Rachael’s Thoughts on Parshat Shlach

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This week’s Torah portion, Shlach, describes the twelve spies that Moses sent into Israel.  Two of them brought back a positive and encouraging report, while ten of them spoke negatively. Ultimately, this event adds forty years to Israel’s wanderings in the desert.  But amidst Moses’ great plan that went awry, we learn two important details about Judaism and ourselves.

In Judaism, we are taught to be careful with our words, as they affect changes in the world.  We are not allowed to speak badly of people, and we’re discouraged from speaking badly about anything.  We understand that we are part of humanity, and therefore it’s understood that we are not to speak badly of ourselves.  Loving our neighbours as ourselves includes the understanding that we are no better nor worse than others, and we owe ourselves the same respect we offer to others.  The spies violated this rule.

Buried in their report, the spies stated that they appeared like grasshoppers to the inhabitants of the land.  They referred to themselves as annoyances, nuisances, bugs.  But these are the people God redeemed from Egypt, the descendants of Abraham and Sarah -to demean themselves is to diminish Jewish ancestry and God’s intervention in history.  To belittle ourselves is to belittle all those who contributed to who we are.

The second lesson from this moment is that they accurately described the process of projection.  They stated that ‘we appeared as grasshoppers in our eyes, so we must have appeared as such in their eyes’.  In other words, the feeling of inadequacy originates within and is then assumed to be seen by everyone.  Self-doubt and feelings of unworthiness are things we harbour within us, and then project outwardly to others.  We conclude there is nothing else for them to see and so become our greatest barrier. We have already accepted a failed outcome.

The story of the spies teaches us how careful we must be with our words, and how greatly they influence outcomes.  But we also learn the importance of self-respect.  Each of us carries a divine spark within us.  When we choose to recognize that spark, we understand how harmful the words of the spies truly were.  We learn from their mistake by honouring ourselves and each other.

I’d like to wish everyone a sweet and peaceful Shabbat –our Jewish time to regroup, rest, and reinvigorate.

Shabbat shalom,

Rachael

Rachael’s Thoughts on Parshat Naso

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This week’s Torah portion, Naso, describes a Nazirite, someone who takes an oath of spiritual devotion to God.  The oath triggers the laws we read about: it must be for a defined amount of time, for the duration, the person cannot cut their hair, nor drink wine (or anything fermented), nor engage in rituals of mourning.  In other words, the journey towards God simultaneously involves a journey away from society.

A Nazirite, whether man or woman, chooses to withdraw from human bonding experiences.  There is no toasting ‘l’chaim’ with anyone out of joy or commiserating with a drink together after a hard day; no standing next to a friend as they say Kaddish at a graveside; no cutting the hair also means no combing it, since that will pull out hairs.  It won’t take long before the hair will matte, and the very sight of the person may make others question their grooming.  The presence of a Nazirite will begin to make others uncomfortable.

Ironically, one would think that an oath of devotion to God would mean that person is to be revered in their holiness, not bring discomfort to others.  But the word ‘holy’, in Hebrew, means ‘separate from’.  We separate the wine in the kiddush cup from the same wine in the bottle by creating holiness through a blessing.  We cover holy things to designate their separateness –we cover a Torah scroll for this reason.

Judaism teaches us to function within layers of the holy and the mundane.  Our goal is never to devote ourselves only to holy endeavours, but rather to find the times they intersect, and then explore how one informs the other.  Judaism shows us how to confront our human yearnings and offers frames of how we can explore them with an awareness of the risk.  A yearning for God, to the exclusion of our fellow human beings, means we are no longer involved with God in healing and repairing the world.  We momentarily stepped aside from our obligation as partners of God.  It is allowed, for a defined time, at the end of which the person must bring a sin offering.  We take our responsibility to partner with God very much to heart.

The invitation to enter a close relationship with God is always open to us, but it is always part of a balance where we see God, the world around us, and every person who shares it with us.

I’d like to wish everyone a sweet and peaceful Shabbat –our Jewish time to regroup, rest, and reinvigorate.

Shabbat shalom,

Rachael

Rachael’s Thoughts on Parshat Bamidbar

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This Shabbat we start reading the book of Numbers, in Hebrew, Bamidbar.  We also move immediately after Shabbat into celebrating the holiday of Shavuot, the celebration of receiving the Torah at Sinai.  While we’re excited to begin reading the next book of our Torah, we need to take a moment to notice the relationships between the book we are starting, the book we just finished, and the upcoming holiday.  They’re all connected with a message for today.

