Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 24 Adar, 5785

Good morning! We are heading into the last week of the lunar calendar as Adar comes to a close (Saturday night into Sunday morning begins the new month of Nissan).  The final celebration of the work we have done since last Passover is coming to light.

In addition, we are closing out the book of Exodus this week – with our final parsha – Pekudei – which means “accounts.” So this is the week for both reflection back – to give an account of the work we have engaged in spiritually over the past year – AND – to look ahead to a new year – setting NEW intents for the upcoming cycles.

So where have we been? Let’s look at the spiritual work we’ve done this past year? We are we today? A year ago, could we have envisioned where we’d be?

We do we want to go? Where do we see the flow ahead.

Today’s energy is moving in the direction of flow. Where do we want to flow?

We are flowing OUT of the programming we inherited from the ages of 07-, 7-14, and 14-21.  Those are formative years where we received the programming externally – we are most receptive – most open to influence. And we spend the rest of our lives giving an account of what we did with that programming. Did we get stuck in it? Did we dig into it? Did we alchemize it?

Where do you want to be? Where do you want to go?

These are my thoughts – what are yours?

Here are my thoughts from last year:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 1 Adar II, 5784
Parsha Pekudei: (Exodus 38:21 – 40:38)
Second Portion: Exodus 39:2 – 39:21

Good morning! As we start the work week, we work towards the completion of the book of Exodus. Today is a NEW opportunity – a NEW birth of a NEW moon cycle. We start Adar II – the month of Purim! 

May the week ahead find us opportunity to “begin again.” This is always the key to life. We can “begin again” in each moment we live in.

Yesterday, we looked at “why are we on this journey?”  Is it to escape? To fight? To love? To be?

We can choose this in any moment we find ourselves in.  Let’s dig in:

2And he made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and crimson wool, and twisted fine linen.

3They hammered out the sheets of gold and cut threads [from them] to work [the gold] into the blue wool, into the purple wool, into the crimson wool, and into the fine linen, the work of a master weaver.

4They made connecting shoulder straps for it at both its ends, it was entirely connected.

5And its decorative band, which is above it, [emanated] from it, of the same work: gold, blue, purple, and crimson wool, and twisted fine linen as the Lord had commanded Moses.

6And they prepared the shoham stones, enclosed in gold settings, engraved [similar to] the engravings of a seal, with the names of the sons of Israel.

7And he put them upon the shoulder straps of the ephod [as] stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

What is an Ephod?

Simply put? It’s an apron. It’s meant to shield the priestly garments from the spray of blood. It wasn’t going to stop a weapon – like a knife – but it would shield the priest from the blood spilled for the sacrifice.

I think being on this journey means we are going to get dirty. We want to always be clean. But the highest of highest priest in the Torah? Got dirty. Needed a smock to protect his clothes.

Where did we learn that being spiritual meant living a “clean” life? That being spiritual meant avoiding getting dirty? This is what I am contemplating.

How do we protect ourselves? What are the practices we bring into our lives that keep us from getting the dirt beyond the surface? They may not stop a knife, but they will stop the soil from staining our clothes. 

For me? It’s journaling. It is mediation. It is rituals I’ve put into place to keep me grounded each day.

And. This covering? It had weight to it. The shoulders had stones for the names of the tribes of Israel. The family tree. 

And. I also realized. I wear a literal ephod every day.  My tzitzit.  I get a lot of questions about my fringes – especially from those who are not Jewish. The garment itself is a covering I wear – it protects me spiritually from the dirt.

And. As we are about to see – it’s not enough to just put on our ephod.

8He made the choshen, the work of a master weaver like the work of the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, and crimson wool, and twisted fine linen.

9It was square [and] they made the choshen doubled its length one span and its width one span, doubled.

10And they filled into it four rows of stones. One row: odem, pitdah, and bareketh, the one row.

11And the second row: nofech, sappir, and yahalom.

12And the third row: leshem, shevo, and achlamah.

13And the fourth row: tarshish, shoham, and yashpheh; enclosed in gold settings in their fillings.

14And the stones were for the names of the sons of Israel twelve, corresponding to their names; [similar to] the engravings of a seal, every one according to his name, for the twelve tribes.

15For the choshen they made chains at the edges, of cable work, of pure gold.

16They made two golden settings and two golden rings, and they placed the two rings on the two ends of the choshen.

17And they placed the two golden cables on the two rings, at the ends of the choshen.

Ok. What is the choshen? It is the breastplate. It was made of metal. And it went over the Ephod.

This would stop a knife. And. The 12 tribes of Israel? They were NOT ONLY a weight on the shoulders of the High Priest – they were the protection on the breastplate.

And I think about family. How our ancestors both create a weight for us to bear, and a protection for us to wear.

I wrote this last year about this passage:

The weight of family. How it can help bring clarity. It can bring certainty. Or the opposite.

We can put on the breast plate. We can protect ourselves. And be certain Hashem has us protected.

Family can be a weight on our shoulders or a protection. In reality it is both.

The weight of family keeps us from getting dirty. The protection of family keeps us from future wounds.

Sit with that. I know it creates cognitive dissonance.  It may even make you angry.

And. Let me explain.

Before these garments were fashioned? This was NOT true. Israel was BURDENED by family. By the weight of what came before. There was NO protection from our ancestors as our ancestors were the ones who LED US into slavery.

It was not until Bezalel WEILDED and FASHIONED these garments that family became our shield and protection.

How have you alchemized our family? Do they sit in judgment, guilt and shame – with a covering of anger for the slavery we find ourselves in? Or do we take the moment and fashion the past into a shield and protective garment? That is a choice we have – when we are ready to make that choice. 

For Israel? They didn’t make this choice until AFTER the golden calf. And I find that comforting.

Family is a burden. And a protection. Do we wear that?

Do we run from family (past, present, and future)?

Do we fight our family (past, present, and future)?

Do we love our family (past, present, and future)?

Or.

Are we just being with our family (past, present, and future)?

Mmmmmm. Maybe the spiritual journey – finding spiritual freedom and liberation? All about family. Maybe our souls have come to this space and time to learn what we need to through our family? There is something about that – it seems difficult and challenging and beautiful at the same time.

Let’s finish this out:

18And the two ends of the two cables they placed upon the two settings, and they placed them upon the shoulder straps of the ephod, on its front part.

19And they made two golden rings and placed them on the two ends of the choshen, on its edge that faced the inner side of the ephod.

20And they made two golden rings and placed them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod, from below, toward its front, adjacent to its seam, above the band of the ephod.

21And they fastened the choshen by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue wool, so that it could be upon the band of the ephod, so that the choshen would not move off the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Of course. The Ephod and Choshen – the Apron and the Breastplate? All connected.

The burden and weight of family is connected to the protection of family.  I think we are on to something here.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?