Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 1 Cheshvan, 5784
Parsha Noah: (Genesis 6:9- 11:32) 
Second Portion: Genesis 7:1-16

Good Morning!  Today is a new moon cycle! We moved from Tishri to Cheshvan at sundown last night.

Did you know? This month has a smidge of confusion about what it is called.  Is it Cheshvan or Marcheshvan?  Chabad has some great history on the difference HERE.

The word “Mar” has multiple meanings (from the article):

• Bitterness (think Maror at Passover)
• A drop of Water
• Head or Master

What I personally glean from this (and wrote about this last year) is that after the “chaos” of the Holy Days in Tishri, we have a month of quiet, solitude, and silence in Cheshvan.  Depending on our work internally, this month can be:

• Bitter – If we have not done the work, the silence will connect us to this reality and it will feel “bitter” for the time we have not spent doing the work until now.
• The beginning of flow – One of my favorite movies is “The Power of One” with Morgan Freeman. The idea is that a “waterfall begins with a single drop of water.”  This month can be about how all the work we’ve done can flow.
• The beginning (The Head): Even if we have done NO work until this moment? We can begin with a single drop of water. Perhaps it is adding 2 minutes of meditation to our day? Perhaps it is spending 5 minutes journaling? How can you add a drop of water to your life today?

Once again – the choice is ours. We can be curious, or we can flow.

I wrote this as I journaled this morning:

Bitter. Flow.
Bitter. Flow.

It’s all perspective.

Scared. Trust.
Scared. Trust.

It’s all perspective.

Scared. Sacred.
Scared. Sacred.

It’s all perspective. Read the last two lines again.

Sacred Trust. 
Flow.

Bitter scared.
Sacred Trust.

Flow.

Trusting our bitterness is sacred. Trusting our relationship to the sacred will lead to flow.

Let’s dig into Noah!

It’s a shorter passage but it is a fulcrum for where we are on our Torah journey.  The flood is coming.

From Genesis 7:1:

1And the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you and all your household, for it is you that I have seen as a righteous man before Me in this generation.”

On one hand, the ark was a lifeboat.  On the other? Would it not feel like a prison? To go into the ark, before the rains come, and stay with all these animals, to keep everyone safe? It would have been constricting. It would have been noisy.  You couldn’t escape.  Before the rains of abundance flowed, it may have even been bitter.  And yet we read:

Genesis 7:5: “And Noah did, according to all that the Lord had commanded him.”

Noah did. He followed. We didn’t fight the imprisonment.  We don’t get a sense he was bitter.

And then the rains of abundance flowed.  And those who were “free” off the ark? They drowned in the abundance. Noah was spiritually free, so the physical constraints protected him from the flow.

Because think about it. We often ask for abundance. We often ask for flow.  But we aren’t always ready for it, are we?  We hear stories of stories of people winning the lottery.  And their lives are NOT better because of it.  The drown in the flow.  They become bitter.

Some are ready for the flow.  Not all become bitter after winning the lottery, or hitting it big financially.  But Noah was prepared for the flow. He wasn’t bitter. He was protected. He saw his prison as a protection.

How are we living in this moment like Noah? Do we feel bitter? Or do we feel protected? Do we feel imprisoned? Or do we feel safe?

Because – spoiler alert – Noah did not REALLY know if the waters were going to come.  I mean, he trusted.  But until they started, and the ark lifted off the ground? How hard would it have been?  And when the first drop fell?  Did he know it was the first of a waterfall? Or did he think – ok – this is just a drop of water?

This is where we are in our journey – descending into slavery – or ascending to freedom.

And each step of this journey, the Torah is teaching us about perspective.

Bitterness. Flow.

Sacred Trust.

Those are my thoughts!  What are yours?

Here is my commentary from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 29 Tishri, 5783

As we approach the new moon, and the change of month from Tishri to Cheshvan – we are moving from a moon cycle that was VERY active – with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shmeni Atzeret and Simchat Torah, to a moon cycle that has no holy days.

