21 Elul, 5784 - Tikkun Olam 47

on September 24, 2024

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 21 Elul, 5784
Parsha Nitzavim/Va-Yelekh– “Standing Firmly/He Went”: (Deuteronomy 29:9 – 30:20 Deuteronomy 31:1 – 31:30)
Third Portion: Deuteronomy 30:7 – 30:14

Good morning! We are almost a week away from the new moon, the new year, and the holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. As we are in the final period of reflection for this cycle, what are the patterns returning to us that we need to see and explore?

As I read my thoughts from a year ago, I can see the theme of money appearing. And it is interesting – a year later, I am having the opportunity to now fully navigate this idea of money.

You see? I am starting a new job after Rosh Hashanah. My last day in my current position will be the last day of 5784. I will start my new job two days before Yom Kippur. More on that to come.

It is an increase in money for me. And I am nervous and excited to navigate that. It is another opportunity to explore my relationship with money. Let’s dig in:

7And the Lord, your God, will place all these curses upon your enemies and upon your adversaries, who pursued you.

8And you will return and listen to the voice of the Lord, and fulfill all His commandments, which I command you this day.

So let’s pause and remember the context. Yesterday, we learned we are going to mess up. We are going to stray from the path. We are going to fall. And? Hashem will pick us back up. And those who kicked us while we are down? They will be dealt with. And we will return and listen to the universe and Hashem.

This is a beautiful cycle, isn’t it?

And? One of my takeaways? When I see others struggling – when I see them not living to their own principals – how do I treat them? Do I treat them as an enemy of an adversary? Do I pursue them to kick them and convince them to change? Or do I lovingly walk with them on their journey – and when they “get it” – when they return -am I there to throw a big party with them. A feast? A festival?

This is my takeaway so far. Let’s keep going:

9And the Lord, your God, will make you abundant for good in all the work of your hands, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will once again rejoice over you for good, as He rejoiced over your forefathers,

10when you obey the Lord, your God, to observe His commandments and His statutes written in this Torah scroll, [and] when you return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.

When we return to Hashem? Hashem throws us a party. We will have abundance. Why will we have abundance? Not for our own gain. But for good. Everything we do – it will be “for good.” That is beautiful, isn’t it?

11For this commandment which I command you this day, is not concealed from you, nor is it far away.

12It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to heaven for us and fetch it for us, to tell [it] to us, so that we can fulfill it?”

13Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us and fetch it for us, to tell [it] to us, so that we can fulfill it?”

14Rather, [this] thing is very close to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can fulfill it.

And we learn here. Clearly. This is all within us. This is not something Hashem is doing from the external. It’s internal abundance.

As we consider and reflect on 5784. We may come to some realizations we may not like. Ways we acted that were not according to Hashem and the Torah. And? We can return and have abundance. No shame.

This is in our hearts. And our mouths. It’s not JUST our mouths – saying “I am sorry” isn’t enough for forgiveness. It is within us.

These are my thoughts – what are yours?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 19 Elul, 5783

Good morning! As we come out of a long weekend, I hope it was filled with rest and joy as we move out of summer and into the fall season. Things are changing all around us! Change is hard but good! We can resist this change, or we can receive it! Let’s see what today’s Double Portion has to say to us! Here is the portion in it’s entirety:

“God, your God, will place all these curses upon your enemies and upon those who hate you, who have pursued you. You will return and listen to the voice of God, and fulfil all His commandments, which I am commanding you today. God, your God, will give you prosperity in all the work of your hands the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your soil–for God will, once again, rejoice over you, being good (to you), as He rejoiced over (being good to) your fathers. For then you will listen to the voice of God, your God, to observe His commandments and His suprarational commands written in this Torah scroll, (and) you will then return to God, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.”

“For this (body of) commandment(s) which I am commanding you this day, is not concealed from you, nor is it far away. It is not in the skies, that you should say, “Who will go up to the skies for us and take it for us, to tell it to us, so that we can keep it?” ” Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross the other side of the sea for us and fetch it for us, to tell it to us, so that we can keep it?” ” Rather, this thing is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.”

