Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 15 Av, 5784
Parsha ‘Ekev – “As a result” or “heel”: (Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25)
Second Portion: Deuteronomy 8:11 – 9:3

Good morning! As we begin a new work week, we start in the fullness of the moon reflecting the light of the sun! Perfect harmony and balance as we live in the seven weeks of comfort between now and Rosh Hashanah.

The spiritual year has come to a climax. We have done the work we are going to do. Now? We will ride the wave into the new year, paying attention to areas we want to work on in 5785.  This all begins in the new moon of Elul, which is in two weeks (Tuesday, September 3^rd at sundown).

This is the harvest time. Where we gather the spiritual lessons over the past year to discover the roots of what needs to be worked on for more growth!

Until then? Let’s enjoy the next two weeks together!

This is the spirit we enter the Torah with:

11Beware that you do not forget the Lord, your God, by not keeping His commandments, His ordinances, and His statutes, which I command you this day,

12lest you eat and be sated, and build good houses and dwell therein,

13and your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold increase, and all that you have increases,

14and your heart grows haughty, and you forget the Lord, your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage,

15Who led you through that great and awesome desert, [in which were] snakes, vipers and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought water for you out of solid rock,

16Who fed you with manna in the desert, which your forefathers did not know, in order to afflict you and in order to test you, to benefit you in your end,

17and you will say to yourself, “My strength and the might of my hand that has accumulated this wealth for me.”

Wow. That is a LONG sentence with lots of commas, isn’t it?  Let’s break it down.

11Beware that you do not forget the Lord, your God, by not keeping His commandments, His ordinances, and His statutes, which I command you this day,

Don’t forget. That’s the message we start with. Don’t forget.

And – what does forgetting look like? Not connecting with Hashem. Rejecting Him. Alienating Him.

12lest you eat and be sated, and build good houses and dwell therein,

13and your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold increase, and all that you have increases,

14and your heart grows haughty, and you forget the Lord, your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage,

Here’s why. We will receive good things – but our heart will grow Haughty – the meaning of which is: “arrogantly superior and disdainful.”

So – there is a real concern – tapping into Hashem and the Universe? We take credit for it – and further alienate Hashem and the Universe.

This is the concern – blessings come – but we forget Hashem.

Let’s keep going:

18But you must remember the Lord your God, for it is He that gives you strength to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore to your forefathers, as it is this day.

This is interesting. Hashem gives us strength to make wealth. I am curious why we need “strength” to make wealth. I am not sure I have good answers. Anyone else?

19And it will be, if you forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, and worship them, and prostrate yourself before them, I bear witness against you this day, that you will surely perish.

20As the nations that the Lord destroys before you, so will you perish; since you will not obey the Lord your God.

If we do forget, we will perish. We need to constantly be reminded of Hashem’s role in our lives.

9:1Hear, O Israel: Today, you are crossing the Jordan to come in to possess nations greater and stronger than you, great cities, fortified up to the heavens.

And we get a message here. Shema Yisrael. “Hear, O Israel.” Pay attention.

Today. We are crossing the Jordan to come in to possess nations greater and stronger. Do we believe this?  These cities? All within us. Walls within are coming down.

2A great and tall people, the children of the ‘Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard said, “Who can stand against the children of ‘Anak?!”

3You shall know this day, that it is the Lord your God Who passes over before you as a consuming fire He will destroy them, and He will subdue them before you; and you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord spoke to you.

Today. On Tu B’Av, the walls within, the enemy within? Come down in the name of love to remove that which has caused us to be stuck in the wilderness. Today is the day.

These are my thoughts. What are yours?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 13 Av, 5783

Today’s passage starts with – “be careful not to forget God.”

Forget.

We forget.

And we are reminded. Deuteronomy is designed to remind us.  Of our grounding and foundation when we work towards spiritual liberation.

Becoming spiritually free and liberated requires a partnership.  It isn’t done in isolation. It’s with community. Its in harmony. It is a dance. A dance between us and Hashem.  Where He leads, and we choose to take His hand and follow.

And for those of us who struggle with the idea of Hashem being masculine – “He” is really “They”  Hashem leads – THEY reach THEIR hand out towards ours – and we can either receive the dance or reject the dance. This dance of spiritual liberation. They are always calling us to the dance.

This was from a year ago:

What is exciting is this: we stand on the precipice of something major. This is the time of the Torah cycle that brings comfort. Yet we still have painful reminders that Hashem is the one guiding. We can manifest our destiny in many ways; and our faith and positive energy can “spark” good in this world. But we have to always remember, it’s not us. Our soul is connected to something bigger. My soul is connected to your soul. Your soul is connected to those around you. Collectively those of us who are studying, digging, learning have the opportunity to gather our souls together for the good of the world. Tikkun Olam; actions we can take to repair and heal the world.

This is NOT a dance we engage alone. They lead. We follow. We isn’t a singular We.  Because we are NOT alone. Our souls are all interconnected. Dancing together.

This is the message of the Torah. It wasn’t one Israelite who entered into the promised land. It was the entire community. And some stayed outside. And that was ok. That was the design.  One large dance of beautiful souls together in harmony. Hashem leading. Us following.

Those are my thoughts.  what about you? what are yours?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 18 Av, 5782

We are continuing today with Moses reminding the people before they enter liberation.

Todays portion starts with “be careful not to forget God.”

This is super easy to do when we find true liberation. When we are free it is easy to forget the author of our freedom. We want to believe we did something to “earn” our freedom. That it was our doing. And we CERTAINLY have a role to play. There is a ”partnership” involved. But if we forget the role Hashem played, it isn’t going to go well for us!

Moses tells us – as we see prosperity in the promised land, our hearts may become arrogant. We might forget Hashem and what He did.

Moses reminds us:

“you (might) forget God, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, who led you through that great and awesome desert, where there were snakes, serpents and scorpions, and thirst, but no water: who brought you water out of solid rock; It who fed you with manna in the desert, which your forefathers never experienced, in order to afflict you and test you–though it was for your benefit in the end- and you will say in your heart, “My own ability and the strength of my own hand has accumulated this wealth for me! “

Then you must remember God, your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, to this day.”

So we are called to remember and be grateful for what we have. It is Hashem’s provision.

The portion today closes and shifts a bit, because it moves from the accumulation of wealth to becoming self-righteous. Before entering the promised land; before finding true liberation, there is a concern from Moses we will be self-righteous. He ends the portion with reminding us (there is a LOT of reminding in Deuteronomy) about what is going to happen:

Moses tells us; “today you are about to cross the Jordan to come and take control of nations that are even greater and stronger than you….”

He continues; “You should know today, that God, your God, who is passing before you (into the land) is a consuming fire. God is going to destroy them, and He will subjugate them before you. You will evict them and destroy them quickly, just as God said to you.”

Here are my thoughts:

What are the battles you are facing in front of you? How can we get out of the way and let Hashem lead us? So that our ego isn’t served by what will happen. Hashem knows whether we will take credit for this; or whether our hearts will trust Him.

What is exciting is this: we stand on the precipice of something major. This is the time of the Torah cycle that brings comfort. Yet we still have painful reminders that Hashem is the one guiding. We can manifest our destiny in many ways; and our faith and positive energy can “spark” good in this world. But we have to always remember, it’s not us. Our soul is connected to something bigger. My soul is connected to your soul. Your soul is connected to those around you. Collectively those of us who are studying, digging, learning have the opportunity to gather our souls together for the good of the world. Tikkun Olam; actions we can take to repair and heal the world.

Consider this; but don’t get too caught up in your personal power; because it is only with the assistance of Hashem that we have the opportunity to do good to the point it changes the world!

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?