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Parshah Summary – P’shat
The Children of Israel are encamped in the Sinai Desert, and they receive the Divine instruction to conduct a census of men suitable for battle from the twelve tribes (excluding the tribe of Levi, but including the two sons of Yosef, making twelve), between 20 to 60 years of age. The tribe of Levi, who is to serve as the spiritual leadership, is counted separately. The Levi-im (Levites) are given responsibility for the Mishkan (Sanctuary), along with all of its vessels and sacrificial equipment.
Whenever the Children of Israel would break down the camp to travel, the three Levite clans would dismantle and transport the Mishkan, and then reassemble it at the center of the next encampment. They then erected their own tents around it: the Kohathites, who carried the Sanctuary’s vessels in their specially designed coverings on their shoulders, such as the Ark and menorah, camped to its south; the Gershonites, in charge of its tapestries and roof coverings, to its west; and the families of Merari, who transported its wall panels and pillars, to its north. Before the Sanctuary’s entranceway, to its east, were the tents of Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons, who were also Levi’im and served as the kohanim, the priests. Beyond the Levite circle, the twelve tribes camped in four groups of three tribes each. To the east were Yehudah, Yissakhar, and Zevulun; to the south, Reuvein, Shimon and Gad; to the west, Ephraim, Manasheh, and Binyamin; and to the north, Dan, Asher and Naphtali. This formation was kept also while traveling. Each tribe had its own nassi (prince or leader), and its own flag with its tribal color and emblem.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
וַיְדַבֵּ֨ר יי אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֛ה בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר סִינַ֖י...לֵאמֹֽר שְׂא֗וּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֙ כׇּל־עֲדַ֣ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֑ם בְּמִסְפַּ֣ר שֵׁמ֔וֹת כׇּל־זָכָ֖ר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָֽם׃ Hashem spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai…saying: “Raise up the heads (take a census) of the whole (battle ready) assembly of the Children of Israel according to their families, according to their ancestral houses, listing the names, every (battle ready) male, according to their count.” - BaMidbar (Numbers) 1:1,2
One morning, as I lay in bed around 6:30 am, I heard a rumbling sound from deep within whatever dream I was having. “That sound… it means something… something important… what is that sound?” The garbage truck!
I had forgotten to put out the garbage the night before, and the can was pretty full. I leapt out of bed, slid into some pants, darted downstairs and out the front door. I looked and saw that the garbage truck had already passed my house and was halfway down the street! I grabbed the can and ran after it, rolling it behind me. When I caught up, I started to politely ask him if he would take it, but before even one word came from my lips he grabbed it from me violently, almost knocking me over and barked something like “GIMMEE IT!” – I think. Wow – he had certainly had his coffee already. Maybe a little too much. But I was grateful that he took it at all. What would make you get up in the morning so fast? The codes of Jewish law are somewhat paradoxical about getting up in the morning. On one hand, they say that one should leap out of bed to “do the Will of the Creator” – no laziness. Not a moment should be wasted – there is much to do. Get out of bed with גִבּוֹר כָּאֲרִי לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹן אָבִיךָ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם – the “strength of a lion to do the Will of your Father in heaven” and jump into the day. On the other hand, before you get up, you should take a moment to receive the gift of your life, chanting: מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ Modeh ani lifanekha – “I give thanks before you…” Then should you leap into your day? No, you should ritually wash your hands, with the kavanah (intention) to purify your heart so that you can be of loving service in all your actions. Okay now should you leap your day? No. First there are blessings to be chanted and prayers to pray. And even before all of that, and perhaps more importantly, one should take some time in silent meditation to tap the inner depths in preparation. So which is it? Should you leap out of bed and get to work, or meditate and immerse yourself in the silent depths of not-doing? But that’s the point. If you spend all your time in meditation, the bliss of Being reveals Itself within your own awareness, but the world remains untouched. On the other hand, if your life is focused solely on the external, then you become lost in its dramas, disconnected from you inner Source, and both you