touch (shema)

elul 25 5765
an old insight of mine rehashed from the vantage of today:
the first perek of shema is about awakening a deep love and awareness of the one-ness of God.
the second perek takes that desire and channels it into things with continuity, mitzwoth, (acts of kindness) and compares these things to the metaphor of planting and harvesting produce.
the third perek draws those actions to their very ends (related to tzitzit-strands that hang off the ends of the corners of the garment) deep into the world, ending finally in God raising us out of the depths in a revellation/realization of the one-ness of God--the redemption from Egypt.
(this is a transition from na'aseh to nishma--first we awaken an awareness within us, and then God reveals it, manifest.--this mirrrors the very creation of the world.)

we have a mitzwah to recite the shema twice daily--to remind us of these instructions.

touch (everything)

elul 24 5765
the maor eynayim explains that everything we encounter shares our soul-root and it's our job to raise it back to it's (our) origins, through connecting to the godliness in exile within it. when we take that life-force (be it calories, insight, energy, emotion, etc) and use it in the service of God, we connect it back to our soul-root.

touch (fear and awe)

elul 21
yirah is alternately translated 'fear' and 'awe'. we learn in the tanya, zohar, and many different sources that there are 'lower' and 'higher' levels of yirah. here's my insight: the lower level is a fear of loss. [in the desert we feared running out of water and food.] the higher level comes only after true emunah (faith) is introduced. 'higher' yirah comes after we realise we no longer fear we will lose what it is we want, but instead we fear that one day we will forget we even have it. we will forget to appreciate it. [the offering of the first fruits serves to remind us of the source of all our blessings once we dwell in the land and no longer live day-to-day as we did in the desert.]

i'm full of words

there's so many words inside of me, it reminds me why i stop listening to music every now and again--if i do listen i can't really focus on anything else, there's just more words fighting to get in. too many words. i need to secret myself away and write. or maybe the opposite, maybe i need to not speak for weeks.

touch (elul)

2 elul 5765
in elul, our sages tell us, "the King is in the field". i would explain, but i think the metaphor is best left to be interpreted by each person for him/her-self.

touch (seeing signs)

people look so hard to know what it is God wants from them, they find all kinds of symbols and hidden messages. they live in this half-life of uncertainty. torah evinces the exact opposite lifestyle: halacha tells you exactly what you are supposed to be doing with your life at almost every minute. when in doubt, find a rav that you respect and discuss the matter. in the matters which are so much more flexible, the choices God places before you; act with faith, make choices based on your preferences and have faith in God that he will lead you where he wants you to go. if you feel that God is sending you signs or messages, but you're still unclear as to what it means, keep doing what you're doing and ask God to make his messages more clear so that you can do his will. (which is hopefully your goal.)

touch (truth through patience)

1 elul 5765
the mekubalim of tsfat (safed) had a number of hanhagoth (customs/behaviors), one of which struck a chord in me: they used to wait three days from when their students would ask them questions until they would offer an answer, if they felt the question had an answer at all. they did this in order to give the 'warmth of lies' a chance to cool off. i've noticed in my own discussions that two or three days later the whole argument/debate is far more clear than in the moments when it is first presented.