Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 29 Cheshvan, 5784
Parsha Toledot: (Genesis 25:19- 28:9)
Second Portion: Genesis 26:6 – 26:22
Tonight is the new moon! A new chapter – ready to be couched in light. Are we ready to experience the light of Kislev?
I shared this article a few days ago, but this morning, this passage is especially salient for me:
Something that strikes us (even subjectively) as beautiful is balance and symmetry of several – or very many – different elements, all combined in just the right blend.
This also tells us that the components that create beauty always have the potential for chaos, and even unsightliness. One color, one note – and definitely several – out of synch, will compromise the entire composition and make it look awry. One mutant cell can wreak havoc in the entire body. A single musical note may not be beautiful and will be tedious if repeated again and again, but it will not create chaos, just annoying monotony. As soon as you introduce more elements, the potential for chaos becomes possible. Each additional element – that can further beautify the composition – creates more potential discord.
This is the paradox – and power – of beauty.
Kislev is meant to be beautiful. This upcoming cycle is bathed in light. Things may “feel” out of tune in our lives right now. This morning in meditation, I was reflecting on all of the pieces that I felt insecure about, and all the pieces I felt secure in. I believe the areas I feel security will be the foundation of the concert about to begin in this new cycle.
A single musical note may not be beautiful and will be tedious if repeated again and again, but it will not create chaos, just annoying monotony. As soon as you introduce more elements, the potential for chaos becomes possible. Each additional element – that can further beautify the composition – creates more potential discord.
I have lived as a single note most of my life. In fact the chapters of my life from the ages of 28-49 could have been titled “annoying monotony.” I was unwilling to introduce and allow new elements of my life and navigate the chaos of alignment. Honestly? This started when we had kids. Six kids. I wanted to shut the chaos out. I felt safe without the various notes of the children in my life – and it wasn’t until the past two years I realized just how beautiful their chaos was in creating harmony and beauty.
This is the time we are entering into. If things seem REALLY chaotic right now – especially the past two weeks? It’s because the orchestra is tuning up. The artist is mixing colors. The “show” is about to begin. This isn’t the FINAL show – it’s just the NEXT show.
The article continues this theme here:
As we begin the third month of the year we enter the energy of balance and beauty. But not just plain beauty: Kislev is the harmony that emerges after chaos. [As opposed to the month of Sivan, the harmony that has not yet ‘tasted’ discord]. Even when we experience the clash of diverse forces in our lives – within ourselves, between our communities and between nations – this new month, with its holidays, all rooted in Chanukah, empowers us with the ability to find the deeper harmony within.
So all of what is happening around us – it’s happening as INTENDED – for this purpose;
To discover harmony within diversity we need to be truthful to ourselves and to G‑d. We need bitul – a combination of self-suspension, modesty and humility.
And therein lies the true secret of tiferet. In addition to beauty, tiferet is also related to emet (truth). Truth means that it is true not just in one circumstance, environment or set of conditions, but in all of them. If it is true it has to be true throughout – in the beginning, middle and end (hence, the three letters of EMeT, aleph, mem, tov, the first, middle and last letters of the Hebrew Alphabet).
There is a story woven in our lives. I heard from an African Storyteller – the difference between an anecdote and a story is this: anecdotes have a beginning and a middle. A story has a beginning, middle, and an end. The difference is in the story, the author clearly lays out the end – the message of what the reader is supposed to take away from the beginning and the middle. In an anecdote, the author allows the reader to take away whatever they’d like.
The problem with stories – sometimes the author is unaware the ending is not congruent with the rest of the story. Other times, the author is clear and the reader is left confused. Or – the reader does not WANT the lesson from the ending the author is proposing so they reject it.
We know – the Universe, Hashem, God, is a perfect author. He is not confused about our story. If we are confused – it’s because we’ve rejected the end of this particular story so we are not yet ready to move to the next one – or we’ve ignored the ending and message of the story and we are not yet ready to move to the next one. Either way, it’s because we aren’t ready. That isn’t a judgment. It’s just the beauty of truth.
As we approach Kislev, we are as ready as we have ever been to receive the end of the chapter. We are ready to watch the chaos unfold into a tapestry of beauty. We are as ready as we have ever been to watch the concert come together. And – no pressure. Because if we miss it? More opportunities are sure to come!
With this spirit, let’s dig into this portion (Genesis 26:6-11):
6And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.
7And the men of the place asked about his wife, and he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “[She is] my wife,” [because he said,] “Lest the men of the place kill me because of Rebecca, for she is of comely appearance.”
8And it came to pass, when he had been there for many days, that Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, looked out of the window, and he saw, and behold, Isaac was jesting with Rebecca his wife.
9So Abimelech called Isaac, and he said, “Behold, she is your wife; so how could you have said, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die because of her. ‘”
10And Abimelech said, “What have you done to us? The most prominent of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”
11And Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall be put to death.”
It would seem as if Isaac did not listen to the story Hashem was speaking through Abraham. There are many reasons why this could be. But on THIS read? I am seeing a lesson for us that we may not have heard until now. And it focused on this line: (Genesis 26:8):
“And it came to pass, when he had been there for many days, that Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, looked out of the window, and he saw, and behold, Isaac was jesting with Rebecca his wife.”
