Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 21 Tammuz, 5784
Parsha Pinchas: (Numbers 25:10 – 30:1)
Seventh Portion: Numbers 29:12  – 30:1

Shabbat Shalom! Today is the first Sabbath during the “three weeks.” As we mourn during this time, Sabbath is a day of rest from the mourning. We are called to have extra joy today! So if there is something you can do to create joy for yourself? Go for it!

We come to the close of our parsha – and we are going to focus on the Holy Days of Sukkot. The 3 in 1 Holy days. Let’s dig in:

12And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, there shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall not perform any mundane work, and you shall celebrate a festival to the Lord for seven days.

13You shall offer up a burnt offering, a fire offering for a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord: thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs in the first year; they shall [all] be unblemished.

14And their meal offering [shall be] fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths for each bull for the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each ram for the two rams.

15And one tenth for each lamb, for the fourteen lambs.

16And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its libation.

So the first day – there is a LOT of sacrifice.  For seven days. Let’s focus on the bulls. 13 young bulls.

17And on the second day, twelve young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.

18And their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.

19And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and their libations.

Day two? 12 young bulls. Everything else stays the same.

20And on the third day, eleven bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.

21And their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.

22And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering and its libation.

Day three? 11 bulls.  We lose the word “young” it would seem. Which is interesting to me. Not sure why.

23And on the fourth day, ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.

24Their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.

25And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering and its libation.

Day four: 10 bulls.

26And on the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.

27And their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.

28And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its libation.

Day five: 9 bulls

29And on the sixth day, eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.

30And their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.

31And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its libations.

Day six: 8 bulls

32And on the seventh day, seven bulls, two rams and fourteen lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.

33And their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed for them.

34One young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its libation.

Day seven: 7 bulls

35The eighth day shall be a time of restriction for you; you shall not perform any mundane work.

36You shall offer up a burnt offering, a fire offering for a spirit of satisfaction to the Lord: one bull, one ram, and seven lambs in the first year, [all] unblemished.

37Their meal offerings and their libations, for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, as prescribed.

38And one young male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering and its libation.

Day eight is completely different. And – this is the Holy Day of Shemini Atzeret. The sacrifice is completely different.

39These you shall offer up for the Lord on your festivals, besides your vows and voluntary offerings, for your burnt offerings, for your meal offerings, for your libations, and for your peace offerings.

30:1Moses spoke to the children of Israel in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

So we get the three major Holy Days/Weeks we are called to the temple to make sacrifices.  These represent processes don’t they?

From Passover to Shavuot: From Slavery to freedom to Direction

From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur: From Repentance to Sacrifice to Kingship

From Sukkot to Shemini Atzeret: From Harvest to consumption to Rest.

Which of these processes do we find ourselves in? That is my takeaway. What about you?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 19 Tamuz, 5783

Shabbat Shalom!  So today we close out the Parsha with one of my favorite Holy Days.  And – it is fascinating because in the middle of the “Three Weeks” (see previous posts on Tamuz to Av for more information on that) we are learning about “cycles.”  Because the Holy Days of Sukkot?  It is a beginning and an ending and a beginning.

This idea – that we are always in process – it never ends – when we get to the end of the Torah, we roll back the scrolls and start over? This is life.

And. With each cycle? It can be a little scary leading up to the change.

As one chapter closes in our life, and a new one begins? A lot of stress.

Some questions that have popped up for me as I have transitioned “chapters” in my life:

• Has the success I have found and the resilience within I have built been so connected to the current chapter of life, that when the next one comes, I will lose those strengths?
• What if there are less storms to navigate in the next chapter? Can I handle peace? I have built my life around survival. What will thriving in peace time look like? (Sounds familiar?  The Jews struggled with the next chapter after being led from Egypt, didn’t they?)
• What parts of my identity could I lose in this next chapter?

These questions are veered with a certain energy, aren’t they?

Couldn’t we rephrase them?

• How can I utilize the growth, healing, and resilience I have built in this chapter as the foundation for the next one?
• If I can handle the storms, when peace comes, I can rest in that peace.  It’s not like storms will NEVER come – but when they do? I can learn to adapt from resting in peace and being resilient in the storm.  It’s a balance.  I don’t have to choose one or the other – it’s both/and. Be ready for the storm – but rest peacefully when it isn’t there – I don’t need to stand watch 24/7!
• What new parts of my identity can I discover during this next chapter?

I think this passage reminds us, we don’t ever have to be “stuck.”  We are always moving – always growing – always circling back.  Life isn’t linear. It’s not one directional.  It’s more of a labyrinth.  And when you get to the middle of the labyrinth? You discover you are now at the beginning of a NEW labyrinth to navigate. And that process will get you ready for the next one!

