28 Tammuz, 5784 - Tikkun Olam 47

on August 3, 2024

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 28 Tammuz, 5784
Parsha Mattot – Massei: (Numbers 30:2 – 36:13)
Seventh Portion: Numbers 35:9 – 36:13

Shabbat Shalom! Today is the Shabbat before the new moon of Av. We are still in a mourning process – for the purpose of healing. What are the areas we need to let go of today? What are the wounds that drive us to self sabotage? To get in the way of our growth? Can we make these moments count and allow ourselves the freedom of a moment? Let’s dig in!

9The Lord spoke to Moses saying:

10Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan to the land of Canaan,

11you shall designate cities for yourselves; they shall be cities of refuge for you, and a murderer who killed a person unintentionally shall flee there.

12These cities shall serve you as a refuge from an avenger, so that the murderer shall not die until he stands in judgment before the congregation.

So it is interesting Hashem discusses the cities of refuge. Places a murderer who killed a person unintentionally could go. I am reflecting on this idea.

How often within our hearts do we “murder” someone. Or “murder” their reputation out of anger?

The Torah provides refuge for our feelings of guilt. Especially if we do this unintentionally. That feels comforting.

Let’s keep going:

13The cities that you provide shall serve as six cities of refuge for you.

14You shall provide the three cities in trans Jordan and the three cities in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge.

15These six cities shall be a refuge for the children of Israel and for the proselyte and resident among them, so that anyone who unintentionally kills a person can flee there.

So three were on one side of the Jordan and three were on the other. That’s interesting – given only three tribes were outside the Jordan. I am guessing we need more grace and refuge when we are NOT in the promised land? Three tribes? Three refuge cities. In the land? 9 tribes. Three refuge lands.

Now – lest we think we are going to get away with Murder? The Torah clarifies:

16If he struck him with an iron instrument and he dies, he is a murderer, and the murderer shall be put to death.

17If he struck him with a fist sized stone which is deadly, and he dies, he is a murderer, and the murderer shall be put to death.

18Or with a fist sized wooden instrument which is deadly, and he dies, he is a murderer, and the murderer shall be put to death.

19The blood avenger shall kill the murderer; he may kill him when he meets him.

So these are purely based on action and intention doesn’t matter. That’s interesting.

20If, out of hatred, he pushed him, or threw something at him with premeditation, and he died,

21or if he maliciously struck him with his hand and he died, the assailant shall be put to death; he is a murderer; the blood avenger may kill the murderer when he meets him.

And intention matters it would seem.

However:

22But if he pushed him accidentally, without malice, or threw an object at him without premeditation,

23or, with any stone which is deadly, and without seeing [his victim] he threw it down at him and it killed him, but he was not his enemy and bore him no malice

24Then the congregation shall judge between the assailant and the blood avenger, on the basis of these judgments.

25The congregation shall protect the murderer from the hand of the blood avenger, and the congregation shall return him to the city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall remain there until the Kohen Gadol, who anointed him with the sacred oil, dies.

This is interesting right? The congregation decides intent. That is a challenge. How do we know someone’s intent? And – why is this connected to the High Priest (Kohen Gadol).

The idea that the congregation protects the unintentional murderer from the avenger shares the importance of community. Because I imagine – if I lived in a community, and was a part of a congregation, and they knew me? They would be more likely to support me and trust my intentions. If I was a stranger? And I wasn’t connected? They may question my intentions more.

Community is vital. It’s protective. It’s tough. And its beautiful. Let’s keep going:

26But if the murderer goes beyond the border of the city of refuge to which he had fled,

27and the blood avenger finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the blood avenger slays the murderer, he has no blood.

28For he shall remain in his city of refuge until the Kohen Gadol dies, and only after the Kohen Gadol has died, may the murderer return to the land which is his possession.

29These shall be for you a statute of justice for all your generations, in all your dwelling places.

