Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 22 Tevet 5784
Parsha Shemot: (Exodus 1:1 – 6:1)
Fourth Portion: Exodus 3:1 – 3:15
Good morning. Wow.
I want to start with how we ended yesterday:
- Acknowledge we may not know ourselves as much as we think we do.
- Acknowledge Hashem knows us better than we know ourselves. There is NOTHING undiscovered about Hashem.
- Acknowledge our past exists – and it is NOT OUR FAULT this trauma occurred.
- Acknowledge the present ALSO exists – and some of our present reality may not be grounded in “facts” about our past -but stories we’ve written about in our heads to help us survive.
- Acknowledge as adults, we are RESPONSIBLE for our present moment. We have a responsibility to heal ourselves.
- Be curious about what “Pharaoh” is keeping us enslaved that we need removed so that we can grieve our past and our current stuckness.
- Either “let that Pharoah go” (ironic, huh?) or ask Hashem to remove the Pharoah in a way for everyone’s good.
As I reflect on the past two years with today’s portion? There are two messages I’ve written about – one each year:
- 5782: It’s going to be ok.
- 5783: You are ready.
Today? The message I am getting? It’s time.
It’s time to move. To change. To grow. To receive.
It’s time – and it’s not time – because time is a human construct.
Change is coming. You see – we are leaving the chaos and repair of Tevet. The light is dwindling on this month as we approach the darkness of Shevat. Shevat has order. And that MIGHT feel comforting. But the order? Is harshness for the first two weeks, the Holy Day of Tu B’Shevat (15th of Shevat) and then blessing the last two weeks. To give you a sense of the timeline:
- New moon of Shevat is the night of January 10th. Things may get dicey and harsh.
- Full moon of Shevat, and Tu B’Shevat is the night of January 24th.
- Kindness comes as the moon of Shevat fades into Adar 1 (we have a leap month this year!) on the new moon on the evening of February 9th.
Keep this in mind as we move forward this year. It’s going to get tough. But it’s going to be ok. We are ready. It’s time.
If we are working to let our Pharoah’s go, this time frame is PERFECT for this process.
It starts with acknowledging we may not know ourselves as much as we think we do.
Be curious about what is keeping us stuck, and asking Hashem to remove it from us.
Receive the darkness as the process to bring us to full light and blessing.
Let’s dig into today’s portion:
1Moses was pasturing the flocks of Jethro, his father in law, the chief of Midian, and he led the flocks after the free pastureland, and he came to the mountain of God, to Horeb.
2An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within the thorn bush, and behold, the thorn bush was burning with fire, but the thorn bush was not being consumed.
3So Moses said, “Let me turn now and see this great spectacle why does the thorn bush not burn up?”
4The Lord saw that he had turned to see, and God called to him from within the thorn bush, and He said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am!”
Moses was at Horeb – which is Sinai. It is interesting that our journey begins here on a mountain. The same mountain that later on we will receive this very Torah from.
It is ALSO interesting – the flocks were being led after the “free pastureland” so this (in my opinion) alludes to this is post freedom – when we are in our prisons – our Egypts.
And Hashem appears in a fire. Fire is painful. Fire consumes. But not this one.
The takeaway? This is going to get painful. And. We will not be consumed. We are like the thornbush. Because Hashem is in us. We have the Neshama.
Verse 3? Basically the first lesson we learned in Genesis. Moses was CURIOUS. He didn’t judge what was happening. He wanted to know MORE!
Verse 4 – Hashem saw Moses was curious and THAT IS WHEN HASHEM called!!! Moses took the first step. This leads me to ask:
What would have happened if Moses never got curious? If Moses got scared and ran away? Or judged the fire as dangerous and tried to snuff it out?
How often to we REACT and get into fight or flight mode, instead of just being curious? This feels like a reassurance of the lessons in Genesis. Be curious. Don’t judge. This is the path to freedom. Let’s keep going:
5And He said, “Do not draw near here. Take your shoes off your feet, because the place upon which you stand is holy soil.”
6And He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look toward God.
7And the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their slave drivers, for I know their pains.
8I have descended to rescue them from the hand[s] of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land, to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites.
9And now, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression that the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10So now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and take My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Hashem places boundaries for Moses, doesn’t he? The FIRST thing Hashem does. Boundaries. And. Moses doesn’t say “I can do what I want! I am going to approach with shoes on!”
Our takeaway? Seems like AGAIN Exodus is reinforcing the lessons we learned in Genesis. Moses is making choices here. He is respecting Hashem’s boundaries. And. Maybe he is? Because the Torah does not mention Moses taking off his shoes. We can INFER Moses did – but it’s not explicit.
