2 Sivan, 5784 – Day 46 of the Omer

on June 8, 2024

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 2 Sivan, 5784– Day 46 of the Omer
Parsha Be-Midbar – “In The Desert”: (Numbers 1:1 – 4:20)
Seventh Portion: Numbers 4:1 – 4:20

Shabbat Shalom! What an amazing day of rest. As we are in the new month of Sivan, I read this from a year ago, and felt like it was super important:

Iyar (last month) is a month of healing. It is also Kabbalistically connected to the right ear of the body – and the sefirot of Cochma (Wisdom). From Chabad: “Cochma is the initial flash of insight one associates with the idea as a spark. Initial ideas need to be developed and incorporated into the mind before they can become knowledge.”

Hopefully we have experienced the “sparks” of healing over the past moon cycle. The idea of the ear is listening. We listen with the right ear. There is some debate, but the right side of our bodies is connected to the left side of our brain. This is the logic side. Math. Linear thinking. Facts. The sparks over the month of Iyar around healing may have been some data we have been collecting to work towards healing. Clarity.

As we transition to Sivan, Kabbalah talks about switching ears. Moving from the right ear to the left ear. Moving from Cochma to Bina. From Chabad “Then comes Bina, the gradual development and articulation of an idea or insight. It’s the refinement or working out of an idea. It answers the question, “Why is this a good idea? Can this idea be rationally explained?”

The month of Sivan will hopefully take the data and sparks from last month and move them into development and integration into a path forward towards healing ourselves – and, in turn, healing the world. One of the ways this happens is on the Holy Day of Shavuot. As a Christian, you know this holiday as pentecost.

Shavuot is a two day holiday that centers around receiving the Torah. It starts on the 6th day of Sivan (sunset on May 25th) and goes to the end of the 7th day of Sivan (sunset on May 27th). It is interesting that Moon cycles are 28 days. We finish the first quarter of the moon cycle with Shavuot. one week later? We have the full moon – where the sun’s light shines fully on the moon and we have full illumination! I almost picture this full moon in Sivan paired with the full moon in Iyar and you have two ears and two eyes. Then we begin our journey towards the next month (Tamuz) – which actually is kabbalahistically the right eye – maybe where we will begin to see our healing more? Just a thought.

I am no expert here – just providing my thoughts. I cannot predict the future.

Today is also the 46th day of the Omer. Today’s theme is the “Determination of Dignity.” From Chabad:

A person’s dignity and a leader’s success is tested by his endurance level. Will and determination reflect the power and majesty of the human spirit. The strength of one’s sovereignty.

How determined am I in reaching my goals? How strong is my conviction to fight for a dignified cause? How confident am I in myself? Is my lack of endurance a result of my low self-esteem? Do I mask my insecurities by finding other excuses for my low endurance level?

Exercise for the day: Act on something that you believe in but have until now been tentative about. Take the leap and just do it!

One of the ideas I am reflecting on this morning is the connection between dignity and sovereignty. Remembering the idea of dignity being connected to “believing we are wanted and needed on this earth, in this world” is important – because during tough times? It is hard to maintain this belief.

Do we have to sacrifice our beliefs about around being wanted and needed in order to convince someone ELSE they are wanted and needed? That is the rub. That is conflict within.

Many times in our life we are confronted with the idea or possibility of sacrificing our beliefs, values, and personal convictions in order to make someone else happy.

As we move towards Shavuot – and we look towards Hashem to provide us direction, the question keeps coming back to – who is sovereign in our lives? Does Hashem and the Torah define our values? What role do we play in that? Are we motivated by something within us? Or are we looking externally for stability, direction?

The Torah and Hashem might be considered “external” sources that define our sovereignty. Unless – we pull them within us and allow them to be internal. It’s all a matter of our hearts. If we aren’t fully convinced, it will not be external. And that’s ok. Not something to judge ourselves on – but to be curious about. Why? Why do I feel the way I do? How does this conflict with a value I hold stronger to? Where did that value come from? These are important questions as we explore our sovereignty.

Let’s dig in:

1The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying:

2Make a count of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi by their families, according to their fathers’ houses.

3From the age of thirty until the age of fifty, all who enter the service, to do work in the Tent of Meeting.

I wrote this two years ago:

It is interesting that The Torah singles out Kohath here. Next weeks Parsha will cover the other two. But Kohath goes first. this is also interesting because Gershon was the oldest.

The Torah tells Moses to count the Kohath descendants from 30-50. Then the Torah lists really specifically what they are to do:

This is what the Torah calls Kohath to do:

4The following is the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tent of Meeting-the Holy of Holies.

5When the camp is about to travel, Aaron and his sons shall come and take down the dividing screen; with it, they shall cover the Ark of the Testimony.

