Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 1 Adar 1, 5784
Parsha Mishpatim: (Exodus 21:1 – 24:18)
Seventh Portion: Exodus 23:26 – 24:18
Shabbat Shalom! Happy Rosh Chodesh! What an amazing day – it is a new moon – time for a rebirth! Time to let go of the past, and begin again!
We had a break yesterday from the “laws” or “ways to connect with Hashem.” We received a list of blessings. This was the conclusion I wrote about:
We should not follow the practices of those who see us as an enemy. If we are living out our purpose. If we listen to our Neshama. If we allow Hashem to guide us, and discipline us lovingly. Hashem will bless us. We will have abundance; “He will bless your food and your drink, and I will remove illness from your midst.”
-
- Grief
- Anxiety
- Dignity
- Compassion
- Sovereignty
- Safety
- Emotional Authority
It is in our emotional authority:
25And you shall worship the Lord, your God, and He will bless your food and your drink, and I will remove illness from your midst.
Good things will happen.
Let’s dig in:
26There will be no bereaved or barren woman in your land; I will fill the number of your days.
Hashem finishes up with how He will bless us.
- Bless our food
- Bless our drink
- No illness
- Women will not be bereaved or barren.
- Fill the number of our days
Let’s talk about barren women.
The womb is a sacred place. It is the chamber of all creation of this earth. Anything on this earth – it was created either from Hashem directly, or from a woman’s womb.
Every invention. Every building.
All from a woman’s womb.
A woman’s womb doesn’t create trees per se. But a woman’s womb can create someone who can PLANT THE SEED of a tree.
So – if we worship Hashem, and the Neshama within us? Internally, we can manifest whatever we desire. Co-creation. This is what we are talking about. We can co-create with Hashem. We can co-create with other creation. This is our choice.
And this is all within us. Hashem also shares what will happen externally:
27I will send My fear before you, and I will confuse all the people among whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
28And I will send the tzir’ah before you, and it will drive out the Hivvites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you.
29I will not drive them away from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field outnumber you.
30I will drive them out from before you little by little, until you have increased and can occupy the land.
So this is interesting. We want things QUICKLY don’t we? Going back to co-creation. Hashem is telling us – He will do everything in the right time. Why? He does not want us to be outnumbered and we can have stability.
31And I will make your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the river, for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and you shall drive them out from before you.
Hashem is saying – He will heal and work within us – AND will drive things externally in our favor. All if we stay and remain connected. This is powerful.
32You shall not form a covenant for them or for their gods.
33They shall not dwell in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me, that you will worship their gods, which will be a snare for you.
And Hashem shares this warning – we shall not form a covenant “for” them or “for” their gods.
I want to pause here. Why isn’t it “with” them? Why isn’t the warning to avoid covenants WITH our enemies?
I am thinking this means – I cannot form a covenant between someone else and Hashem. This is the idea of SOVEREIGNTY.
I can’t do Hashem’s work for someone else. I can only do it for ME.
Let’s pause here. Just reflect.
I can’t make someone connect with Hashem. All I can do is connect with Hashem.
That feels different, doesn’t it?
I have emotional authority. AND. I cannot utilize that on someone ELSE’S behalf. THEY have emotional authority as well. We are back to sovereignty. Let’s keep going:
1And to Moses He said, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and prostrate yourselves from afar.
2And Moses alone shall approach the Lord but they shall not approach, and the people shall not ascend with him.”
Hashem telling Moses – “come up to me – you and the elders. Prostrate yourselves from afar. Get closer AND stay away. Moses – you alone approach.”
So at this point. Moses has all the directions he needs. He tells the people:
3So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances, and all the people answered in unison and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.”
And the people said “WE ARE IN, MOSES!”
Beautiful, eh? What a happy ending! Except this isn’t the end. Let’s keep going:
4And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and he arose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve monuments for the twelve tribes of Israel.
5And he sent the youths of the children of Israel, and they offered up burnt offerings, and they slaughtered peace offerings to the Lord, bulls.
6And Moses took half the blood and put it into the basins, and half the blood he cast onto the altar.
7And he took the Book of the Covenant and read it within the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that the Lord spoke we will do and we will hear.”
So Moses TELLS the people orally. Then he WRITES the words. He has the people sacrifice and offer up to Hashem. Moses READS the words of Hashem. And the people continued to say “WE ARE IN, MOSES!”
Then…
8And Moses took the blood and sprinkled [it] on the people, and he said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has formed with you concerning these words.”
Moses sprinkled the blood on the people. And Moses formed a covenant WITH the people and Hashem. Then it was time…
9And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended,
10and they perceived the God of Israel, and beneath His feet was like the forming of a sapphire brick and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity.
11And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand, and they perceived God, and they ate and drank.
So Moses and the elders ascended. They “perceived’ Hashem – and they saw beneath his feet a sapphire brick. This was the root. This is the grounding. Hashem did not touch the nobles – but they perceived Hashem. And they ate and drank.
12And the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets, the Law and the commandments, which I have written to instruct them.”
