“To your Descendants have I given this Land”

“And I implored HaShem at that time, saying, ‘My L-rd, HaShem, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand, for what power is there in the heaven or on the earth that can perform according to Your mighty acts? Let me now cross and see the good land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon.’ But HaShem became angry with me because of you, and he did not listen to me; HaShem said to me, ‘It is too much for you! Do not continue to speak to Me further about this matter. Ascend to the top of the cliff and raise your eyes westward, northward, southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes, for you shall not cross the Jordan. But you shall command Yehoshua, and strengthen him and give him resolve, for he shall cross before this people and he shall cause them to inherit the land that you will see.’” (DEVARIM 3:25-28)

The numerical value of the word VA’ET’ḤANAN (and I implored) is five hundred and fifteen. The Midrash Rabbah teaches that Moshe implored the Kadosh Barukh Hu five hundred and fifteen times that he be permitted to enter Eretz Yisrael. HaShem commanded him to stop at this point because had Moshe implored one more time, he would have elevated himself to a new spiritual height that would have permitted him to cross the Jordan River.

To fully understand this idea, one must free his thinking from the erroneous Western concept of prayer. The English word “prayer” is actually derived from the Latin wordprecari, meaning “to beg” – precisely what many Jews are mistakenly led to believetefillah is. This misunderstanding, which often leads some to imagine the Kadosh Barukh Hu as some giant invisible king taking pleasure in the begging of his subjects, actually prevents us from not only attaining a more mature understanding of HaShem but also from advancing to higher levels of self-awareness.

HaShem is not some giant invisible tyrant but rather the timeless ultimate Reality without end that creates all, sustains all, empowers all and loves all. Everything in existence exists within Him and He transcends far beyond all that exists.

We – like everything else in Creation – are unique expressions of HaShem placed into this world in order to fully participate in history. Human beings are essentially characters in a story being played by actors (souls), which are each distinctive pieces of the infinite Whole we call HaShem. The function of tefillah is to help us each identify and perform our respective roles in the story.

Tefillah is not about begging a giant king to change his mind but rather about us connecting to our inner Divine Source. L’hitpallel – generally translated into English as “to pray” – is a reflexive verb that actually suggests transforming ourselves (otherwise we would just say l’pallel). It is an activity we engage in for the purpose of internalizing the goals of our lives so we may be empowered to actualize our full potentials as characters in history.

Commenting on Yaakov’s words to Yosef, “R’oe fanekha lo pillalti – I did not pallel that I would see your face” (BEREISHIT 48:11), Rashi explains the verse to mean that Yaakov never would have filled his heart to think that he would ever see Yosef again.

L’hitpallel means to actively fill our hearts with – and become conscious of – our deepest dreams and aspirations. This activity then transforms us into people able to actively work with the Kadosh Barukh Hu to actualize these aspirations. Tefillah is not about “changing G-D’s mind” but actually about transforming ourselves. And each time we effectively participate in this activity, we succeed in strengthening our will power, achieving greater self-awareness and consciously discovering the ideals for which our souls incessantly strive.

All of the requests in the Amidah are directed toward superior objectives that our souls already crave. They are our healthiest desires and the deepest yearnings of our true inner selves. Because we are all unique expressions of HaShem, the more we get in touch with our authentic inner selves, the more we actually connect back to our Divine Source and allow ourselves the ability to receive the Kadosh Barukh Hu’s perpetual blessing. Tefillah is the vehicle that enables us to achieve this connection. As it would be ridiculous to assume that HaShem actually needs our tefillot, the obligation to engage in the activity thrice daily is clearly for the sake of something beneficial to us – helping us to manifest and express our inner kedusha through attaining a higher awareness of our relationship to the Divine.

The Amidah experience essentially serves to educate us to that which our souls genuinely desire – the aspirations we were placed into this world to achieve. While whispering the words of the tefillah to ourselves, we are meant to internalize how much we actually yearn for the realization of these goals so that we can then dedicate our actions towards practically attaining them. As most people generally work through concrete human endeavors in order to achieve that which they truly desire, the requests of the Amidah should naturally guide our actions as the blueprint for how we direct our energies and resources. The Hebrew Nation works in partnership with HaShem and anytefillah not complemented by human effort could justifiably be viewed as lacking sincerity.

It is difficult to know how many tefillot are necessary to sufficiently elevate ourselves to merit receiving that which we desire. Had Moshe entreated five hundred and sixteen times, he would have been transformed to the point of being able to cross the Jordan. HaShem commanded His prophet to stop at five hundred and fifteen because it had been decreed and was necessary according to the Divine plan that Moshe would not bring the Hebrews into Eretz Canaan.

