Parashat Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89)

Parashat Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89)

Naso is the longest weekly portion – a complex tapestry describing portage duties of the Levites, a ritual for suspected adultery, a way for self-dedication to a path of rigor, and a repetitive list of gifts by each of the tribes at the dedication of the Tabernacle. The central gem is the text of the Priestly Blessing.

“Eish o-eisha ki ya’asu mi kol heit ha’adam lim’ol ma’al ba-donai v’ashma hanefesh hahi. When a man or woman commits any transgression that a human might do, the Holy is defrauded and the person’s soul bears responsibility (Numbers 5:5-6)”. When we veer off the path, we are also breaking faith with Reality. Our deception and harm have cosmic repercussions. A deep tenant of Jewish mysticism is that our actions actually affect the Mystery itself; our misdeeds shred the fabric of Existence. We are held to the highest ethical standards.

Similarly, when we do what is right and just and holy, we mend those holes in the structure of our world- this is mystical meaning of Tikkun Olam. It is also a deep meaning of Teshuva, the act of returning and repentance: we can repair the damage our inattention and carelessness may have caused, and, even more importatnly, rectify intentional wrongs we may have perpetrated.

Thus, we are fully interconnected with each other and responsible to each other and to the All. This interconnectedness is essential to the act of blessing, and the Priestly Blessing – Birkat Kohanim – is at the center of Parashat Naso. “Yevarekh’kha Hashem v’ yishmerekha. Beloved, please hold us and bless us. Yaeir Hashem panav eleikha vihuneka. Let the light of Your Face shine toward each and everyone of us and bring grace to our lives. Yisa Hashem panav eleikha v’yaseim l’kha shalom. Lift us up, accept us as we are, and make us whole (Numbers 6:24-26).”

In the Holy Zohar (3:147b), we are told a story of a priest who raised his hands to offer the Priestly Blessing, but since he and the people were not connected by love, he crumbled into a heap of bones! Without the ground of love and connection, blessing is ineffective, and even potentially harmful. Without love there can be no shalom - no peace and wholeness. And, according to the midrash (Bemidbar Rabba 21:1), without shalom, there is no vessel to contain blessing.

The section of the Priestly Blessing ends: “v’samu et Sh’mi al B’nei Yisrael va-Ani avarkheim. Place My Name upon the Children of Israel and I will bless them (6:27)”. Torah is clear that the priest is merely the channel through which Divine blessing flows.

Let us share the intention to always manifest our Heart-Wisdom in our choices, our actions, our loving and our blessing. Let us each be conduits for Your blessing to flow to each other. Let us together form a vessel of wholeness that can hold blessing for our world.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi SaraLeya

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Behukotai - Covenant and Consequences

אם בחקתי תלכו ואת מצותי תשמרו ועשיתם אתם:....

If you walk in my ways - specifically those that are impossible to understand - and if you observe those commands which actually do make sense to you... and..... you actually do it.... I will give you rains at the right times and a land full of produce and fruitful trees... you will be satisfied when you eat your bread and you will dwell in security with your land. I will grant shalom in the land and you will lie down without trembling and no frightening beasts will disturb you and there will be no destruction by drought or sword.

ופניתי אליכם .... והקימתי את בריתי אתכם

ונתתי משכני בתוככם ... והתהלכתי בתוככם...

... ואולך אתכם קוממיות

I will turn to face you and live in covenantal relationship with you.

My Mishkan, my dwelling place, Shekhina, will be among you and inside each of you. I will walk amidst you.... with Me, you will walk upright...

As beautiful are these promises, the next sections of this parasha are troubling. A list of dire consequences for abrogating the covenant is described, in much excruciating detail.... so much so that this section is read very quickly in a quiet voice...

Let’s examine the language of “If...... then....”

Are we speaking here about reward and punishment, and thus bristling at a Deity who gives incentives and takes retribution, who can be punitive and mean? Or, is this a language of consequence, resonance, mida q neged mida, מדה כנגד מדה, measure for measure -good brings more good, destruction more destruction.... blessing and reproach flow from the natural order.

