Parshah Summary – P’shat
The parshah opens with Hashem telling Moses, “Va’era – I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” and promising to bring the Children of Israel to the Promised Land. Moses and Aaron repeatedly come before Pharaoh to demand, “Let My people go,” but Pharaoh refuses. In response, Aaron’s staff turns into a snake and swallows the staves of the Egyptian sorcerers which had also turned into snakes, but Pharaoh remains obstinate. A series of plagues then begin to descend upon the Egyptians: The waters of the Nile turn to blood; swarms of frogs overrun the land; lice infest human and beast alike; wild animals invade the cities; a pestilence kills the domestic animals; and painful boils afflict the Egyptians. For the seventh plague, fire and ice combine to descend from the skies as a devastating hail. Still, “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he would not let the Children of Israel go…
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃ וָאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם׃ God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Divine. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but My name “Being” I did not make known to them… - Shemot (Exodus) 6:2, 3; Parshat Vaeira
A student once wrote me that he often feels like his mind is a train station and his thoughts are the trains, constantly taking off every few seconds. He said that he wants to just “let the trains go” and stay in the “train station,” but he feels compelled to hop on every “train” that leaves, compulsively journeying with every thought that arises. “When will I learn to relax and just stay in the train station?” he wondered. In seeking in inner freedom, we can become frustrated with our lack of control over our minds. We might even feel that meditation is making it worse, forcing us to sit in the chaos of our own thoughts, just as Moses felt when his initial efforts were met with Pharaoh actually increasing the suffering of his brethren.
וַיָּ֧שָׁב מֹשֶׁ֛ה אֶל־יְהוָ֖ה וַיֹּאמַ֑ר אֲדֹנָ֗י לָמָ֤ה הֲרֵעֹ֙תָה֙ לָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה שְׁלַחְתָּֽנִי׃ Then Moses returned to the Divine and said, “My Lord, why did You bring harm upon this people? Why did You send me? Moses is on his Divine-given mission to free the Israelites, but he’s feeling like a failure. Similarly, when we commit to getting free from our own minds, we may feel like failures as well. Those trains can be so tempting! Part of the problem is expressed in the metaphor of “staying in the train station.” That doesn’t sound very enticing, does it? Going on many different journeys, on the other hand, that’s enticing! And this is why we get carried away so easily with our thoughts: they promise adventure. They promise understanding. They promise new ideas, new plans, cherished memories and fantasies of possibility. No wonder we get carried away so easily by those trains. If we want to get free from our own minds, we need to be seduced by something more powerful, more compelling than our own thoughts. This is the hidden message of the Divine response to Moses: וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה עַתָּ֣ה תִרְאֶ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֖ה לְפַרְעֹ֑ה כִּ֣י בְיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙ יְשַׁלְּחֵ֔ם וּבְיָ֣ד חֲזָקָ֔ה יְגָרְשֵׁ֖ם מֵאַרְצֽוֹ׃ Then Hashem said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: he shall let them go because of a mighty hand; indeed, because of a mighty hand he shall drive them from his land.” Pharaoh, the symbol of ego and enslavement to the mind, will let them go free because of a “mighty hand.” What is this mighty hand? What could be greater than the enticingly seductive power of thought? וָאֵרָ֗א – I appeared… For one who seeks to develop their spiritual potential, there comes a time when God “appears.” This is not primarily a matter of belief, or of being convinced of the truth of spiritual ideas; it is the awakening of a dimension of experience. This awakening can manifest in three ways: אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב – to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob… In Kabbalah, the patriarchs represent the three primary sefirot, or Divine qualities, on the Tree of Life: Hesed, Gevurah and Tiferet, which in turn hint at three different ways that awakening manifests. Hesed is the heart; this the feeling of a fundamental love and benevolence toward all beings. Gevurah is a restraint of mental movement, the relaxing of the ordinary tendency to be constantly thinking, and this comes about through a shift of emphasis from navigation in time to Presence-In-The-Moment; this is achieved through resting awareness in the body and the senses. Tiferet is Wisdom-In-Action, and harmonizes the two: movement in time, motivated by love, while living in the present. בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י – as El Shaddai… The Divine Name Shaddai שַׁדָּי comes from שדיים Shaddaim, which means “breasts” – perhaps deriving from an ancient goddess image. El Shaddai would then mean “Breasted God,” expressing the Divine as the Source of nourishment and nurturance. This is the aspect of spirituality we can understand, the tangible benefits we can get from meditating regularly: an open heart, a quiet mind, and an ability to be in harmony with the flow of life. וּשְׁמִ֣י יְהֹוָ֔ה לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם׃ – but My name “Being” I did not make Myself known to them… We can understand the effects of Presence, of being with Being; we can understand El Shaddai. But, Being Itself remains always a Mystery. For many, as long as there is identification with the mind and thought, the unknowability of God will be deeply disturbing; ordinary responses to this deep frustration might be to stuff the mind full of religious beliefs or to ignore the issue altogether. But there is another way… אֲנִ֣י יְהֹוָה֒ וְהוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֙חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵעֲבֹדָתָ֑ם... I am Being, Existence Itself; I will free you from the suffering of Egypt and deliver you from their bondage… Meaning: the אֲנִי ani, the “I” is not separate from Existence, not separate from God. We cannot grasp It, but we are It. Furthermore, since every experience, every perception, every thought and every feeling are inseparable from this awareness that we are, the main thing we need do is stop resisting what happens, thereby ceasing resistance to our own being, and consequently, to God – this is freedom from the suffering of Egypt, from Mitzrayim, which literally means “resistance,” or “constriction” – this is meditation. How do we accomplish this? The key is: don’t try to control your mind! Don’t try to discipline yourself to “stay in the train station” while your thoughts tempt you with all kinds of things. Instead, accept the moment with simplicity; be the awareness that has no dimension or form – this is the path of the letter י yud, which means “hand” – the יָד חֲזָקָה yad hazakah, the “mighty hand” of God. Know that your awareness is not just a train station, not just the place from which the “trains” of thought arise, but is rather an Ocean of Mystery, complete, whole and ever-creative, ever-renewing. Consciousness is the true adventure. Let yourself be seduced by That. Let yourself fall in love with That, and don’t worry about the trains. Thoughts can be enticing, but the awareness that you are is infinitely more vast and powerful – the יָד חֲזָקָה yad hazakah, the “mighty hand” of freedom – if you let yourself be seduced by this simplicity…
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