Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 15 Adar 1, 5784
Parsha Tetzavveh: (Exodus 27:20 – 30:10)
Seventh Portion: Exodus 30:1 – 30:10

Shabbat Shalom! Tonight is the full moon of Adar I! A chance to see the fullness of light of the Mazal from above! We are in the fullness of connection between Hashem and our Neshama.  The spark inside connecting us to the one soul of Hashem around us. What is it bringing up for us?

Yesterday I wrote about succession planning and the afternoon sacrifice. I can share – setting the intent to add an afternoon prayer time? Not as easy as I had imagined.  A lot of chaos broke out around me in the afternoon. And I had to really push to hold to the intent to set time for Hashem.

I wrote this a year ago, in reflecting on this passage:

One of the things I’ve been working on this past year is my fears of abandonment. And I realize how much I abandon myself when things get too difficult – or too easy. There is a “butter zone” where I’ve fought for myself and my own self care.

But if we don’t fight to keep our self care practices, we won’t be connected with ourselves. And there are so many distractions out there. Scrolling videos the LEAST of them!!!

So my daily practices that I fight for; waking up early, morning blessings (in Judaism there is the Modeh Ani, washing hands and other morning blessings), journaling, meditation, Torah reading, Torah writing, and I also read from the “book of Awakening” each day.

Finally I Daven.

It’s not easy to get this all in. Especially when I’m distracted. But fighting for these practices reminds me that I’m worth fighting for. And has tremendously helped me feel much more secure in my fears of abandonment.

What about you? What practices do you have to fight for each day?

It is interesting a year later, I can be both PROUD of the work I’ve done to maintain these practices (waking up early, morning blessings, journaling, mediation, Torah reading/writing, etc) AND fighting for a NEW self care practice. These have become ANCHORS in my connection with Hashem. With this, let’s dig in!

1You shall make an altar for bringing incense up in smoke; you shall make it out of acacia wood.

2It shall be one cubit long and one cubit wide, a square, and two cubits high; its horns shall be [one piece] with it.

3You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top, its walls all around, and its horns; and you shall make for it a golden crown all around.

4You shall make two golden rings for it underneath its crown on its two corners, you shall make [them] on its two sides, so that it should serve as holders for poles with which to carry it.

5You shall make the poles out of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

So – the first thing I notice here? Incense. As a Jew growing up, I think I came to a place of believing that burning incense isn’t something Jews do. It was more connected with “new age” spiritual practices. And yet, here we see clearly in the Torah – incense was a part of the connecting point between the High Priest and Hashem.  Why would incense be important?

I reflect on our senses. Sight, Sound, Taste, Touch, Smell.

How often when reflecting on these senses do we NOT consider smell when it comes to Hashem?

I will often ask myself “where do I SEE Hashem working in my life right now?”

Or “where do I HEAR Hashem guiding me?”

Etc.

We do things as Jews that surround us with smell – the Besamim with Havdallah comes to mind.

How often do we reflect on smell connecting us with Hashem?

Incense is ok.

Aromatherapy? That’s part of how we connect with Hashem.

That shifts my paradigm a smidge.  What about you? Have you considered burning incense?

Let’s keep going:

6And you shall place it in front of the dividing curtain, which is upon the Ark of Testimony, in front of the ark cover, which is upon the testimony, where I will arrange to meet with you.

So this is interesting, isn’t it? The altar for incense is in FRONT of the Holy of Holies. I see this almost as a way to draw us into going deeper.  This is where Hashem meets with us. Let’s keep going:

7Aaron shall make incense of spices go up in smoke upon it; every morning when he sets the lamps in order, he shall make it go up in smoke.

8And when Aaron kindles the lights in the afternoon, he shall make it go up in smoke, continual incense before the Lord for your generations.

9You shall offer up on it no alien incense, burnt offering, or meal offering, and you shall pour no libation upon it.

So basically, twice a day, Aaron burns incense when he sets up the lamps. A “continual incense before the Lord for your generations.” We are indeed called to “smell” God.