Tefillot are not always answered according to expectations. While at first glance G-D’s words to Moshe appear harsh, HaShem is actually consoling His prophet by hinting that although he will not be crossing the Jordan River, he is already standing well within the Land of Israel.

“‘Ascend to the top of the cliff and raise your eyes westward, northward, southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes, for you shall not cross the Jordan.’” (DEVARIM3:27)

HaShem tells Moshe to look not only westward but also northward, southward and eastward at the Land of Israel, implying that Eretz Yisrael already surrounds him. The borders of the Promised Land are not merely west of the Jordan River but actually stretch from the Nile to the Euphrates.

“On that day HaShem made a covenant with Avram, saying, ‘To your descendants have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River.’” (BEREISHIT 15:18)

There are levels to the Land of Israel’s kedusha. And although Moshe would not be permitted to enter the loftiest regions of Israel Proper, he was already standing on the east bank of the Jordan. Despite Moshe not being granted his wish as he consciously understood it, he received the consolation of knowing that he was already in the homeland and that his beloved student Yehoshua would lead the Hebrew tribes in liberating the territory west of the Jordan.

“‘But you shall command Yehoshua, and strengthen him and give him resolve, for he shall cross before this people and he shall cause them to inherit the land that you will see.’” (DEVARIM 3:28)

As characters participating in one of history’s most incredible chapters, we must focus our efforts and tefillot on the challenges specifically facing our unique generation. In addition to practical earthly endeavors, we must l’hitpallel for the complete salvation of humankind, beginning with the ingathering of Israel’s exiles from the Diaspora, the defeat of those scheming to uproot us from our land, the attainment of true justice in Israeli society and the building of G-D’s Temple in its proper location. The more we internalize the words we whisper three times a day, the more we will actually thirst for that which our souls yearn. And the more we begin to truly desire and struggle for these goals, the more we will recognize HaShem bringing them to fruition before our eyes.

“Moshe went and spoke these words to all of Israel…”

“Moshe went and spoke these words to all of Israel. He said to them, ‘I am a hundred and twenty years old today; I can no longer go out and come in, for HaShem has said to me ‘You shall not cross the Jordan’. HaShem, your G-D – He will cross before you, and you shall possess them; Yehoshua – he shall cross over before you, as HaShem has spoken.’” (DEVARIM 31:1-3)

Moshe – who taught, guided and nurtured the Children of Israel for forty years in the wilderness – was not to be permitted into the Promised Land. The prophet who had received the Torah on Israel’s behalf would be forced to take leave of his people just before the liberation of Eretz Yisrael and the establishment of HaShem’s Divine Kingdom therein.

The most well known explanation for why Moshe was forbidden from crossing the Jordan is that he had once lost his patience with Israel and struck a rock. The Midrash, however, explains that this incident was only when the sentence took effect. It had been decreed decades earlier that Moshe would be prohibited from crossing the Jordan River.

“G-D said to Moshe, ‘Whoever acknowledges his homeland is buried in his homeland. Yosef acknowledged his homeland, as it is written, ‘for indeed I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews…’ (BEREISHIT 40:15). You did not acknowledge yourhomeland… How? The daughters of Yitro said, ‘An Egyptian man saved us from the shepherds’ (SHEMOT 2:19). You heard them and remained silent. Therefore you will not be buried in your homeland.’” (Devarim Rabbah 2:8)

Break the BDS

Although he had been raised as royalty in Pharaoh’s palace and had never in his life actually seen the Land of Israel, Moshe was held accountable for allowing himself to be referred to by others as “an Egyptian man.” Regardless of where we each currently reside, Jews should be vigilant never to view ourselves as belonging to any people or nation other than our own. Moshe, the paradigm of Hebrew unity and national responsibility – who killed an Egyptian on the spot for merely striking a Hebrew slave – was penalized for neglecting to protest when being referred to as an Egyptian. This episode illustrates the gravity of viewing ourselves as German, French, American or any nationality other than Israeli. We must understand thatIsrael is one people with one country and one collective mission reflecting the Torah’s blueprint for an ideal perfect world. And it is only through the advancement of Israel’s national aspirations that humanity can attain higher consciousness and total blessing according to HaShem’s Divine plan for Creation.

[huge_it_share]

Noach, Avraham, Moshe Rabbeinu, and the Power to Nullify Racism

As a Haitian-American woman, I have been in many life intersections.  Am I African-American or not?  The White people who say, “You’re not like the others!” were they trying to compliment me or divide and conquer? Can one have pride in being a Haitian or is it as horrific as the media says? 