I think there is an additional message here for US. The Torah seems to provide us opportunity. Respect boundaries, receive messages. If we don’t take off our shoes, we won’t hear.
And – as we are navigating this fire we are in? Do we wear shoes because they keep our feet safe? What if we need to remove those pieces of who we are that we wear to keep us safe SO THAT we can hear the Universe provide direction. SO THAT we can hear – it’s going to be ok. You are ready.
We see in verse 6, Moses was afraid and hid his face. But Hashem kept going. And Hashem gave Moses a purpose – he was sending Moses to free His people – the children of Israel – from Egypt.
So now I am reflecting on realities – including my own.
- Am I a “child of Israel” who needs a Moses to come and free me from Pharoah and Egypt?
- Am I a Moses who is being called to go to someone ELSE’S Pharoah and take our people out of slavery?
- Am I an Egyptian who has enslaved my own heart because I just craved safety – and that safety has now become a prison?
It’s going to be ok.
We are ready.
It’s time.
And how does Moses respond?
11But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should take the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
Lol. We relate to Moses, don’t we? Because Moses reacts the way ALL OF US likely would.
“I am NOT ready. I am NOT going to be OK. I don’t WANT it to be time.”
Hashem responds with compassion
12And He said, “For I will be with you, and this is the sign for you that it was I Who sent you. When you take the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
This is all going to unfold – Moses will know it is Hashem. Because the journey will begin at Sinai – and it will come full circle. That is how Moses will know.
13And Moses said to God, “Behold I come to the children of Israel, and I say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
14God said to Moses, “Ehyeh asher ehyeh (I will be what I will be),” and He said, “So shall you say to the children of Israel, ‘Ehyeh (I will be) has sent me to you.'”
15And God said further to Moses, “So shall you say to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is how I should be mentioned in every generation.
Moses then has a dialogue with Hashem about the particulars.
I will be what I will be.
I will be – has sent me. Ehyeh
What a powerful message.:
- It’s going to be ok.
- You are ready.
- It’s time.
- I will be what I will be.
Are we ready to RECEIVE Moses? In our Egypt? In our Prison? With our Pharaoh?
It’s going to be ok. We are ready. It is time. The Moses in our life will be what He will be. Not who WE want him to be.
Stop resisting Moses in our life. If we want freedom and spiritual liberation, how have we blocked Moses? Instead of receiving Moses from Hashem as “I will be what I will be?” We are waiting for “I will be who you want me to be.”
Who is sovereign? Hashem? Or us.
Are we waiting for “I will be what I will be?” Or are we waiting for “I will be what you want me to be?”
It’s going to be ok.
We are ready.
It’s time.
Those are my thoughts. What are yours?
Here are my thoughts from the past two years:
Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 18 Tevet, 5783
Wow.
This morning I was meditating on the idea of “readiness.”
Many of you know that my dad died when I was 15. My mom passed when I was 35.
For the past year, one of the major things I’ve been navigating is hearing within me, “it’s going to be ok.” I think I’ve lived most of my life not getting that message from my parents (because my dad had passed and my mom may not have had the capacity to say it). I built a life and wall around me that avoided the need to hear “it’s going to be ok” because I was in survival mode.
When doubts came about whether it was going to be ok, instead of feeling safe, it triggered a visceral emotional reaction because internally I didn’t trust “it’s going to be ok.” So I got into fight/flight/freeze mode.
As I have gone on this journey with the Torah in 5782, the journey was around the freedom and liberation from understanding, “it’s going to be ok.”
For this new year, 5783, it seems as if the new message has been around “you are ready.”
You see not only did I lack hearing “it’s going to be ok.” I also didn’t hear “you are ready.”
I am sensing as parents, these are the messages we should be communicating to our children. You’d think with six kids, I’d already be aware of this. But I am not.
Today’s Torah portion cuts to the heart of this. Moses doesn’t really appear to have a father figure in the Torah. Hashem is his father.
And todays portion is ALL ABOUT Hashem telling Moses – “you are ready,”. And. Moses arguing with Hashem about this concept.
And Hashem is gentle. He seems patient. He keeps coming back to the message – “Moses, you are ready.”
Does this resonate?
Where are you doubting your readiness? When it comes to stepping outside your comfort zone, taking risks you want to take, or moving forward, where do we doubt our readiness?
The message of today’s portion is clear.
You. Are. Ready. And this is the message of salvation from slavery to liberation.
