Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 27 Nisan, 5784 –Day 12 of Omer
Parsha Kedoshim – “Holy” (Leviticus 19:1 – 20:27)
First Portion: Leviticus 19:1 – 19:14
Good morning! It is a new week, and tonight is my Hebrew birthday! I have completed my 51st cycle of life according to the moon cycles. I shift into my 52nd year. I will write more tomorrow regarding the traditions around my birthday. It is fascinating!
Let’s start with the Omer! Today is the 12th day.
Today’s theme is the “Humility of Discipline”
From Chabad:
The results of discipline and might without humility are obvious. The greatest catastrophes have occurred as a result of people sitting in arrogant judgement of others. Am I arrogant in the name of justice (what I consider as just)? Do I ever think that I sit on a higher pedestal and bestow judgement on my subjects below? What about my children? Students?
A judge has to be the most humble of creatures, recognizing that he sits in judgement not by his own merit but only because G‑d gave the right to judge His children.
Exercise for the day: Don’t judge anyone unless you are doing so selflessly with no personal bias.
I am reflecting on this deeply. Discipline is positive for us – unless we meet this discipline with arrogance. We can be leaders in discipline for ourselves – and others -but to move to a place of arrogance is a concern, and is not love.
Arrogance and Judgment vs Discipline and Humility. This is what I am reflecting on today!
With this in mind, let’s dig into “separated.”
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, You shall be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.
3Every man shall fear his mother and his father, and you shall observe My Sabbaths. I am the Lord, your God.
I wrote about this before. To be in “awe” of our parents – even when they treated us poorly, abused us, created trauma? How do we do this?
Can we move from Arrogance and Judgment to Discipline and Humility? What I am thinking about is – discipline (having boundaries to prevent any more trauma and creating safety for ourselves) and humility (to be able to understand and not judge our parents for how they built their relationship with us.
I had a tough childhood. I have been on a journey to move away from arrogance and into humility. To see discipline in my life as a way to set up healthy boundaries, without judging the “other.”
4You shall not turn to the worthless idols, nor shall you make molten deities for yourselves. I am the Lord, your God.
Upon reflection – how often do we turn to idols to distract us from the process of navigating our guilt and shame with the trauma of our childhood?
5When you slaughter a peace offering to the Lord, you shall slaughter it for your acceptance.
Acceptance. I am focused on acceptance. Can I accept the past? Release the energy of it so I can move forward in freedom? Or do I hold onto it (like Pharaoh) and end up making poor decisions because of unprocessed grief? Arrogance or Humility? Judgment or Discipline? These are my free choices.
6It may be eaten on the day you slaughter it and on the morrow, but anything left over until the third day, shall be burned in fire.
7And if it would be eaten on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted.
8And whoever eats it shall bear his sin, because he has profaned what is holy to the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Directions. Guidance. Can we follow? Or do we want to test the limits? Is that our arrogance?
9When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not fully reap the corner of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
10And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you collect the [fallen] individual grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am the Lord, your God.
Humility means we allow the poor and stranger to have access to our “left overs.” Arrogance would say “they are poor – if they just worked harder, they would not be poor – giving them my leftovers basically teaches them to just rely on others! They need to learn to rely on themselves!”
Is that arrogance? Or is that humility?
11You shall not steal. You shall not deny falsely. You shall not lie, one man to his fellow.
12You shall not swear falsely by My Name, thereby profaning the Name of your God. I am the Lord.
13You shall not oppress your fellow. You shall not rob. The hired worker’s wage shall not remain with you overnight until morning.
14You shall not curse a deaf person. You shall not place a stumbling block before a blind person, and you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.
Again. The theme here seems clear. Humility. Discipline. Restraint. Choosing arrogance and judgment? That’s a problem it would seem.
What are your thoughts?
Here are my thoughts from two years ago:
Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 30 Nisan, 5782
This is the last day of Nisan! I hope this has been a month of freedom for us! Before digging into the Torah thoughts for Parsha Kedoshim, I wanted to share (what I believe) is a perfect end to the month of Nisan!
I read many books; not just the Torah. Today’s entry for ”The Book of Awakening” by Mark Nepo says this:
There is very little difference between burying and planting. For often, we need to put dead things to rest, so that new life can grow. And further, the thing put to rest—whether it be a loved one, a dream, or a false way of seeing—becomes the fertilizer for the life about to form. As the well-used thing joins with the earth, the old love fertilizes the new; the broken dream fertilizes the dream yet conceived; the painful way of being that strapped us to the world fertilizes the freer inner stance about to unfold.”