So basically, even the unintentional murderer needs to stay in the city of refuge. Let’s keep going:

30Whoever [namely the blood avenger] kills a person, based on the testimony of witnesses, he shall slay the murderer. A single witness may not testify against a person so that he should die.

31You shall not accept ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, for he shall be put to death.

32You shall not accept ransom for one who has fled to his city of refuge, to allow him to return to live in the Land, before the kohen has died.

It is interesting – one witness is not enough to condemn someone to die. And, rich folx can’t buy their way out of death. Or leaving a city of refuge. There is the same justice for rich or poor.

33And you shall not corrupt the land in which you live, for the blood corrupts the land, and the blood which is shed in the land cannot be atoned for except through the blood of the one who shed it.

We are talking blood again. Blood is the soul. And when the body’s purpose (soul) – is spilled onto the land, the purpose of a soul “corrupts” the soul of the land. The only way to navigate that is the blood of the one who shed it.

So when a soul takes the soul away from someone else and destroys their purpose? That is why blood must be shed.

34And you shall not defile the land where you reside, in which I dwell, for I am the Lord Who dwells among the children of Israel.

And the land is critical. And should not be defiled.

Ok. So we are shifting to the last chapter of Numbers. As we finish out this chapter, let’s see where we go!

36:1The paternal heads of the family of the sons of Gilead the son of Machir the son of Manasseh of the families of the sons of Joseph approached and spoke before Moses and before the chieftains, the paternal heads of the children of Israel.

2They said, “The Lord commanded my master to give the Land as an inheritance through lot to the children of Israel, and our master was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters.

3Now, if they marry a member of another tribe of the children of Israel, their inheritance will be diminished from the inheritance of our father, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and thus, it will be diminished from the lot of our inheritance.

4Even if the children of Israel will have a Jubilee, their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be diminished from the inheritance of our father’s tribe.”

Once again, we get an approach of Moses regarding women’s rights. Because women have rights – and they marry someone from a different tribe, who gets the land after the Jubilee?

It was a legitimate question to ask as we just got done hearing about how sacred the land is.

5Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, “The tribe of Joseph’s descendants speak justly.

6This is the word that the Lord has commanded regarding Zelophehad’s daughters. Let them marry whomever they please, but they shall marry only to the family of their father’s tribe.

7Thus, the inheritance of the children of Israel will not be transferred from tribe to tribe, for each person from the children of Israel will remain attached to the inheritance of his father’s tribe.

8Every daughter from the tribes of the children of Israel who inherits property, shall marry a member of her father’s tribe, so each one of the children of Israel shall inherit the property of his forefathers.

9And no inheritance will be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for each person of the tribes of the children of Israel shall remain attached to his own inheritance.”

10As the Lord had commanded Moses, so did Zelophehad’s daughters do.

So instead of a blanket statement, Moses and Hashem basically said – if you inherit land as a woman? Marry anyone in your family – not beyond. That’s a pretty practical solution.

11Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah married their cousins.

12They married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained with the tribe of their father’s family.

13These are the commandments and the ordinances that the Lord commanded the children of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan at Jericho.

And that’s what happened. They did what was asked.

And that is the story here as we finish the fourth book. Will we do what we are asked to do?

These are my thoughts! What are yours!

Here are my thoughts from the last two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 26 Tamuz, 5783

Today’s thoughts are a little different. We finish out the book of Numbers. And I want to focus on a particular number. the Number 4. Rabbi Schneerson’s words are resonating for me right now:

“One represents unity, Godliness and spirituality, two represents the dichotomy and division of the physical world, which hides God and acts as an obstacle in His worship. Three is the reconciliation of one and two, to saturate the world with the Divine flow, which is the goal and purpose of creation.

But, as we know, this process is fraught with difficulty. In attempting to sanctify the physical world, man is likely either to remain too spiritual and aloof-in which case he will not be effective in bringing his spirituality “down to earth” -or too influenced by the physical world, which would compromise his ability to live in a spirit of true sanctity and purity.

So three represents the incomplete harmonization of one and two, because it still remains influenced by, and torn between, both of these worlds.