Our text told us earlier that the land is G!d’s and she resonates, reverberates with what is right and true....

This places us, and our conduct at the center of the cosmos... when we are in right relationship, the earth responds.

We are to be in right relationship with the earth, with our selves, with each other, and then with Gd, too -- a relationship of mutual regard, and mutual caring. A relationship that recognizes the essential sameness of the spark of Divinity within us, within the other, and within the land.

The land has a soul and she responds to our behavior -- importantly, not just the way we treat her, and her creatures, but to how we treat each other. This is a recurrent theme in the Priestly text of Leviticus and a fitting way for the book to end.

When we bring kedusha to our behaviors, the cosmos reverberates with blessing and we are in covenental relationship with the Mystery. We shine the light of awareness on our inter-dependence and we refuse to be separated from the aliveness the hayut, חיות which is our essence and the essence of the entire created universe.

My ברכה, b’rakha, blessing, is that we deeply discern what it means to walk in the path of the Divine Order- the walking, halikha, הליכה, the Tao, and the halakha, הלכה , the guiding principles.

Our tradition gives us Torah and mitzvot - teaching and instructions. Our task is to discern how to live in relationship to this tradition, especially when it is not always so beautiful and easy.

We are called to be sources of blessing.... Abraham was told וֶהיֵה ברכה -veh’yei brakha- be a blessing. We are called to be blessing itself. Walking in the Mystery is to transform our daily routines into a path toward sanctified living.

When we are שומרי הברית shomrei ha-brit, covenant keepers, we are pledged to Higher Service, in covenantal relationship with the Holy Blessed One as She manifests as self, relationship and the natural world....and, we pray that goodness will flow as a natural consequence of right relationship.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi SaraLeya

Erev 22 Iyyar 5769

G’vura she b’yesod

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Kedoshim - Holiness from the Inside Out

קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני יהוה אלהיכם:

Kedoshim tih’u ki kadosh Ani.

You will be holy because I, Infinity manifest, am holy - you will manifest My best traits - just as I separate out the gold from the dross, so you will, with intention, shine the light of awareness on your hearts and actions. I YHVH - all of existence, HaVaYaH, am the godliness that manifests in your lives.

Our parasha gives us many “thou shalt not’s”...

nevertheless, a very high standard:

לא־תעשו עול במשפט

bring no wrong/ injustice to your justice

בצדק תשפט עמיתך:

judge your companions righteously

לא־תלך רכיל בעמיך

don’t walk about bearing tales

לא תעמד על־דם רעך אני יהוה:

don’t just stand around while your friend’s blood is being shed (literal physical harm or metaphorically being shamed)

לא־תשנא את־אחיך בלבבך

don’t hate your brother or sister in your heart

הוכח תוכיח את־עמיתך ולא־תשא עליו חטא

reprove your companion so she does not take on further negative karma

לא־תקם ולא־תטר את־בני עמך

no revenge and no grudges

Finally the one positive mitzvah - “thou shalt” :

ואהבת לרעך כמוך אני יהוה:

love your neighbor as yourself....

This is seemingly an impossible list... particularly when it comes to my innerness, my פנמיות - to know that I am being called to scrub my insides clean of hatred, resentment, grudges, judgments about others, and yet to be given responsibility not to watch idly by as my sister is going down the wrong path, to not stand by while my brother is being harmed.

I need to manifest in the world,the highest values - this is holiness, this is acting with godliness.

Dovid haMelekh King David said to Shlomo (Chronicles 1 28:9), Solomon.... my son,, know - be intimate - with the Holy One, serve G!d בלב שלם with a perfect heart ובנפש חפצה and with a willing soul, for YHVH searches all hearts, and understands all the machinations of your thoughts, you have but to seek The Holy you and you will find the Divinity that is the lifeforce (חיות) of all...

