Parashat Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89)
Rabbi SaraLeya
An online archive of some of the drashot, parsha commentary, and teachings given at Chochmat HaLev.
Parashat Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89)
Rabbi SaraLeya
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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...
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....
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.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi SaraLeya
Erev 22 Iyyar 5769
G’vura she b’yesod
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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....
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...
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
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.
Chochmat HaLev
8 Iyar 5769 Gevura she b’Netzah
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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.
[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
[2] Rabbi Chaim ben Attar (1696-1742) was born in
[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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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.
Read the rest
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“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.
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“And
Yehuda is the Hebrew for
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
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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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
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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 45th 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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