We’ve just concluded reading the book of Leviticus, named that way because it is mostly concerned with the laws of the Levites as they facilitate Jewish ritual.  It’s a book filled with rules and details that a Levite would need daily, and the rest of us…

We immediately begin reading the book of Numbers, which is misleading in its English name.  In Hebrew, the book is called Bamidbar, “In the Wilderness”.  It evokes images of grand expanses of desert, no reference points, quite literally shifting sands.  In other words, the Torah has juxtaposed two realities for us: the constrained rule of law, and the openness of a place without boundaries.  Within those two extremes, we are given the Torah, the holiday of Shavuot.

Judaism brings us two worlds that we walk in.  Certainly, there are commandments, rules, traditions, and rituals that create structure and security for us and for future generations.  At the same time, Judaism is a place of unlimited spiritual exploration and infinite expressions of thought and opinions.  These two realities live side by side as the books of Leviticus and Bamidbar sit side by side.  We need them both.

In today’s world, we can often feel the urge to seek black and white realities.  When things get confusing, it’s natural to want defined lines.  In recent years, we’ve seen communities gravitate to the far right, or the far left, looking for the set definitions that they feel can bring structure and security to the confusion they feel.   But Shavuot vividly reminds us that we accepted a Torah which brought us two realities to keep us moving between defined structures and spiritual freedom.  It’s part of why we celebrate.

I’d like to wish everyone a sweet and peaceful Shabbat –our Jewish time to regroup, rest, and reinvigorate.

May we all enjoy celebrating the holiday of Shavuot in good health with our family and friends.

Shabbat shalom and chag sameach,

Rachael

Shavuot 2022 Resources

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Rachael’s Centre wishes you and your family a Happy Shavuot!
To help celebrate we have put together some great resources, recipes and videos.

Chag Sameach and Happy Shavuot!

What to do on Shavuot When You’re Lactose Intolerant

Shavuot 2020: Late For Our Own Wedding…Actually!

Chabad.org recipies

https://www.chabad.org/recipes/recipe_cdo/aid/32627/jewish/Shavuot-Recipes.htm

Printable Shavuot Study Material from Chabad.org

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4754937/jewish/Printable-Shavuot-Study-Material.htm

Kid-Friendly Crafts for Shavuot from PJLibrary.org

https://pjlibrary.org/beyond-books/pjblog/may-2013/kid-friendly-mt-sinai-crafts-for-shavuot

We wish you a healthy and meaningful holiday

Chag Shavuot Sameach!

Rachael’s Centre

Rachael’s Thoughts on Parshat Bechukotai

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This week’s parsha, Bechukotai, is one of those sections of Torah we’d prefer to skim.  It paints two extreme pictures of a future.  If we live by the rules of Covenant, we will flourish, but if we do not…. The list of curses to befall the nation are bone chilling.

The obvious question remains one of theology.  Is God bullying Israel into accepting Covenant?  Who, in their right mind, would choose to live within the portrait of defeat and suffering that a non-Covenantal life would bring?  Is God threatening Israel?  If so, do I really have free will?

With the holiday of Shavuot around the corner, we are reminded that the Torah was placed into our hands, and we are commanded to interpret it.  One of the tasks of interpretation is to align the morality Torah teaches us with the laws we are commanded to observe.  We have examples throughout Jewish history where the Rabbis of their time interpreted laws away from their literal meanings to reconcile them with the morality of their time.  Restricting capital punishment is only one of the more well-known of these examples.

But we do not need to interpret the curses in our parsha this week because they are not law, they are outcomes.  The onus of responsibility sits on us to align fulfilling the commandments with the ethics of Torah.  The tool for this is Talmudic: discourse, support for various interpretations, vote, majority rules.  The parsha lays out for us what it would look like if we rejected the laws and the morality they are to embody.  The bone chilling portrait laid out is the one we create by ignoring both the rule of law, and the morality at its core.

The free will God gifted to all humanity involves informed free will.  I don’t like reading the dystopian portrayal of a cursed future that plays out in this parsha, I prefer to skim those verses.  At the same time, I realize that being informed means I must be told of the utopia I could create as well as the dystopia I could bring about.  This parsha is not a picture of God dictating our future, it is a picture of God following our lead.

