Bodies are sources of holiness too

Torah-Inspired, Days of Awe Reflection of The Day…

Today we look at M'tzorah, Leviticus 14:1 - 15:33 - ritual impurities around mysterious skin conditions (not leprosy, BTW), and ritual impurities around sexual relationships.

What's the deal with the impurities? What kind of superstitious mumbo-jumbo is this?

Let us depart from the judgmental attitude towards cleanliness in English. All of the impurities mentioned in this section, and the procedures around them, could happen to anyone, and do happen to almost everyone - they are normal results of human existence. Impurity is not a critique, but a rhythm to life, living, and the appreciation of our physicality.

How we cycle in and out of different moments in life is worth noting. When we come into contact with the sources of creation via intimacy we ought to take note in some way. Recognizing the sacredness in such acts by washing before and afterward and treating our actions as full of impact seems like a good corrective in a society where all too often sex and sexuality get easily demeaned by disrespectful access and treatment.

We find great meaning in the connection between our bodies and relationships. At this reflective time of year, let us aim for better and more respectful physicality.

Help each other leave judgment behind

Torah-Inspired, Days of Awe Reflection of The Day…

Today we look at Tazree-ah, Leviticus 12:1 - 13:59 - skin eruptions, ritual impurity, and how the ancient priest diagnosed these things.

We should remember that the Torah does not serve as a medical manual, even for its ancient time. Rather, we recognize that the Torah offers us advice for society, not for biology.

The social advice here comes from creating standards of inclusion and exclusion. People in difficulty, especially visible difficulty, often face rejection from society. When we establish rules that allow us to classify these difficulties by an authority figure, we can actually remove the stigma because we normalize the issue.

Let us learn at this time of reflection to go beyond our initial reactions to people with struggles. The strength of any social group can be measured by how well we aid those in need of help. Everyone gets sick, everyone faces hardship - let us not allow others' difficulties to color our reactions to them. Let us reach out to each other in our times of need.

Silence may be our best response

Torah-Inspired, Days of Awe Reflection of The Day…

Today we look at Sh'mini, Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47 - priestly offerings, the strange and horrible deaths of Aaron's sons Nadav and Avihu, and the rules of kosher eating.

We can't easily ignore the death of Aaron's sons, here's the full text:

Lev. 10:1 Now Aaron's sons, Nadav and Avihu, took each-man his pan, and, placing fire in them, put smoking-incense on it, and brought-near, before the presence of Adonai, outside fire, such as he had not commanded them.
2 And fire went out from the presence of Adonai and consumed them, so that they died, before the presence of Adonai.
3 Moses said to Aaron: It is what Adonai spoke (about), saying: Through those permitted-near to me, I will be-proven-holy, before all the people, I will be-accorded-honor! Aaron was silent.

Today, during these days of reflection, I want to learn from Aaron. In the face of tragedy, personal and communal, sometimes all we can bring is our silence presence.

In this, Aaron, the one who could speak easily and well, learned from Moses, who spoke reluctantly and earlier described himself this way:
No man of words am I, not from yesterday, not from the day-before, not (even) since you have spoken to your servant, for heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue am I! (Exodus 4:10)

When struck by the worst of pains, thoughtful anguished silence may be the best we can offer.

Keeping the Community Warm

Torah-Inspired, Days of Awe Reflection of The Day…

Today we look at Tzav, Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36 - lots more about offerings and the practices of the priesthood.

Also, these verses requiring the priests to maintain a fire:
Lev. 6:5 Now the fire on the slaughter-site is to be kept-blazing upon it - it must not go out! - and the priest is to stoke on it (pieces-of-)wood, in the morning, (every) morning, and he is to arrange on it the offering-up, and is to turn into smoke on it the fat-parts of the shalom-offering.
6 A regular fire is to be kept-blazing upon the slaughter-site-it is not to go out!

Why maintain a regular flame in the center of the community?

We are a healthy community when we devote resources to the maintenance of things we may need at any time, even if we don't all need it right now.

Keeping a warm place in the center of our communities, a place of welcome and sustenance, requires constant attention. We must appoint someone to do this and give them the resources to make sure that the fire doesn't go out.

Good Citizenship Requires Individual Participation

Shanah Tovah everyone! Happy Second Day of 5773!

Today we look at Va-Yikra, Leviticus 1:1 - 5:26 - the first reading of Leviticus.

Leviticus opens with a lot of talk of offerings - the different kinds of things we must offer up on an altar in ancient Israelite religious practices.

We no longer do these, so what can they teach us?

