Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 4 Shevat, 5785

Good morning! We are in the darkness and the wilderness – things may be harsh – and at the same time, we are moving in the direction we need to.

We start a new parsha today – “Be-Shellah” – And He sent.

We are being “sent” messages and messengers to guide us.  And? We don’t have a map.

What we do have? Is a compass.  I wrote this last year:

Something to reflect on; Where am I feeling discomfort? How might this be shifting the magnet within?  How might this new approach ATTRACT what I am shooting for instead of REPELLING it?

When we are used to a magnet in a certain direction, when we reorient to a new direction, it can feel quite disconcerting.  Our comfort wants us to go east, but the magnet is telling us to go south. We are being draw south, but something in us craves to go east.

This is normal? And if we allow ourselves to try a new direction? We might find different results.

Hashem led the people out of Egypt. And today we learn? He did not go the short way. The direct way. He took them “the long way home.”  Why?  Because Hashem knew that if we faced hard times – war – famine – etc, we may turn around and go back to slavery.  He desires us to be FREE.

We so want to follow a map.  To know the path we are going. We trust the map. What we don’t trust is the moment.

Hashem gave Moses a cloud and fire to follow in each moment. And even if it appeared to lead in a direction that did not make sense, Moses followed it.  As we are about to find out? It was going to lead them to a place where a miracle was required. The sea.

We can choose to follow a moment or pretend we have a map.  And when the map doesn’t work we can get frustrated.

Or we can trust the moment. Look at the compass, and go the direction we feel led to go.

Because we can TRUST our intuition.

What are your thoughts?

Here are my thoughts from last year:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 11 Shevat 5784
Parsha Be-Shallah: (Exodus 13:17 – 17:16)
First Portion: Exodus 13:17 – 14:8

Good morning! We are starting a new week – and amazing time as we come out of the “harshness” of the past two weeks and head towards the full moon. This week we are studying Parsha Be-Shallah which means “When He Sent.”

We’ve been discussing this idea of a slingshot. That this cycle is about the harshness of being pulled back and down from our goals – from where we want to be.  It’s frustrating doing a ton of work on ourselves, our relationships, our businesses, our jobs, and at the same time feel further away from where we want to be. 

Why? Why is such a critical question. Why are we getting further away from all of this? Why does it seem like each step we move forward the distance grows from our goals? It’s disheartening isn’t it?

Maybe there is a shift here? Maybe we aren’t JUST slingshots – we are magnets. And if we want to go south, and take actions to go south, we lead with the southern pole of our magnet, right?

And? What if Hashem SENDS south our way? And we are leading with our southern pole? What happens?

Yeah – we push the “south” that Hashem is sending – away, don’t we? Two southern poles repel each other.

What if we are recalibrating our magnet – shifting our front pole from south to north? And if we lead with the north? When Hashem “sends” the south our way?  We are ready to RECEIVE and CATCH and ATTRACT it because we have our NORTHERN pole facing forward?

This is a significant shift for us this week – because the light of the full moon is approaching.  So if we are feeling disoriented? Ungrounded? We just need to ease into this – allow the discomfort to unfold.

Something to reflect on; Where am I feeling discomfort? How might this be shifting the magnet within?  How might this new approach ATTRACT what I am shooting for instead of REPELLING it?

Let’s dig into the Torah!  Yesterday we focused on the womb. The source of manifestation – creation. We are asked when we enter the promised land – to give over “Whatever opens the womb” to Hashem. With this context, let’s go!

17It came to pass when Pharaoh let the people go, that God did not lead them [by] way of the land of the Philistines for it was near, because God said, Lest the people reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt

So this is interesting, right? Hashem is taking the children of Israel “the long way.” How often do we get IMPATIENT with the process around us – it isn’t happening fast enough? Hashem explains to us WHY it doesn’t happen quickly.

“Lest the people reconsider when they see war and return to Egypt.”

This. This is why it takes so long.  Because Hashem does NOT want us going back into slavery. He wants us to be free. 

Think about children born into rich families, right? Their work is going to be much more challenging to be spiritually free.  Christians have the story of the rich man passing through an eye of the needle. 

Those of us who struggle to know where the money is going to come from to pay rent? It’s hard to fathom this.

And. We hear stories of humans living in poverty winning the lottery – and we end up WORSE than before we won.  We weren’t READY to receive that abundance. It was a fire hose that knocked us backwards.  

The long way is more challenging because it requires patience. Heartbreak. Suffering. It seems cruel. And. It builds resilience and containers to receive the abundance of milk and honey coming our way.  This is why Hashem is taking all of us the long way. He doesn’t want us to face a war that pushes us back to slavery.  Can we embrace this?  Let’s keep going:

18So God led the people around [by] way of the desert [to] the Red Sea, and the children of Israel were armed when they went up out of Egypt.

19Moses took Joseph’s bones with him, for he [Joseph] had adjured the sons of Israel, saying, God will surely remember you, and you shall bring up my bones from here with you

20They traveled from Succoth, and they encamped in Etham, at the edge of the desert.

21And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to cause it to lead them on the way and at night in a pillar of fire to give them light, [they thus could] travel day and night.

22He did not move away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire at night [from] before the people.

Hashem could have given Moses a map. That is not what happened. Hashem asked them to keep their eyes on him – cloud by day, fire by night.

And I reflect on this elementally.  We see in the plagues in Egypt elemental components. Here we almost see the releasing, right?

A cloud is water and air mixing. Fire is earth (materials) and air mixing.

It’s integration of two elements together.

A cloud is potential energy for water – when a cloud releases its potential energy, it turns to water.

Fire is kinetic energy – once it consumes the materials of earth it is burning, it returns to potential energy – ready to go, but not there.

This is what guides us. The elements. Kinetic and potential energy. Harmony. Balance.

We don’t have a map – we have a compass. Compasses? Based on MAGNETS. Polarity.

Hashem gave us a compass.

And we continue to ask for a map. Because we want to know the steps of the journey ahead  – we aren’t comfortable being in this moment, are we? With just a compass?

Ok – let’s keep going:

14:1The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2Speak to the children of Israel, and let them turn back and encamp in front of Pi hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; in front of Baal Zephon, you shall encamp opposite it, by the sea.

3And Pharaoh will say about the children of Israel, They are trapped in the land. The desert has closed in upon them.

4And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and through his entire force, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

Lol. That’s REALLY interesting, isn’t? Here I am writing about a compass, and not having a map. And that being a struggle – what does the Torah do? Gives Moses a MAP!

It’s both and.  We look to the compass when we need to. We look to the map when it is given to us. When we are given clarity, we embrace that clarity. When we don’t have clarity, we look within for or compass to know what direction to go.

We need both. We are given both. At the same time.

We are explorers. We have a map, we have a compass. It’s like this is one master’s class on how to constantly orient ourselves.

Let’s close the portion as Hashem shows us what happens:

5It was reported to Pharaoh that the people had fled; and Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, What is this that we have done, that we have released Israel from serving us?

6So he [Pharaoh] harnessed his chariot, and took his people with him.

7He took six hundred select chariots and all the chariots of Egypt, with officers over them all.

8And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and he chased after the children of Israel, and the children of Israel were marching out triumphantly.

Pharaoh – still grieving – had his heart hardened by Hashem – why? To show US the grief. To reorient ourselves to our moment. Are we Pharaoh? Do we allow our hearts to be hardened? Is this the war Hashem warns us about – and why he is taking us the slow way? He wants us to be free. We have a choice – allow our hearts to be hardened – or embrace the softness within and allow ourselves to grieve.

What are YOUR thoughts?