I’d like to wish everyone a sweet and peaceful Shabbat –our Jewish time to regroup, rest, and reinvigorate.

   Shabbat shalom,

   Rachael

Rachael’s Thoughts on Parshat Behar

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This week’s Torah reading, Behar, discusses that once we enter Israel, the land itself will begin the same cycle we use: the 7th is a designation of rest and relief.  While we function on a cycle of 7 days, the land will function on a cycle of years.  Every 7th year is a Sabbatical – the land cannot be worked, it will revert to its natural state of unimpeded growth.  Everyone may enjoy its produce, including animals, landowners, and workers, but we may not infringe upon it.  We must remove our impact from the equation.

It’s amazing that within the years of Covid, we have witnessed a similar reality all around us.  When our doors first closed, we watched our backyards and noticed much more wildlife than had been there before.  We started to see small animals interacting with each other in ways that surprised us.  I remember sitting with my mother on her porch and we couldn’t hear each other talking because every time we began to speak, the birds began to chirp, and they outnumbered us by far.  Videos began to circulate from around the world showing how wild animals were strolling through metropolitan downtown streets.  It didn’t take long, and nature filled the gap we left when we simply remained in our homes.

In this case, the reason for our withdrawal was Covid, an illness that has cost us an enormous loss of life, illness, and pain for so many.  Yet, we couldn’t help but notice how nature around us filled some moments of isolation with a grand embrace of life emerging and displaying its grandeur.  A reminder that we are not the primal movers of the world around us, much as we often think we are.

We might sometimes hear the messages of the Torah as antiquated, but when the Torah commands a Sabbatical year for the land, we have all shared a historic moment today of understanding that message.  We are commanded to remove ourselves from our routines in order to allow nature to show us how we fit within a greater vision.  That message is powerful, even today

I’d like to wish everyone a sweet and peaceful Shabbat –our Jewish time to regroup, rest, and reinvigorate.

Shabbat shalom,

Rachael

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Rachael’s Thoughts on Parshat Emor

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This week’s Torah reading, parshat Emor, contains laws that govern a Kohen. We read that, with few exceptions, a Kohen cannot be in the same place with the body of someone who has died.  It means never attending the funeral of a friend.

The modern questions around this one detail would only amplify the problem.  If a Kohen cannot enter a cemetery, would that include being on a plane flying over a cemetery?  Is there a height at which we say the presence of the cemetery below is nullified?  What about being on a plane with the body of someone being transported to Israel?  Can a Kohen ever enter a hospital that has a morgue in the basement?  The more we think about it, the more expansive the problem.  Can a Kohen walk in New York city where the Twin Towers once stood – not an official cemetery but the ashes of many are buried in the ground there.

It is easy to see that even singular comments in the Torah can sometimes clash with the mundane lives we lead.  Throughout Jewish history, we have engaged in the process of finding ways to live with Jewish law and Torah.  Not because it’s convenient, but because the Torah itself commands us ‘vichai bahem’, ‘and you shall live by them’.  We are to find ways to bring them into our lives meaningfully. In fact, millennia of Jewish thought and texts are the product of our creative ways to not feel imprisoned by our commandments, but to thrive by living within their structures.

Kohanim cannot be present in the same place as the body of a deceased person.  We define ‘place’ as the common roof, not the individual rooms of a house.  We simultaneously recognize both our need to mourn, and that we live within Torah and Divine revelation.  Today, a Jewish funeral home will build a room with a separate roof so any Kohen can attend and honour someone who has passed away.  

As is our way, we always search for the place where Divine concepts and our human expressions stand together on common ground.

 I’d like to wish everyone a sweet and peaceful Shabbat –our Jewish time to regroup, rest, and reinvigorate.

Shabbat shalom,

Rachael

Rachael’s Thoughts on Parshat Kedoshim

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This week’s parshah, Kedoshim, contains ‘The Holiness Code’, which includes the famous verse “you shall love your neighbour as yourself”.  The Holiness Code gets its name from the first verse, which tells us that we are to be holy because God is holy.  Accepting that God is the source, and we are the image, the Holiness Code tells us to fulfil what is already lying within us.  In other words, the ability to infuse holiness into every relationship we have and every encounter with the world is already embedded within us.

When we encounter biblical texts describing how we should live, we expect to hear lists of what we can and cannot do.  We never expect to hear anything of how we should expect others to behave toward us.  In other words, we orient ourselves towards obligations rather than towards expectations.