Community rules count - when we miss the mark and hurt someone, we have probably violated an ethical code of our community as well. So we apologize to the person we've hurt, make amends, and then pay a penalty to the community for disrespecting the civics of our society as well.

We are all connected, and our actions have repercussions beyond the individual.

During these Days of Awe we are called upon to confess publicly for exactly this reason - as individual members of a community we need to repair our standards together.

Listen closely, go forward together

Rosh HaShanah starts tonight - last daily post of 5772!
May everyone have a sweet and good new year!

Today we look at P'kudei, Exodus 38:21 - 40:38 - the final Torah reading of Exodus. We read about a full inventory of the things that went into the building of the Mishkan, the portable Temple-Tent often translated as the "Tabernacle", and all of the stuff in it. The Mishkan is completed, Moses installs Aaron as High Priest, and the journey through the desert begins.

The final verses of the Book of Exodus read:
40:36 Whenever the cloud goes up from the Mishkan, the Israelites march on, upon all their marches;
37 if the cloud does not go up, they do not march on, until such time as it does go up.
38 For the cloud of God (is) over the Mishkan by day, and fire is by night in it, before the eyes of all the House of Israel upon all their marches.

Wouldn't it be great to have such an indicator that told us when to go forward, and when to stay still?

Perhaps we still do, we just need to notice it. Let us make this a year of listening and observing.

May we see and hear and feel the messages people and our world send us before we act.
May we go forward together guided by communal values.
May we build a better world in the year to come.
Shanah tovah!

Accepting our limits allows us to go farther

Tomorrow night is Rosh HaShanah - the daily Elul thought will transform into daily thought for the High Holy Days or Days of Awe, as the month of Elul will end, and become the month of Tishrei. Make sure to take time out to acknowledge the Jewish New Year on Sunday night, and Monday, and Tuesday. L'shanah tovh u'metukah - a good and sweet new year to everyone!

Today we look at Va-yak-heil, Exodus 35:1 - 38:20 - the gathering of the donations to build the Tabernacle, and the fashioning of the pieces and construction takes place.

Perhaps the only not-for profit effort in all time to be so enthusiastically completed, as it says here in Exodus, Chapter 36:
5: ...The people are bringing much more than enough for the service of (doing) the work that God has commanded, to make it!
6 So Moses commanded and they had a call go throughout the camp, saying: Man and woman-let them not make-ready any further work-material for the contribution of the Holy-shrine! So the people were stopped from bringing;
7 the work-material was enough for them, for all the work, to make it, and more.

As we think about Elul, we might look back on the last year and note how often we felt the opposite of this. How often did we feel depleted and without the resources to complete the tasks we set before us?

Is this about the demands made upon us by our tasks, or is it about the number of tasks and the details we promise to get done?

When the task is finite, we can complete it with enthusiasm. If the goals we have set require work without end, we mistreat ourselves as unlimited resources.

For the year to come, let us try to set ourselves reasonable tasks - and find ourselves bringing more than enough to them.

We must treat this world's existence as limited in order to better find connections with the infinite.

I know I will be working on this for a long time!

Transformation all around, if only we would see it

Today for our daily Elul thought we look at Ki Tisa, Exodus 30:11 - 34:35 - a lot happens here, not least of which is the Golden Calf incident.

I just had a random reason to glance at one particular verse from this parasha today:
Exouds 34:29 Now it was when Moshe came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of Testimony in Moshe's hand, when he came down from the mountain - (now) Moshe did not know that the skin of his face was radiating because of his having-spoken with him...

Encounters with the mystery of the universe transform us, and often we don't recognize the transformation ourselves.

Elul asks us to be open to our own growth - to be like Moses and absorb the changes. Reality is filled with the miraculous. When we notice it we can be transformed.

When someone asks about something, we may learn more than we teach.

Dress for Spiritual Success, Judge Not

Today for our daily Elul thought we look at T'tzaveh, Exodus 27:20 - 30:10 - more details about things for the Mishkan, or portable Temple, the special garb for the priesthood, offering ceremonies for the ordaining of priests and their regular duties, and the description of the altar.

We could sum it all up by saying notes on interior decorating and fashion.

We don't like to think that we get judged on our spaces and our garb. Often we unfairly judge others based on their appearances.

Perhaps the Elul thought of the day on this is: let our work on our spaces and appearances be ours alone, and let us avoid judging what others do for themselves.

Dressing because we want to look good for the Universe seems OK, allowing ourselves to be judgmental about other people's choices in this, less so.

Relationships first, attachment to details later

Today for our daily Elul thought we look at T'rumah, Exodus 25:1 - 27:19 - God's instructions on donations and construction regarding the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, or portable Temple space, and all of the things that go in it.