and the world suffer for it. But connect with the Eternal in order to bring it into the temporal – that’s the alchemy! וַיְדַבֵּ֨ר יי אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֛ה בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר Hashem spoke to Moses in the wilderness… The wilderness, the midbar, is the arena in which we live. Like the wild of nature, life itself is not totally predictable; it regularly challenges us, distracts us and can draw us into folly. And yet, it is the only Place from in which the Divine speaks – if we know how to listen. How do we listen? לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָֽם … שְׂא֗וּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֙ כׇּל־עֲדַ֣ת “Raise up the heads (take a census) of the whole (battle ready) assembly… according to their count.” Counting the soldiers is a metaphor for our external lives. Each day we should arouse ourselves like soldiers to do “battle” with our inner inertia and make every moment “count.” But there is another half to the equation: וְהַלְוִיִּ֖ם לְמַטֵּ֣ה אֲבֹתָ֑ם לֹ֥א הׇתְפָּקְד֖וּ בְּתוֹכָֽם׃ But Levites, according to their ancestral tribe, were not recorded among them. The Levi-im – the Levites – weren’t soldiers; they were priests and musicians – caretakers of the Mishkan – the Sacred Space at the center of the camp. The soldiers went out to conquer the many, but the Levites safeguarded connection to the One. And in the One, there’s nothing to count; there is only One! The task is for these two sides – the internal and the external – to be in balance. Ideally, we should express our inner Timelessness through the external wilderness of time. But this takes practice; staying connected to the holiness of the moment while running after the garbage truck is not easy. But fortunately, no matter how lost in the external we become, the present moment has not gone anywhere. It is always here, open to our return, to our t’shuvah. This supreme task of bringing the inner holiness of Presence to the sometimes chaotic wilderness of life is represented by the s’firah of Malkhut, which we can feel right now as the connection to the earth beneath us…
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Parshah Summary – P’shat
The parshah opens on Mount Sinai (b’har – “on the mountain”) with the laws of the Sabbatical year: every seventh year, all work on the land should cease, and its produce becomes free for all to take, human and beast alike. Seven Sabbatical cycles are followed by a fiftieth year—the Yovel, or “Jubilee” year, on which, in addition to ceasing work on the land, all indentured servants are set free, and all ancestral estates that have been sold revert to their original owners. Additional laws governing the sale of lands, and the prohibitions against fraud and usury, are also given.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
אֵ֣ת סְפִ֤יחַ קְצִֽירְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תִקְצ֔וֹר וְאֶת־עִנְּבֵ֥י נְזִירֶ֖ךָ לֹ֣א תִבְצֹ֑ר שְׁנַ֥ת שַׁבָּת֖וֹן יִהְיֶ֥ה לָאָֽרֶץ׃ וְ֠הָיְתָה שַׁבַּ֨ת הָאָ֤רֶץ לָכֶם֙ לְאָכְלָ֔ה... You shall not reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untrimmed vines; it shall be a year of complete rest for the land. It will be a Sabbath of the land; for you to eat… - Vayikra (Leviticus) 25:5-6; Parshat Behar
A friend of mine told me a true story: Once, when he was about to let out his dog, he noticed a cute little baby dove huddled on the ground. Above was the nest that it must have fallen from. He kept his dog in the house while he went out and lifted the baby bird back into its nest. He wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do, but it seemed the right thing in the moment, and it was a warm and gratifying feeling to save that baby bird. Not long after, he was moving some furniture in his workplace. As he lifted a desk, he was taken aback by a huge, dead, rotting lizard filled with maggots. It was a disgusting thing to deal with as he cleaned it up.
He told me this story because it seemed to him almost like a symbolic dream, and he was wondering what it meant. Why such a gratifying, life-affirming, cuddly experience followed by such a disgusting horrific, death centered experience? What was the meaning of it? Sometimes we are given situations that require immediate action. These are the real-time “commandments” – the mitzvot we don’t learn from books, but that appear to us and demand a response. Sometimes the action required is to save a cute little bird, sometimes to clean up a rotting lizard corpse. Sometimes it is to feed a hungry baby, sometimes it is to yank a child out of the street when a car is coming, and sometimes it is to bury a loved one who has died unexpectedly. In other words, when it comes to being present to what is needed in the moment, it may be bitter or it may be sweet. There is a full spectrum of human experience, and if we want to be available to the “commandment” of the moment, we have to be open to both – we can’t avoid any of it. Of course, most of the time, there isn’t some unexpected urgent thing to deal with, barukh Hashem. Still, when it comes to being spiritually awake, there is an ever-present urgency. What is this urgency? אִם לֹא עַכְשָׁיו, אֵימָתָי: Im lo akhshav, eimatai?