Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 27 Sivan, 5784
Parsha Korach: (Numbers 16:1 – 18:32)
Fourth Portion: Numbers 17:9 – 17:15

Good morning! As we continue to wind down the month of Sivan. The month of direction. The third month.  We now can look towards setting our intents for the new moon this weekend. We are entering a paradoxical moon cycle – one that may appear as darkness but is designed to help us let go of those things we’ve been holding onto that have kept us stuck in this camp.  As we have witnessed in the Torah parsha this week – standing against Moses took courage on the part of Korach – and that was his purpose. To show us that leadership – SPIRITUAL leadership – is needed in our lives. This starts within us. What or who guides our internal sense of self? Courage and sacrifice is required to find what that is for each and every one of us. This will become even clearer in the next moon cycle.

Seeing in the dark means keeping your eyes wide to allow the small little spark to light the darkness ahead. What is that spark within us? What is that guiding light?  This is what will help us move from this current camp.  This current place of being stuck. Will we be like Korach? Or will we be like Caleb and Joshua?  The time of Moses is coming to an end in the Torah for us. We are closer to Rosh Hashanah (after Tammuz, we have Av, the Elul, then Tishri – where Rosh Hashanah sits). Three months left before we reach the end of our spiritual year and begin the process of starting over.

This is the time to see what the direction will be for this last part of the year.

Yesterday we left off with more complaints. Hashem showed up. Showed the people He was “Team Moses.” Remember – the purpose of all of this? To show the people His Alienation. He was trying to show us how He was feeling isolated from US. He showed up to the tent of meeting to talk to Moses:

9The Lord spoke to Moses saying:

10Stand aside from this congregation, and I shall consume them in an instant.” They fell on their faces.

Hashem tells Moses – “I’m done with the children of Israel and their continued Alienation.”  Moses and Aaron fall on their faces.

11Moses said to Aaron, “Take the censer and put fire from the altar top into it and put incense. Then take it quickly to the congregation and atone for them, for wrath has gone forth from the Lord, and the plague has begun.”

Moses sees a way – he asks Aaron to go and burn incense to atone for the children of Israel. Moses has nothing to lose at this point.

12Aaron took [it], just as Moses had said, and he ran into the midst of the assembly, and behold, the plague had begun among the people. He placed the incense on it and atoned for the people.

13He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague ceased.

Hashem had ALREADY started to have a plague impact the people. And – Aaron was able to stand between the dead and the living to atone for the people – by placing incense on the plague.

And – the people were forgiven.

14The number of dead in the plague was fourteen thousand, seven hundred, besides those who died because of the matter of Korah.

15Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and the plague was checked.

14,700 died in this plague.  Remember – so we can understand how Hashem feels alienated by us. It’s a connecting point. A way for us to understand a feeling HE feels.

I am reflecting on how often we treat Hashem as a non-playable character (NPC) In a video game.

And – I am now reflecting.

We may project the feelings we don’t want to experience onto Hashem – and keep the feelings we want to experience.  We don’t want anger, jealousy, sadness, betrayal, abandonment – so we project onto Hashem these feelings. We see HIM as angry, jealous, sad, vengeful, etc. We don’t OWN that we are ALSO angry, jealous, sad, vengeful, etc.  We see ourselves desiring happiness, joy, wonder, abundance – And we don’t see Hashem as these things. In a sense, Hashem’s alienation may be the dumpster for the emotions we don’t want to experience – and yet are part of our design?

Do we dump all the emotions we don’t want to experience (shame, grief, sadness, anger, vengeance, betrayal, abandonment) onto Hashem and keep the ones we do (happiness, joy, wonder, mystery)? Do we see Hashem as legalistic, angry, vengeful, jealous because we don’t want to look within ourselves at those feelings? Do we alienate Hashem (isolate Him) because we project the worst of us onto Him, and clutch the best of Him onto us? Realizing there is no “best” or “worst” as those are judgments – can we instead remain curious why we have such an EASY time seeing Hashem as angry and vengeful, and at the same time don’t connect with our own anger and vengeance? Do we shame Hashem because we don’t want to experience our own shame? Do we use Hashem to control others because we are so out of control within ourselves and we feel helpless?

