Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 15 Elul, 5784
Parsha Ki Tavo’– “When you enter”: (Deuteronomy 26:1 – 29:8)
Fourth Portion: Deuteronomy 27:1 – 27:10

Good morning! We are now in the light of the full moon! The reflection of the work we have developed within ourselves has come to the fullness of the spiritual year.

Now is a good time to pause and see. Look around. What are the areas of your life moving in a positive and expansive direction? What are the areas contracting? Where is there chaos designed to promote change? Where is there chaos designed to transition us to something new?  Where is there comfort in the chaos to avoid change?  Our journey is in a constant state of motion. Ease or dis-ease.

We have just finished Moses last lecture in the Torah. We have reflected on the year behind. Where have we come from? We are now taking a peak into the future so we can prepare ourselves in the moment.  Let’s dig in:

27:1And Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Observe all of the commandment that I command you this day.

2And it will be, on the day that you cross the Jordan to the land the Lord, your God, is giving you, that you shall set up for yourself huge stones, and plaster them with lime.

When we enter into the land, we are called to set up huge stones. Boundaries. Markers.

As we move forward in our growth, what are the boundaries we are setting up to make sure we don’t stretch beyond our capacity?

For me? It is my self care routine.  I know when that becomes a challenge, or I don’t have time for it? I need to pay attention. For me? Morning prayers, meditation, strength training, reading, journaling, Torah thoughts, praying (Davening), and then breakfast and shower? Those are boundary stones I have placed on my journey to make sure I have enough time for me.  If those start to falter, I need to reflect and wind ways to back off in other areas of my life.

3When you cross, you shall write upon them all the words of this Torah, in order that you may come to the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, God of your forefathers, has spoken to you.

And yes. The Torah has been a critical part of my self care and morning routine. Posting these Torah thoughts is more about me and my self care – I am just sharing it with the world because I believe others can benefit from my process.

And there have been days I have missed posting them. And generally a few people will check in on me when I do. Because they know how important this is to me.

4And it will be, when you cross the Jordan, that you shall set up these stones, [regarding] which I command you this day on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with lime.

5And there, you shall build an altar to the Lord, your God, an altar of stones. You shall not wield any iron upon them.

6You shall build the altar of the Lord, your God, out of whole stones. And on it, you shall offer up burnt offerings to the Lord, your God.

7And you shall slaughter peace offerings, and you shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the Lord, your God.

8You shall write upon the stones all the words of this Torah, very clearly.

The Torah becomes a central theme when entering the promised land. Just because we’ve made it, doesn’t mean we stop focusing on the Torah every day.

9Moses and the Levitic priests spoke to all Israel, saying, “Pay attention and listen, O Israel! This day, you have become a people to the Lord, your God.

10You shall therefore obey the Lord, your God, and fulfill His commandments and His statutes, which I command you this day.

On this day. The light of the full moon. We have become a people connected to Hashem.  That is a choice. Many are not reading these words today. If you find yourself here – you get to make a choice. To belong. To the spiritual community of souls.

And remember – “obey” gets a bad reputation in our world. We are not called to blindly follow and obey. If we decide we want to enter into the community of souls? We decide to be a part of that community – including the norms connected. We have to find the harmony and balance of wanting to both be an independent and separate human being – disconnected because of the bodies we find ourselves in – AND – soul connection that goes beyond the body. This is a tough road – to want control and independence – and to belong.

Where are you today?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 13 Elul, 5783

As we approach the light of the last full moon of 5783 this evening, this is a time for us to truly shift. The work is now done.  We’ve learned what we’ve needed to learn.  It’s now time to put things into perspective.  To stop thinking. And just “be.”  Moses and the Elders bring the people together – Moses is done talking.  And they now reach out to the people and they LEAD.  They go. They are.

And the message is simple.

• Stay connected.  With Hashem.
• Set up reminders before you go in – stones, plastered in lime with the Torah written on it.  The Torah provides direction IN
• Set up reminders once you are in – with the Torah – but in addition, set an altar to Hashem up as well.  Keep grounded. Keep reminding yourself.

We have a boundary.  We are free.  There is an outside marker – for when we are wandering away from the promised land – the land of spiritual freedom and liberation – it is the Torah.  And there is an inside marker – to warn us BEFORE we exit – the Torah AND an altar.

For the next two weeks, lets leave a marker here. The Torah.  And as we enter into 5784, we will set the marker up once again, but this time, we will include an altar.  What is an altar? In Hebrew? It is a place of sacrifice.

There is no freedom without sacrifice.  Many struggle with this concept.  Sacrifice and Freedom “feel” like they should be opposite one another.  If I am free, I no longer need to sacrifice. But that is not true.  We have freedom AND sacrifice.  Why?

Because we saw what freedom did to the Israelites when they left Egypt. Moses pleaded with us to remember.  Freedom isn’t free.  It comes with a cost.  When we enter, we can’t just “do whatever we want.”  We are compelled. To stay connected.  That means sacrifice.

Sometimes we want to share something with a person we care about – but we recognize they may not be ready. I have a choice. Sacrifice the release of my emotional energy speaking truth into that person’s life? Or allow my energy to come out and give them something they may not be ready for?  I am free to do either. But love dictates centering others. And. Centering ourselves.

Instead of releasing the emotional energy on someone else? We have the ability to look within – what can I do to release that energy for me. The feeling of helplessness that I can easily resolve by telling someone what I think may help them – and if they choose to ignore it – “that’s on them.”  Versus recognizing they are just trying to survive and my advice is going to feel like throwing them a rock while they are drowning.

Freedom isn’t free.

Stay connected.

Be reminded.

This is the lesson. Let’s intend to live this for the next two weeks as the light of the moon begins to wane on 5783, and we move towards a NEW spiritual year – filled with apples and honey – sweetness and joy!

What are your thoughts?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 18 Elul, 5782

So, Moses has finished his last lecture. He, along with the Elders come to the people to start giving directions on crossing the Jordan into the promised land.

They start with; keep all of the commandments when you enter. In order words, keep your connection with Hashem.

They continue with; here’s what is going to happen; before you cross the Jordan and enter the promise land, set up huge stones for yourself, and plaster them with lime. Write on them the words of the Torah; because (so that) you can come into the land.

The Torah is the grounding and compass for liberation and freedom. It is an anchor for us. Why do we need this anchor? Because; many would hear freedom, experience freedom and “go nuts” with their freedom. There’d be chaos. It would probably look a lot like what happened when we left Egypt – we THOUGHT we were free and liberated, but our journey between Passover and Rosh Hashanah (in my opinion) has taught us that true liberation and freedom is one of the spirit. It is beyond physical.

Moses and the elders talked about once they entered the land (after Crossing the Jordan) they should do the same. Set up stones, but instead of just writing the Torah on them, you should set it up as an altar to Hashem as well.

My thought is these are reminders when we come in and out of our spiritual liberation and freedom, that the Torah should always be pointing us back to where we belong.

The key here (and Moses and the elders close todays portion with this) – is that we should always listen to Hashem.

The Torah, the commands, they all serve the purpose of connection.

What are your thoughts?