In this list of directions, there remains plenty of room to improvise. While God gives Moses extensive details, there is no real blueprint. While the plan seems to be about creating a place for God, it may actually be about us coming together to create a project that allows us to find holiness as a community.

Our attachment to plans and details may get things done. Elul comes to ask us in preparation for the holiest season whether those plans bring us together for some greater purpose.

Perhaps the details arrived at through a thorough conversation may forge a new relationship. Elul reminds us that strong relationships may be more important than sticking to the details of our original plan.

More Torah for today - this week's Parashah: Netzavim

“The hidden things are for Adonai our God, but the revealed-things are for us and for our children, for the ages, to observe all the words of this Instruction.” (Deuteronomy 29:28)

This quote from this week’s Torah reading, Nitzavim, speaks of differences between the mysteries that remain between us and our consciences, or our senses of the Infinite, and the teachings that we pass on to others.

The “hidden things” may be mystical ideas, or merely profound insights that may only come with long experience and deliberation.

This difference between the revealed and the hidden allows us to take comfort when the most central of our insights may be the hardest ideas to communicate to others. Such wisdom might still be mysterious. Only by living with it, and perhaps allowing those around us to see us live by its insights, may the teaching eventually become one of the “revealed-things” that we can pass along to others.

Discerning between the things we are able to convey, and those that must remain within us may help us better navigate our relationships.

Remembering 9/11 and Thinking About Elul

Today we look at Mishpatim, Exodus 21:1 - 24:18 - lots of laws, the promise of a guardian that will go before the Israelites and vanquish our enemies as we enter the Land of Israel, and the call to approach Mount Sinai.

Of the many laws, here are two:
Exodus 23:4 When you encounter your enemy's ox or his donkey straying, return it, return it to him.
5: When you see the donkey of one who hates you crouching under its burden, restrain from abandoning it to him - unbind, yes, unbind it together with him.

On this September 11 during Elul, the month leading up to our High Holy Days, we should  remember our tragedy and be moved by it to approach our enemies and those who hate us with integrity and generosity.

Let us turn hatred and enmity into civility.

Sharing - Worth Doing After Kindergarten Too

Today we look at Yitro, Exodus 18:1 - 20:23 - Moses' father-in-law Jethro arrives at the Israelite camp, advises Moses, converts to Judaism, and then Moses receives the Ten Utterances*. Drama and special effects - this is a big reading!

The people don't get to approach close to the thunder and lightning of Mount Sinai - they remain at a distance and let Moses go encounter the Divine on his own.

Truly, who can blame them or God? The people have already proven themselves to be fickle, and we haven't even gotten to the Golden Calf yet, and God seems to be an angry and dangerous supreme being - sometimes an emissary isn't a bad thing.

While we want to solve all of our problems on our own, recognizing when we might best team up with others shows great wisdom and insight. Moses and the Israelites both admit to limits in this reading.

For Elul, recognize that all is not up to us alone. We share the planet with each other, we can work together on our burdens too.

*Jews tend to refer to the text known as the "Ten Commandments" as the "Ten Utterances" - in the Jewish division of the text the first utterance, "I am God", isn't really a commandment. Furthermore, by the Jewish counting, there are 613 commandments in the Hebrew Bible.

Look Before We Kvetch

Today we look at B'shalach, Exodus 13:17 - 17:16 - the Israelites leave Egypt, Pharaoh chases them, the Sea of Reeds splits, we celebrate our freedom en route to Mount Sinai, plus the beginning of Israelite kvetching (complaining), and manna, quail, and the Amalekites attack.

People complain, oy do we complain!

Even though we have received teachings about the resources we might find if we only would look more closely.

Let us rein in our complaints for Elul, and seek solutions before we even give voice to our kvetches.

Make the Present by Remembering the Past

Today we look at Bo, Exodus 10:1 - 13:16 - the conclusion of the plagues leading to the Israelites leaving Egypt and servitude.

The main theme of this parashah culminates in the practices of Passover, a holiday of remembrance. We remember in large part through dietary restrictions:

Exodus 13:6 For seven days you are to eat matzot [unleavened bread], and on the seventh day (there is): a pilgrimage-festival to Adonai.
7 Matzot are to be eaten for the seven days, nothing fermented is to be seen with you, no leaven is to be seen with you, throughout all your territory.
8 And you are to tell your child on that day, saying: It is because of what Adonai did for me, when I went out of Egypt.

This reminder of our identities as the descendants of the oppressed gets reinforced every year through a week-long change in what we eat.

Elul and the High Holy Days also ask us to remember - to remember our own actions and their impacts, to remember our obligations to ourselves and others, and to remember those who are no longer with us.

