Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 12 Av, 5784
Parsha Va-‘Ethannan – “I requested”: (Deuteronomy 3:23 – 7:11)
Sixth Portion: Deuteronomy 6:4 – 6:25

Good morning! We thrived through another week! We have shifted into more light as the moon reaches it’s fullness on Sunday evening. As we prepare for the Sabbath rest, we get to “bask” in the glow of the light of the moon before it gets full and begins to wane again towards the next new moon – which really will bring about the close of the season and head us into fall and the Jewish spiritual new year. Elul is the month coming up – which is a month to reflect on the past spiritual year, and get ready for 5785!!!!

In this spirit, as we have the final “light” before we shift into fall, let’s dig into a critical passage in the Torah.

4Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God; the Lord is one.

5And you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your means.

6And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart.

This is the Shema – the holy Jewish prayer that we recite multiple times a day. And the focus? Our hearts. The Torah is to be on our hearts. Not in our heads. Our hearts.

This is why the full moon coming up is so critical. It is designed to be the fullness of the Torah on our hearts. The “capstone” of the spiritual year. To check in and see how our hearts are doing.

We have the opportunity to have our hearts reflecting light the way the moon reflects the sun. Or we can search in the shadows for our hearts because they are protected and covered up. The choice is ours.

7And you shall teach them to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.

8And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes.

9And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.

Once the Torah is on our hearts? We are to go into the world and live it out loud. To share with others. To put it as a sign. For others.

And it has to start within.

10And it will be, when the Lord, your God, brings you to the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, great and good cities that you did not build,

11and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant, and you will eat and be satisfied.

And if we do this? We will go into cities we did not build, full of good things we did not fill. The work is all taken care of for us.

The formula is simple:

Torah on our hearts + Living Torah out loud = An inheritance that was not ours. = Satisfaction.

Now. Substitute Love for the word Torah?

            Loving our own Hearts + Living Love out Loud = Satisfaction

That’s a formula for light and love right there.

Let’s keep going:

12Beware, lest you forget the Lord, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

We are given a warning. We are called to remember source. If we forget source, and live in our ego? That’s a problem. We did not free ourselves. The source of the Universe did.

13You shall fear the Lord, your God, worship Him, and swear by His name.

This is the key. And. “Fear” here? Really awe – feeling fear and safe at the same time.  Our “Lord” is Love. Love is the Lord.  Swearing by love.

14Do not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are around you.

Do not worship things that are not love.

15For the Lord, your God, is a zealous God among you, lest the wrath of the Lord, your God, be kindled against you, and destroy you off the face of the earth.

Zealous. Passion.

Hashem. Source. Is passionate for love. What is the “wrath of love?”  When someone comes for our passion? We respond with wrath.

16You shall not try the Lord, your God, as you tried Him in Massah.

17Diligently keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, and His testimonies. and His statutes, which He has commanded you.

18And you shall do what is proper and good in the eyes of the Lord, in order that it may be well with you, and that you may come and possess the good land which the Lord swore to your forefathers,

Do what is good in the eyes of love – so it will be well with us.

19to drive out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken.

20If your son asks you in time to come, saying, “What are the testimonies, the statutes, and the ordinances, which the Lord our God has commanded you?”

21You shall say to your son, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord took us out of Egypt with a strong hand.

We were stuck in slavery. We were stuck in a moment of time. Love freed us from our past.

22And the Lord gave signs and wonders, great and terrible, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes.

23And he brought us out of there, in order that He might bring us and give us the land which He swore to our fathers.

24And the Lord commanded us to perform all these statutes, to fear the Lord, our God, for our good all the days, to keep us alive, as of this day.

25And it will be for our merit that we keep to observe all these commandments before the Lord, our God, as He has commanded us.”

 Remember – the “commandments” are connecting points with Hashem. They are ways for us to connect in love. This is my thought. What about you?

Here is my thoughts from two years ago:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 15 Av, 5782

Good morning! For those on the west coast, I’m sending you positive energy as you enjoy the last supermoon of the year!

Today is the “Jewish Valentine’s day” so sending positive thoughts your way if you are looking for your life partner. At 10am east coast there is a global time of prayer for people to find their partners. If you feel called to join, then join!

Let’s dig into the portion:

Todays portion is special. It begins with a famous Jewish prayer. The Sh’ma (pronounced “Shema” – but one syllable).

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is God. The Lord is one!”

When I say this prayer daily – I will sometimes substitute my name for Israel.