Although my parents tried to shield me from many things, among them racism, the brutal gentrification of our neighborhood was quite obvious.  My brothers were frisked frequently, people were pulled over if they didn’t move fast enough when the light turned green.  This brought in a new slew of racism questions.  Why are Black people hated so much?  In the case of my neighborhood it was mostly Puerto Ricans.  Why is there so much negativity directed at Black and Brown?  Although I had since moved to Israel, my concern for the Black/Brown world is still in my heart.  That and a pocket full of questions.

I never found anyone to really answer these questions for me.  Not, until, I came to Judaism.  In Judaism I learned about three pillars, three people who were real game changers.  Noach, Avraham, and Moshe.  And with these game changers, I was able to make sense out of the whole thing.

The way I see it at this point, in a depraved society — when everyone is corrupt and is out to outdo the next fellow in corruption, at these times, the racist seems like the most righteous person out there.  When everyone is looking out for number 1 – themselves, the only one who’s actually trying to bind two or more people in kindness or caring or even love is the racist.  It’s not necessarily racism, any us versus them by default entails an “us” which means more than one person is to be concerned for.

In Noach’s society, that was exactly what happened.  Everyone had become corrupt, stealing from one another, the courts were a farce, etc.  So Noach was given the task of building the ark and saving only his family and the animals.  He did try to warn the rest of humanity.  Once.  But after that he went on about his business knowing full well that everyone would die in the flood.  And yet he is considered righteous – for that time.

This is also what I see today in America. With so much corruption going on, sex scandals, corrupt politicians, even dishonest business men, the name of the game is to make a buck any which way you can — whether it’s exploiting people’s woes in reality shows to scamming hard-working people with bad mortgages. Everyone is out for number 1.  Themselves.  As a result, the police can shoot Black men dead in the streets for the most minor of reasons and get away with it — or get rewarded paid vacation leave.  But everyone is too busy protecting their asset to fight against it.  Or when people actually do fight against it, it’s mainly other Black people.  Even though injustice is a threat to the whole fabric of a society, no one seems bothered except the “us.”  That is truly a depraved society.

Then comes a slightly higher level.  The level of Avraham — in this stage society can pretty much figure out what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s beneficial and what’s detrimental.  They understand that goodness and trust is needed in a society in order for it to function.  However, they do not dismantle the status quo (established by the Noach level).  The ones kicked stay kicked; the elite stay elite.

This was the case with Avraham.  He was full of kindness and was ready to preach the “good word” to anyone who would be his guest.  But he didn’t uplift anyone (nor down grade anyone).  If they were considered an outcast, so outcast they remained.  Such was the case with his faithful servant Eliezer.  Eliezer had a daughter he wanted to match with Avraham’s son, Isaac.  But Isaac refused because Eliezer was from the bad stock.  Never mind that according to some, Eliezer was so holy that he went to heaven literally — he didn’t die.  Even then because his status was what it was, Avraham would not associate with him.

This was a bit how I saw many Jews today.  They are very kind.  Willing to share the Torah and have a great time.  But at the end of the day, you must stay in your lane.  Not all Jews are like this, but they are out there.

It was awesome that Operation Solomon happened and Operation Moshe and the many other operations that helped to bring the Ethiopians Jews to be with their brothers in Israel.  But it is also heartbreaking to hear them complain about the racism they’ve experienced there.  A few have even gone back to Ethiopia.

Stay in your lane.

I know even as a Black Jew, some people are hesitant to call upon a Black Jew to come to the Torah or would use a Black person in their advertisement when they want to represent the typical “goy.”

 And then there’s the Moshe Rabbeinu level (Moses).  Moshe was like a bull in a china store!  He crashed through all the taboos and social mores.  Whereas the Jewish people were punished for trying to emulate the Egyptians, Moshe lived right inside the Pharaoh’s palace learning their ways.  Whereas the Jews avoid those who worshiped idols or like in Avraham’s story, distanced themselves from those considered lower status, Moshe later married Midianite woman, the daughter of the high priest of Midian no less. Previously he married an Ethiopian woman as well.  Whereas most prophets had to go into a sort of trance to receive heavenly messages, Moshe was said to receive them while he was in his regular conscious state.  Whereas most scorn the Egyptians and considered them vile, Moshe brought some of the Egyptians that had been turning to Judaism (probably since Yosef’s time), to come and receive the Torah as well.  He totally put the people ahead of himself.

