Dear friends, This past week the last chapter of the book of Shmos (Exodus) was read in the synagogue, completing its yearly cycle. This week we begin Vayikra (Leviticus). Each book is unique. Shmos is called sefer ha-geulah the book of redemption, because it celebrates our birth as a people, beginning with the enslavement in Egypt, and ending with building G-d a sanctuary in the desert. Between these two points in time, many things occurred to make us who we are. G-d gave us the Torah at Mount Sinai, which arguably is the most significant event in the worlds entire history. It touches every human being in the world to one degree or another via the way its influence spread. In its only pure and authentic form, the Torah that we keep is far far more specific in its demands than the Torah that they have reduced to a collection of moral teachings (as important as they are). Making yourself and your world a sanctuary to G-d is dependent on learning Torah and keeping the commandments without compromise. It can be very challenging to someone just entering religious practice to understand what the connection is between the details of the mitzvos and their spiritual source. You can see that the system works; if you do the mitzvos, you become the kind of person that you want to be- you will be in relationship with G-d, and attuned to the world and to the people you encounter every day. The ideologies that have removed what they consider to be the mindless minutiae are left sterile and empty parodies of the ideals that they sincerely promoted. Think back to your personal successes and failures. Is there a pattern? Inevitably involving your body and soul in unison. The Torah presents us with precise instructions, and it is the way that you may finally find yourself on the path towards self-discovery. The trick is that you dont usually see the results of your choices at the very beginning of your journey. This is true when you try to find the way to move forward without Torah. Whenever you end something significant, you probably find yourself thinking about what took you down this particular road. In life, the end doesnt always live up to the promise of the beginning. Sometimes expectations were unrealistic, sometimes there just wasnt the level of dedication that you would have to have had to reach the goal you had in mind. Sometimes unexpected events cause you to change direction mid-stream. Torah is different. Shmos began with a census of the members of Yaakovs family who descended to Egypt. It ends with a meticulous account of the materials that were used in the construction of the mishkan (sanctuary). Both the beginning and the end feature an interesting meeting of concrete definable things, and transcendental eternal outcomes. The census couldnt be more concrete. Seventy people, however, soon became an innumerable nation. The Torah tells us that the more they were oppressed the stronger and more numerous they became. The next census, taken when they left Egypt shows us a total of over 600,000 men between the ages of 20 and 60. If you add in women, children and older people the total you get is millions. This is all without taking into account that the sages tell us that only 1/5 of the population lived to see the exodus. It is impossible to come to a reliable figure! This is not so surprising when you consider that the Jews are compared to the stars. There are stars that are so distant that we will never see them, because they will burn themselves out before they reach anywhere in the cosmos that is close enough to this earth to be seen. Some of them are huge, far bigger than the sun which is the closest star to our planet. Each Jew is a sun, shedding light and energy, but not all of them will leave an impression that you or I will know about (at least within our lifetimes). The last part of the book of Shmos gives us a very specific accounting of the gifts that were given to build a sanctuary, which seems a very earthbound sort of figure. When you step back a bit you find that there is something far greater happening. The Zohar tells us that the sanctuary was designed to mirror the little world, every person. We have limbs and organs, and a soul which makes it all live. It also mirrored the great world, the spiritual and physical dimensions of reality that are outside of our range. They have properties, qualities, and other definable, but their life-force is G-d, who is the soul of the universe. When the Jews gave their gold, silver, and other gifts to build the sanctuary, they were taking what normally could only be used in a very finite way, and turning them into something infinite. Although the mishkan only existed for several hundreds of years, its effect was as a spiritual magnet. The sacrifices had the effect of enabling the entire nation to elevate the animal within them, and change the very nature of their inner and outer realties. The reason that I am mentioning this is that it is really a huge idea! All of the nitty gritty mitzvos that you do may seem to have borders that are very limiting. You buy kosher food, eat, and when the meal is over, you may think, so, is there a spiritual significance. This is a myth. The meal brought you in contact with infinity. Your decision to live in accordance with Hashems will, and to subservient your more basic self to your soul, is what living is all about. The same thing holds true for the time you chose to answer your mom with respect that you may or may not have sincerely felt. That moment was a moment of real triumph (even though it may have felt like a surrender). Never underestimate how important things that dont feel important are! Love, Tziporah
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 15:23:58 +0000
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