I’m not sure who needs to hear this today. But “you are ready.”
What are your thoughts? And. Who do you need to encourage today? Who can you pass on the message “you are ready?”
Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for Tevet 18
Todays portion begins with yesterdays portion in our rear view mirror. The Jews have cried out and Hashem has heard them.
Moses is pasturing Jethro’s flocks in the desert (which seems like an odd place to pasture flocks, TBH) and he came to the mountain of God at Horeb (which is also called Sinai). I don’t think I ever put it together that Moses encounters God at Sinai before heading to Egypt. But he does.
While pasturing flocks there, an Angel appears to him in a flame of fire in a thorn bush. The bush was on fire but it was not being consumed. Moses was obviously curious and wanted to investigate further.
God then called to Moses from the bush; he said “Moses, Moses!”
Moses responds “here I am!”
Hashem tells Moses to stay put and not approach. He tells Moses to take off his shoes because he is standing on holy ground. Hashem introduced himself to Moses; “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
Moses responds by hiding his face.
God tells Moses about what is happening in Egypt. He tells Moses that He has heard their cries of suffering and is going to rescue them, and deliver them to the promised land.
Best part? Hashem wants to send Moses and will use Moses to do this! I wonder how Moses will respond? He’s going to jump at the chance to serve Hashem and be his vessel, right?
Wrong.
Moses basically tells God “who am I that I should go? That I should be the one to lead?”
Ok. So, Moses is doubting himself. I reflect on how often Hashem asks us to do things and how often we refuse to do it; not because we don’t trust Him, but because we don’t trust ourselves? However, as we are about to discover, our source of trust in ourselves MUST come from Hashem; so when we doubt ourselves, we doubt Hashem. Because, God responds to Moses’ doubts;
“I will be with you, you aren’t going alone, this bush is a sign for you that you have been sent by Me and you will succeed. When you take the people out of Egypt, you will worship Me on this mountain.”
Cool cool cool. Hashem has spoken directly to Moses. He’s reassured him. Moses, you are good to go, right?
Um. Yeah. He’s good to go; but he asks Hashem “so what do I say when the people ask me who you are?”
First, the Israelites having been crying out to God, wouldn’t they know who he is? Second, isn’t this more doubt on Moses part?
But Hashem engages him; “tell them Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh” which literally means “I will be what I will be.” Then Hashem tells Moses to tell the children of Israel “God, the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, The God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.” He tells Moses that this is his eternal name and how he should be recalled in every generation.
Ok. That’s pretty cool and amazing. But again, why did Moses even ask the question? Rabbi Schneerson once again has some interesting thoughts for us to consider;
“The meaning of God’s response is that He will be with them in their present time of need just as he will be with them at the time of future persecutions (Rashi, 11′ century).
It seems strange to imagine that the Jewish people did not know God’s name, when in this
verse, Moses says, “When I come to the children of Israel, and I say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you…” Obviously, if they were aware of the existence of God, they must
have referred to Him by a particular name, especially when addressing Him in prayer.
Therefore, Rashi writes that God’s answer, “I-Will-Be-What-I-Will-Be” cannot be just His
name, but rather, the answer to a deeper concern about which Moses was worried the Jewish people might challenge him. Having suffered harsh slave labor and the slaughter of thousands of Jewish children, they would have a serious complaint: “If God cares about us so much and He is saying, “I have truly seen the suffering of My nation which is in Egypt, and I have heard its cries caused by its slave drivers, for I know its pains'(v. 7-9)- then why did He put us in this situation in the first place?”
They would ask, “What is His name?” What kind of “name” does He have if He listens to us only after harsh labor and the murder of our children? Therefore, Moses said to God, What shall I say to them?” for he felt that they had a justified complaint.
Consequently, Rashi explains that God answered, “I will be with them in their time of need” It is not the case that God overlooks the suffering of the Jewish people. Rather, He empathizes with their pain, as the verse states, “All their pain is pain for Him too” (Isaiah 63:9)
As others have pointed out that during this harsh period of time it is hard to reconcile Hashem’s actions and allowing this to happen. It seems very cruel. Moses sees the same thing; it appears that God has been cruel during this time, and Moses pushes back on being the one to go to the Jewish people to tell them God has finally heard them and is delivering them.
Gods answer is one where he says – I have not “finally” heard their cries, but have been hearing the cries the entire time; but this had a purpose that we may not have been able to see and that’s where the trust comes in.
What will Moses do here? We shall see!
Let me know your thoughts here!
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