Interestingly, in secular cultures, we are taught to think of expectations. Everybody has legal and moral rights in the world, and we expect them to be honoured.  As Canadians, we have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and our American neighbours have The Bill of Rights.  These outline what I can expect to receive from my society.  Jewishly, there is nothing in Torah that teaches me to expect that the world gives me anything.  In fact, I am taught the opposite.

The commandments teach me of obligations and responsibilities, not rights.  I have responsibilities to God, to the world, and to humanity (which includes myself).  I do not expect that the world will give me anything, I expect that I must put into the world to help it reshape and grow.  

I am not a passive recipient of things, I am an active dynamic of change.

In today’s world, we often hear of social discrepancies based on conceptions of privilege.  Once I understand that I carry responsibilities and obligations toward everything, it is difficult to inculcate a sense of privilege.  I am the one who owes the world, the world does not owe me.  With this perspective, I can enter The Holiness Code and understand how finding what was always inside me, and bringing it to the world, can truly affect healing, repair and change –the Jewish path to holiness.

 I’d like to wish everyone a sweet and peaceful Shabbat –our Jewish time to regroup, rest, and reinvigorate.

Shabbat shalom,

Rachael

Rachael’s Thoughts on Yom Hashoah and Parshat Acharei Mot

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Yesterday was Yom HaShoah, the day we remember the victims of the Shoah.  In Judaism, memories are not static things, they are tools we use for improving the world.  

The challenge is that we are human, and therefore creatures of habit.  

There is a concept in history that generals always fight the previous war.  Strategies of the last war are imported into the next war, regardless of whether the realities of the world have changed in the interim.  Habits of warfare keep the world locked in conflict, as we import our previous conflicts into our new ones.  It ensures that warfare is based on ‘might makes right’, and not on motives of morality.  

When we remember the Shoah, we do not focus on the warfare, we focus on moral questions that remain global challenges.  The Talmud answers the question of moral responsibility with a clear message:

‘All who can protest against a wrongdoing of a family member, and does not protest, is accountable together with their family.  All who can protest against a wrongdoing that the people of their city are doing, and does not protest, is accountable together with the people of the city.  All who can protest against a wrongdoing done in the whole world, and does not protest, is accountable together with all the people of the world.’

This week’s parsha is called ‘Acharei Mot’, ‘After the Death’.  The name challenges us to think of the time after a trauma has occurred.  Do we only form a memory of mourning?  Do we continue to fight old traumas over and over?  Do we seek a path forward?

The world today is in a vulnerable place, but we are reminded that old habits don’t always serve us well.  We do whatever we can, each in their own way, to raise a voice of protest for those whose voices are being silenced.

I’d like to wish everyone a sweet and peaceful Shabbat –our Jewish time to regroup, rest, and reinvigorate.

Shabbat shalom,

Rachael

Rachael’s Thoughts at the End of Pesach

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We are entering the final days of Passover and they are distinctly different from the first days.  

At the beginning of the holiday, we celebrate our freedom and redemption from Egypt, but as the week progresses we also progress through the Egypt narrative to find ourselves at the Red Sea for these last few days.  While the first days of Passover celebrate our exodus from Egypt, these last days celebrate our birth as a nation, having walked through a parted Red Sea.  But we are told to limit our praises of God in these last few days.  We are told to say only half of the Hallel prayer because God does not want us to praise that our redemption came at a heavy cost of human lives.  While the sea parted for us, it drowned the Egyptian army that was chasing us.

The midrash tells us that when Israel emerged safely on dry land, the angels started singing a song of praise to God, but God stops them and says: ‘My children are drowning in the sea, and you sing me praises?!’  We learn to never rejoice at the suffering of any human being, whether friend or foe.  

Bruriah, a sage Jewish woman who lived in the 2nd century, taught her husband, Rabbi Meir, that a victory over evil is to have it transform into good.  The animal within us wants to vanquish the enemy, the soul within us craves for a transformation.  The last days of Passover remind us to leave the holiday guided by our souls – we say only half a Hallel because so many people could not change and could only be stopped by death.

The world today is still a challenging place with aggressors and innocent victims caught in warfare.  Passover leaves us with the sensitivity to pray that evil transforms itself within each person, if it cannot transform itself within the leadership.

      Moadim l’simcha – wishing everyone a wonderful end of Passover.

  Shabbat shalom,

     Rachael