– If not now, when? - Hillel, Pirkei Avot, 1:14 The urgency of the moment is the moment itself; the mitzvah that comes to us now, is actually the Now – it is to be here for This. We could call this is the mitzvah of meditation, or Presence: שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל – Sh’ma Yisrael – “Listen, Israel” meaning: Be attentive… וְיָדַעְתָּ הַיּום – V’yadata HaYom – “Know today” meaning: Be aware of the Now… This is the constantly urgent mitzvah. And yet, paradoxically, to meditate is to fully accept; it is to embrace the Reality of this moment with positivity, not resist it; this has almost the opposite quality of urgency. It is more like joyfully planting a seed and watching it grow, rather than aggressively trying to force things: נֹשֵׂא מֶֽשֶׁךְ־הַזָּֽרַע, בֹּא־יָבֹא בְרִנָּה, נֹשֵׂא אֲלֻמֹּתָיו: Carrying the bag of seed, he will return with joyous song carrying his sheaves. - Psalm 126 Meditation is somehow the unity of these two seemingly opposite qualities of urgency or immediacy on one hand, and joyful “allowing” on the other: לֹא הַבַּיְשָׁן לָמֵד, וְלֹא הַקַּפְּדָן מְלַמֵּד... A timid person can’t learn, and an impatient person can’t teach… - Pirkei Avot 2:6 In other words, don’t be timid – jump fully into the moment; this is Presence. On the other hand, Presence means letting the moment be as it is, not being impatient about how you think it should be or how you want it to be; in other words, receiving whatever it gives you: וְ֠הָיְתָה שַׁבַּ֨ת הָאָ֤רֶץ – It will be a Sabbath of the land… This description of Sh’mitah is a perfect metaphor: accept both the nourishing food and the thistles and thorns, both the “bird” and the “lizard.” But this is only the first step; the second step is engagement with life. After all, the Sabbath of the land is once every seven years, just as Shabbat is once every seven days. This is also meditation: reposing from life for a relatively portion of the day, then returning to the joyful “planting of seeds.” This rhythm of both allowing and engaging, of both enjoying and doing, is represented by the s’firah of Y’sod, “Foundation” – because joyful engagement with life is the foundation of Living Presence…
YESOD: “Foundation” – Joy, Health
I Am Enjoying I Am Joyful I Am Joy Chant: Ivdu Et Hashem עִבְדוּ אֶת יְהֹוָה בְּשִׂמְחָה בֹּֽאוּ לְפָנָיו בִּרְנָנָה: Ivdu Et Hashem b’simkhah bo-u l’fanav bir-nana! (2x) Ivdu Et Hashem b’simkhah b’simkhah bo-u l’fanav bir-nana! (2x) Serve the Divine with joy! Come before the Presence with song! - Psalm 100 (Scale: b3, #4, b6)
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Parshah Summary – P’shat
Parshat Akharei Mot opens in the aftermath of the deaths of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, and God warns that one must only enter the innermost chamber of the Sanctuary in a particular way in order for it to be safe. Only the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, may enter to offer the sacred ketoret (incense) once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Another feature of Yom Kippur is the casting of lots over two goats, to determine which one should be offered to God, and which should be sent off to “Azazel” in order to “carry away” the sins of the Children of Israel.
The parshah then warns against bringing korbanot (animal or meal offerings) anywhere but in the Sanctuary (or later the Temple), forbids the consumption of blood, and details the laws of incest and other types of prohibited sexual relations. Parshat Kedoshim consists of the many mitzvot (commandments) through which one leads a sanctified life, including the prohibition against idolatry, the mitzvah of charity, the principle of equality before the law, Shabbat, sexual boundaries, honesty in business, honor of one’s parents, and the sacredness of life in general. Among these mitzvot is the famous principle which the great sage Rabbi Akiva called the essence of Torah, and a paraphrase of which Hillel said, “This is the entire Torah, the rest is commentary” – וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ – You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
Both of this week’s portions, Akharei Mot and Kedoshim, begin with instructions that relate to “holiness” or “sacredness,” which in Hebrew is the 3-letter root, קדש Koof Dalet Shin: וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה דַּבֵּר֮ אֶל־אַהֲרֹ֣ן אָחִ֒יךָ֒ וְאַל־יָבֹ֤א בְכׇל־עֵת֙ אֶל־הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁ מִבֵּ֖ית לַפָּרֹ֑כֶת אֶל־פְּנֵ֨י הַכַּפֹּ֜רֶת אֲשֶׁ֤ר עַל־הָאָרֹן֙ וְלֹ֣א יָמ֔וּת כִּ֚י בֶּֽעָנָ֔ן אֵרָאֶ֖ה עַל־הַכַּפֹּֽרֶת׃ Hashem said to Moses: Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come at any time into the Holy (space) behind the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, so that he not die; for I appear in the cloud over the cover… - Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:2; Parshat Akharei Mot