What can we glean from that? It’s interesting- as we read about the animals going into the ark; there must have been a lot of chaos and business for Noah to put the finishing touches on the ark, to get his family and the animals inside. But once there, it would have been restful. Or would it have been boring?

As I posted earlier; as we learn to love ourselves; the distraction and chaos of life provides a nice cover for us to avoid having to be quiet and alone with ourselves. Tishri was a great time of reflection – but it was ALSO at time to gather together – for Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur and for Sukkot/Shmeni Atzeret/Simchat Torah.

This upcoming month may be a month of solitude – and we should be ready for that. It is interesting that as we move into November, we ramp up in America – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas (I’m counting Christmas in America as more an American holiday than a Christian one because in America it is (for many) about Santa and toys).

Yes, I know for many of my friends Christmas is about faith, hope, and the deeper meaning of salvation.

But my point is this; as Jews, we are going into a quiet time in our spiritual cycle. A time to focus on work (not a lot of work gets done in Tishri) and less time on reflection.

So let’s get to work! What is it you’ve reflected on this past month you need to work on?

For me? It’s the idea of trusting myself. To receive more. To resist less.

Todays portion ends with the Torah telling us “Noah made the ark – he did everything God had commanded him.”

Can we say that about ourselves? Are we doing everything we are asked to do? Let’s work on THAT!

What are your thoughts?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 28 Tishrei, 5782

Torah reading for the day;

Today’s portion is about the animals going into the ark. Growing up, I learned that there were two of every animal that went into the ark. Upon reading the Torah today, there is a deeper truth. There were actually 14 of some animals (7 pairs of 2) and 2 of other animals.

As I reflect on this, I recognize internally I have biases and knowledge that I believe are on firm ground. But upon further review, if I’m honest with myself, I can see really isn’t. If I didn’t read the Torah today, I am not sure I would have realized fully that there were 14 of certain animals.

This causes me to pause and think about what other paradigms I may be holding onto that I believe are true, but if I was willing to look deeper I might see a different reality.

Another piece of today’s portion includes the seeming contradiction between 40 days of rain and 40 days of flood.

Rashi wrote; “the verse states ‘There was rain on the earth for forty days and nights’ suggesting that there was only comparatively harmless ‘rain.’ Yet the Torah sends a different message later: ‘The flood was in the earth for 40 days (verse 7:17) indicating a much stronger downfall. We can resolve this contradiction by explaining that when God brought the rains down, He initially brought them down with mercy, so that if the people would repent, they would be rains of blessing (v. 12). When they failed to repent, the rains became a flood.”

As we look out today to our world, I see in my own life, how Hashem starts gently trying to bring me to turn things around. In my opinion, Hashem’s goal isn’t for us to “do what is right” as much as it is to connect with Him. That’s what He desires. Connection. The mitzvahs written about in the Torah (some would call them laws) aren’t to keep us controlled; they are to connect us to Him.

I’m chewing on this today. Hashem desires us to connect. Hashem wants us to know Him. Don’t rely on what we “think” we know about Hashem. Dig into the reality of Hashem to know who he is and what He desires for us.

Last thought. We are limited because of language in how we talk about Hashem. I use male gender pronouns in talking about Hashem; but that is limiting. Using “they” or “she” all has different connotations.

For me, the choice I make is connected to losing my own father when I was 15. There is a gap in my development because of this loss. Hashem has been a patient father to me over the years in many different ways. This is why I use the male pronouns often when thinking about Hashem.

If I reflect more, there are times Hashem is a mother to me. There are also times “They” seems applicable (after all this weeks portion includes language “let US make man in our image.”). All this to say, in my writings if pronouns get in the way of connection with what I’m writing, I welcome all to use the pronounce that most connect you with Hashem. After all, as I stated earlier, that’s the point (I think).

Please feel free to comment and engage! What are the areas you think are on firm foundation but may not be? Where is Hashem trying to connect with you today?