Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 4 Elul, 5784
Parsha Shofetim – “Judges”: (Deuteronomy 16:18 – 21:9)
Seventh Portion: Deuteronomy 20:10 – 21:9

Shabbat Shalom! It is a day of rest for us in this journey towards the new year of 5785. So much energetically is going on – can we remain grounded in reflection?

Let’s dig in:

10When you approach a city to wage war against it, you shall propose peace to it.

I wrote about the Torah and war and conflict last year. Scroll down to read more on these concepts. I’ll highlight some things once we are through this passage.

11And it will be, if it responds to you with peace, and it opens up to you, then it will be, [that] all the people found therein shall become tributary to you, and they shall serve you.

12But if it does not make peace with you, and it wages war against you, you shall besiege it,

13and the Lord, your God, will deliver it into your hands, and you shall strike all its males with the edge of the sword.

14However, the women, the children, and the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoils you shall take for yourself, and you shall eat the spoils of your enemies, which the Lord, your God, has given you.

15Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.

The goal is NEVER war or conflict.  I wrote this a year ago:

When conflict arises; we should start with harmony and peace. And that will result in harmony and peace or more conflict.

When we engage in harmony, that will cause some to engage in battle. That’s how we know when to fight; and when not to. They make the first move. We put out love and peace; they respond and we live according to what the universe puts in front of us!

That’s an interesting conflict resolution method.

And if they go to war with you when you try to make peace? Hashem works it out to devastate them. Now this could seem harsh, but I also see the idea that when people choose to move away from harmony; especially externally, it reveals something inside. A lack of internal harmony. Which would (in my opinion) completely destroy someone in the end.

Conflict breeds conflict. Hamrony breeds harmony.  We should always shoot for harmony. And? There are times for war.

The Torah now shifts a bit:

16However, of these peoples’ cities, which the Lord, your God, gives you as an inheritance, you shall not allow any soul to live.

17Rather, you shall utterly destroy them: The Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivvites, and the Jebusites, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you.

In terms of land that was rightfully theirs? It’s war. When someone tries to occupy your inheritance, your peace, your space without your permission? We cannot shy away from conflict.

Why?

18So that they should not teach you to act according to all their abominations that they have done for their gods, whereby you would sin against the Lord, your God.

19When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them, for you may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Is the tree of the field a man, to go into the siege before you?

20However, a tree you know is not a food tree, you may destroy and cut down, and you shall build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until its submission.

This is interesting.  When you have a conflict, if there is something there that could serve you? Don’t cut it down – the fruit trees? They can stay.  If you need wood, cut down the trees that don’t produce fruit.

This requires discernment, doesn’t it? We cannot be ruled by anger. We are compelled to be at peace and harmony within.

We now shift gears to murder:

21:1If a slain person be found in the land which the Lord, your God is giving you to possess, lying in the field, [and] it is not known who slew him,

2then your elders and judges shall go forth, and they shall measure to the cities around the corpse.

So – we don’t know how or who killed this person. The first step is to measure the distance of the cities around the corpse.

3And it will be, [that from] the city closer to the corpse, the elders of that city shall take a calf with which work has never been done, [and] that has never drawn a yoke,

4and the elders of that city shall bring the calf down to a rugged valley, which was neither tilled nor sown, and there in the valley, they shall decapitate the calf.

5And the kohanim, the sons of Levi, shall approach, for the Lord, your God, has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the Name of the Lord, and by their mouth shall every controversy and every lesion be [judged].

6And all the elders of that city, who are the nearest to the corpse, shall wash their hands over the calf that was decapitated in the valley;

7And they shall announce and say, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see [this crime].”

8″Atone for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and lay not [the guilt of] innocent blood among your people Israel.” And [so] the blood shall be atoned for them.

9And you shall abolish the [shedding of] innocent blood from among you, for you shall do what is proper in the eyes of the Lord.

So – which ever cities is the closest to the corpse? They have to go through a process to release them of the responsibility.  Because they could have seen what happened – but they are declaring they didn’t.  And they will be atoned for.

There is something beautiful about this, isn’t there?

A life is SO important – that dying alone with no witnesses – required work.  It drew the elders of the city out to perform this ritual.

That life – mattered.  And there is something there for us to really reflect on.  Even if you die alone with no witnesses, the Torah intends for our lives to be important.

That is crucial on our journey.

We matter.

These are my thoughts.