I reflect on this and consider – how do I smell? Spiritually? Do I smell fragrant? Do I smell in a way that draws people closer to Hashem (and me)? Or do I smell in a way that pushes people away? And which people?

Something to reflect on. How do we smell?  And this was a daily practice.  However, once a year?

10But Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year; with the blood of the sin offering of the atonements, once a year he shall effect atonement upon it for your generations; it is a holy of holies to the Lord.

Even the altar for incense needed to be cleansed each year. So even the positive smell of Hashem? Needed to be cleaned. This is crucial for our practices, isn’t it? How?

• Being mindful of our practices for self-care.
• Deciding when our self care practices may get in the way of our desires and goals
• Cleaning them out and resetting the altar upon which we practice our self care

These are my thoughts.  How about you?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 11 Adar, 5783

Shabbat Shalom!

This morning as I read the portion finishing up this week’s reading, and I read my thoughts from a year ago, I resonate with two concepts that I think come together here to help us grow spiritually.

The portion talks about “every morning” Aaron should make the incense “go up.”

I’m reflecting on how relationships – including that with ourselves requires daily connection. That’s the other concept. The portion is all about connecting. Connecting to Yom Kippur. Connecting to Hashem.

We need to be daily doing things to connect with Him first. Sometimes we need to fight for ourselves with all that is distracting around us.

One of the things I’ve been working on this past year is my fears of abandonment. And I realize how much I abandon myself when things get too difficult – or too easy. There is a “butter zone” where I’ve fought for myself and my own self care.

But if we don’t fight to keep our self care practices, we won’t be connected with ourselves. And there are so many distractions out there. Scrolling videos the LEAST of them!!!

So my daily practices that I fight for; waking up early, morning blessings (in Judaism there is the Modeh Ani, washing hands and other morning blessings), journaling, meditation, Torah reading, Torah writing, and I also read from the “book of Awakening” each day.

Finally I Daven.

It’s not easy to get this all in. Especially when I’m distracted. But fighting for these practices reminds me that I’m worth fighting for. And has tremendously helped me feel much more secure in my fears of abandonment.

What about you? What practices do you have to fight for each day?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 11 Adar I, 5782

Shabbat Shalom!

We close this weeks Parsha with the golden incense altar.

Now it is interesting; why do we get this description here, after the inauguration of Aaron? Why not include it with everything else earlier on in the Parsha?

A lot has been written about this;

Rabbi Obadiah Sforno wrote; “The Tabernacle, together with its apparatus, caused the Divine Presence to dwell within it, and the offering of sacrifices then brought God’s glory to the Tabernacle. The incense, however had a different function. Namely, that after the duties involving all of the Tabernacle’s apparatus had been put to use in sacrificial and other duties, the incense was burned to appease God, so that He should find all the service that had been carried out acceptable. The incense altar is therefore mentioned separately, after all other apparatus and priestly clothing has been described”

Rabbi Abraham b Jacob Saba writes; “The command to build the incense altar was recorded here, because although the Tabernacle had been erected, the priests inaugurated and God’s Presence rested in the Tabernacle (ch. 23-29), nevertheless, God was only close to the Jewish people, and not one with them until the incense was offered.”

Rabbi Dov Baer Schneuri expands in these thoughts; “This is indicated by the Hebrew term for “incense” ketoret, which suggests “connecting” (as in keter, the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew word kesher, meaning “Knot” or “connection”). We are not speaking of two separate entities which have become close. but rather, of two entities that have become one.

So the incense is a reminder that when all is said and done there is a closeness to Hashem we can connect with!

The parsha closes with a connection to Yom Kippur; once a year, on the Day of Atonement, Aaron should pour blood on its horns (the horns on the incense altar) to achieve atonement.

I like this closing passage because I think it’s ANOTHER reminder that even though we are close with Hashem, we need some help achieving that closeness!

What are your thoughts?