Peeling a Pomegranate

So as a result of my reading/research binge to get ready for the workshops I’m doing in July I’ve been playing with a few new ideas - here’s one.

Triple Goddess Figure / Archetype as represented in Judaism:

• Maiden - Sabbath
  the eternal bride who comes to rejuvinate us
• Mother - Shekinah
  The Presence who watches over us and cares for us
• Crone - Torah
  The venerated elder who is dressed in fine robes, given the place of
  honor, and looked to for wisdom

The Sabbath as Goddess figure is pretty common I realize, as is clearly Shekhinah, but I started looking at Torah as being elevated to Goddess level the last time I went to a Sabbath service with a local Renewal group. I started looking at the people dancing around with it, reaching for it, kissing it, and treating the scrolls with such incredible reverence — that it seemed beyond respect for a sacred text.

I started seeing the pattern of the triple goddess archetype appearing and
thought it was interesting. Granted, traditional scholars would balk at this — but that is why I’m looking at it as an archetype, like the Sephirot of the kabbalist tree of life.