What are yours?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 2 Elul, 5783

Shabbat Shalom!  Today we have a very deep passage as we start out on our journey of reflection for this moon cycle.  The moon is starting to brighten each day until it reaches it’s fullness is two weeks.  We begin with the ideas of conflict, harmony, war, murder, and comfort.

Today is a day to focus on the internal conflict within as we reflect going into Rosh Hashanah.  The first question for us is this:

Conflict. Where is our head and heart NOT aligned?

Within us we know.  We know when our head is leading us in one direction, and our hearts a different one. But before we go to war within ourselves? We need to find a way to make a peace offering.  Is there are proposal where we can align our head and heart?  Whatever it is, we can isolate the conflict within and recognize the lack of alignment. The lack of coherence.

Harmony. Where is there harmony and peace? In our head or heart?

Which of the two feels more in harmony and peace? Do we have 10 different thoughts on the matter but a strong unified feeling? Or do we have multiple feelings on a matter, but our mind is focused on one solution?  Moses calls us – from a place of peace, offer a proposal to the other.  If our feelings are aligned, maybe offer a proposal to move forward that will allow the mind to be in cohesion.  Maybe the brain can offer a proposal to have the feelings line up?  How do we do this?

Creativity. Create.  

And be willing to think or feel outside the box.  Either the proposal will go through, or it will be rejected.  Be prepared to go to war within.

War. What is the purpose and values we hold most high in our life?

When our feelings go to war against our mind? What value has your feelings lined up in harmony?  That is what you are fighting FOR.  The Mind may see it quickly and submit.  Or it may push back with a purpose the mind is trying to push.  But, which ever has peace? They will win the day.  So if you are of one mind but many feelings? Realize the singular mind is likely the way to go.  If you have many thoughts but a singular feeling? The feeling may be the way to go.  Keeping in mind our feelings are sometimes going to betray us.  Especially the feeling of fear.  If fear is the feeling, you may be in for a longer battle here.

Murder.  What do we  need to let go of to move forward in peace?

When we are in conflict with ourselves, it is likely something we value or a purpose we KNOW has brought us to the moment and has served us well.  But it ALSO may be something we need to let go of in order to move forward for us to go where we need to go.  What can we let go of so we have coherence?

Comfort. How can provide self care when this is all over?

This isn’t easy stuff.  When we achieve coherence within.  When our minds and heart are aligned.  Getting there is half the battle. Once in that moment, finding comfort is crucial.  Trusting the process. Trusting our future selves.  That is where we need to be.

So there you have it.  The Torah giving us wisdom on how to handle our internal conflicts – and external ones as well.  What are your thoughts?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 7 Elul, 5782

Shabbat Shalom!

May today be a day of rest and replenishment!

Today is about war. Or conflict.

Moses tells the people; if you approach a city to wage a non-obligatory war against it;

First offer a peaceful proposal to it.

Then Moses explains – here’s what is going to happen:

Either; they will respond peacefully and it opens up opportunities – the city will serve you and pay tribute to you.

Or

They will make war against you, and then you will besiege it. Hashem will deliver it into your hands.

So. Here’s my take.

When conflict arises; we should start with harmony and peace. And that will result in harmony and peace or more conflict.

When we engage in harmony, that will cause some to engage in battle. That’s how we know when to fight; and when not to. They make the first move. We put out love and peace; they respond and we live according to what the universe puts in front of us!

That’s an interesting conflict resolution method.

And if they go to war with you when you try to make peace? Hashem works it out to devastate them. Now this could seem harsh, but I also see the idea that when people choose to move away from harmony; especially externally, it reveals something inside. A lack of internal harmony. Which would (in my opinion) completely destroy someone in the end.

Moses tells us; that when we DO enter a city, and besiege it, we may not cut down any of the trees. Everything else should be destroyed. But the trees should remain. We can eat the fruit of the trees. However, if the tree does not produce fruit, we can chop it down and use it to build a barricade against the city until that city is conquered.

Protect our fruit bearing trees.

What does this mean internally?

I think we need to focus on the roots inside of us that produce fruit; and we need to protect those pieces of us at all costs. If there are things that are not producing fruit, we can chop them down and use them to barricade our lives as a shield to protect us from external energy.

What do you think?

The portion closes today with Moses’ version of the hit TV show “Unsolved Mysteries.” Basically, if a murder victim is found in a field in the promised land, and we don’t know who killed him;

1. The judges should go out and figure out which city is the closest to the body.
2. From the closest city, they were to take a calf down to a rock hard valley and slaughter it.
3. The priests should then draw near to the body – and issue blessings in the name of God, and to pass judgment on every controversy and lesion.
4. The elders of the closest city should wash their hands over the slaughtered calf and announce their innocence.
5. they can then ask for atonement for all of Israel. And ask Hashem not to place liability of innocent blood on Israel. At this point the people will be atoned for.
6. If the murderer ends up being found, they are still put to death

Ok. So. Thoughts?

