Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 21 Av, 5784
Parsha Re’eh – “See”: (Deuteronomy 11:26 – 16:17)
First Portion: Deuteronomy 11:26 – 12:10

Good morning!  It’s Sunday, and we are heading into a new week!  Today we start a new Parsha. “Re’eh” which means “see.”

The idea here, is we have asked for and had the result of the spiritual year we’ve led. The energies right now are right at the crux of our fullness. We are now shifting into a time of contemplation and reflection.  Let’s dig in:

26Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.

So Moses is giving us a choice. Like we saw at the end of yesterday’s parsha? It is a choice on perception. How will we see the Universe?

27The blessing, that you will heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today;

28and the curse, if you will not heed the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn away from the way I command you this day, to follow other gods, which you did not know.

The blessing is love. The curse is looking for things OTHER than love to follow.

29And it will be, when the Lord, your God, will bring you to the land to which you come, to possess it, that you shall place those blessing upon Mount Gerizim, and those cursing upon Mount Ebal.

30Are they not on the other side of the Jordan, way beyond, in the direction of the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites, who dwell in the plain, opposite Gilgal, near the plains of Moreh?

31For you are crossing the Jordan, to come to possess the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, and you shall possess it and dwell in it.

32And you shall keep to perform all the statutes and ordinances that I am setting before you today.

Moses is telling them, they are on the cusp of the promised land. The blessing will be on one mountain, the cursing on the other.

12:1These are the statutes and ordinances that you shall keep to perform in the land which the Lord God of your fathers gives you to possess all the days that you live on the earth.

And here we get the direction from Moses – and I think there is a key point here. “Perform in the land.”

What does this mean for us? We don’t currently live “in the land.” Are we being asked to perform these statutes and ordinances?

If we aren’t being asked to, should we perform to prepare ourselves for when we DO live in the land? These are curious questions.

2You shall utterly destroy from all the places where the nations, that you shall possess, worshipped their gods, upon the lofty mountains and upon the hills, and under every lush tree.

3And you shall tear down their altars, smash their monuments, burn their asherim with fire, cut down the graven images of their gods, and destroy their name from that place.

When going into the land, they were being asked to tear down all the markers of the foreign gods they were worshiping.

4You shall not do so to the Lord, your God.

We are called to not do any of this to Hashem.

5But only to the place which the Lord your God shall choose from all your tribes, to set His Name there; you shall inquire after His dwelling and come there.

6And there you shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the separation by your hand, and your vows and your donations, and the firstborn of your cattle and of your sheep.

7And there you shall eat before the Lord, your God, and you shall rejoice in all your endeavors you and your households, as the Lord, your God, has blessed you.

When we go into the land, we were called to worship Hashem in a very specific way.

8You shall not do as all the things that we do here this day, every man [doing] what he deems fit.

This seems like a key crucial line to me. The children of Israel – standing on the banks of the  Jordan, about to enter the promised land.  People were doing what they “deemed fit.” I am reflecting on this.

They were just doing their best. They were yet to enter their inheritance.  This feels so much different than the society we find ourselves in, doesn’t it? Like we are supposed to act as if we have received an inheritance of land that isn’t here. We aren’t in the promised land.

And. We are.

The promised land is within.

There is an edge here.  Within us is the Neshama. It’s the purpose of our lives. And we need to listen to our Neshama. And do good. Love.  In the best way we can.

9For you have not yet come to the resting place or to the inheritance, which the Lord, your God, is giving you.

10And you shall cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord, your God, is giving you as an inheritance, and He will give you rest from all your enemies surrounding you, and you will dwell securely.

This is a promise. We have not yet come to the resting place or the inheritance. And when we get there? We will have rest from our enemies, and we will dwell securely.

If we connect with the “promised land” within us? We will dwell securely. This is our choice.

What are your thoughts?

Here is my commentary from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 19 Av, 5783

Good morning! We start a new Parsha on a new week!  This is an amazing week as we celebrate the day I became a Father.  August 8, 2007 is my oldest child’s birthday.  This is a significant day for her for sure – she is turning 16.  But on that day 16 years ago? I became a father for the first time.

