20 Av, 5784 - Tikkun Olam 47

on August 24, 2024

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 20 Av, 5784
Parsha ‘Ekev – “As a result” or “heel”: (Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25)
Seventh Portion: Deuteronomy 11:22 -11:25

Shabbat Shalom! As we wrap up this weeks parsha – hopefully our requests have been answered this past week!

As we turn our attention towards Rosh Hashanah – it is time to shift our focus back within. I wrote this a year ago:

I’ve shared one of my “aha” moments this past year has been this idea that we can only love others as much as they love themselves. Which, in turn, means others can only love US as much as we love ourselves. We aren’t talking “Love of our ego” but we are talking true love – self-compassion, self-empathy, self-kindness. Remember back to the series we did with the Omer. That is how we are called to love ourselves.

This idea of working on our capacity to love ourselves so that others are able to love us has been prevalent for me this past year. The expansiveness has been significant! Let’s focus on this as we dig into today’s (short) Torah portion:

22For if you keep all these commandments which I command you to do them, to love the Lord, your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him,

23then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will possess nations greater and stronger than you.

24Every place upon which the soles of your feet will tread, will be yours: from the desert and the Lebanon, from the river, the Euphrates River, and until the western sea, will be your boundary.

25No man will stand up before you; the Lord your God will cast the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land upon which you tread, as He spoke to you.

What I wrote a year ago is incredibly salient. These four verses are centered around our view of God – Hashem – the Universe. If we see these are oppressive and controlling? These passages mean one thing. If we see them as love? It is another.

I wrote this a year ago as well:

Love will drive out all these nations from before you. Love will create fear and dread of you upon the land where you will tread.

How can Love create fear and dread?

Because we all know people who are scared of love. Who dread love. So, if we are Love, it WILL create fear and dread in others. Because not all of us are comfortable with true love. It’s scary. We run away from it.

Again, the internal creates the external.

We know people who dread love. Who don’t have the capacity. I was talking with someone recently about feeling safe with another.

We will often (subconsciously) self-sabotage those who we feel safe with because we do not believe we deserve to feel safe. This is crucial on our journey. The idea that we are worthy of feeling safe.

This is where my overthinking comes from. As I wrote a year ago:

The other thing I’ve learned this week is about being “stuck” in our heads. In our minds. And although dwelling in our minds can be productive – if we never leave, it becomes a potential prison.

I have been struggling with the notion of being an “overthinker.” Hear me out – this is going to relate to the portion.

I tend to overthink out of fear. I was criticized as a kid for being “thoughtless.” So to me, as a reaction, I think. The idea “I think, therefore I am” has been a stabilizing force on my journey. But it isn’t serving me as much these days. Yes I am thoughtful. And. Sometimes I overanalyze. I create problems in my head to solve and think about because I struggle with who I am if I am NOT thinking.

What I discovered this week is how the problem isn’t “being” in my head. The problem is what I do when I am there. If I am studying Torah? Wonderful! If I am creating opportunities and experiences? Amazing. If I am being mindful of the moment in meditation – or anytime I just allow myself the mind power to just “be?” Great!

The issue has been – a lot of time in my mind is spent figuring things out. Analyzing. Going over possibilities and responses. Almost like a data analyst at a fortune 500 company. Or an Air Traffic controller. I do THIS because I am afraid. I am afraid I am going to “miss something.”

I over analyze because I don’t feel I deserve to feel safe. That is the key. We are truly deserving of safety. We can be in our heads from a place of safety, or we can be in our heads from a place of survival. We can choose love. Or we can choose oppression.

What will it be?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 18 Av, 5783

Shabbat Shalom! Today’s portion is really short. It is very simple. Love. Just. Love. And then understand – Love will cast fear and dread on those who don’t know love.

The issue is – when we do this – it creates fear and dread in others who are struggle to find their worth. Their love of themselves.

I have been struggling with the notion of being an “overthinker.” Hear me out – this is going to relate to the portion.

As I shift within my head to creating opportunities, I realize that is back to the portion and what we are DESIGNED to do – create. To create opportunities to become a masterpiece. You see, my commentary a year ago was missing something.

You can see in my writing – it was an either/or mentality. What I was missing is the RELATIONSHIP between the two. I can CREATE opportunities to interact with Hashem and the world around me – and then receive feedback from the world and Hashem to create MORE opportunities for interaction.

And. I think? This is what the Mitzvahs are all about. They are the opportunities Hashem has CREATED for us to interact with him. To receive this creation and reciprocate out of Love for Hashem. Love for ourselves.

But with those around us? We are called to receive THEIR opportunities for interaction AND create opportunities for interaction from within.

And I think- this is where we move from love of ourselves….with self-compassion, self-empathy, self-kindness and move towards love of others.

what do you think?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 23 Av, 5782

Shabbat Shalom! All I can say is “wow!” These Torah studies this past year have really helped me see so much more than I have in the past. I’ve been learning about who I am, what my purpose is, and that is very freeing. I continue to experience places within that are still imprisoned in slavery.

Last night and this morning – it was the discovery of my imagination. That I have not allowed myself freedom to imagine. I have been sitting and waiting for Hashem to create me. I believe He is giving us the abilities within to create. We can see this in the process of having children. We are not designed merely to be a canvas. We are designed to ALSO be the artist. That is powerful and scary.

You may have heard the story about being an unfinished masterpiece – and just trusting the creator to do the work on us, in his time.

But what if, we are the creator of our masterpiece as well? What if Hashem is waiting for US to work on ourselves and our masterpiece?