As always on Shabbat, Haftorah thoughts will be in the comments below!

Haftorah thoughts:

Today is the fourth in the “Haftorot of comfort” it means we are MORE than halfway to Rosh Hashanah.

The passage is from Isaiah 51:12-52:12

And the passage begins with Isaiah reassuring us that God comforts us. We are asked why we have so much fear. Why have we forgotten the “influence of Hashem.”

If we think about the Torah portion today, our harmony cannot flow from a place of fear. If we are afraid, we will end up like the cities who respond to offers of peace by engaging in battle. We must trust and not fear.

A part that sticks out for me is the line “the wanderer in exile will be freed quickly.”

I have been on a journey “home.” I have felt often in my life “at home” but never really have I experienced the idea of “home.” The journey from Slavery to liberation is a journey of coming home. Of being our true selves. Of liberation of the barriers we put up for ourselves to protect us from the world.

Isaiah tells us; God has put His words of Torah into our mouths. He has sheltered us from the enemy. Planting us in the land “like the stars in the skies.”

Stop.

Let’s chew on this. We are both planted in the earth, and we are stars in the skies! How amazing is that imagery. We are grounded and empowered!

Isaiah continues and tells us to “wake up.” We are sleeping. We need to open our eyes to the bigger things around us. One might think it is impossible to be grounded into the earth AND be as free as the stars In space.

Isaiah validates our experiences;

We have been drinking the cup of wrath to cleanse us. We are finished being “punished” or “disciplined.” Everyone around us is our enemy. We double suffer. Isaiah asks “who will comfort you?”

Isaiah and Hashem see us in our suffering. They see our experiences, and they aren’t asking us to just “put on a happy face.” They are asking us to “wake up.” Because (in my opinion) the reality we see with our eyes, smell with our nose, hear with our ears, taste with our tongue, touch with our hands? That is where the suffering and slumber reside. If we are being asked to “wake up” what are we waking up to? It is comforting to know there is an “up.” To wake to.

There is a higher self and a higher reality we are called to wake up to. We wake from the physical to the spiritual. This is the quintessential journey of slavery to liberation.

And here it comes.

Isaiah says

“This is what your Master, your Almighty God, who fights for His people, says: “I have taken the cup of poison from your hand and the dregs from the cup of My wrath. You will never drink from it again. – I will place it in the hands of your persecutors, who said to you: “Bow down, and we will walk over you, and make your body like the ground, like the street for passersby. Wake up from your slumber of suffering! Wake up! Clothe yourself with your strength of old, O Zion! Put on your beautiful clothes, O Jerusalem, holy city, for the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you to rule over you!

Jerusalem, shake off the dust of mourning: Arise and sit on your throne Release the bonds from your neck, O daughter of Zion, captured in Babylon! For this is what God says: “You were sold for nothing, so I you will be redeemed without payment.”

First. I love that Isaiah says “the God who fights for his people!” That is amazing!

Second; we are called to trust. To wake up. To believe. To sit on our thrones.

We. Are royalty. All of us. And we are called to treat each other as royalty. Including ourselves. How often do we speak to ourselves like we are common and dirty? We are called to sit on our thrones! Not because we are above others; but because ALL OF US should be sitting on our thrones. And instead of treating others as “less than” while sitting on our royal spiritual thrones, we should be seeing each other as Kings and Queens who don’t realize they BELONG on the throne- next to us. That’s what love IS. That’s what our purpose IS.

And that makes sense. Because if the Neshama is in us. And the Neshama is a piece of Hashem. Then all of us are Hashem. We are all love.

We may not recognize that in ourselves. And daily we may fall asleep to it and awaken to it, but the truth is – Hashem is in each of us.

There is no you or I. There is only us. There is only we. And all of us get to decide how we want to treat ourselves. So the next time you see someone cut you off on the freeway, realize you are only cutting yourself off. And how you respond in that moment- with compassion and empathy or with anger, guilt and shame, is a choice we make. And our level of self compassion, self love, and self empathy will likely drive our response. Because if we don’t see ourselves as royalty, we won’t treat others as royalty. We may see ourselves higher or lower than someone else; but that is missing the point. We are the same.

Thoughts?