I believe Hashem LITERALLY wants us to be quiet and listen.

Almost like this;

“Listen Benjamin (my Hebrew name), I am God. I am one. I am connected to everything. People have me inside of them. Objects are a part of me. I am connected to EVERYTHING. So listen. PAY ATTENTION!”

It’s a call for us to really open our eyes and ears.

And what is the next line? In many synagogues, it’s spoken softly in an undertone to emphasize that we need to listen!

“Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever”

What is “Hashem’s Kingdom?”  It’s us. Israel.

Here is the next line:

“Love God, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be upon your heart.”

So what is it we need to pay attention to? Love God. With everything. Our heart is the center.

When thinking about the question; “are we bodies with a soul inside or are we souls with a body clothed around it?” The shema seems to answer it. Our identity is our heart and soul. That’s it. It starts inside and works it’s way out. But that’s my opinion.

The next part of the Shema is – ok, once you are listening to the message of LOVE; teach these things to your children! (Paraphrasing a bit).

Talk about them ALL THE TIME. When you are laying down, when you wake up. When you are sitting in your house, while you are walking on the road.

ALL THE TIME.

And what are we called to talk about?

“Love God, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be upon your heart.”

That’s it. That’s where it all begins. This is the HEART of the Torah. And we are saying this and learning this on JEWISH VALENTINE’S DAY!!!!

That’s not a coincidence. That’s the Torah cycle (for THIS YEAR).

The last two parts are to bind them as a sign on our hands and between our eyes. This is why I wrap tefillin each day.

Finally, we are to write them on the door posts of our house and on our gates.

And as we focus on Jewish Valentine’s day, and the idea of “coupling.” Kabbalah has something to say;

Before observing a commandment, Kabbalists always say: “This is for the sake of coupling the Holy One, blessed be He, with His Shekhinah.”

What, exactly, does it mean to “couple” different elements of God? And how does this square with the basic monotheistic idea that God is One?

We are speaking here, not about God Himself, but about His emanations and expressions which are known by different names.

These expressions could broadly be divided into two groups: those which are compatible with the world; and those which are incompatible. The former we refer to as Shekhinah, which means “dwelling” below and taking expression through the world. The incompatible emanations are “Holy,” aloof and beyond reach, even if they are actually right under your nose.

By observing a holy precept in this world we help to heal the rift between these emanations, and “couple” them together.  This is not a mere ritual. You are rendering the infinite finite! (end quote)

Wow. By observing these precepts we are “coupling” the finite and the infinite together!!!!

The next part of todays portion continues the plea of Moses for us to remember.

We are to remember God and what He has done. When we enter the promise land, when we achieve our freedom, there will be a temptation to forget Hashem. Things will be so good we will lose sight. The Torah says:

“But beware not to forget God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

We need to remember where we came from. We were in bondage. We are on the cusp today of true freedom and liberation. These messages. The Shema, the warning to remember. These are tools for us – for when we achieve liberation, the story isn’t over! We have more work to do. And as we will discover – the cycle will end up beginning again. We will achieve true freedom, and then go right back to the garden. And journey to slavery again. This is the Torah cycle we learn every year, yet we do not pay attention.

The mitzvahs- the good things Hashem calls us to do seem burdensome. But they serve a function. They remind us of where we came from. They remind us we were once slaves. We are now free.

The portion ends with Moses imploring us to remember the exodus. When our children ask “why do we have all these rules our friends don’t have to do?” The Torah tells us the answer; because we were slaves. We are now free. We do this to honor the one who saved us and brought us out of slavery.

And that is a powerful message indeed.

For those of you who are “coupled” and together with the love of your life, and you are living in the promised land of relational bliss; you are called to remember the slavery of your exodus into the liberation.

For those of us not coupled; as we enter this period where the potential exists for us to meet someone and become coupled; we must remember to LISTEN. And to LOVE GOD. And to not forget this once we step into the liberation space. If that is what we seek.

We could spend so much time on the juxtaposition of independence and liberation – and whether we are created to be isolated and alone, or whether there is freedom in “coupling.” It’s an interesting thought and maybe next year we will dig deeper into that!

One final thought. If you THOUGHT your current relationship was going to be liberating; but instead it has enslaved you, I would encourage you to ask Hashem to lead you out of it and liberate you from the slavery you feel. Whether that is opening your soul to see your current relationship as liberating, or whether it is opening your soul to have courage to leave. I will send positive energy your way to help guide you on your path.

May your day be filled with love, hope, peace, clarity and serenity!