Sixth Portion: Deuteronomy 11:10 – 11:21

Good morning! Today, as we prepare for the sabbath rest that comes tonight, let us remind ourselves once again of the journey we have walked.  This morning as I was reading the “Book of Awakening” by Mark Nepo, he quotes this:

“Of Magic Doors there is this,
you do not see them even
as you are passing through.”

                        Anonymous

His passage today discussed how we often cannot see the change as we are being transformed. To see the “new self” we are becoming. We are so afraid to let go of our past, we lose sight of the possibilities of our present. And once we let go, we can quickly become disappointed because the change and transformation doesn’t happen fast enough for us – until we wake up one morning and realize how far we have come in our transformation.

I would encourage all of us to reflect and contemplate on our realities and the journey we’ve been on.

The energy right now is intimate energy. We do not have to wear our masks anymore. We don’t have to be dishonest with ourselves and with each other. We can be fully transparent and just fall in love with the depths of who we are. To be honest about our feelings of guilt. Of shame. Of Jealousy.

This doesn’t mean that by sharing them, they will go away. It just means that if we can move to a place of honesty about who we are, and allow others to experience to true essence of us? We will receive the gift of intimacy. And the prize? Living lives of transparency. Fearlessness.

This is the energy we bring to the Torah today. Let’s dig in:

10For the land to which you are coming to possess is not like the land of Egypt, out of which you came, where you sowed your seed and which you watered by foot, like a vegetable garden.

11But the land, to which you pass to possess, is a land of mountains and valleys and absorbs water from the rains of heaven,

12a land the Lord, your God, looks after; the eyes of Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

And this new place we are entering into in our transformation? It’s different. We toiled and labored in the land we are letting go of. We had to work to keep our masks up. And the fruit of which came, came because of our labor.

This new land is a place where we can be free to be us. Hashem. The Universe. Will take care of it. It will be watered by the flow of nature. By rain. Absorbing “water from the rains of heaven.” This is not physical water/rain. This is spiritual. We can be intimate and transparent.

13And it will be, if you hearken to My commandments that I command you this day to love the Lord, your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,

14I will give the rain of your land at its time, the early rain and the latter rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil.

15And I will give grass in your field for your livestock, and you will eat and be sated.

And? If we connect with the Universe. With Hashem – which is the purpose of the commandments. We will be blessed. We will stay in the flow. We will not fight the current of energy that exists all around us. And? We get a warning from Moses:

16Beware, lest your heart be misled, and you turn away and worship strange gods and prostrate yourselves before them.

17And the wrath of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will close off the heavens, and there will be no rain, and the ground will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from upon the good land that the Lord gives you.

If we turn away from intimacy with the Universe? The land will dry up. We will perish. If we become dishonest with ourselves? That is where we run into trouble.

18And you shall set these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes.

19And you shall teach them to your sons to speak with them, when you sit in your house and when you walk on the way and when you lie down and when you rise.

20And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates,

21in order that your days may increase and the days of your children, on the land which the Lord swore to your forefathers to give them, as the days of heaven above the earth.

And here we get the closing of the first paragraph of the Shema. Take these realities within us. Make a big deal of the love of the Universe. Of intimacy.

Why? So that our days may increase. The days of our children too. Like heaven above the earth. It will be love. Intimacy. Transparency.

This is my takeaway. What is yours?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

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?

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?