But if you persist, a perfect balance can be achieved; eventually you will lift yourself above both spiritual and physical imbalance. You will no longer have moods of transcendence, when you desire only to escape the world’s limitations and join in an ecstatic union with God, nor will you find physical chores a distraction from your calling in life.

This level of seamless integration between spiritual enlightenment and worldly involvement is alluded to by the number four, which is a step removed from both one and two, representing the ability not to be over-influenced by either of these two contradictory worlds. The four-type personality is balanced and stable, like a chair possessing four legs which stands firmly on the ground.

All this sheds light on the fact that we finish the fourth book of the Torah in the period of mourning for the destruction of the Temple. For the way to end this long, bitter exile—which is in fact the fourth exile of the Jews- and bring the true and final redemption, is to harmonize our personalities in a four-like manner. And then we will enjoy a permanent redemption, because it will be built on steady foundations.”

I want to break this down as today’s portion in the Torah closes out numbers and discusses the following themes:

Murder – intentional and unintentional. Physical and emotional
Witnesses and testimony – what do we accept as reality vs what we need to question. Judgment vs curiosity.
Healing from the emotional pain of murder, both physical and emotional
The preservation of land and inheritance

Taking Rabbi Schneerson’s quote we look at the numbers:

One represents Unity. Godliness. Spirituality
Two represents the dichotomy and division of the physical world – hiding God and acting as an obstacle in His worship.
Three represents the reconciliation of 1 and 2. Saturating the world with “divine flow” which is our purpose and the purpose of EVERYTHING around us.

Rabbi Schneerson challenges how positive 3 sounds. Because as he points out – it is STILL flawed. It’s torn by the first two worlds. The reason is because we can vacillate and choose between the two worlds – We can be too spiritual and aloof – and not bring our spirituality “down to earth” and be grounded to make real change on the earth. Or we can be too grounded in this reality which compromises our ability to rise above into our spirituality.

What we struggle with is balance. It feels like a see saw much of time – needing to choose between the first and second world. But Rabbi proposes a new number to bring balance. The number 4.

Think about it. Three is more like a teeter totter. One point represents the fulcrum. the other two points represents the end of the line.

And I reflect on this. And how often if we get to the number 3 – how much of the fulcrum is centered in our past trauma? Does our trauma cause us to be too “stuck” in this world – which compromises our ability to ascend into spiritual realms – or does our trauma cause us to be “too spiritual” and aloof – unable to bring our spirituality “down to earth” because we are avoiding the pain of our trauma – it feels much better to be in this first world of unity, Godliness, and Spirituality.

The number 4 is much more stable and balanced. It’s more like a square. Or a chair. With four legs. The number four is a step removed from one and two (think of the number line).

Trauma can be the fulcrum of our life – and our awareness of it can be the catalyst for control – choosing which world we live in – the first or second. But it isn’t balanced. Until we step AWAY from our trauma – and live in balance, we will be potentially living “stuck” in this third world.

Once we step away and let go of the past, we can full be present in this moment. Recognizing right now as Rabbi Schneerson points out:

Mourning. Grief. Allowing ourselves to mourn and grieve the past and the trauma – for the purpose of letting it go. For the purpose of harmonizing our personalities – integrating our unity and spirituality AND our groundedness and finding with curiosity love in and around every physical creation. Because I believe Hashem (and our Neshama) is Love. Pure love. And this is what brings balance and Harmony Within us. That is stability.

What are your thoughts as we close the FOURTH book of the Torah today? What is holding us back?

Should we let it go?

Can we let it go?

When?

Let me know your thoughts.

*Special shout outs to two of Hashem’s Creations for the inspiration behind today’s Torah portion.

Someone reached out to me last night to challenge me to let go of some things I was holding onto. It was a key that unlocked some major healing this morning.

The idea of “Should I let this go, Can I let this go, when?” Comes from a Spiritual Coach I met with – Lisa Schmermerhorn who wrote an amazing book “In Every Belief is a Lie.” I highly recommend it.

