Parshah Summary – P’sha
This second parshah of Sefer Devarim continues with Moses’ monologue to the Children of Israel on the banks of the Jordan. He opens with how he prayed to enter the Promised Land along with them, but instead he was told he must climb a mountain and view the Land from afar before he dies. He then continues telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt and their receiving of the Torah at Sinai, followed by the prophesy that future generations will abandon the Path for “false gods,” leading to the exile and their being scattered among the nations. But, from their exile they will once again seek the Divine and return.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
וָאֶתְחַנַּ֖ן אֶל־יְהֹוָ֑ה בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִ֖וא לֵאמֹֽר׃ אֲדֹנָ֣י יֱהֹוִ֗ה אַתָּ֤ה הַֽחִלּ֙וֹתָ֙ לְהַרְא֣וֹת אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶ֨ת־גׇּדְלְךָ֔... “I pleaded with Hashem at that time, saying, ‘My Lord, Hashem, You have begun to show Your servant Your Greatness…’” - Devarim (Deuteronomy) 3:23, 24 Parshat Va’Etkhanan
Once, on a family trip to Italy, I was in a cab with my father in law. At one point he turned to me and said, “So, Brian – are you enjoying yourself or would you rather be at some ashram in India?” I replied, “Well, I don’t really put energy into rather-ing things.” He was silent for a moment, and then said, “I get that. That’s good. I’m going to eliminate ‘rather’ from my vocabulary.”
So, what does it mean to not “rather” something? It doesn’t mean that you can’t make good judgements. It doesn’t mean that you don’t take yourself out of an undesirable situation, or that you don’t help to make things better for yourself or others. It just means that whatever your experience is, whatever situation in which you find yourself, you don’t put mental and emotional energy into wishing things were different. Instead, you first accept the moment as it is; this is meditation. Then, do whatever you do from this attitude of being aligned with the truth of what is happening. In Musar, the Jewish practice of cultivating character traits, this practice of “not-rather-ing,” of being content with what is in the moment, is called הִסתַפְּקוּת histapkut, or Equanimity. But it’s important to understand that this is not merely a character trait; it’s not something that you add on to your personality, but rather it’s a quality of Presence – a quality inherent within the field of awareness beneath and beyond your personality, beneath and beyond your thoughts, beneath and beyond your feelings. And while thoughts and feelings are always flowing and changing, awareness is the background against which thoughts and feelings happen. So, when we shift from the sense that “I am this personality, I am these thoughts and feelings,” into knowing ourselves as the field of Presence within which our thoughts and feelings are happening, then הִסתַפְּקוּת histapkut is very natural, because awareness itself is never preferring one thing over another thing; it is simply open to whatever there is to perceive in the present moment – that’s why it’s called “Presence.” וָאֶתְחַנַּ֖ן אֶל־יְהֹוָ֑ה בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִ֖וא – I pleaded with Hashem at that time… In other words, Moses is saying, “I implored that I should be at some other time, at a time other than this moment. I don’t want to be here, I want to get to the Promised Land.” But God says רַב־לָךְ rav lakh – “enough of you already!” רֹ֣אשׁ הַפִּסְגָּ֗ה וְשָׂ֥א עֵינֶ֛יךָ עֲלֵ֣ה – “Ascend to the top of the cliff and raise up your eyes…” The expression for “ascend to the top of the cliff” begins, רֹאשׁ עֲלֵה alei rosh which literally means, “Raise up the head.” Meaning, get out of your head! Don’t be so identified with your own opinions, with your emotional reactions and so on. How do you do that? וְשָׂ֥א עֵינֶיךָ v’sa einekha – “and raise up your eyes”… Meaning, instead of putting energy into thought – that is, judging and “rather-ing,” simply see what is happening in this moment. Be the witnessing Presence within which this moment is unfolding. This is the Path of ע Ayin – Witnessing Presence. When we do that, something else becomes visible… ...אַתָּ֤ה הַֽחִלּ֙וֹתָ֙ לְהַרְא֣וֹת אֶֽת־עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶ֨ת־גׇּדְלְךָ֔– ‘You are beginning to make Your servant see Your Greatness…’ We see the gedulah, the Divine Greatness, when we approach this moment as a beginning, as if seeing for the first time as an eved, a servant to Reality/Truth/Being, rather than being a judge or rather-er. From Here, we can participate in the moment unfolding with הִסתַפְּקוּת histapkut, with sweet Equanimity; this is the fruit of meditation.
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