Last week, I met a man of faith and action who perhaps comes closer than any other person in my experience to truly achieving

לא־תשנא את־אחיך בלבבך a lack of hate in his heart. Some of us may have heard Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish speak last week. He is a Gazan physician, who practices in Tel Shomeir hospital in Tel Aviv, who lost 3 daughters and a niece at one moment in the recent war in Gaza, and yet refuses to hate. He teaches us that the path of reconciliation, of faith in the meaning of tragedy and life circumstances, of seeing and supporting the essential humanity in each other is the way to shift reality. To feel pain and grief and sorry and loss - and yet not to take on the mantle of victimhood - not to hate the Other - is his mantra.

So I bless him and I bless all of us with the essence of this parasha: it our Divine nature to be, Holy, Sanctified, Consecrated, Kadosh.

Let us all be a Searcher of Hearts, calling ourselves to this highest of all the mitzvot - not just manifesting good deeds in the world - that is assumed, the minimum that is asked of us - but to truly to be love in our innermost places and radiate that love out into the world.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi SaraLeya Schley

Chochmat HaLev

8 Iyar 5769 Gevura she b’Netzah

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Parashat Sh’mini

This is a pivotal parasha in the book of Vayikra. Its underlying theme is the exploration of the boundaries between the ordinary and the holy, the prescribed and the dangerous, the usual and the supernatural. Sh’mini addresses the danger of the Holy, a concept that is somewhat foreign or unwelcome to us as we thirst for the ecstatic, for the immediate connection with the Divine.

In Torah study this week, we studied commentaries by the Kotzker Rebbe^[1] and the Or HaHayim^[2] who built their teachings on a much earlier midrash. They explored the requisite spiritual preparation for us to enter into the Holy, particularly the quality of תמימיות temimiut - honesty, integrity, simplicity, completeness - a sense of wholeness of heart and intention without distraction from the negative inclination, that which pulls us out of the present moment relationship with the Divine or leads us to act in a way not in alignment with the Highest Good. This is the state described in the 1848 Shaker song^[3] “‘’tis the gift to be simple...”. When we have achieved this state - even if momentarily - then the Divine Presence - kavod, shekhina -

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[1] Wikipedia: Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, better known as the Kotzker Rebbe (1787-1859) was a Hasidic leader. Born to a non-Hasidic family in Goraj near Lublin, Poland, he became attracted to Hasidim in his youth. He was known for having acquired impressive Talmudic and Kabbalistic knowledge at a young age. He was a student of the Rebbe Reb Bunim of Peshischa, and upon the latter's death attracted many of his followers. The Kotzker Rebbe is well known for his incisive and down-to-earth philosophies, and sharp-witted sayings. He appears to have had little patience for false piety or stupidity.

[2] Rabbi Chaim ben Attar (1696-1742) was born in Morocco, moved to Lovorno, Italy, where he briefly served as Rabbi before making Aliyah to the Holy Land, first settling in Acre, thence moving to Jerusalem. Or Hachayim is considered a classic commentary. The original text of this commentary is found in most editions of Mikraot Gedolot.

[3] 'Tis the gift to be simple,'tis the gift to be free,'tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,And when we find ourselves in the place just right,It will be in the valley of love and delight.

Refrain:

When true simplicity is gained,To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.To turn, turn will be our delight,'Til by turning, turning we come round right

'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return,'Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn,And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,Then we'll all live together and we'll all learn to say,

Refrain:

'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,'Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of "me",And when we hear what others really think and really feel,Then we'll all live together with a love that is real.

Refrain:

