Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 26 Shevat, 5785

Good morning! I apologize for the silence the past few days. I’ve been recovering from a cold.

This week, we have a new parsha.  Parsha Terumah -which means  “Contribution”

It’s been interesting, I have written about my connection with my kids the past two years here. Two years ago, only my littlest two were engaged with me.  Four of my kids did not want to connect with me.

A year ago, my oldest and youngest two were engaged as well.

This year? All six!  The journey has been long – but beautiful. And each year, I have the privilege of contributing more and more as a dad. And it’s been a beautiful and tender journey – both within me, and with the kids.

The other message we can pull from this portion is the idea of asking for what we need.  This would seem easier said than done, because we do a good job on focusing on the needs of others.  However, that skill may be distracting us from developing the skill of communicating our OWN needs, and the courage to ask for it.

The idea of communicating our needs to another? Feels sacred.  Because asking for what we need, allows others to know what we need, and if they reject our communicating what we need? That cuts deep – because we cannot claim “well maybe they just didn’t know” in our heads and hearts, right?  We can convince ourselves that we are just REALLY good at anticipating other people’s needs (because we are) – and others may not be so good at anticipating our needs.  So the rejection hurts less.

And? Asking for what we need, and someone hearing us and providing it? It is connection.

All of this starts within ourselves. Because we need to connect within to even know what we need.

What are your thoughts?

Here are my thoughts from last year on the first two portions:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 2 Adar 1, 5784
Parsha Terumah: (Exodus 25:1 – 27:19)
First Portion: Exodus 25:1 – 25:16

Happy Sunday! We are reading this weeks’ Parsha – Terumah which means “contribution.”  As we enter the double month of Adar, we celebrate all the repair and rebirth of the past 11 months, and then just enjoy the fruit over the next two moon cycles. And. I believe we are called to consider – how will we use this NEW knowledge, wisdom, and understanding to “contribute” to our community? What are we going to build?

A year ago (see below) I was struggling as only 2 of my six kids were engaged with me.  This year, four are engaging, with the other two moving in the direction of the foundation I have been working on this past year.

The foundation laid – that I have been working on – is the foundation of love, compassion, and empathy.  And that starts within me!

Let’s dig into today’s portion! When we left off, Moses was up on the mountain with Hashem. The people were IN! They were excited to do what Hashem said. Let’s go:

1The Lord spoke to Moses saying:

2Speak to the children of Israel, and have them take for Me an offering; from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering.

The first thing is Hashem wants us to be generous. And. There was not a “set amount.” Hashem just told Moses to take an offering and ask people to give from their heart. And. Hashem had some asks:

3And this is the offering that you shall take from them: gold, silver, and copper;

4blue, purple, and crimson wool; linen and goat hair;

5ram skins dyed red, tachash skins, and acacia wood;

6oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the incense;

7shoham stones and filling stones for the ephod and for the choshen.

Why? Why was Hashem specific?

Because – we are learning – to ASK for what we NEED. Let’s add this:

• Grief
• Anxiety
• Dignity
• Compassion
• Sovereignty
• Safety
• Emotional Authority
• Sovereignty affirmed
• Doubt
• ASK FOR WHAT WE NEED

As we engage here – as we navigate the wilderness. There will be doubt. And. We can ask for what we need.

This is revolutionary. “I don’t need anything from ANYONE!” Is generally what our culture teaches us.  I am responsible for MY needs. Asking someone to meet my needs? That is NEEDY.

Um. Hashem isn’t needy. And. He is asking for what He needs.

How safe do we feel asking for what we NEED?  This is the takeaway.  Let’s see WHY Hashem needed these items:

8And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst

9according to all that I show you, the pattern of the Mishkan and the pattern of all its vessels; and so shall you do.

10They shall make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height.

11And you shall overlay it with pure gold; from inside and from outside you shall overlay it, and you shall make upon it a golden crown all around.

12And you shall cast four golden rings for it, and you shall place them upon its four corners, two rings on its one side, and two rings on its other side.

13And you shall make poles of acacia wood and you shall overlay them with gold.

14And you shall bring the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them.