6They shall place upon it a covering of tachash skin and on top of that they shall spread a cloth of pure blue wool. Then they shall put its poles in place.

7They shall spread a cloth of blue wool on the Show Table and they shall place on it the forms, spoons, supports, and covering frames; the continual bread can then be placed upon it.

8They shall spread upon them a cloth of crimson wool and cover that with a covering of tachash skin. Then they shall put its poles into place.

9They shall take a blue cloth and cover the menorah for lighting and its lamps, its tongs, and its scoops, and all its oil vessels used in performing its service.

10They shall put it and its vessels into a covering of tachash skin and place it on a pole.

11They shall spread a cloth of blue wool over the golden altar and cover it with a covering of tachash skin, and then set its poles in place.

12They shall then take all the vessels used in the Holy, put them into a cloth of blue wool, cover them with a covering of tachash skin, and put them onto a pole.

13They shall remove the ashes from the altar and spread a cloth of purple wool over it.

14They shall place on it all the utensils with which they minister upon it: the scoops, the forks, the shovels, and the basins-all the implements of the altar. Then they shall spread over it a covering of tachash skin and set its poles into place.

They are called to tear down the tabernacle, ark, etc. They wrapped these in garments of different colors.

They put the pieces into garments – wrapped in coverings. This connects to the idea of the soul being wrapped in our own skin, no?

This is also from two years ago:

Now; it’s interesting – we’ve talked before about whether we are bodies with a soul inside of us; or whether we are souls wrapped in a garment or a body. The Torah here would seem to support the idea that all of us are indeed souls wrapped inside the garment of our bodies.

Here’s a question; what is the impact of seeing ourselves one way or the other? Instead of deciding which way you see yourself; ask ourselves these questions:

How would my life look if I truly believed my identity is my body with a soul temporarily living in it?

How would my life look if I truly believed my identity is my soul – who is currently temporarily wearing the garment of my body (and brain)?

What if; our souls are put on this earth to move? Meaning our souls are wrapped in the garments of our bodies in order to get them from one place to the next? Being led with a cloud by day and a fire by night? What if these passages in the Torah are indicative of our spiritual journey? And we have within us the sacred (spiritual) wrapped in the garment of the body – which is divided into the Physical (Gershon) and the Emotional (Merari)?

These are important questions to ask ourselves. The portion finishes with the following:

15Aaron and his sons shall finish covering the Holy and all the vessels of the Holy when the camp is set to travel, and following that, the sons of Kohath shall come to carry [them], but they shall not touch the sacred objects for [then] they will die. These are the burden of the sons of Kohath for the Tent of Meeting.

16The charge of Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen: oil for lighting, the incense of spices, the continual [daily] meal offering, and the anointing oil; the charge for the entire Mishkan and all that is in it, of the Holy and its furnishings.

17The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying:

18Do not cause the tribe of the families of Kohath to be cut off from among the Levites.

19Do this for them, so they should live and not die, when they approach the Holy of Holies. Aaron and his sons shall first come and appoint each man individually to his task and his load.

20They shall not come in to see when the holy [vessels] are being wrapped up, lest they die.

These are all crucial pieces. Our soul is not to be seen by just anyone. We are called to keep our souls covered for only those who are worthy to see our souls. We are sacred. This is something I am very much reflect on.

What do we see as sacred within us? What is sacred that we just share with everyone and anyone? These are questions I am reflecting on without answers currently.

These are my thoughts. What are yours?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 30 Iyar, 5783. 44th day of the Omer. Last day of the month of Iyar.

Shabbat Shalom! So much is happening today!

First, it is a day of rest! Hopefully there is rest today for all of us!

Second:

It is the last day of the month of Iyar. Iyar is a month of healing. It is also Kabbalistically connected to the the right ear of the body – and the sefirot of Cochma (Wisdom). From Chabad: “Cochma is the initial flash of insight one associates with the idea as spark. Initial ideas need to be developed and incorporated into the mind before they can become knowledge.”

I am no expert here – just providing my thoughts. I cannot predict the future.

Anyway – so that’s the second cool thing about today. We are transitioning to a new month. It is time to set our intentions for Sivan before sundown, and be ready to see those intentions come in the new month. For me? I want to see the sparks of healing from this last month develop further to where this healing is apparent in my own life and the life of those around me.

Third. We have the Omer! Today is the 44th day of the Omer. Our theme today is “Gevurah of Malchut” or “the discipline of sovereignty.”

From Chabad:

Examine the discipline of your sovereignty and leadership. Although sovereignty is loving, it needs to be balanced with discipline. Effective leadership is built on authority and discipline.