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Shabbat Shekalim 5769

There are four Shabbatot leading up to Pesah and this is the first.
Next Wednesday is the first of Adar , the month of Purim.
He who brings in Adar, increases joy!
mi shenikhnas
Adar marbim b’simha dgnya miaxn xc` qpkpy in
And, this Shabbat is designated at Shabbat Shekalim... the Shabbat of the
small coins. We are reminded that each year during Adar, the annual
sanctuary tax is collected.
During our service tomorrow morning, we will bless the new month of
Adar and read the following extra section of the Torah (Exodus 30:1116)
11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
12. When you take the census of the people of Israel according to their number, then shall they
give every man a ransom for his soul to the Lord, when you count them; that there should be no
plague among them, when you count them.
13. This they shall give, every one who passes among those who are counted, half a shekel
according to the shekel of the sanctuary; a shekel is twenty gerahs; a half shekel shall be the
offering of the Lord.
14. Every one who passes among those who are counted, from twenty years old and above, shall
give an offering to the Lord.
15. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they
give an offering to the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.
16. And you shall take the atonement money of the people of Israel, and shall appoint it for the
service of the Tent of Meeting; that it may be a memorial to the people of Israel before the Lord,
to make an atonement for your souls.
Thus each person is to give exactly the same amount, the half shekel, the
mahazit hashekel lkyd zivgn ,whether rich or poor even,
according to
the Rambam if a pauper needs to give from the alms received. And the text
also connects this democratic donation to the soul work of atonement which
is in and of itself a very deep teaching that deserves its own
meditation and drosh!!!
Why specifically is a halfshekel
required? The Slonimer Rebbe relates the
halfshekel
to the underlying spiritual of the structure of the world the
2
the flow of shefa rty, divine bounty is related to bringing together the
halves, the parts, and creating zecg`, ahdut, oneness, cohesion,
unification. [Mystically the raising up the energy so that the Divine union,
coupling (zivug beef) can occur.] Where does the other half come from? ...
from the power of joining hithavrut zexagzd with
each and every other
member of the community, and with the Divine. By giving of our half
shekel we help create the mishkan, the place where dpiky Shekhina, the
Divine Presence, can find a home among us and within each of us. We
thus fulfill the mitzvah of “uvo tidvak wacz eae(Deuteronomy 10:20) cleave
to Divinity! “
The donations are called trumot zenexz from the word larom mexl to raise
up (as in the Rommemu prayer we davened earlier). We literally raise our
physicality up to a higher level when we contribute to building a home for
Spirit.
We raise up our required donation and benefits flow down to us.
This is about the spiritual principal that the itaruta d’letata `zzlc `zexrz`
leads to an itaruta dele’eila `lirlc `zexrz` every
arousal from below
leads to an arousal above.
Rashi tells us that, based on this section and an earlier parasha, there are
three types of zenexz t’rumot and each is essential.
the halfshekel
given for the building of the physical mishkan, used to
create the adanim mipc` base sockets in which the planks for the walls of
the mishkan would stand literally
forming the foundation of the
Tabernacle
the ongoing annual halfshekel
donation to fund the communal
sacrifices
the nedivot zeaicp generosity gifts which come from the heart and which
have no specific measure these
decorated the sanctuary and enabled
the creation of the holy vessels and implements.
And so, as we daven together in wonder, sharing this sanctuary with each
other, the message of this shabbat, I believe, is to understand in a very deep
way, that we are obligated to support, not only what we experience here
(1)
(2)
(3)
3
together, but also the flow of Divine energy throughout the worlds. We
have no choice but to give our half shekel. What our hearts lead us to give
beyond that of
our selves, our time, our skills, our riches is a more
individual choice. But we each must give that halfshekel,
even if it is out
of our subsistence allowance....
And this shabbat, we bless this new month of Adar, during these times that
feel so precarious, that Adar come in with life and peace and joy and
happiness and comfort and redemption!
I bless each of us to be able to look deeply inside and meditate on this
ancient teaching about the obligatory annual halfshekel
sanctuary
donation.
I bless us to look deeply inside to that place of nedivat lev al zaicp ,
generosity of heart, of t’ruma ,dnexz, of raising up, to find the truth of this
Torah for ourselves... and then to manifest action in the world
accordingly.
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Parashat Beshalah and the month of Sh’vat: d’var Torah

“And the Divine walked before them during the day as a pillar of cloud to guide them on the way, and at night in a pillar of fire to illuminate for them, to walk on day and night”

My holy teacher the late Slonimer rebbe, may his memory be for a blessing in the world that is coming and his soul rest in the celestial shelter, the Netivot Shalom, uses these words to teach us about walking the path (the halikha, not the halakha – spiritual instructions not rules of conduct).