That’s my takeaway.  What about you?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 2 Tamuz, 5783

Good morning! Today’s portion is very short.  And it seems to be counter to what many believe (including myself) about the Torah and the Mitzvahs.

Yesterday we watched as Korach and his family get swallowed up by the earth.  Those who used the fire pans to support Korach were burned in fire.

As you could imagine? People were freaking out.  Hashem calls Moses and Aaron to the Tent of Meeting, and that is where our portion today starts.

Hashem is basically DONE. Hashem tells Moses and Aaron he is going to destroy the congregation.

Now let’s stop here.  We have the benefit of hindsight.  Do we believe Hashem was ACTUALLY going to destroy the congregation? Or was Hashem trying to show us mercy and grace?

Moses responds – and we have to remember – Hashem exists outside of time and space, so Hashem KNEW how Moses would respond.  Moses falls on his face and gives Aaron some instructions.  And Moses tells Aaron to violate the proper offering of incense to do this.

Aaron does this without hesitation – trusting Moses to stop the plague.

An additional 14,700 Israelites died.  But many more were saved.  And we have to go back to what we believe about death and our bodies and our souls.

Death may just be the releasing of the souls back into the spiritual realm – the 14,700 Neshamas rejoining Hashem outside of our bodies.  Just something I reflect on.

My takeaway today – as is most of the time when I read the Torah – is this idea of curiosity instead of Judgment.  Looking at the world around us – looking at the Torah – with curiosity and NOT judgment is a major factor in our liberation and freedom spiritually.

What are your thoughts?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 30 Sivan, 5782

On our final day of the month of Sivan, it’s a good day to reflect on the month and consider the new possibilities starting tomorrow! More on the month of Tamuz tomorrow, but let’s bring to a close this past month with our Torah thoughts!

Yesterday we saw the destruction of Korah and his family- the earth opened up and swallowed them. And then; the 250 men who were with Korah when burning the fire pans? Burned by supernatural fire.

You can imagine people freaking out at this. They come to Moses and Aaron. They blamed them. Then a cloud covered the tent of meeting and Moses and Aaron approached.

Today’s portion is short. Basically, God tells Moses to get away, because he is about to destroy all of them in an instant.

Moses and Aaron fall on their faces, and Moses tells Aaron to atone for the people quickly. Moses tells Aaron God is angry and the plaque has begun. Moses knows incense can stop the plague.

Aaron took the fire pan and ran into the assembly and the plague had already started. Aaron did as Moses asked; took the fire pan ran into the assembly and placed incense on it and atoned for the people. Aaron stood between the dead and the living. And the plague stopped. 14,700 people died in the plague besides those who died because of the Korah incident.

Aaron went back to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting and the plague ended.

Ok. So. Some questions;

1. Why the fire pan? Rabbi Hayyim ibn Attar writes that the fire pan was used to demonstrate it wasn’t the fire pan that killed Korah and the 250. The people were scared of that. Moses had Aaron use the fire pan to show the people the pan could be used for healing.
   1. That’s kind of genius if you think about it. Had this incident not taken place, people may have had the idea that anyone touching a fire pan may have been burned by fire; and it would have prevented atonement in the future.
2. Why did Moses have Aaron use the fire pan in front of the assembly? This would have been an improper time and place to offer the sacrifice. Rabbi Hayyim also writes that Aaron did it because “Moses told him to.” Aaron shows us that we must obey and acknowledged prophet even if the command violates the Torah. Moses as the leader was crucial. Aaron knew this and established Moses as the leader.

Interesting passage today. The people saw Aaron as the person who saved them from a plague. Aaron saw Moses as the true leader. God was appeased (it seems).

What are your thoughts?