This portion is communicating to us that the opportunity to connect with Hashem is within us. It’s not beyond us. “Commandments” is better translated (I think) as “opportunities to connect with Hashem and ourselves.”

Today’s portion is future focused – what “will happen.” But it will only happen if we continue to draw closer to Hashem – and especially the part of Hashem that is within us.

Rosh Hashanah is approaching. The New moon is going to be here in about 10 days. These are the 10 days before the 10 “Days of Awe” between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Are we going to return in our hearts to Hashem? Will we return in our hearts to our inner being and be freed and liberated? It’s been a long journey. And yet it is just a page in our lifelong story.

And that brings me to my “ah ha” moment of the weekend, and of this passage.

What are the stories we tell ourselves? About ourselves? If someone asked you to share you “life story” in 4000 words or less, what events of your life would you share – assuming you were fully safe to do so?

I recently did this – for my own purposes. I wrote “my story so far” and I was surprised at one of the parts of my life I have been holding onto as part of “my story.” It was from 1996. For some reason, sitting at a blackjack table in Las Vegas while at a professional conference and winning over $1500 sat in my heart and mind as a pivotal moment for me – almost 27 years later. The reason? It was a low point of my life. I had won this money, but I was extremely unhappy. I was scared because I felt the money should have made me happier than it was doing – and it kind of created an internal panic in me. I realized money wasn’t going to make me happy.

What I also realized this weekend? This moment ALSO created trauma in me. I associate money with that moment. When money would come to me – which sometimes it does at random – the feelings associated with that moment in 1996 would arise – I would feel empty, scared, etc. Most people who know me well know I have great luck at winning contests. Almost to the point it’s uncanny. And I also realize all those times I won prizes? It was to put me back into a place to deal with this issue – and I have ignored it. Until this weekend.

Money cannot make me happy. But it also cannot make me miserable and afraid. My past painful learning is what creates in me these triggers, and I can return to Hashem and look at money as a true gift and a blessing. I am happy with or without money. I find peace and contentment these days without money. But I also realize, a part of me is scared that money will create a lack of peace or happiness if it comes to me. This “energy” is what is likely making it difficult for me to relate in a healthy way to money.

The truth is – I like money. I like being able to spend money. I like money flowing through me – coming in, and being able to support small businesses (especially) who need money as well. I have blocked the flow of money because of my own trauma and fear connected to it. I have always seemed to have “enough” to provide – but that’s about it.

I realize in today’s portion? This is a story in my heart and mind that has been replaying over and over without me even being aware of it. I need to let go of that story, and open my heart to a new one being written so that today’s portion comes alive within me:

You will return and listen to the voice of God, and fulfil all His commandments, which I am commanding you today. God, your God, will give you prosperity in all the work of your hands the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your soil–for God will, once again, rejoice over you, being good (to you), as He rejoiced over (being good to) your fathers. For then you will listen to the voice of God, your God, to observe His commandments and His suprarational commands written in this Torah scroll, (and) you will then return to God, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.”

The more I connect with Hashem, and Hashem in me? Hashem will give prosperity in all I do. That is a promise. We need to return to Hashem (the Universe, source, etc) and let go of the stories we tell ourselves that keep us away.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 26 Elul, 5782

We are winding down on this year! Three days left before we reach Rosh Hashanah! Let’s dig into todays portion!

It’s a short one so let’s look at the entire text:

Deuteronomy 30:7-10:

Let’s rewind to yesterday to give this some context. Remember yesterday we learned once we entered the promise land, and we are living liberated lives, we would end up being exiled. The liberation isn’t the end of the story. It’s a chapter. In a sense we are destined for liberation to not sit well with our hearts until Hashem “circumcises” our hearts (and the hearts of our children).

Now, reading the portion, Moses is clearly telling us, when we stray from liberation, there is a purpose. We go away in order to return. This is the cycle. and when we return? What a joyous return it is!

Our enemies will be cursed! We will listen to the voice of Hashem. Which honestly, in my opinion? Is the voice of love. Pure love. We will fulfill the “commandments” which are basically the thoughts, feelings and actions that love compelled us to take.

And then we will have prosperity. Prosperity will come. But there is a going away and returning that will happen, and the returning will bring us closer to Hashem. And then we will be prosperous.