There are times that are light and times that are dark, some times good and some more challenging, and our task is to somehow live in the certainty that all is Divine manifestation, that all was created for the Divine Honor, l’khvodo.

The purpose of our very existence is to keep going during the days and nights….lalekhet yomam v’laila ללכת יומם ולילה says our verse. In every season and situation, those who are on the path of Jewish practice are enjoined to continually discern, and then fulfill, the Divine will – asking what G!d asks of us at this moment.

בכל העתים והמצבים יעבוד יהודי לשי"ת היעשה תמיד את רצון השי"ת הנדרש ממנו בעת הזאת.

In times of ease, when there is ambient light, circumstances are easy, our connection to the larger Essence is apparent, we serve through the trait, the midda of love, ahava. The clouds that guide us during the daylight are the Clouds of Glory, annanei ha kavod, the apprehension of the Divine Presence, Shekhina Herself , the sukka of peace that holds us and shelters us.

In times of relative absence of light, we serve with the aspect, the midda, of awe, yira. And this is a more difficult task. Sensing the Divine Presence when all is going well, is easier. In times of darkness we are asked to look deep inside and illuminate the spark of faith, that these difficult circumstances, too have meaning. We are asked not to allow ourselves to give up hope, to become immobilized by depression, but to remember that there is a Divine purpose to everything. In the words of the midrash, there is justice and there is a Judge (Midrash Raba – אית דין ואית דייןד) . And it is this very act of faith that sweetens the circumstances and illuminates the darkness.

What a high and difficult path…. the path of Divine service during dark times requires more spiritual strength and inspiration than experiencing and manifesting the love of G!d when all is easy and we are in the flow of sensing the bounty of the Universe.

And so we get to the month of Shvat…. This is the month when outside it is still dark, but the roots and seeds are just starting to come to life deep within the ground. And so we look deep inside for those seeds of hope, those seeds of faith – and we nurture them, and encourage them to sprout, and take the nourishment they need to break through into the light.

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Parashat Vayigash - Genesis 44:18- 47:27

“And Judah approached him (Joseph) and said, please my lord, may I speak with you without your anger flaring…..?” (44:18). This dialog between Judah and Joseph is one of the most poignant moments in the book of Genesis.

Yehuda is the Hebrew for Judah and comes from the verb-root yod-dalet-hey. This word teaches us a fascinating lesson. As many words in Hebrew, it has two meanings. Most commonly I think of hodaya as thankfulness or gratitude. We say upon arising “Modeh ani lifanekka… I am grateful to you….” The second meaning of hodaya is that of confession.

What is the relationship between gratitude and confession? How does acknowledgment of life’s gifts relate to acknowledgment of mistakes? Perhaps through confronting our fallibility and error, we reach a deeper level of gratitude. Perhaps Judah’s life experience has taught him appreciation for the complexity and preciousness of family relationships; thus, he moved toward leadership and responsibility.

The depth of the Genesis familial stories lies in their complexity and in the deep lessons we can glean from the faults, blunders and heroic actions of the characters.

May our wise hearts help us as we engage with the path of Yehudim – spiritual descendants of Yehuda – a path of hodaya – of both gratitude and teshuva,

Rabbi Sara Leya

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Parsha Va-Yetseh – Jacob’s Ladder, Balancing Heaven and Earth

By Zelig Golden

In Parsha Va-Yetse, Jacob goes out into the world in a way that neither Avram nor Yitzakh could. He is the first person we see in Torah who actually works for a living, and it is in his struggle to balance the needs of him and his family in the material world with his spiritual endeavor of uncovering G-d consciousness, that Jacob fully comes into his power.

The parsha opens with Jacob leaving for Beersheva to fulfill his fathers’ wish that he finds a wife back in his mother Rebecca’s home of Haran. Like Isaac’s prayer in the fields that opened him to his love for Rebecca, Jacob discovers the key to striking his balance while alone in the desert alone, before encounters true love with Rachel.