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 2 Av, 5782

Shabbat Shalom! How are we doing this morning? Day 1 of Av was a doozy for me; how about you? The times are growing darker this week. But hope is on the way. We can trust that spiritually, as we struggling over the next days leading to Tisha B’Av, we can just trust the process that even now, this is not happening “to us” it is happening “for us.” That small shift is crucial as we take each day as it comes.

Let’s dig into the final portion of this book of the Torah; Numbers.

Yesterday we discussed the division of land. And we ended with cities being given to the Levites – six cities specifically for refuge for murder. That left us with a lot of questions that (I think) are about to be answered.

Todays portion starts out with God telling Moses about these cities.

The cities should serve as a refuge from an avenger. So that a murderer will not die until he stands in judgment before the congregation.

Ok. That sounds reasonable.

The cities will be a refuge for the children of Israel, the convert, and the resident alien living among them so that anyone who unintentionally kills a person can flee there.

Ok. So this isn’t just for Jews; it’s for everyone. And. We are talking about people who unintentionally kill someone here. Maybe we should define what happens with killing and murder? Oh. The Torah is about to do that:

If a person struck another with an iron instrument and he dies, the person is a murderer and must be put to death.
If a person struck another with a fist sized stone or fist sized wooden instrument, which is big enough to be deadly and he dies, that person is a murderer, and should be put to death.
1. And how should they be put to death? The Torah says “an avenger of the blood may kill the intentional murderer. He may kill him even when he meets him in a city of refuge.

Ok. So. The refuge cities aren’t really refuges for intentional murderers – until they stand trial.

More definitions:

If a person pushed another out of hatred, or he there something at him with Premeditation and he died; or he maliciously struck him with his hand and he died, the attacker must be put to death. He is an intentional murderer. The avenger can go into the refuge city to kill him.

So. Intention and motive is critical here. The Torah makes a significant distinction between the reasons someone is doing something and the punishment.

And let’s take this beyond the physical? What if we use our words to hurt? And those words kill someone emotionally. They may be required to die emotionally as well. That’s something I’m reflecting on.

The Torah now goes into unintentional murder.

And I think there is something here that is crucial.

The Torah says this: if a person pushed another accidentally – without malice, or threw an object without premeditation, or threw a deadly stone down at another without seeing them and it killed them, but he was not his enemy and did not want to hurt him, then the congregation should enact Justice between the attacker and the avenger of the blood based on the following laws:

The congregation should protect the murderer from the avenger of blood. The congregation should return him to the city of refuge.
He must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest.
If the murderer goes outside the city of refuge to which he had fled, and the avenger kills him, the avenger has no liability for the blood he spilled. The rule is the accidental murderer needs to remain in the city of refuge until the high priest dies.

Interesting. So even accidentally killing someone meant you were put in isolation from the rest of the community. You lived with the Levites and the priests. This would indicate a healing process. Almost as if the high priest took the negative energy from the unintentional murderers, and once the priest died, the energy is released.

It is also interesting to see the role of the congregation. This was done in community.

We also see that there are rules for determining murderers. The Torah says the Avenger should only kill based on the testimony of witnesses who first warned the murderer. A single witness may not testify against a person to put him to death.

How often do we accept the testimony of a single witness? We hear one person’s version of what happened and assume that is fact. We don’t listen to other witness accounts.

That’s something I’m taking away. How often I judge without hearing all sides. There are often multiple versions of what happens; and people bring their own ideas to the table of what that means.

And yet, if someone hurts someone; the multiple sides of what happened don’t alleviate or justify the pain and suffering. If a person, even accidentally, hurts another; there are consequences. And that includes isolation. But In that isolation is also refuge. It’s an interesting picture in dealing with murder.

The book of numbers now transitions away from Justice around murder and focuses on preserving the Land and the inheritances.

Gilead’s heads come to Moses – and the leaders. They bring up an issue. It’s the related to the issue that the women brought up before. Where God and Moses said women can inherit land.