The Name of this week’s Parsha is Re’eh.  This literally means “see.”  And going back to my last paragraph?  This week is the anniversary of seeing that I was a father for the first time.  Because I was a father long before that date.  The significance of the date is merely the day I saw it become real!

This week’s Parsha is about our destiny.  The paths of Blessing and curses.

The Chumash has this beautiful thing to say to us: “Regardless of the route you have traveled until this moment, the future direction of your life depends entirely on your decisions today.” That is an amazing piece to think about.

Moses starts today’s portion giving us blessing and curse.  Our choice determines our destiny.  And. As I reread the commentary I wrote a year ago? I feel like it was written for this moment just as much as it was written a year ago.  It exists outside of time.

Here it is:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 24 Av, 5782

It’s a new week! And today is a super special day. This is Eliana’s Hebrew Birthday. She was born 15 years ago on the 24 Av, 5767.

We have a new Parsha this week. Parsha Re’eh. This literally means “see.” It’s as if part of our liberation process from Slavery to freedom (as we get closer and closer to the promised land) requires us to “see” – to open our eyes. To awaken.

This Parsha is going to deal with destiny; opposing paths of blessing and curse. The Chumash has this beautiful thing to say to us: “Regardless of the route you have traveled until this moment, the future direction of your life depends entirely on your decisions today.” That is an amazing piece to think about.

I’ve been chewing on this idea of creation vs creator. Hashem has obviously given us the ability to create. Are we wanting, in this moment, to create the future direction of our lives? Or are we wanting that created for us? And what is the role of our imaginations in this process? Have we filled our heads with things that have filled our sense of imagination and wonder? And does that make it difficult in this moment to want to create? Again, It seems as if we come back to deciding whether we are the artist of our life or the canvas. In reality it can be both at the same time. How much do we create? Let’s dig in:

We start with the passage and Moses is continuing his last lecture before the people go into the promised land.

Moses tells us he is giving us a blessing and a curse. We have a choice. Our destiny is ours in the choices we make. It’s like we discussed yesterday. Do we choose love as God? Or do we choose oppression as God? It’s a choice.

Moses says – if we listen to the mitzvahs and do good – out of love? We will be blessed.

If we choose not to, curses will come. We will go astray from the lessons and good we have learned. If our goal is liberation, we must always choose love!

Moses says when we cross the Jordan, we will see miracles that will be a sign for us. When we become liberated, we will see amazing things!

Moses then tells us that when we go into the land, we need ti make sure we keep these in mind, once we achieve liberation; true liberation!

When we enter this new space of liberation; we need to go where the nations who possessed the land before us performed acts of worship and destroy their gods.

Something I reflect on in this place of liberation – I’m not sure we should take this literally. It was a historical account of a specific moment in time. How we apply this part of the Torah? As we enter into liberation – spiritual liberation; we should consider the ways others connect with Hashem, and focus on what got you to Liberation. We don’t need to change things up. And what worked for us in our journey to spiritual liberation – may not work for others. And. Vice versa.

Let’s keep going.

Moses tells the people to place the tabernacle at Shiloh. That’s where all of our sacrifices should go.

And we are told as the portion ends, for the first 14 years after liberation, we should not erect private altars to carry out all the sacrifices.

What is going to happen is we are going to cross into liberation – however, there is a battle to fight. We have to conquer the enemy that was possessing that space.

Let’s stop for a minute. When we read this. Is your mind thinking about an external battle? Or are you thinking about the battle within? The fight within our hearts, souls, bodies? When we cross over into liberation, there were occupants in our mind that lived in the spaces we now want to occupy in our liberation. How do you allow Hashem to conquer those thought patterns? Because that’s the first step.

The second step is apportionment. When we achieve liberation, our souls will equalize within us appropriately. We will be perfectly aligned – with the full palate of colors to create. And once that is done? Moses tells us to close the portion out; “He will give you rest from all your enemies surrounding you – and you will dwell securely.”

We can dwell securely in our hearts and minds. The internal determines the external.

What are your thoughts?