15The poles of the ark shall be in the rings; they shall not be removed from it.

16And you shall place into the ark the testimony, which I will give you.

Hashem needed these items because He wanted the people to build a CONTAINER. A Vessel. For the Torah.

Remember:

Moses HEARD the Torah from Hashem

Moses SPOKE the Torah.

Moses WROTE the Torah.

Moses READ the Torah to the people.

But now?

Hashem was GIVING the Torah to Moses. In concrete form. (Stone tablets).

And. That needed a special container to hold it. Because it was SACRED.

So now – I am reflecting on; what do we hold SACRED in our lives?

How would we know?

For me what is sacred? What I spend my time on/with. What I spend my money on/with.  Those are great indicators of what I hold sacred.

What do you hold sacred?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 3 Adar 1, 5784
Parsha Terumah: (Exodus 25:1 – 27:19)
Second Portion: Exodus 25:17 – 25:30

Good morning!  Today we jump into the second portion of “contribution.” And it is an amazing time to be thinking about how we will contribute to our community. We left off yesterday discussion what we hold sacred. 

The definition I found of sacred is: “connected with God or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration.”

What is it we connect in our lives to Hashem? Because what we get today? Is a lesson on the sacredness of the ark, which holds the Torah:

17And you shall make an ark cover of pure gold, two and a half cubits its length and a cubit and a half its width.

18And you shall make two golden cherubim; you shall make them of hammered work, from the two ends of the ark cover.

19And make one cherub from the one end and the other cherub from the other end; from the ark cover you shall make the cherubim on its two ends.

20The cherubim shall have their wings spread upwards, shielding the ark cover with their wings, with their faces toward one another; [turned] toward the ark cover shall be the faces of the cherubim.

I want to reflect on this for a bit.  The Torah is our way to connect with Hashem.  The Ark certainly seems symbolic of our hearts.  Our hearts contain the mechanism to connect with Hashem through the Torah.  It is interesting two children sit on the cover.  This connects for the duality found within us – the Yin/Yang, the Masculine/Feminine, Tohu/Tikkun, the Animal/Godly. 

Whatever framework we want to use – these Cherubim need balance to cover our hearts. Their faces are connected.

I also think this may be connected to the inner work within us.  It would seem necessary to dig into the little child within us – that 5-8 year old boy and girl who resides inside us.

This is sacred. This is where we are healing. Because these inner children are what protect our hearts.  And. They have learned to survive. They have good motives; but may have learned tactics from external sources (fathers, mothers, etc) that have moved them away from seeing Hashem as the source of our protection – and feeling like they are protecting us on our own.

Can we feel into the sacred relationship we have with our inner children? Can we look at their tactics from a place of compassion and empathy?  Can we educate them on a more peaceful way to work to protect and guard our hearts? This seems to be our work.

21And you shall place the ark cover on the ark from above, and into the ark you shall place the testimony, which I will give you.

22I will arrange My meetings with you there, and I will speak with you from atop the ark cover from between the two cherubim that are upon the Ark of the Testimony, all that I will command you unto the children of Israel.

So The Torah is in our hearts. Hashem (the Universe, Source) will speak with us (not to us) from between the two cherubim. That requires connection and harmony between the inner children within us.

23And you shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits its length, one cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height.

24And you shall overlay it with pure gold, and you shall make for it a golden crown all around.

25And you shall make for it a frame a handbreadth [wide] all around, and you shall make a golden crown for its frame all around.

26And you shall make for it four golden rings, and you shall place the rings on the four corners that are on its four legs.

27The rings shall be opposite the frame as holders for the poles [with which] to carry the table.

28And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and you shall overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with them.

29And you shall make its forms, its spoons, its half pipes, and its supports with which it will be covered; of pure gold you shall make them.

30And you shall place on the table showbread before Me at all times.

If Hashem connects with us – and our Neshama speaks between our inner children? What is the showbread? What is the table? It is the sacred place we show Hashem who we are. We place our experiences, our friendships, our sustenance on this table.  This is our offering to Hashem.  This is our CONTRIBUTION.

Hmmmm. Just reflecting on this.  I am curious to your thoughts.