So Moses already told the people. Moses wrote down what he heard from Hashem and READ to the people. But now? Moses was going to go up with Hashem and be GIVEN the tablets that Hashem will write.
To recap.
Hashem spoke to Moses.
Moses spoke to the people.
The people said “we are IN!”
Moses wrote down what he heard from Hashem.
Moses read to the people.
The people said “we are IN!”
Moses is now going to go up to Hashem
Hashem will write it all down. Just to make sure there is no misunderstanding.
Moses will be GIVEN the Torah.
13So Moses and Joshua, his servant, arose, and Moses ascended to the mount of God.
14And to the elders he said, “Wait for us here until we return to you, and here Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a case, let him go to them.”
What a powerful scene, right? All of this. And Moses tells the elders – “wait here. I am leaving Aaron and Hur. They will speak for me.”
Confidence personified. And then?
15And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
16And the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days, and He called to Moses on the seventh day from within the cloud.
Moses goes up. Clouds cover the mountain. On the seventh day, Hashem called to Moses from within the cloud. Meanwhile on the ground…
17And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire atop the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel.
Wow. So – “we are IN! Moses. We are SOOOOOO in!” And now we see this giant fire on the mountain! Wow! Powerful.
Wait.
Um.
Are we sure that fire didn’t kill Moses? That seemed like a pretty intense fire.
And now? We have DOUBT. Let’s add this to our learning;
- Grief
- Anxiety
- Dignity
- Compassion
- Sovereignty
- Safety
- Emotional Authority
- Sovereignty affirmed
- DOUBT
Sound like anyone else’s journey? Certainly sounds like mine!
I can feel safe. I can feel sovereign. Yet when I see the power of Hashem? Doubt can creep RIGHT. BACK. IN.
18And Moses came within the cloud, and he went up to the mountain, and Moses was upon the mountain forty days and forty nights.
40 days. 40 nights.
That is a long time to be left to wonder whether Moses was consumed in the fire, right?
Moses left Aaron and Hur in charge, so we are all good, right?
Um.
Yeah.
What is our takeaway?
Our feelings? Aren’t always accurately reflecting what Hashem is doing.
It will be interesting to see where next week’s Parsha goes.
Here are my thoughts from the past two years:
Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 27 Shevat, 5783
Last year, I wrote a lot of thoughts about this Torah portion. I think for me when I read it this year some things jump out:
Boundaries. The idea that boundaries are important some in many ways:
- We are called to have our own boundaries. And care enough about ourselves and our own sovereignty to hold to those boundaries and not give up on them
- We are called to respect the boundaries of others.
I’m reflecting on how respecting boundaries AND challenging someone to step outside their comfort zone are different; but really nuanced.
I’m not sure I have good answers here.
I’m also reflecting on our relationship to food. My journey over the year when it comes to food has become more spiritual. Im not below my initial goal weight working towards my final goal. It’s been an interesting journey for sure.
Ok. Let me know what you think on this final Shabbat before the New Moon for Adar!
Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for Shevat 27, 5782
Shabbat Shalom! This Shabbat is the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh (the new month). I’m excited this week to share with you some of the things I’m learning about Kabbalah and the connection of Adar. Shevat indeed has been a time of harshness and kindness, with Tu B’Shevat being the fulcrum. It will be interesting to see what Adar I (and the bonus leap month Adar II) brings us!
Let’s get to the Torah!
Yesterday we left off with a break from the mitzvahs. The Torah talked about the golden calf, and the consequences for it. Yet, He didn’t abandon His people; He sent an angel ahead of the people to prepare and take care of their enemies!
Todays portion begins with obedience and miscarriage.
If we obey (connect with Hashem through the mitzvahs), as a community (because remember the Torah was talking about the people as a whole – not just individuals), then the results would be;
- There won’t be a woman who miscarries in your land
- There won’t be a woman who is barren in your land
- Hashem will cause the days of our lives to be full
- Hashem will send His terror ahead of us
- Hashem will throw into confusion all the people among whom we will come
- Hashem will make all our enemies turn their backs and flee from us.
I’m sitting with that. I think the natural reaction I have is – “so if a woman is barren or miscarries, is that the result of disobedience? Is that a punishment?”
I do not believe that’s the case. I don’t think it’s 1:1 causality. I think it’s a picture of the world to come when Mashiach comes. Because as a community, as individuals, we all disobey. I don’t keep all the mitzvahs. None of us does. And yet Hashem still blesses some of us with children.
One of my thoughts here is the connection to community. We often think of ourselves isolated from others. We don’t see the interconnection between our souls and the souls of those around us.
One of the things I’ve been chewing on is how much my brain avoids this notion. When I’m alone, my brain is halfway present; it craves to be with others. When I’m with others, I’m halfway present because my brain then wants to be alone. My brain has learned to isolate itself from the community.
I was at a large gathering last night. It was difficult. I felt myself struggling a lot to be present. I wanted to run away and be alone. But I pushed myself to stay. When I left, there was a sense of relief, and then went home and was alone. I then craved to be around people. To make the human connection.
What I recognize this morning is how difficult it is to feel a connection to the moment I am in. To be fully engaged with the community; to feel a part of it. To feel interconnected.