That changes things, I think. We become both the master (of ourselves) and the piece. And maybe that will bring us a sense of master peace, on this day of rest. This day is designed NOT to create. So don’t stress. Maybe what Shabbat is supposed to be about is allowing ourselves today to JUST be the canvas and not the artist?

And I realize, I’m not living that way. I’m creating today. I’m writing these Torah thoughts. I’m imagining. And for now; I feel called to. In the new year (which begins at Rosh Hashanah) maybe that will be a change I make. Something I’m reflecting on.

We are on a journey. To be the artist within. To imagine the world around us we want to create. And the Torah can be both a sky to fly up into AND. A floor to rest in. An anchor. It just depends on where we are ourselves in relation to Torah. And with that, let’s dig into today short portion.

Moses has been continuing his last lecture. And he has given us a lot of warnings. he closes the portion and Parsha today with a promise.

IF we are careful to keep the mitzvahs and good things we are called to do, and if we love God to follow His ways, and cleave to Him…..

Let’s stop. That sentence takes on different meanings based on that word GOD, doesn’t it? Let’s say, for example, we see God as oppressive and judgmental. Let’s rewrite that sentence:

IF we are careful to keep the mitzvahs and good things we are called to do, and if we love oppression and judgment to follow its ways, and cleave to Oppression and Judgement…..

Eeek.

But what if we see Love as God? The sentence sounds VERY different:

IF we are careful to keep the mitzvahs and good things we are called to do, and if we love LOVE to follow the ways of LOVE and cleave to LOVE….

It has a very different tone.

What is the difference? Our internal voice. Our conscience. Our awareness. Our ability to create. You get to decide. We get to decide. How that line reads. That is the difference between being a canvas, and being an artist. Because how we define that word “God” in our own heads, in our own souls? That changes the reality around us. Beyond us. It changes how we engage the mitzvahs.

And Moses says- if we do this, if we love God, then here is what will happen:

God will drive out all these nations from before you. You will take over nations that are greater and stronger than you. Everywhere you walk will be yours. No man will stand before you. God will cast the fear and dread of you upon all the land where you will tread.

And again, THAT passage changes depending on our approach to the word God.

Oppression and judgment will drive out these nations from before you. Oppression and judgment will cast the fear and dread of you upon the land where you will tread.

Eeek.

Love will drive out all these nations from before you. Love will create fear and dread of you upon the land where you will tread.

How can Love create fear and dread?

Again, the internal creates the external.

Thus concludes the parsha. Thoughts?

As always on Shabbat, Haftorah thoughts in comments below.

Haftorah Thoughts brought to you live from the Delaware County Fair in Walton, NY:

This week we read the second of seven Haftarot of Comfort. We read these as we depart from the darkest time on the calendar (9th of Av) and head towards the Joy of Rosh Hashanah.

The passage is from Isaiah 49:14-51:3

Isaiah starts with comforting us. We will want to say “God has abandoned us. My God has forgotten me.” But Isaiah assures us. This cannot be true. A woman can’t forget her baby. She can’t avoid compassion on the child of her womb. Even if a woman could forget, God will not forget us.

Especially if we think about God as love. Love cannot forget us. We cannot be abandoned by love.

It is interesting that we have female imagery here for God. We tend to think of Hashem as male. But in reality; Hashem has no gender. Hashem is not limited by the physical. We could easily say “she” as much as we say “he.”

And Isaiah continues. God says “my memory of you is so vivid.”

I don’t know about you; it feels as if we are searching on this earth for attachments with other humans to meet this need of being “remembered.” We want to attach to each other. We long for this attachment – so that another human would say “my memory of you is vivid.”

Isaiah continues and says “look! Your children have all gathered and come to you.” God says “as I live, you will be proud of them all like one who wears jewels.”

This has a lot of significance for us as parents. Our children sometimes turn away from us; even if for a short while. God reminds us they will return.

Verse 50 starts with Isaiah speaking for God;

God says, “what is the reason for the bill of divorce with which I sent away your mother, the congregation of Israel? To which of My creditors did I sell you to pay back My loan? You were sold because of your sins. Your mother was sent away because of your transgressions, so all this will end when you repent.”

Then we get more reassurance:

“Is My hand too short to redeem? Do I lack strength to save? Indeed, I can dry up a sea of idol worshipers with My roar and make the rivers of them into a desert, so their fish stink from lack of water and die of thirst. I can clothe the heavens in darkness and cover them with sackcloth.”

Isaiah says this to close out the Haftorah:

“Listen to Me you who pursue Justice and seek God!”

Let’s stop and ask ourselves. Do we really seek God? Do we really pursue Justice? If we do, we need to understand the next words are for us:

Look to Abraham, the rock from which you were hewn, and to Sarah, the quarry from which you were dug.

Look to your father Abraham, and to Sarah, who gave birth to you. For he was alone without any family when I called him, but I blessed him and caused him to multiply, and likewise, I will make the Jewish people, who are now a minority, multiply greatly.

For God will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her ruins. He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like God’s garden. Joy and gladness will be found there, thanksgiving and the sound of music.”

What a comfort. Even in our darkest hour. When our mother was given a bill of divorce and leaves us. Because of our transgressions. At our lowest point; if we seek Justice and God, we will be comforted. Our ruins will be comforted.

We will find joy and gladness. Thanksgiving. The sound of music.

And that, friends, is extremely timely. And helpful. And loving.

Wishing you a great rest of your sabbath. Enjoy your day!

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