“There is always grief for what is lost and always surprise at what is to be born. But much of our pain in living comes from wearing a dead and useless skin, refusing to put it to rest, or from burying such things with the intent of hiding them rather than relinquishing them.”
“For every new way of being, there is a failed attempt mulching beneath the tongue. For every sprig that breaks surface, there is an old stick stirring underground. For every moment of joy sprouting, there is a new moment of struggle taking root.”
“We live, embrace, and put to rest our dearest things, including how we see ourselves, so we can resurrect our lives anew.”
As we put to rest our past, or life In slavery; and our new journey to Freedom. We do not need to wear the dead skins of our past. We can let them go; buried in the soil of our soul and allow them to fertilize new growth in us!
Ok; let’s dig in!
Kedoshim means “Holy.” In the Chumash I’m reading it has this as an entry way; “Bring holiness into your world; into your everyday life. Make it the focal point of your consciousness. Holiness is the opposite of your ego, and it’s antidote.”
The Hebrew word for holiness literally translates as “separate.” Being holy means being one with Hashem and using our talents for Him. Even non-sacred activities should be performed for a Godly purpose.
The goal of holiness is to explore our ego; and to act in a manner that is opposite of our ego. Our ego is what gets in our way of holiness. As we dig in further; where is our ego this morning? How is our ego driving our lives?
Ok! Let’s dig in!
This first part of the portion is clarifying the basic laws of Torah.
God tells Moses to speak to the entire congregation of Israel, and tell them:
– You should be holy, because I, God, your God, am holy.
Ok. Stop here. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson has this to say on the subject:
We should be holy through refraining from forbidden relations(Rashi)
“While Rashi understood that the Jewish people “become holy” by refraining from forbidden relations in particular, I see this as a command to be self restraining in general. Even when the Torah permits you to eat food that is kosher and to have intimate relations, it is still desirable to exercise moderation” (Nahmanides)
There is a principle in Hasidic thought, “The higher something is, the lower it falls.” You reach the highest levels of spiritual greatness, not through intellectual endeavors alone, but by involving yourself in the physical world, observing the commandments and helping others to do likewise.
You best fulfil the command to “be holy” by refraining from the lowest and most debased of acts (forbidden relations). For the route towards the highest degrees of holiness, becoming holy like God (“You should be holy, because I, God your God, am holy”), is through refraining from the lowest of acts- “the higher something is, the lower it falls.”
This also explains why, at the afternoon prayer on the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year-before beginning the closing prayer (Ne’ilah), the climax of the day – the Torah reading discusses forbidden relations. For it is through restraint from the very lowest of acts that you reach the highest degrees of holiness.”
Interesting thoughts about this first line!
Next; Hashem tells us to fear our mother and father (more like awe). However, If they tell us not to observe the Sabbath or any other Torah law, we should not listen to them.
We should not turn to worthless idols and worship them.
When we reap our Harvest, leave some for the poor.
When should not steal.
We should not make a false denial or false oath against each other
We should not swear falsely
We should not oppress another
We should not rob.
Stop.
What is the difference between stealing and robbing?
Rabbi Schneerson takes a quote from Maimonides and expands on it:
What is the definition of a “thief”? One who secretly acquires the property of another person, without the owner knowing. For example, if a man puts his hand into another’s pocket and discreetly takes the owner’s money.
However, if a man takes possession of another’s property openly in public, by force, then he is not a “thief” but a “robber.”
Any person who robs so much as a perutah (small coin) is considered to have taken that person’s life away, as the verse states, “So are the ways of every one who is greedy of gain; it takes away the life of its owners (Proverbs 1:19; Maimonides)”
The Torah compares robbery to ending life because the act of robbery deprives the victim of some of the inherent rights that life brings. This is the case regardless of how much money was taken (even “a perutah”).
When a person suffers a robbery, it is not merely that his assets have decreased as a result of an unlawful act (as is the case with theft); his rightful ownership has been openly challenged and taken away by force. The robber says, “I am denying you the fundamental human right of owning your own property,” which, in a certain respect, is depriving a person of the privilege of being alive. Hence, “it is as if he took his life away.”
With theft, which occurs secretly, there is no outright challenge of ownership. It is only that, at some later date, a person will discover that he does not have as many possessions as he did previously. But there was never a moment where he was confronted by another person who forcefully uprooted his ownership and “took away his life”
That’s a really interesting distinction!
The portion today closes with withholding wages with workers, cursing a deaf person, and the lacing a stumbling block in front of someone who is “blind.” The idea is the victim won’t know who caused the injury.
Some really interesting thoughts as we end Nisan, and journey to a new month! What are your thoughts?
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