There is another factor in the discipline of sovereignty: determining the area in which you have jurisdiction and authority. Do I recognize when I am not an authority? Do I exercise authority in unwarranted situations? Am I aware of my limitations as well as my strengths? Do I respect the authority of others? Dignity also needs discipline. A dignified person needs to have a degree of reserve.

Exercise for the day: Before taking an authoritative position on any given issue, pause and reflect if you have the right and the ability to exercise authority in this situation.

In reading this, I feel it is important. My blog here, and my thoughts. My commentary. It’s not meant to be authoritative. I think it could be dangerous to consider what I have to say about the Torah with any kind of “expertise.” I am merely reading the Torah, I am reading commentaries, and reading kabbalah (and doing my best to quote sources) and sharing them out.

Do I know more than some? Sure. But there are lots of others who know a LOT more than I do. Some of what I write could be incorrect. And we need to always remind ourselves – we are the best authority of what works in our own lives.

A spiritual coach of mine often says “take what resonates.” For me, what generally resonates is in line with what I read in the Torah. If something doesn’t resonate with you? We can discuss it! That’s what I love about being Jewish. We are encouraged to go back and forth and discuss the Torah, and these concepts – understanding that no one person is an expert.

And this (as usual) all relates to today’s portion. A year ago, I was writing about Kohath as representative of the spiritual journey.

Everything I read seems to come back to this idea of spiritual liberation. Which seems counter intuitive to what I was raised believing about the Torah – that is was a “book of rules” meant to contain us. Instead – it seems as if the Torah is a sandbox for us to explore our spiritual liberation that is vast and wide. We have plenty of space to explore spiritual ideas and concepts. This isn’t organized religion we are talking about, friends!

These are my thoughts – I’d love to know yours!

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 5 Sivan, 5782

Today is the 49th day of the Omer! Tonight starts Shavuot!

Shabbat Shalom!

Today we finish up the parsha “be-midbar” with Hashem singling out the descendants of Kohath. Two days ago my thoughts were around the duties of Kohath being connected to spiritual matters (Gershon being physical and and Merari being emotional).

It is interesting that The Torah singles out Kohath here. Next weeks Parsha will cover the other two. But Kohath goes first. this is also interesting because Gershon was the oldest.

The Torah tells Moses to count the Kohath descendants from 30-50. Then the Torah lists really specifically what they are to do. How they are to tear down the tabernacle; the ark of the covenant, covering it, etc.

The premise is putting all the spiritual tools into garments of various colors.

Here’s a question; what is the impact of seeing ourselves one way or the other? Instead of deciding which way you see yourself; ask ourselves these questions:

How would my life look if I truly believed my identity is my body with a soul temporarily living in it?
How would my life look if I truly believed my identity is my soul – who is currently temporarily wearing the garment of my body (and brain)?

Thinking through those questions could be life changing, no?

Once the spiritual vessels were wrapped up in the garments, it was time to move.

What are your thoughts?

As always; Haftorah thoughts will be in the comments below!

Haftorah thoughts:

Todays Haftorah is from Hosea 2:1-22

It opens with discussing the “time of the Redemption.” The children of Israel will be significant.

Hosea says “instead of being called ‘not my people’ they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”

Hosea talks about Judah and the children of Israel being united and appointing the messiah as their one head.

I wonder here; if this is also an internal process. If our souls unite with our bodies and emotions to appoint “one head.”

Hosea talks about how great it will be when God’s people are gathered.

But Hosea also tells us; that day is not today.

Today; people were doing the wrong thing. Going after their own stuff. Chasing after their own gods.

But Hashem is merciful. Hosea talks about God will close off her route of sustenance with thorns. She will be completely cut off.

I have been experiencing this in my own life. The sources of where I have traditionally found sustenance have been cut off from me. I’m having to dig in to find the one source I can rely on. Hashem. And the Torah helps connect me to that source!

Hosea continues that He will remove all of the other sources from Israel’s eyes. He will put an end to all of the rejoicing – including the sabbath!

He will remind Israel of the days of worshipping other deities. He will remind Israel she forgot to worship Hashem.

He will then lead her to the desert – and He will speak to her heart. He will bring her back and she will serve Hashem.

This brings me comfort. As we’ve been looking at the soul; the body, and the mind (emotions)- we’ve discussed how we can look to other sources to feed the body and mind – and how we can worship them.

But Hashem can bring us to a space of emptiness. And he can meet us there.

Then Hosea tells us; Hashem will restore the vineyards, the sabbath, etc.

We will know God. That’s how the Haftorah ends.

That’s what I want. And we have to recognize that getting there is going to be a tough road to walk. We will make mistakes- we will worship other gods. And then Hashem will lead us to a desert and then we will be restored. Our souls connected to the source – feeding our body and minds. And we will be His!

Wow. What are your thoughts?

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