. Envision these tears of the angels flowing to the places within you that are in need of healing. Now see the tears of the angels turn to drops of pure, clear, cleansing water. Envision these drops sparkling with healing energy. Envision these healing waters dissolving your pain, your stress, your fatigue, your anxiety—transforming you—bringing you to a place of wholeness, a place of wellness, a place of peace. Envision these healing waters going beyond your body, going to the world around you. See these tears of the angels healing the world—repairing that which is broken, bringing peace, harmony, and serenity. Now see these angel tears transformed into microscopic stars. Imagine these stars being carried to the sky by the angels. When you look up at the night sky filled with countless stars, envision the light from these stars reaching to you, bringing healing energy. Envision your pain dissolving in this light, dissolving in the tears of the angels.
Hold on to these images as you now become aware once more of your breath and of the boundaries of your body. As you take a few deep breaths, become aware of the gentle rise and fall of your chest. Become aware once more of your physical presence. Then, whenever you are ready, slowly, gently open your eyes.
References:
Isaacs, R.H. (1998). Ascending Jacob’s Ladder: Jewish Views of Angels, Demons, and Evil Spirits. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson Inc.
