Parashat Pinhas

In the parasha named after him, Pinhas, grandson of Aaron, the high priest, and nephew of Moses, receives a Covenant of Shalom and Eternal Priesthood. This was the reward for an abrupt and violent act of bloodshed (described at the end of last week's Torah reading) that ended a plague among the Israelites. We are left asking how an act of killing can be thus rewarded. Can violence among people ever be what the Holy One desires? Our text brings this question to us directly. Pinhas acted decisively and selflessly for the sake of the sanctity of the Tent of Meeting. Violence was the solution in this story, but we choose to pray, in our time and world, that other means be more effective.

Any violent act, however, no matter how "justified", leaves its scar on the actor and a trail of grief, mourning and pain for others. When you look at the hand-written text in the Torah scroll (Numbers 25:12), the letter vav of the word shalom is broken into two pieces, perhaps, reminding us of the wound in the fabric of Existence that is both the antecedent and the result of any act of violence. And, so, we pray for the new Way to manifest so our actions will truly bring about shalom – peace and wholeness. Let this be our communal covenant: to always see the spark of Divinity in each other and always treat each other in a way that serves the purpose of manifesting ever more kedusha – holiness - in our lives. Then we can truly be a community of priests and priestesses, all dedicated to the purpose of becoming a source of healing and transformation for ourselves, for Gaia and all the beings who share this holy earth with us.

With blessing for wisdom of heart,

Rabbi SaraLeya

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Parashat Balak

A talking donkey and a sword-brandishing angel draw us into the story of Bilaam, a non-Israelite prophet who had a direct relationship with YHVH. The Moabite king, Balak, is terrified of the Israelites after their conquest of neighboring tribes and promised Bilaam riches in exchange for cursing the Children of Israel. Three times Bilaam opened his mouth with the intention to curse, but only blessings came out. Our morning prayer, "Ma tovu ohaleikha Yaakov, mishkinoteikha Yisrael - How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel" comes from this parasha and are the words of the Divine coming through this non-Israelite prophet.

One simple lesson from this story, something we experience together at Chochmat HaLev, is that relationship with the G!d of Torah is not exclusive to the Israelites – a priest from another tribe has the spiritual power to both bless and curse as well as communicate directly with YHVH . To us, this lesson may seem obvious. For those more attached to the rightness of their own religious paths, however, the understanding that there are many ways to the Oneness may not be so apparent, and our parasha teaches this to us specifically.

But Bilaam's story also leads us to ask what it means to "do G!d's will". So often we pray that our will be aligned with that of the Unity – that what we want for ourselves and what the Universe gives us be the same. This is not always the easy path. Bilaam had no choice but to speak the words which Hashem placed in his mouth, even though his lesser self would rather have taken the riches promised by Balak.

As an incarnate soul with limited vision, I pray that, when I bless others, my words carry the power of that which is Best and Whole in the world. May we always be able to hear the words of our speaking donkeys and see the angels who show up to help us walk our lives' paths.

With blessing for wisdom of heart,

Rabbi SaraLeya

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Parshat Hukkat

In a typically terse Torah story (Numbers 20), we learn that Miriam died and was buried. The next verse simply states that the people were without water and complained to Moses and Aaron. And so a rabbinic legend about Miriam's miraculous well fills in the space between these two verses. Miriam was the source of water as the Israelites journeyed in the wilderness for 40 years. When she died, the well dried up and the people panicked. YHVH appeared and told Moses to speak to the rock so water would flow. Moses apparently didn't pay sufficient attention, or was tired of the people's complaints and lack of faith over the years – perhaps made even more irritating as he mourned for Miriam – and he hit the rock instead of speaking to it.



From that moment of impatience, the Divine Wisdom realized that Moses and Aaron were not the leaders who could take the Israelites to the next step. Their soul-missions were complete and they would rest in the wilderness and not cross over the Jordan River into the mythical Promised Land. Joshua and Eleazar will lead the people in the next phase of their journey.



Once again, Torah leads us to ask deep questions and, hopefully, allows us to receive the blessing of insight into ourselves. Moses' mistake was one of being angry and irritable. He acted impulsively instead of according to instructions. How often does our emotional state lead us to act before reflecting, to react before listening? What gets in our way of hearing what the Divine voice is saying to us?



I take Moses' action seriously as I begin to work with Chochmat HaLev as rabbi and spiritual leader. I pray that I always be patient enough to hear both what is said and what is not said, and that I consider carefully before I act. I bless us all that we may manifest the soul-traits of wisdom and tranquility of heart as together we move to the next phase in the life of this holy community. May the wellspring of inspiration accompany us on this journey.





With blessing for wisdom of heart,
Rabbi SaraLeya Read the rest