Gilead’s leaders (from the tribe of Menasseh) saw an issue with this. If the women who inherit land marry a member of another tribe, the lands inheritance is deducted from the original inheritance. This is a problem because God told Moses that the land would be divided up proportionally. This will throw off the proportions. Even in a jubilee year, that land would go back to the husband’s inheritance and not the original tribe.

Moses tells the people that Joseph’s descendants speak well.

However. The solution was simple, but probably NOT what Gilead wanted to hear. The simple solution was “so don’t marry outside your tribe.”

However, This is what they did to preserve the land.

Now. I’m really reflecting on how today, land isn’t important to us as a society in America. Let me clarify. To most Americans, land isn’t seen in this kind of way. We buy and sell land without worrying about inheritances staying connected to our families. We are so hyper independent- as a value of our society – that we don’t care. Personal freedom is above everything else.

And yet, in this culture, the women did this. They married within their tribe to keep the land they inherited.

The portion/Parsha/book of Numbers ends with this line: “These are the commandments and the laws that God commanded the children of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan near Jericho.”

And Rabbi Schneerson had something really interesting for us to chew on as we close out this book of the Torah:

So three represents the incomplete harmonization of one and two, because it still remains influenced by, and torn between, both of these worlds.

And that, my friends, is how we close this fourth book of the Torah!!!

Hazak, Hazak, ve’Nitchazek!

Be strong! Be strong! And May we be strengthened!

What are your thoughts?

As always on Shabbat, the Haftorah thoughts will be in the comments below

Haftorah thoughts:

This Haftorah is the second of the “Haftarot of punishment” read between the 17 of Tamuz and 9 of Av. This is the time we are mourning the destruction of the Holy temple.

This is a harsh Haftorah. It’s fully critical of Israel by Jeremiah the prophet.

Jeremiah starts out by telling Israel to listen.

He condemns the Jews for distancing themselves from God. They went after the gods of emptiness and became empty.

They did not repent. They forgot what God did for them leading them out of Egypt. The Jews took the promised land and made it an abomination.

The priests didn’t do their job. They were supposed to teach truth. They failed at their mission of holding on to the Torah.

God isn’t happy.

Jeremiah says “look around and see just how bad it’s gotten. Israel has exchanged God’s glory for futility.”

Jeremiah says the people have committed two sins;

The forgot about God
The dug their own wells, broken cisterns that don’t hold water.

All of this comes because we abandoned God at the time He was leading us on the right path.

God has been faithful to us. We have not.

They took their worship of God and projected it onto other things – stone, wood, etc. instead of recognizing that stone and wood are from God himself. They ignored God’s role.

The stone did not create us. The wood did not create us. Israel started calling the wood and stone “father” and saying “you gave birth to me.”

When misfortune came, they asked the stone and wood to save them. Jeremiah said “how is that working out for you?” (I’m paraphrasing).

The CREATOR of the stone and wood and us can and will save us. That’s the key!

The Haftorah at this point splinters based on background.

The Ashkenazi communities end with this verse:

Jeremiah 3:4: “Will you not from now call to me, “my father! You are the master of my youth!”

Sephardic and Chabad communities end the Haftorah with this verse:

Jeremiah 4:1-2: “if you return, O Israel, and confess your sins,” says God, “then you will have returned to me. If you remove your detestable things from My presence in Jerusalem, you will not wander in exile. If you will swear, “As God lives” when promising to do truth and Justice and righteousness and not swear with My name to do falsehood, as you do now, then nations will bless themselves by wishing others that they should be like you, and they will praise themselves, when they are successful, that they are like you.”

It’s an interesting juxtaposition between the two endings. They say similar yet different things. The bottom line is; as bad as things get. We can have redemption and forgiveness by turning back to our divinity. Our connection to the creator. That is where our energy and fortune stem. It is where our spiritual root is.

And that is crucial.

What are your thoughts? May you have rest today from the darkness that surrounds this time period leading towards Tisha B’Av.

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