Or when I am alone, to live fully in that moment of being alone. To experience the fullness of that alone-ness. The rest that comes with it.
I read this morning from Mark Nepo’s “The Book of Awakening:”
“But our most frequent obstacle to experiencing the fullness of life, which I have suffered many times, is the hesitancy that keeps us from being either fully alone with life or fully alone with each other.
Being half anywhere is the true beginning of loneliness.”
My takeaway from these Torah passages about obeying Hashem is that we can’t be half hearted. We have to be fully “there.” Where ever “there.” Is. Maybe it’s “here.”
I hope this makes sense?
So the first part of todays portion tells us WHAT Hashem is going to do.
The next part of the Torah tells us HOW;
He’s going to bring Swarms of hornets that will inject venom into our enemies. Eeek.
However, He isn’t going to do this quickly or in a year; He tells us if He does it too quickly, the land will be depopulated and the beasts of the field will be too many. He is going to drive the enemy out slowly; so that we can increase and can fully occupy the land.
My takeaway; The process of change is slow. He’s not going to complete the task until we are ready for it. He is going to give us time to grow literally and figuratively.
There’s comfort in that.
And then Hashem gives us a warning; don’t make a covenant with those living in the land. Why? Because Hashem tells us; we may sin against God, we might worship their gods, which will be a trap for us.
We need to protect our borders. That goes for our physical health, mental health, spiritual health. AND, I’d argue; we need to respect the borders of others. When someone tells us no, or they don’t have time, we can’t take that personally; we have to respect the boundary placed upon us. That’s part of being human!
Ok. So the Torah now jumps back in time a little bit; to describe the process of the covenant with God.
We are back on Sinai – Hashem tells Moses to go up the mountain – and bring Aaron and his sons, And seventy elders from Israel. To bow down to God from afar. Only Moses is to approach Hashem in the fog where God is; the elders will stay at a distance and the people will stay at the bottom of the mountain.
Moses tells the people the boundaries. (Interesting) and tells the people to respect the boundaries. He tells them the Noahide laws, the Sabbath laws, honoring parents, the Red Heifer, and the civil laws which were given at Marah. The people answered in unison “All the words that God has spoken, we will do.”
Moses then writes down all of God’s words from the beginning of Genisis until the giving of the Torah.
Moses then set up an altar with 12 stone monuments representing the tribes of Israel. They offered up sacrifices.
Moses then took “The Book of the Covenant” which was from the beginning of Genesis to the giving of the Torah, plus the commandments they were given at Marah, and he read it aloud to the people. They could all hear it; which is a pretty big miracle. The people responded “We will do and we will hear everything that God has said.”
Moses then took blood and sprinkled it on the people to signify the covenant between the people and Hashem.
Then Moses, Aaron, his sons and the elders went up to Hashem. The Torah says “they looked at God while they ate and drank.”
I’m reflecting on the notion of eating. I’ve been working on my own relationship to food, and how I’ve used food in a way that isn’t healthy for me. Here, food was a spiritual thing. They were able to connect with Hashem while they ate and drank. I’m chewing on (pun intended) how to make eating a spiritual practice. I think there may be a lot there.
The parsha ends with God telling Moses to come up to Him on the mountain and remain there. Hashem is going to give Moses the stone tablets which encorprate the entire Torah and commandment, which Hashem wrote to instruct us.
Moses and Joshua got up and went to the boundary where Joshua pitched his tent because he could not go further. Moses went up to Hashem. But as he left the camp, he told the elders “Wait for us here and be ready to judge any dispute until we return to you. Look! Aaron and Hur (son of Miriam and Caleb) are with you. Whoever has a legal case should approach them.”
Moses left instructions on leadership in his absence. That was an interesting tactic; because Moses knew that when he left, the possibility of infighting would rise. He trusted Aaron and Hur to navigate this.
Moses ascends the mountain and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of God rested on Mount Sinai for six days. Hashem called to Moses on the seventh day from within the cloud to say the Ten Commandments.
To the children of Israel, the glory of God was like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
Moses came into a path within the cloud, and he went up to the mountain. He was there forty days and forty nights.
Wow. That’s some amazing stuff in this portion. What are your thoughts?
As always, Haftorah thoughts for this Shabbat will be in the comments below.
If you could hit the like button (or any reaction button) to let me know you’ve read this, it would be encouraging to me; just sayin!
Bonus edit. I just learned on the Shabbat before Adar, we read a bonus Torah portion; the Shekalim (info here https://www.chabad.org/…/aid/644308/jewish/Shekalim.htm )
There’s a bonus Maftir portion;
It’s the passage in Exodus (30:11-16)that talks about the half shekel.
To be counted in the census each person should let each person give to God an atonement for their soul.
The children of Israel were instructed to give a half shekel according to the shekel used for sanctified items; Twenty gerah equal one shekel. The contribution of Hashem should be a half shekel. No more; no less. Being rich didn’t mean you gave more. Because this was for the soul; and the message is our souls all have equal infinite value to Hashem!
No responses yet