I think as we close out 5782, and enter 5783 these are good lessons for us to learn. Things are cyclical. There are seasons of return. There are seasons of departure. What season are we in? What might change in 5783 that you want to change? Maybe you’ve been close with Hashem, living in love, grown comfortable with love? Maybe 5783 is going to move you towards action to have a deeper understanding of love? Maybe by encouraging you to step out of our comfort zones? Like a full moon, your 5783 will move in the direction of a new moon?

Or maybe 5782 has been rough? Maybe your moon wasn’t full at all? And maybe 5783 will be the year you move from a new moon into a full moon?

Or maybe 5782 has been a year of change? Maybe you’ve gone from full to new (or new to full) this past year and 5783 will either keep that cycle going because you are learning and growing, or create some stability?

Take stock of where you are right now.

For me? I’ll share. My 5782 was a year that started in fullness. It waned to a new moon right around the mid point, and it has returned to fullness as 5782 comes to a close. If you go back and read all 362 Torah thoughts this year, you may be able to sense that. And wow. I’ve written 362 Torah thoughts. Im just chewing on that reality.

For those of you who have joined me on this journey – thank you. There is much more to come in 5783. Time to finish 5782 in the fullness of reflection of the light of our neshamas!

What are your thoughts?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 27 Elul, 5782

Two more days after the sun goes down tonight before 5783! Time to really set our intentions for the new year and prepare for the Days of Awe- the time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We are about to enter a new spiritual cycle; feel the energy of that.

Let’s dig in!

These are the last things Moses is telling the people about the commands and Mitzvahs. Next weeks portion is all about transitioning leadership between Moses and Joshua. So let’s just soak in what Moses is saying here. Again it is a short portion, so let’s read the entire thing (Deuteronomy 30:11-14):

It’s an reminder. When we read (I have read in the past) the Torah, it has seemed very distant to me. It seems inaccessible. Hopefully this year our journey together has given us more access to it. That’s my hope and goal. The Torah story is a liberation story. How we move from liberation to slavery, and then how we are freed from slavery and back to liberation. The words of the Torah are NOT external words written in a book. They are written in our very souls; our Neshama. This isn’t a new story.

I’m reminded of the new(ish) Battlestar Gallactica series with Edward James Olmos; “all this has happened before; all this will happen again.”

Rabbi Shneur Zalman wrote this about todays portion:

A fisherman attempted to justify his disregard for Torah study to the prophet Elijah by claiming that God had not endowed him with sufficient intellectual ability. Elijah said to him, “Hasn’t God given you enough intelligence to gather flax, weave nets and catch fish? Why shouldn’t you have enough intelligence to understand the Torah about which it is written, ‘This thing is very near to you’?” (Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu).

The fisherman claimed that he had never been shown the path to God and His Torah, so how could he be expected to reach there on his own? Elijah explained to him that although he was not born a fisher-man, the need to earn a livelihood had forced him to learn the trade. In the same way, if he would feel the intense necessity for Torah study in order to provide a “livelihood” for his soul, he would apply himself and succeed (Rabbi Menahem Mendel Morgensstern of Kotsk, 19th century)

The statement that “this thing is very near to you… in your heart.” seems contrary to our experience, that it is simply not a “very near thing” to transform your heart’s desires from wanting worldly pleasures to a sincere love of God. Yet we believe the Torah is eternally relevant.

The answer is that the words “to observe it” at the end of the verse qualify what is written at the beginning of the verse: We are speaking here only of a love sufficient to bring about the practical observance of the commandments.

This really is “very near” and easy for any person who has a brain inside his skull. Your mind is under your control. and you are free to think about whatever you please, on any subject. So when you will use your mind to think about the greatness of God, you will inevitably generate–in your mind, at least–a love of God, sufficient to make you want to connect to Him through the performance of His commandments and the study of His Torah” (end quote)

It’s all a matter of what we choose to focus on – whether it’s 30 minutes watching the latest episode of She-Hulk (which I did, BTW) or spending 30 minutes digging into Torah (which I also do). It’s a matter of where our time is prioritized.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

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