We may not always have a vivid physical reminder of the past, so we must find ways to have the past and its meaning live on through the changes we make in ourselves.

We Make Our Own Redemption

Today we look at Va-Eira, Exodus 6:2 - 9:35 - God's instructions to Moses to free the Israelites, the description of the descendants of Israel in Egypt by name and tribe, and lots of plagues.

In order to convince the Israelites that God is really God, God manipulates Pharaoh, hardening his heart which leads to more plagues and divine interventions.

I don't like this God, the one who decides to sacrifice the well-being of the Egyptians, to kill off their people, for the sake of proving a point.

The Israelites though, in other words, we, are in fact the problem. We refuse to admit the miraculous in our midst and want proof that Moses and God will truly redeem us.

Today we live without supernatural intervention and we must find redemption in human actions and kindness - we must make redemption in our own good acts and attitudes of compassion. This Elul, let us participate in the miracle of existence by generously giving a little bit more of our selves.

Noticing the Normal and Finding the Miraculous

Today we look at Shemot, Exodus 1:1 - 6:1 - the first section of the Book of Exodus. During this parashah we go from the death of Joseph to the beginning of the bringing of the plagues and the conflict between Moses and Pharaoh over the freeing of the Hebrew slaves.

This includes the dramatic encounter at the Burning Bush - from the Hebrew in Exodus 3:2:
"the bush is burning with fire, and the bush is not consumed!"

While we often identify this as a dramatic moment, Jewish scholars remind us that noticing a bush that is not consumed by fire requires some attention. After all, it is not merely a plant on fire, but also one that doesn't disappear slowly in the flames - this may in fact be a subtle message.

A midrash, an interpretative gloss on the Torah, notes that Moses passed the bush every day as a shepherd during the years he lived in Midian. Only when Moses overcame his anger at having to leave his comfortable life in the court of Pharaoh did he notice that the bush still burned, and then he was able to encounter the divine message that it contained.

As Elul progresses, let us slow down and notice the miracles around us that may require more attention, that may require us to overcome our own internal turmoil, and find a good teaching in the midst of our everyday lives.

Joseph and Forgiveness

Back to our parashat-ha-yom, daily Parashah, commentary heading into the High Holy Days, after a Labor Day hiatus - remember that Shabbat was the first fair labor practice ever!

Today we look at Va-Yechi, Genesis 47:28 - 50:26 - the end of Jacob's life, his blessings for his sons, his request that his remains be buried near his fathers', and Joseph's fulfillment of that request - so ends the book of Genesis.

Near the end of Joseph's stories, after his father Jacob has died, his brothers worry that without their father around, their now powerful brother will now seek revenge upon them.

Joseph responds:

Gen. 50:20 Now you, you planned ill against me, (but) God planned-it-over for good, in order to do (as is) this very day- to keep many people alive.

During our season of forgiveness and making apologies, Joseph stands as a model, letting bygones be bygones, and forgiving his brothers. So may we all bury the hatchet and move into the new year holding peace in our hearts for our family, friends, and communities.

Retell and Re-count - the past can be amended

Today we look at Va-Yigash, Genesis 44:18 - 47:27 - the reconciliation of Joseph and his brothers, and the settlement of Jacob's entire family in Egypt.



In the midst of this narrative, we have an account of all of Jacob's descendants that traveled with him to Egypt - including Dinah, the occasionally overlooked daughter of Jacob.

As we travel through Elul we know that we can make amends by making sure that anyone we missed gets counted when we make a new list. Past omissions give us the opportunity to retell the story better the next time.

The High Holy Days on the horizon, we can retell our year better than it happened through the heartfelt making of amends.

Conflict and Resolution - Joseph and his brothers

For today, Mi-Keitz, Genesis 41:1 - 44:17 - Joseph's dream interpretations in prison and Egypt, his ascent to influence under Pharaoh, and the first part of Joseph's encounter with his brothers.

As we go through the month of Elul preparing for the holidays, the story of conflict and resolution between Joseph and his brothers seems particularly appropriate.

A quick recap: Joseph was an obnoxious and precocious child, rubbing his favored status in his older brothers' noses. This got him sold into slavery, and eventually, many years later, his brothers came to him after he rose as a man of power in Egypt to try and get food since famine grips their homeland. Joseph tested them, and when they proved their reluctance to sacrifice their other younger brother Benjamin, he reconciled with them.

When we suffer wrongs, allowing ourselves to see those who have hurt us as having learned a lesson from their misdeeds may be a huge challenge. Opening ourselves up to the idea of offering forgiveness may be even more difficult than reconciling, and thus all the more important.