On the way to Haran, Jacob lies down, his head on a stone, and dreams of a ladder set upon the earth with its top touching heaven. Angels are ascending and descending before him as G-d appears to Jacob and promises that the land upon which he sleeps will be for him and his offspring. Rambam teaches that Jacob’s dream is one of ultimate security – G-d promises: “I am with you, and will guard you wherever you go.” Yet Jacob is afraid. As the Midrash teaches, G-d asks Jacob “Why don’t you go up the ladder?” The Midrash explains that Jacob feared that if he ascended, he would also have to descend. However, G-d promises Jacob that if he climbs the ladder to heaven, he will not have to descend, yet he still refuses to climb. Why?

When Jacob returns from his dream, he proclaims “Surely G-d is in this place, and I did not know it!” “How awesome is this place! This is none other that the home of G-d, and that is the gateway to heaven.” Jacob understands from his dream that the holiness of G-d in heaven is found equally on earth – that earth is equally the home of G-d. Indeed, the Hebrew word Makom, or “place,” is one of the many names for G-d.

Jacob’s encounter with the ladder, connecting heaven and earth, is Jacob’s ultimate teacher on how to balance his life in the material and spiritual worlds. The ladder teaches him that the holiness found in heaven is equally found here on earth. Thus Jacob occupies the seat of balance in our tradition by living in direct communication with G-d as he lives, works, and loves right here on Earth.

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Parashat Hayei Sara

Shabbat Commemorating Transgender Day of Remembrance

“V’Avraham zakein, ba bayamim, va-Adonai beirakh et Avraham bakol.

And Abraham was old, advanced in days, and Hashem had blessed Abraham with everything” (B’reisheit 24:1)

The Holy Zohar interprets the words “ba bayamim” literally, saying that Abraham was old and “came into his days”. The Zohar considers of the days of human life, according to D. Matt, Ph.D., as “living entities, preceding one’s earthly existence and enduring afterward.” If our days are alive, then we are called to deeply experience that life in each moment.

The Zohar continues, telling us that throughout all of Abraham’s days, he drew closer to the Holy, rung by rung, step by step, drawn inward (and upward). “Happy is the one whom You choose and bring close” (Ps 65:5). The Ein Sof desired that Abraham come into his particular place, so that when Abraham finally grew old, he attained his ultimate rung of knowing the mystery of faith “raza d’meheminuta”. From this place of timelessness – which is beyond days – all blessing and goodness flows. And thus Abraham (and we, too) receive the blessing of the spiritual path. The text begs us to ask ourselves, “what is the mystery of my own faith, what is my personal secret to a spirit-infused life? (Can I even ask myself this question?)”. In our text there is a to-and-fro movement, Abraham always reaching for the next step and the Divine extending a hand, as it were, in aid. At times it is we who might initiate the movement, at times it is the Infinte calling us closer.

Further the Zohar tells us, “Happy are those who are masters of returning”. Through teshuva we can each approach the special place, and take hold of the special mission, that is particularly designed for us. And, thus we are blessed. Each day is a new returning, a new rung on our soul-ladder. With each conscious moment and each conscious movement, we get closer to intuiting our life’s purpose.

Yesterday, 11/20/08 was Transgender Day of Remembrance, set aside for especially remembering those who have had their lives cut off prematurely because of being Transgender. This Zohar teaching is so appropriate for this time because it reminds us that each of us has our unique soul-journey to discern and follow. The practice of teshuva is a path to discovering our soul-essences. Each of our lives’ paths and stages has its own special blessing. For many of us, gender has not been an issue of concern, but for some of us, it is the essence of our spiritual path. In the words of Chochmat HaLev’s beloved Maggid Jhos Singer “Maybe some of us were selected to take on this work. Perhaps it’s not just about me and my comfort.”

Let’s bring intention and integrity as we come into every day with consciousness. We remember the importance of every life and every day of our lives. We honor the memories of those who have lost their lives in following their soul- paths. (This Shabbat we also remember the 45^th anniversary of JFK’s assignation!). Let’s pray together for the end of interpersonal violence.

With wise-hearted blessing from the timelessness in each day and the preciousness of each life,

Rabbi SaraLeya

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