Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 11 Nisan, 5785

Good morning! We are in a critical time of transition here. The full moon is upon us – and it will coincide with Passover – the day we left Egypt – and the slavery we experienced there.

Today’s portion is all about preparation.  The high priest was being prepared – dressed, anointed, washed, etc.

This was not a glamorous thing – it was a necessary thing.  The peace of the process was crucial towards the goal – establishing the priest as a leader.

The war was over. There was peace. And? Conflict was comfortable for the Children of Israel – they were used to it. They thrived in it. The struggle became their identity – this was a way to establish peace within.

Where is our war within? Where is the conflict within us? What battles exist? And are those battles connected to our comfort? Or are they designed to get us to focus on what is important?

There are my thoughts today? What are yours?

Here are my thoughts from last year:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 17 Adar II, 5784
Parsha Tzav – “Command”: (Leviticus 6:1 – 8:36)
Fourth Portion: Leviticus 8:1 – 8:13

Good morning! What another amazing day we get here. It is a new day – a chance to “begin again” and fully start over!  We are not enslaved to our past. We are free. If we are struck by guilt, by our mistakes, by war? We are free in this moment to act from a place of peace.  Most of us do NOT understand what it is like to act in peace. We are so used to fighting that we struggle to just “be.”

Fighting feels like freedom – we don’t have to follow a blueprint. We can adapt; we can feel like we are not stuck. And yet, we are stuck in a place defending and attacking – adapting to the strategy of our enemy. We are warriors fighting dragons.

When the battle is over? What are left with? What happens after the war?  Think about it.

I was speaking with my therapist about this idea. Moving from skillful warrior to peaceful warrior.  What does a peaceful warrior even look like?

Construction. Restoration. Building bridges. Clean up.

At first? Those feel SUPER boring. I’d rather be fighting a war than cleaning up messes.

And? That is where we go. We have a choice. When in war, we desire stability and peace. Yet when we find peace? We want action.  This is the paradox of being a warrior.

And yet? The peaceful warrior? We are priests. We minister to the broken hearts around us – devastated by war.  And sometimes, in the clean up process? We discover landmines. Triggers as we clean up the messes that set ourselves and others off emotionally.

And we are called to be equanimous in this process. To let others have their reactions – and just be.

Today, we step into the Torah with an anointing. We are anointing the high priest within. The Torah is a blueprint for construction. Following a blue print is a lot easier than fighting a war. And – it certainly feels a lot less exciting and adventurous than fighting a war. What is the blueprint we are building? Let’s dig in:

1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the sin offering bull, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread,

3And assemble the entire community at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

4And Moses did as the Lord had commanded him, and the community assembled at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

Moses followed directions. He didn’t react to circumstances. He just did. He brought people together. He assembled. He’s Nick Fury from the Avengers.

5And Moses said to the community: This is the thing the Lord has commanded to do.

Moses tells the people gathered – this is the blueprint. It’s not as exciting as fighting a war. It’s not as exciting as parting of the red sea. It’s not as exciting as the 10 plagues. We don’t need rescuing. We are at peace. We don’t need salvation. We are at peace.  There is a blueprint to follow. Let’s explore:

6And Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and bathed them in water.

Bathed them in water.

The high priest within us – to anoint HIM – we must bathe him. What are the parts of our internal high priest that need cleansing?

7And he placed the tunic upon him [Aaron], girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, placed the ephod upon him, girded him with the band of the ephod, and adorned him with it.

Once we wash the high priest (high priestess) within? He needs clothes. He is not meant to be exposed in his emotional and spiritual nakedness. He is to be girded.

8And he placed the choshen upon him, and he inserted into the choshen the Urim and the Tummim.

Once our high priest is washed and clothed – he is given tools. The Choshen the breastplate – is a shield. The Urim and Tummim? Tools for intuition. Our high priest – within us – has shielding and intuition to live at peace.

9And he placed the cap on his [Aaron’s] head, and he placed on the cap, towards his face, the golden showplate, the holy crown, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The high priest within is royalty. It is our crown. Is the high priest within us sovereign? Or do we give other things (people, hobbies, careers) our attention and crown? How do we anoint the high priest within to be king (or queen) within us? This is how. By being mindful.

10And Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Sanctuary and everything in it and sanctified them.

11And he sprinkled from it upon the altar seven times, and he anointed the altar and all its vessels and the washstand and its base, to sanctify them.

Next? After washing, clothing, handing the tool tools of peace, and then crowning the high priest within? Moses turns his attention to the environment around our priest. Our bodies. Next we need to look at where our high priest lives. Is the temple they do their work in anointed?

12And he poured some of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and he anointed him to sanctify him.

Once we have washed, clothed, equip, and crown the high priest within us, then we anoint our bodies? We anoint ourselves with oil.

What is oil? Crushed olives (in this case).  It is the fruit of a tree that has been pressed down and crushed.

In our lives, the wars we’ve fought have been tremendous. And. We’ve won the war. We just don’t know how to live in peace. We have been freed from slavery – and we are in the wilderness. How to live in the wild and not always need to fight a war? Is a tough sell.

We have a responsibility to do the inner work in peace. To wash ourselves after the battle. To clothe ourselves to protect our nakedness – emotionally, spiritually, physically. To equip ourselves with the tools of peace – a breastplate with 12 stones on it – the children born to Israel. And to crown ourselves.  To anoint our bodies, and then to anoint the high priest to guide us in peace. Will we listen to the high priest within?

Today’s portion closes with this:

13And Moses brought Aaron’s sons forward and clothed them with tunics, girded them with sashes, and bound them up with high hats, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Aaron’s sons are within us too. I would argue they are the shadows born of our traumas. The High Priest within us has needed to fight as a warrior. And produce sons to helps us with our fight. The shadows in us need new roles as well. They have become priests. Ministers.

This is the blueprint for peace within. We don’t often talk about how to navigate life when the war is over.

What are your thoughts?