In the first passage, the קֹּדֶשׁ Kodesh is a particular sacred space; it is the innermost sanctum of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) in the wilderness, and later the Temple in Jerusalem. This verse is a warning that the act of entering into this most holy space must be done by a particular person, at a particular time, in a particular way, in order to avoid accidental death. The second passage is more of a general instruction – not to merely enter a holy place (קֹּדֶשׁ Kodesh), but to actually be holy (קָדוֹשׁ kadosh). The first verse is talking about something external; the second is talking about an inner reality:
קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י... Holies you shall be, for holy am I… In other words, the Ani – the “I,” is kadosh – holy; this verse reveals the deepest Mystery hidden in plain sight: That which we seek: Sacredness, Wholeness, Peace – That is what we are – the underlying Ani beneath our thoughts, our feelings, and all experience. And to make this even more clear אֲנִי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ “I” am Existence, Your (own inner) Divinity. This deepest level of our being is not something other than what we call the Divine; the sacred is already our own deepest nature… קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ... Holies you shall be… And so, the verse is reminding us – be what you already are! But why do we need to be told to be what we already are? Because our tendency is to become lost in our experiences – personal dramas, the sufferings of the world – they can be all consuming, until we remember again – which brings us back to the pasuk opening the first parshah… וְאַל־יָבֹ֤א בְכׇל־עֵת֙ אֶל־הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁ... Don’t come into the Holy (space) at any time… This קֹּדֶשׁ Kodesh is not just the ancient Tabernacle; it is the sacred space we set aside for meditation. Meditation doesn’t happen בְכׇל־עֵת – at any time; it happens only at particular times. Like Aaron’s sons, we too would be in danger if we closed our eyes in mystical fervor at any old time; meditation must be a consistent but limited activity, done within certain safe boundaries. And yet, through meditating at particular times, we forge a perpetual connection with our own being at the deepest level, so that we can be holy all of the time, not just while we’re meditating; that’s the point. But to do this, we need to be consistent and persistent; meditation must become as natural in daily life as eating and sleeping. This power of consistent practice is represented by the s’firah of Netzakh. And so this phrase, וְאַל־יָבֹא בְכׇל־עֵת – don’t come in at any time, is a guide for embodying this quality of Netzakh: the key is to have a special time you set aside for your avodah, your meditation and prayer, so that your immersions into the Eternal permeate your whole life, bringing the holy into every moment. Which brings us to a deeper meaning of the phrase: וְאַל־יָבֹא בְכׇל־עֵת – Don’t come in at any time… This means: there is truly only One Time that you can realize the Eternal, and that is Now. This is also the literal meaning of Netzakh as “Eternity” – pointing not to the dimension of practice we do at a particular time, but rather, to the recognition that takes us beyond time, into the Eternal Present. This is the trickiest and yet the most simple part: on a practical level, if we wish to live an awakened life, if we want to transcend the seductive power of experience and recognize the Brightness of Being that we are, we need to practice consistently, at certain times; this is Netzakh as persistence. But, we must not “buy into” the idea of the Sacred as dualistic, as a mere state or experience that we access only during meditation, at certain times. Rather, the aim of our meditation is to awaken the recognition that the Sacred is a dimension of the Now, whenever we reestablish the Now as our aim; as we can do, right Now; this is Netzakh as Eternity.
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Parshah Summary – P’shat
The word metzorah refers to a person afflicted by tzaraat, a scaly affliction of the skin which places them in a state of being ritually unfit to make offerings. The parshah begins by detailing how the recovered metzorah is purified by the kohen (priest) with a special ritual involving two birds, spring water in an earthen vessel, a piece of cedar wood, a scarlet thread and a bundle of hyssop. A home can also be afflicted with tzaraat by the appearance of dark red or green patches on its walls. In a process lasting as long as nineteen days, a kohen determines if the house can be purified, or whether it must be demolished.
