Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 17 Av, 5783

If yesterday was a tough day for you, you aren’t alone. A lot of people were struggling energetically.  This makes sense given the light of love we experienced the day before – on the 15 of Av. The lightest energetic days of the year – we experience all that light – and we sleep in that light – when we wake up the next day, our bodies have shifted.  They’ve moved.  And we might feel tired. Drained.

I know I struggled with this. We can choose to respond to this energy with insolence. Impudence. Or, we can respond with kindness to ourselves. Empathy. Compassion.  Today, as we prepare for the sabbath, may we remember our joy. Our power. Our worthiness.

And worth is the theme today in our Torah portion.

Hashem tells us – we are worthy of the promised land.  We don’t need to toil. He will provide.  We only need to remain in love.  With Hashem.  With Hashem within us.  We give. We give and receive love. That is it.  That is the promised spiritual land. A land flowing with milk and honey.

And I believe today’s portion reminds us – we can’t always stay there either.  We will find ourselves in exile. Apart. Separated.  How will we become separated?  Satisfaction.  And that’s OK.  Moses tells us – even when we are separated? We can keep Torah and Hashem in our hearts. And we will be free once again.  Like a spiral rising upward – we will continue this journey.

And it’s interesting, right?  We just went through a roller coaster of energy.  It’s almost like a movie.  We went through the darkness of the 9th of Av. Then reached the climax of the movie on the 15th of Av. Now we are in the dénouement.   The aftermath. This year’s spiritual journey has come to some conclusions. Now it’s time to integrate what we’ve learned as we head towards the Spiritual New Year.  Rosh Hashanah.  A time for us to “Begin Again” spiritually.  To renew within us our intent that we want to bring with us from this past Spiritual Year, 5783, and into the new Spiritual year 5784.

And even THAT process leads us to Yom Kippur – where we decide who is going to be sovereign within us. Hashem? Someone else? Who will we choose?  And then the book of life will close, and we will approach Sukkot – living in a temporary dwelling until we reach the end of the Torah. And the beginning.  On Simchat Torah we turn back the scrolls.  With our 5783 spiritual growth underneath us. Our sovereignty with us. We step into a new cycle – “begin again” with Genesis, and watch the Torah ONCE AGAIN unfold – helping us ascend higher spiritually – towards true liberation and freedom.

This is what the promised land looks like.

What are your thoughts?

These are my thoughts from a year ago:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 22 Av, 5782

Good morning! Before jumping In, this prayer I read every day as part of my morning prayers struck me.

I don’t think I connected with it until I started really looking up what some of the words mean. Insolence. Impudence. Calumnious.

These are all things that happen to us each and every day. But are we aware they are happening? How much power do we give away by not confronting this? With our co-workers? With our friends? With our family? How much do we navigate friends who won’t say anything when we are treated in such a manner?

Do we confront people when they treat us with insolence? Impudence? When they make Calumnious statements? How do we navigate that? Do we ask Hashem for protection? Do we walk away when the situation doesn’t change?

We are kings and queens. I also pray every morning: “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who CROWNS THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL WITH GLORY.”

We are crowned. We are royalty. All of us. Do we allow people to treat us as anything less? Do we treat others as anything less? These are the questions to reflect on. Where are we being insolent? Impudent? It works both ways.

Something to chew on as we dig into the Torah!

Moses is continuing his last lecture with the people.

He starts today with talking about the land we are about to enter.

He tells us; it’s not bad like Egypt, it’s a land that Hashem cares about. He contrasts it by saying it won’t be a place where we plant our seeds and then have to water it by carrying buckets from the Nile by foot. The land we are going to enter is watered by rains from the skies. God eyes are continually upon it throughout the year.

The land of slavery is tough. We toil. Freedom and liberation means we are taken care of. As we detach our soul from our bodies (while they still remain connected) our soul is watered by the very heart of Hashem. We only need to see it.

Moses then brings us back to the Shema. If we do what God asks; keep the mitzvahs. Do good. From a place of love; then Hashem will provide. We, and not our enemies will gather our grain, wine, and oil. Hashem will provide for our animals- we will eat and be satisfied.

Then we get a warning. Be careful. Because satisfaction can cause us to move away from the source of liberation. The Torah. Then Hashem’s anger will be on us.

And then we also get another warning. We are going to end up in exile. Even after we go into exile – we should continue to place the words upon our hearts and souls. Even when we are not living in the promised land. Even when we are not yet liberated, we should still work towards it.

What are your thoughts?