Now let’s reflect. Imagine we are Isaac – and we are scared. We are insecure. We are worried of dying because of our wife. And now we’ve lied to the king.
Um. I am not sure about you – but I’m not sure I’d be “jesting” with my wife in public knowing the consequences of people finding out and me DYING.
Imagine ourselves – jesting with our wife in this situation – and we get called to see the king. We might be TERRIFIED. And. At the same time, Hashem has it worked out: – we see in verse 10:
10And Abimelech said, “What have you done to us? The most prominent of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”
Hashem protected Isaac. The Jesting was to AVOID anything happening. The truth was exposed – and seemingly created protection of the story being told. Because? This story isn’t REALLY for Isaac to learn. Or Rebecca. The story is being told to teach US the lesson.
What is the lesson? Sometimes we are going to make mistakes. We may lie for good reason, the lie may be exposed. And instead of being afraid, we can trust the beauty of the chaos. And it may not even be a lie that is the mistake. We may get angry at someone who doesn’t deserve it because of our own emotional triggers. Regardless – the story being told through OUR lives? May not be about us.
Let me say this again:
The story being told through our lives? May not be about us.
Our purpose for being here – certainly is for us to learn lessons. We are the author of our life. But the story we are being asked to live and tell? That may be for someone else. Our story may be the gift for someone in our lives. Our kids. Our friends. Our family.
Because THIS would explain why Isaac was blessed afterwards – the story needed to be told – so we could get the takeaway of making mistakes out of fear and because of this TRUTH IS EXPOSED and that TRUTH weaves beauty and abundance in our lives. This may be the takeaway.
Today’s portion closes with this:
12And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found in that year a hundred fold, and the Lord blessed him.
The truth was exposed – Isaac sowed land in his truth, and that was blessed! Beauty and Abundance was about to be weaved into Isaac’s life.
What are your thoughts?
Here is my commentary from the past two years:
Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for Heshvan 27, 5783
I’ve reread this passage multiple times this morning. It still sticks out as such an odd passage to me.
One of the takeaways within me is maybe the answer or thought is how things always work out for us who trust in Hashem?
Yes. Isaac lied about his wife out of fear. And Hashem loved him enough to have him get caught to expose this. And. Loved him enough to bless him in the process.
That no matter what we do, we are always in the present moment; and that present moment had the potential of blessing for us. Even if we are ashamed of our past.
Guilt and Shame don’t really have a place in this Torah portion. Except on the part of Abimelech. He felt guilt because he was put in the POSITION of doing something wrong. “What if….” That is what upset Abimelech.
How often are we afraid by “what if…?” Because how often do we think “what if….” Followed by the worst case scenario? How often do we think “what if….” Followed by the BEST case scenario?
Imagine being inside Isaac’s head and thinking “what if I lie about my wife and because I do, I am blessed?” That’s not likely to have happened – it’s more “what if I lie about my wife and I’m exposed and am put to death?”
Maybe the portion today is to expand our minds that we cannot always predict the future- and what will happen.
I think sometimes (less recently than I have the past 49 years) I convince myself how things will go down. And I block potential directions and steps in a moment because I convince myself of how it will go bad. Rarely do I work out in my head how things could go right? What if I took this step, and then this step, and then this step…and it leads me to wealth? To a healthy relationship? To harmony and peace?
So maybe that’s the message today?
What are your thoughts?
Torah thoughts for Heshvan 26, 5782
Well, dang. If we don’t see Isaac repeating the mistakes of Abraham right of the top of the bat in todays portion!
What is it with our ancestors who basically tell people our wives aren’t really our wives but our sisters? Cause this is exactly what Isaac did.
Now it does seem as if Rebekah avoided the situations that Sarah did, mainly because Isaac wasn’t a very good liar – because the King was keeping an eye on Rebekah and saw Isaac courting Rebekah.
Abimelech then confronts Isaac – “What have you done to us?”
So many things to chew on here. The biggest thing for me is recognizing the impact our actions have on others. Things we do out of fear; and how that hurts those around us; communities, friends, government officials.
Abimelech recognizes the critical nature of Isaac and Rebekah. He tells the people to keep them safe.
What is a struggle for me here is how Isaac seemingly faces no consequences for his actions – he didn’t learn from his dad (or maybe Abraham never spoke about his past with Isaac?). But there didn’t seem to be consequences for his mistake. I’m struggling to understand why. Any thoughts?
Not only weren’t there any consequences, the Torah finishes out this portion with majorly blessing Isaac. Isaac sows crops in the land; and in a bad year for crops, Isaac’s land yielded a hundred times More – and Hashem blessed Isaac. So in fact he seems to have been REWARDED.
The only thing I think I can come up with is how this may have impacted Jacob and Rebekah and emboldened them to forgo tradition, and give them confidence to deceive Isaac for Esau’s blessing.
Rebekah and Jacob could have easily convinced themselves that deception is acceptable when the end goal is Noble? Is this the negative consequence for Isaac? He lied to protect himself, so his consequences are his wife and son use this against him?
I’m curious as to your thoughts!
One response
[…] So; yesterday I realized I “double dipped” and did two portions instead of one. If you read yesterday’s portion? This may be a bit of a repeat. I went back and edited the portion yesterday to close it out at the end point of the second portion. So if you are joining us for the first time? I encourage you to read “Part 1” of these thoughts yesterday here. […]