Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 17 Av, 5784
Parsha ‘Ekev – “As a result” or “heel”: (Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25)
Fourth Portion: Deuteronomy 10:1 – 10:11

Good morning! It is Wednesday – the middle of our week!  We are beginning our journey to the new moon of Elul – the last month of the spiritual year.  We will wind down 5784 and turn our eyes to 5785.  We can enjoy each of these moments as they arrive to us, and just be with the lessons and learning from where we were a year ago (or two years ago).

Let’s dig into the portion today. Remember we are coming off Moses recounting the rebellions we engaged in throughout our journey. And. Hashem is forgiving and patient:

10:1At that time, the Lord said to me, “Hew for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to Me onto the mountain, and make for yourself a wooden ark,

2And I shall inscribe on the tablets the words that were upon the first tablets which you shattered and you shall place them into the ark.

3So I made an ark of acacia wood, and I hewed two stone tablets like the first ones, and I ascended the mountain, with the two tablets in my hand.”

So we get a “do over” from the Golden Calf incident. Moses is reminding us – Hashem gave us a do over.

This idea is radical if you think about it. At any moment, we don’t have to be stuck in our past mistakes. We can move forward and “begin again.”  There is a nice freedom to that – and – opportunity for misuse.

Getting to “begin again” gives us the freedom to “not care” about a moment – it is what we do with these “do over” moments that really define our character and who we are.  Let’s keep going:

4And He inscribed on the tablets, like the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire, on the day of the assembly, and the Lord gave them to me.

5And I turned and came down from the mountain, and placed the tablets in the ark which I had made, and there they were, as the Lord had commanded me.

Moses did as asked, and we moved forward.

6The children of Israel journeyed from the wells of B’nei Ya’akan to Moserah; there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son served as kohen in his stead.

Moses then recounts Aaron’s death and the appointment of Eleazar.

7From there, they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Yotvath, a land with streams of water.

8At that time, the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him, and to bless in His Name, to this day.

9Therefore, Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord, your God spoke to him.

And then we see how Hashem separated out the tribe of Levi. And took Levi under His wing as a nation of priests.

10And I remained on the mountain like the first days forty days and forty nights, and the Lord hearkened to me also at that time; the Lord did not wish to destroy you.

11And the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to lead the travels before the people, so that they may come and possess the land I promised their forefathers to give them.

Moses seems to be wrapping up his last lecture here. He ends with “Hashem does not wish to destroy you.”

I am sitting with this. I think this is a key point about our internal belief systems.  Do we believe the universe is out to destroy us, and we need to survive life? Do we believe the universe is out to protect us and keep us safe, and we need to stay within that protection? Or do we believe the universe is neither out to destroy us or protect us?

This is something I am reflecting on and chewing on.

What are your thoughts?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 15 Av, 5783

HAPPY TU B’AV!!!!!!  Today is a day we embrace the full light of the moon’s reflection of the sun!

Today’s portion epitomizes love for me. I wanted to highlight the part for me that most resonates.  A year ago I wrote about the “sin” of the rebellion in the desert with Eleazar that I had forgotten.  I think this line from last year’s commentary speaks VOLUMES:

Now; I’ll confess; I don’t remember this incident from earlier in the Torah. But there were a group of children of Israel who planned to lead the people back to Egypt. A group of Levites, still mourning the death of Aaron, caught up with them and defeated them.

It is our priestly duty to encourage others towards freedom and liberation and NOT return to being stuck in slavery.

This is love. Freedom. Liberation. And our role as priests – to encourage others NOT to return to being stuck.

The difference is -in my opinion – we are NOT called to “defeat” anyone.  Just remind them in love of the desire to see ALL OF US free and liberated.

How do we do this? It starts within. We must first be free to be a priest. If we are stuck and not growing, we will never be in a position to support others liberation and freedom.

We must first be free. To just be.  To not DO anything. To just BE.  This is love.

This requires a moment by moment living. Not getting stuck in our past (and yet NOT FORGETTING our past as Moses is reminding us) and to not dwell in our FUTURE.  But to just Be. Here. Now.

Those are my short thoughts today.  What about you? What do you think?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 20 Av, 5782

Good morning! Today We continue the story of Moses recap to the Israelites before they entered the promised land.

This was so they would remember what got them to their freedom and not forget.

Today, Moses finishes the story of the golden calf debacle. Moses heard from God after the golden calf incident. After 40 days, God forgave the Jewish people and told Moses to carve two more tablets and a wooden ark and go up on the mountain with Him.

Moses did this and reminds us that God wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets. Moses then came down off the mountain and put the tablets in the ark.

Moses then brings up ANOTHER sin. The rebellion in the desert – an incident with Eleazar. It’s a situation that takes place 40 years after the golden calf.

Now; I’ll confess; I don’t remember this incident from earlier in the Torah. But there were a group of children of Israel who planned to lead the people back to Egypt. A group of Levites, still mourning the death of Aaron, caught up with them and defeated them.

Moses seems to connect this situation to the appointment of the tribe of Levi. This is when God separated out the tribe for service. It is as if the service of stopping the people from going back to slavery was a critical one.

Finally, this portion closes on Moses reminding us of his going back to the mountain. He was there for 40 days and 40 nights again, like the first time. This was his final time. God listened to Moses – and finally said to Moses, ”LET’S GO!” That’s a paraphrase. What God actually said was “Get going! Lead the people in their journeys to come to take possession of the land I promised their forefathers to give them.”

This basically brings us to the point of the story where Moses is about to send them off. He has some more words to give; but he walked them through the story of the wilderness. To get to where they were, the Jews sinned. God forgave. They didn’t get to go into the land on their merits. It was a gift because of what Hashem had promised their ancestors.

How often do we forget this? We receive blessings and think we did something to earn it. Todays portion reminds us; understand; God loves us. He forgives us, even at our worst. He gets angry, yet finds a way to keep His promises. That is reassuring in many ways.

Those are my thoughts. What about you? What are your thoughts?