Looking at my commentary from a year ago is helpful for me.  I can see where I was – and where I am now.   A year from now? I am guessing I will be in a different spot – all around this concept of how our body and soul interplay with one another!

Those are my thoughts.  What are yours?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 24 Tamuz, 5782

Shabbat Shalom!  It has been a really restful morning! Time to dig into the Torah as we close this week’s portion!

We have been working through the sacrifices this week, starting with daily, monthly, and the holidays.

Today, we close with my favorite holy day. Sukkot. Sukkot is the time in the fall where the community starts heading inside. The summer is over, and it’s starting to get colder. But for Jews, we are called to build a temporary structure – called a sukkah – as a commemoration of the tabernacle and Jews wandering in the desert. It is a reminder that our lives on earth are temporary. That our true identity is a soul, with a temporary body wrapped around us. Society tries to convince us the other way around- that we are bodies with a soul inside.

In the journey from slavery to freedom, we are not truly free until we can turn society’s message “inside out.” And look at ourselves the way Hashem sees us. Sukkot is a reminder of this!

Sukkot is 7 days, actually 8; but the last day is a unique holy day. It’s a seven day party.

It is also the end of the Torah cycle. At the closing of Sukkot, we celebrate an extra holiday of Shmeni Atzeret. But when THAT is over, we celebrate Simchat Torah. That’s the day we go back to the beginning and start over in Genesis.

So in a sense it’s THREE holy days all together. Simchat Torah is when these Torah thoughts started, and our journey together here on facebook began. It’s also a reminder that we will never be done with this journey on earth. Each year we cycle through the -process of moving away from slavery to freedom.

And that is our Torah thoughts for today. What are yours?

As always on Shabbat, Haftorah thoughts in the comments below

So interesting tradition. When this Parsha falls within the “three weeks” we are currently in, we actually read next week’s Haftorah instead.

Haftorah Mattot is in Jeremiah 1:1-23

It is one of the first of three “Haftarot of punishment” read between 17 Tamuz and 9 Av. As we’ve talked about previously; these are “dark” times on the Jewish calendar. Between the destruction of the temples.

The Haftorah begins with personal details about Jeremiah being installed as a prophet.

Jeremiah lived in the territory of Benjamin.

We read about when God first spoke to Jeremiah.

“Before I had formed you in the womb, I knew that you would be fit to be a prophet, and before you emerged from the womb, I had sanctified you; I had appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah responds to God and says, “Woe! God Almighty! I really don’t know how to speak, as I am young.”

God said to Jeremiah:

“Don’t say, I’m young; because that is not a problem, for you will go wherever I send you, you will only have to speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid that you might mislead the people to whom you will speak prophecy, for I am with you to save you.”

Wow. Can you imagine hearing that, REPLYING to God, and getting an actual response?

What if that were accessible to ALL OF US, but we’ve just convinced ourselves it’s not possible?

I keep coming back to the idea of whether we are souls enclothed in a body around us or whether we are bodies with a soul “trapped” inside.

That question keeps coming up for me with real consequences.

Ok. Back to the Haftorah. God touches Jeremiah’s mouth and gives him words.

God asks Jeremiah “what do you see?”

Jeremiah sees a stick from an almond tree.

God says “you have seen well.”

God expounds; “the almond, which grows quickly, is a sign that I will put My word into action speedily.”

Then God gives Jeremiah a second vision. He asks Jeremiah what do you see?

Jeremiah sees a boiling pot bubbling towards the north.

God tells Jeremiah “From Babylon, which is in the north, trouble will break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land and they will gather in Jerusalem for protection, like pieces of meat in a pot, only to be boiled by the enemy. For, behold, I am calling to the hearts of all the families of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem.”

“They will come, and each person will place his chair at the entrance gates of Jerusalem and against all its walls around and against all the cities of Judah. Then, I will utter My judgments against them for all their evil, that they left Me and offered up burnt-offerings to other gods and that they prostrated themselves to the work of their hands.

“You should hurry up, fasten your belt and get going. Repeat to them everything that I command you. Don’t fear them and withhold any prophecy, for then I will break you, making you vulnerable for them to hurt you.”

“I have hereby made you strong today like a fortified city and an iron pillar, like copper walls against the entire land, against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and all the people of the land.”

“They will fight against you but they will not prevail against you, for I am with you, to save you.”

Wow. That’s pretty incredible.

Jeremiah responds to this by going to Jerusalem and telling people to remember that God remembers all the good they did in their youth, and to choose God and not their idols.”

I’m reflecting on how distracted we get from the idea that we are souls enclothed with bodies. Our true identity is our soul (in my opinion) and our bodies are merely vessels for our souls to experience on earth.

What are your thoughts?