A Rose Among Thorns: A heartrending saga of family, friendship and love

Product Information

Malchut is the lowest sefira, which is the vessel that receives from all those above, and brings them to expression. The reason that it is a manifestation of kingship is that the unified workings of the sefirot together show G‑d's hallmark in the underlying creative power and providence, and hence to His sovereignty and rulership. In terms of the soul we can explain malchut as self-realization, i.e. the vessel through which the aspects of the self establish themselves.

Of course if I said that today to anyone under fifty she would probably think that I was strange to say the least. In the Song of Solomon the young woman refers to herself as a rose of Sharon (SS 2:1). Some commentators understand the Song of Solomon to be an allegory of Christ and the church and so, in this context, they see the rose as representing the Lord Jesus. Certainly, when Jesus was nailed to a cross between two criminals He was the epitome of a rose between two thorns.Let us now review the scriptural verse. A "rose amidst the thorns" connotes the Shechina- malchut in its lower state. "My beloved" refers to malchut in its higher state. Even though "beloved" usually refers to bina, when malchut arises to bina, it too can be so-called, in accordance with the Zoharic principle: "like mother- bina, like daughter- malchut". Malchut is…the vessel through which the aspects of the self establish themselves… The name Y-ah is used in reference to spiritual energies above nature. This divine energy will be given to the student as he delves into the supernal secrets. The above lines were meant to introduce who that ‘rose’ is referring to. The phrase, “the greatest gift of God,” provides us with the key. For what or who else could be God’s greatest gift to mankind other than His only begotten Son? We’ve already known the answer to this from the book of John. And as we move further, the song will make it even clearer for us. The following lines summarized the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

There is no end to the theological debate that has ensued over the centuries as to what Paul meant when he wrote that his ‘thorn’ was a messenger of Satan sent to torment him, but I won’t attempt to deal with that in this short article. My view is simply that Paul had some sort of affliction that God used redemptively to keep him humble, and the devil used to torment him. There has also been endless speculation as to the exact nature of Paul’s thorn in the flesh. Some say anxiety over his pre-Christian past; others claim it represented his critics such as the ‘super apostles’ of Corinth; yet others claim that Paul was an epileptic or that he suffered from migraines. It is all just speculation, but I believe there is reasonable evidence to show that Paul was probably suffering from deteriorating eye sight (Galati ans 4:!3, 15 6:11).malchut": In brief G‑d, who is infinite and ungraspable, expresses Himself and relates to man through His supernal attributes, which He also created. Malchut is both the last of the ten sefirot, and the vessel through which the other nine express themselves in the world. This results in the revelation of the kingship of G‑d. The Apostle Paul uses the illustration of a thorn in his flesh to describe a troublesome condition that the Lord made use of to keep him humble and grounded; ‘ To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh…’ (2 Corinthians 12:7). Paul pleaded with the Lord three times to have it taken from him but Jesus’ answer was, “ My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (Verse 9). In A Rose Among Thorns , Rosie Goodwin weaves a captivating historical saga of a troubled family and the power of love and friendship. Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Cathy Sharp. Rabbi Chezkiah opened [his discourse] and said: "It is written: ' As a rose among the thorns, so is my beloved amongst the daughters'. (Songs 2:2) Who is the rose? This refers to 'Knesset Yisrael' - the Collective soul roots of Israel, malchut. (For there is one level of a rose and there is another level of a rose.) Just as a rose, which is found amidst the thorns, has within it the colors red and white, also Knesset Yisrael has within her both judgment and loving kindness. Just as a rose has in it thirteen petals, so too Knesset Yisrael has within her thirteen paths of mercy which surround her from all her sides. ( Zohar I, Intro. pg 1) All the things that G‑d creates in the lower realm…are expressions of their spiritual roots, forces, and divine archetypes in the upper realms… Here’s the thing – afflictions have the potential of drawing us closer than ever to Jesus. Often, it is only when we are experiencing a severe thorn in the flesh that we realise our need for the Lord and admit our dependence upon Him. We cry out to Him and ask Him to heal or release us, but sometimes He simply says, “No….. but I am with you and that is all you need.”