Ritual impurity is also engendered through a seminal or other discharge in a man, and menstruation or other discharge of blood in a woman, necessitating purification through immersion in a mikvah.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
וְלָקַ֣ח הַכֹּהֵן֮ מִדַּ֣ם הָאָשָׁם֒ וְנָתַן֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן עַל־תְּנ֛וּךְ אֹ֥זֶן הַמִּטַּהֵ֖ר הַיְמָנִ֑ית וְעַל־בֹּ֤הֶן יָדוֹ֙ הַיְמָנִ֔ית וְעַל־בֹּ֥הֶן רַגְל֖וֹ הַיְמָנִֽית׃ The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the ridge of the right ear of him who is being cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. - Vayikra (Leviticus) 14:14
There’s a story that Reb Zushia was once with his master, Rabbi Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezritch, when a man came into the room and started aggressively nagging the Maggid for a blessing on his business. Now Reb Zushia had special powers, and could perceive all the past deeds of a person simply by looking at them. When he looked at this man begging for a blessing, he could see he had done many terrible things. In an instant, Reb Zushia lost his temper and snapped at the man: “How dare you ask the great Maggid to help you with your business? You should be asking him how you can atone for the things you’ve done!”
The man turned red with embarrassment and left in a hurry. Reb Zushia suddenly realized what he had done, that he had shamed the man, and he didn’t know what to do. The Maggid placed his hands upon Reb Zushia and gave him a blessing that from that point onward, he should only see the good in other people. But, since the Maggid didn’t have the power to take away Zushia’s ability to perceive one’s past deeds, from that point onward Zushia perceived the sins of others within himself. When we feel deeply triggered by another person’s perceived faults, it is usually because the same fault exists or used to exist within ourselves. I know that’s true with my children – oy I wish they wouldn’t do what I used to do! But that’s often how it is – that which we react to “out there” is also often “in here.” One of the many fruits of meditation is gaining a more objective view on ourselves; there is a hint our cryptic opening pasuk: וְנָתַן֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן עַל־תְּנ֛וּךְ אֹ֥זֶן... And the priest shall put it on the ridge of the right ear… The אֹ֥זֶןozen (ear) represents our mental understanding of what’s going on in the world, since it is through the ear that we hear the reports of others. That which we hear stimulates thought, creating a mental image of the world, a “world view.” Then we tend to identify with that view, creating the separate sense of self known as “ego.” The ego, in turn, sees the perceived faults of others as “out there” only; the ego doesn’t like to see faults within itself. And so, we project – and create mental narratives of judgment and blame. But we can turn this around: through meditation, we instead listen to our own thoughts rather than think them, we can recognize: “This is only a thought – it may or may not be true.” Then we can stay free from the seductive power of ego and begin to see ourselves clearly. Why is this important? וְעַל־בֹּ֤הֶן – and on the thumb… The בֹּ֤הֶן bohen (thumb) represents our actions, since the thumb is the uniquely human tool for manipulating the world. Once we become free from the unconscious motivations of ego by observing our own thoughts in meditation, then we can consciously choose our actions so as to embody this awareness, rather than merely react unconsciously. But how do we do this? וְעַל־בֹּ֥הֶן רַגְל֖וֹ – and on the big toe… The בֹּ֥הֶן הַרֶגֶל bohen haregel, literally the “thumb of the foot,” represents our sensory awareness, since our feet connect with the earth, “grounding” us in the world of the senses. In meditation, we put our attention into our sensory awareness – into our breathing, our feelings, our sounds and sights – and by doing so, we can greatly reduce the seductive power of thought and emotion, thereby staying rooted in the truth of our perception, rather be seduced by the endless tendrils of mental speculation. This is the opposite of being judgmental toward others, of making up stories in your head about them: אַל תָּדִין אֶת חֲבֵרְךָ עַד שֶׁתַּגִּיעַ לִמְקוֹמוֹ: Do not judge a person until you’ve reached their place. - Pirkei Avot 2:5 Of course we can never reach the “place” of another, so we should not waste energy being judgmental. But this, of course, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have good judgment! If a person is dangerous, we absolutely need to have the judgment to keep ourselves safe. But how do we differentiate between good judgment and being judgmental? עַד שֶׁתַּגִּיעַ לִמְקוֹמוֹ – until you’ve reached their place… There is a hint in the word for “place,” מָקוֹם Makom, which also means God; God is the “Space” within which everything arises. עַד שֶׁתַּגִּיעַ – until you reach… The word for “reach,” שֶׁתַּגִּיעַ shetagia can also mean “touch,” so we might retranslate: Do not judge a person until you touch the Divine spaciousness… In other words, we must of course have good judgment, but in order to do that, we must first dis-identify from ego so that we are not unconsciously motivated toward judgmentalism. Then we can see things in their Wholeness, and respond with wisdom to bring about a more beautiful result, rather than add to the chaos. Seeing things not from ego, but from the perspective of free, spacious awareness, so that we can respond with wisdom and bring forth more harmony, peace and beauty; this is represented on the Tree of Life by the sefirah called Tiferet.
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