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The Secret Gate
Avital Dicker
Copyright © 2020 Avital Dicker
All rights reserved; No parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information retrieval system, without the permission, in writing, of the author.
Translation from the Hebrew by Susann Codish
Contact: avitaldicker@gmail.com
Contents
Prologue
The First Gate
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
The Second Gate
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
The Third Gate
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
The Fourth Gate
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Acknowledgements
“May it be thy will to put an end to war and bloodshed on earth, and to spread a great and wonderful peace over the whole world, ‘so that nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.’ (Isaiah 2:4)
“Prayer for Peace,” attributed to Rabbi Nachman of Breslev
Prologue
When their laughter bounces and echoes jovially off the walls of cloud in the white tunnel, to us it sometimes sounds like thunder, while lightning light up the sky and raindrops fall to the planet that humans call Earth.
One of mankind’s most common mistakes is thinking that heaven is weeping and God is angry. On the contrary, heaven is laughing. Not the ordinary kind, but peals of laughter that roll thunder and lightning across the sky.
And this is only one example of mankind’s misunderstanding of the way things work in heaven, high above the clouds in the place invisible to the human eye.
Incidentally, now is a good time to mention that the story of the Garden of Eden is completely inaccurate. God didn’t punish or banish Adam and Eve. God just doesn’t do things like that. It’s so not his style.
It is man who has told tales of God as a furious, fearsome being who continually says “I forbid you” and constantly metes out punishment.
And to top it all, mankind uses God’s name to justify the never-ending bloodshed on Earth. “It is in the name of God,” they say. But there’s no sanctity in taking a life that God created. It’s blasphemy – not sanctification – of God’s name.
Truly, it’s a little offensive when someone uses your name for the sake of devastation and ruin, when, really you had created the world with precisely the opposite intention.
Mankind continues to capitalize on God and use Him as an excuse for all that is bad, ugly, and ill-intentioned.
“It is God’s word,” they say. “We are commanded.” But for your information, God doesn’t use words or language as we know it and certainly doesn’t believe in giving orders. Ever. To anyone.
Nevertheless, humans are an extraordinary species. Mankind’s evolution is quite astounding, considering that humans have inhabited the earth for only a few thousand years, which, in the context of eternity, is less than the blink of an eye. Aircraft, space exploration, scientists cracking the biology of genomes, innovative treatments for numerous diseases, and a World Wide Web that connects it all. Which, incidentally, bears a slight resemblance to the failed Tower of Babel initiative and treads on slightly dangerous ground.
In general, today humans are healthier and definitely more visually appealing than they were back in the Stone Age. The fashion that once included animal fur, bow-and-arrow, and untamed hair, have made way for a wider range of options and, now and then, even heaven draws inspiration from the latest trends on Earth.
The trouble is that, emotionally, mankind has not evolved at all; in fact, the opposite is true. Man’s acts of jealousy, envy, theft, and violence against their own kind are still as rife as they were the day Adam and Eve left paradise.
For some inexplicable reason, humans can’t make do with what they need. They’re in constant pursuit of more: more riches, more beauty, more fame. So they kill each other and steal from one another over and over again.
Relatively speaking, for an intelligent species with great potential, nothing’s really changed since the beginning of time because humanity has lost sight of where it all began and – most importantly – why it all began.
The First Gate
The Draw
Chapter 1
Anise
Wearing a robe woven from the threads of heaven’s cloth, she made her way through the soft mist, clutching the hem as the mighty wind threatened to lift it up and away.
At the edge of the expanse, where there was a break in the mist, a neat line of trolleys was waiting to transport the approaching commuters. As soon as a trolley was full, the wind picked up speed, pushed and detached it from the loading dock, and propelled it forward.
“No more than five passengers per row,” a stern-sounding female voice echoed impatiently across the expanse.
Passengers in pairs and groups of three excitedly hopped in and settled into the plush seats. The wind unfastened the trolley and jolted the passengers forward at a dizzying speed.
“Where are we going?” she asked him, her tiny hand enfolded in his palm.
“To the departure hall. Can’t you remember a single thing?” interrupted a bespectacled boy, cheeks covered with freckles, who sat in the third seat at the back.
Now’s the time to explain that the word child is almost correct but not completely accurate because the commuters we’re talking about are souls. Yes, exactly right: those that have just recently returned to heaven and are waiting to descend once again to the confused world below. But, at this very moment, they’re as wise as the universe, as old as eternity, and as childish and playful as the beginning of time.
The cloud came to a grinding halt, tumbling into a furious heap and sputtering swirls of white fluff. While the passengers grumbled as they collided and crashed into each other, the girl’s hair was whipped straight up toward the roof of the trolley. She had almost managed to pull it back down when, blowing and snickering at their flapping robes, an irate gust of
