Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 11 Sivan, 5783.

A year ago I wrote commentary on this long portion of the Parsha.  And I am going to start this year with where I ended:

That is really cool! So we go from adultery, to purity, to blessing.

It feels like that is our entire process with Torah. We make mistakes, we atone and become pure, we see blessing.

This is a great synopsis of the Torah portion today.

And as I reflect on how we make mistakes and miss the mark every day of our lives – which is what makes us human, how often we get stuck in these mistakes – unable to move forward. Unable to grow.  Stuck in a spiral of:

• Rejection
• Abandonment
• Regret
• Guilt
• Shame
• Malevolence

Not towards OTHERS. But internally.  Within.  Instead of working to make different decisions in the moment and letting go of our past mistakes – living in full spiritual liberation and freedom, we instead beat ourselves up, believing that is what Hashem wants for us.  Judgment.  To live in judgement.

I reflect on how much judgment I read at the beginning of today’s portion.  And yet?  The end is blessing.  I am learning to move away from judgment and into a place of curiosity.  This is the Torah approach.  Be curious.

I was helping a friend prepare a keynote for K-12 administrators.  And where we landed was the wisdom of Ms. Frizzle from “The Magic School Bus.”  We have gotten really far away from her advice: ” Take chances. Make mistakes. Get Messy.”

We live in such fear of making mistakes and getting messy.  We avoid it.  Today’s portion (in my opinion) has us focused on mistakes. And Blessing.

Where are we taking chances? Where are we making mistakes? Where are we getting messy?

AND instead of rejection, abandonment, guilt, and shame? Where are we moving forward in love and blessing!

Those are MY thoughts – what are yours?

My commentary from last year:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 9 Sivan, 5782

Wow. Todays portion is long. There is a lot to dig into so let’s get started!

The portion starts off with jumping in with adultery.

“If a man’s wife goes astray from the ways of modesty, arousing her husband’s suspicion that she had acted treacherously towards him and had allowed a man to lie with her and have a seminal emission, but the alleged act was not seen by her husband….”

Ok. So we are talking about betrayal here. The Torah is focused on a Husband being betrayed. I do wonder – what if that is something the Husband is ok with? We may not be comfortable with that question, but I’m more curious about it. Just something I’m chewing on.

If this happens, the Torah says if the following occur (remember because she was not seen):

1. She was seeded with a Man long enough to commit adultery
2. There was no witness against her
3. She was not forced against her will
4. Her husband warned her not to be secluded with this man

Then the following should occur:

1. The man should bring his wife to the priest and an offering
2. The meal offering should not have oil or Frankensense put over it – because it is a meal offering of anger; and not a meal offering of atonement but instead of remembrance – a reminder of sin.

So again- we are talking about a husbands anger here. What if the husband isn’t angry?

And why a reminder of sin, when we still aren’t sure? Rabbi Hezekiah ben Manoah writes that we know sin has occurred – either the husband for falsely accusing the wife, or the wife committing adultery.

3. The priest should bring her near and present her to God
4. The priest should take holy water and some earth from the floor and put the earth in the water
5. The priest should move the woman from Place to place to tire her out. And then stand the woman at Nicanor’s gate.

The story of Nicanor’s gate is really fascinating. And one that is worth digging into. I have a link for you to dig further – https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/nicanor-s-gate

6. The priest should uncover the hair of the woman
7. The priest should place the offerings into her hands while he holds the afflictive waters in his hands.

Now we get to the crux –

8. The priest should then place her under oath. “If a man has not slept with you and you have not gone astray to become defiled (to another) in place of your husband, then you will be absolved through these “bitter” afflictive waters. But if you have gone astray and have become defiled – by allowing another man besides your husband to sleep with you – the you will choke.”
9. The priest should then make the woman swear and oath that contains a curse. “May God make you as example of a curse uttered within an oath among your people, when God causes your thigh to rupture and your belly to swell. For these ‘bitter’ afflictive waters will enter your innards, causing also the belly of your adulterous partner to swell and the thigh of your partner to rupture.”
10. The woman should say “amen! Amen!”

And then it’s done. The priest will then write the curses on a scroll and erase it in the bitter waters.

Next, the woman will drink the bitter waters – with the curse erased into it.

The priest will take a three fingered hand of the meal offering and burn it on the altar.

The priest again gives the woman the water to drink.

If the woman refuses to drink, he should make her drink the water unless she confesses her guilt.

And the Torah tells us what will happen:

1. If she was defiled and was unfaithful to her husband: the waters will enter her body to being a bitter end upon her. She will first have her belly swell, and her thigh will rupture. She will be an example of a curse to the people.
2. If the woman was not defiled, and she is clean, she will be proven innocent and she will bear children.

Wow. That’s a lot. And we are only halfway done with today’s portion.

I’m reflecting on first – the idea that this is a much more chill version of the Salem Witch trials; drinking dirty water? Seems pale compared to burning a witch.

Second; at the point a husband is ready to bring his wife to the priest – so much has had to go wrong in their marriage.

This portion concludes with the famous Aaronic Benediction (Numbers 6:22-27):

God spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying:

“This is how you should bless the children of Israel, by saying (the following) to them (in a way that they can all hear):

“May God bless you (that your possessions should be blessed) and guard you (against robbers).

May God cause His face to shine upon you and favor you.

May God raise His face towards you (suppressing His anger) and grant you peace.

(The priests) should use My (explicit) name (when blessing) the children of Israel, and I will fulfil (their) blessings.”

Rabbi Schneerson has some great things written about this:

“May God bless you and guard you.”

How does a man come to earn the favor of God?

By continually seeking to emulate God by making peace. To emulate God, Aaron strove to make peace between the Israelites and their Father in heaven, between the Israelites and the Sages, between one sage and another sage, between a man and his fellow man, and between a husband and his wife. God, who knows the thoughts of a man, said to Aaron, “You always strove to make peace between Israel and My great name.

Therefore, I will bring forth from you sons who will make atonement for the children of Israel every year, and they will entreat peace for them every day, by saying, May God bless you etc (Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu).

“May He bless you” – that your possessions will be blessed.

“And guard you” – that a gang of robbers will not attack you and steal your money. For if a person gives his servant a gift and cannot guard it from all other people, what benefit does he have from the gif? But God is both giver and guardian (Rashi, 11′ century).

“May He bless you” – with the blessing stated explicitly in the Torah: “All these blessings will  come upon you and overtake you, if you listen to the voice of God, your God: You will be blessed in the city, and blessed in the field, etc, your fruits and your dough will be blessed, etc.” (Deuteronomy 28:2-6; Sifrei).

Since the Torah has already promised a person virtually every possible blessing in Parashat Be-Hukkotai (and later in Parashat Ki Tavo’), what additional blessings could possibly be added here?

Rashi concluded that “May God bless you” means, “that your possessions will be blessed,” i.e. that the possessions that a person already has, as a result of the earlier blessings recorded in the Torah, will enjoy supernatural growth.

In other words, the blessings in Parashat Be-Hukkotai promise you an abundance of possessions. Here, with the Priestly Blessing, you are promised that, having acquired those possessions, they will flourish in a supernatural manner.”

That is really cool! So we go from adultery, to purity, to blessing.

It feels like that is our entire process with Torah. We make mistakes, we atone and become pure, we see blessing.

What are your thoughts?