Interestingly, it was this one who crossed and crashed through so many social mores who was the one to bring the Torah laws to the Jewish people.

This makes me think of all the times in history when the law was on the evil’s side.  The holocaust was legal, slavery was legal, so many horrific things can be made legal, but it’s the bull in the china store that can bring down the true, goodly laws. The Rosa Parks. 

This makes me think of the imminent redemption and nullification of racism.  Can it be that only when we are willing to charge ahead like a bull in a China store will we bring down laws that are in pleasant places?  Only when we carve our own paths? Thought schema? Our own Torah understandings?

Nevertheless, we must be cautious not to let things get too depraved otherwise the highest point we will be able to see is to just huddle together in an “us” versus “them” dichotomy

At any rate, the goal to strive for is the Moshe Rabbeinu level. It’s great to call upon the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  But maybe, just maybe we should be calling upon the G-d of Moses (that facet of G-d)?

[huge_it_share]

 

Israel, Let Me In!

“And I implored HaShem at that time, saying, ‘My L-rd, HaShem, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand, for what power is there in the heaven or on the earth that can perform according to Your mighty acts? Let me now cross and see the good land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon.’ But HaShem became angry with me because of you, and he did not listen to me; HaShem said to me, ‘It is too much for you! Do not continue to speak to Me further about this matter. Ascend to the top of the cliff and raise your eyes westward, northward, southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes, for you shall not cross the Jordan. But you shall command Yehoshua, and strengthen him and give him resolve, for he shall cross before this people and he shall cause them to inherit the land that you will see.’” (DEVARIM 3:25-28)

The numerical value of the word VA’ET’ḤANAN (and I implored) is five hundred and fifteen. The Midrash Rabbah teaches that Moshe implored the Kadosh Barukh Hu five hundred and fifteen times that he be permitted to enter Eretz Yisrael. HaShem commanded him to stop at this point because had Moshe implored a five hundred and sixteenth time, he would have elevated himself to a new spiritual height that would have permitted him to enter into the Land of Israel.

To fully understand this teaching, it is necessary to free our thinking from the erroneous Western concept of prayer. The English word “prayer” is actually derived from the Latin word precari, meaning “to beg” – precisely what many of us are mistakenly led to believe tefillah is. This misunderstanding, which often leads people to imagine the Kadosh Barukh Hu as some giant invisible king taking pleasure in the begging of his subjects, actually prevents us from not only attaining a more mature understanding of HaShem but also from advancing to higher levels of self-awareness.

HaShem is not some giant invisible tyrant but rather the timeless ultimate Reality without end that creates all, sustains all, empowers all and loves all. Everything in existence exists within Him and He transcends far beyond all that exists.

We – like everything else in Creation – are unique expressions of HaShem placed into this world in order to fully participate in history. Human beings are essentially characters in a story being played by actors generally known as souls, which are each distinctive pieces of the infinite Whole we call HaShem. The function of tefillah is to help us each identify and perform our respective roles in the story.

Tefillah is not about begging a giant king to change his mind but rather about connecting to our inner Divine Source. L’hitpallel – generally translated into English as “to pray” – is a reflexive verb that actually suggests transforming ourselves (otherwise we would just say l’pallel). It is an activity we engage in for the purpose of internalizing the goals of life so we may be empowered to actualize our full potential as characters in history.

Commenting on Yaakov’s words to Yosef, “R’oe fanekha lo pillalti – I did not pallel that I would see your face” (BEREISHIT 48:11), Rashi explains the verse to mean that Yaakov never would have filled his heart to think that he would ever see Yosef again.

L’hitpallel means to actively fill our hearts with our deepest dreams and aspirations. This activity then transforms us into people able to actively work with the Kadosh Barukh Hu to actualize these aspirations. Tefillah is not about “changing G-D’s mind” but actually about transforming ourselves. And each time we effectively participate in this activity, we succeed in strengthening our will power, achieving greater self-awareness and consciously discovering the ideals for which our souls incessantly strive.

All of the requests in the Amidah are directed toward superior objectives that our souls already crave. They are our healthiest desires and the deepest yearnings of our true inner selves. Because we are all unique expressions of HaShem, the more we get in touch with our authentic inner selves, the more we actually connect back to our Divine Source and allow ourselves the ability to receive the Kadosh Barukh Hu’s perpetual blessing. Tefillah is the vehicle that enables us to achieve this connection. As it would be ridiculous to assume that HaShem actually needs our tefillot, the obligation to engage in the activity thrice daily is clearly for the sake of something beneficial to us – helping us to manifest and express our inner kedusha through attaining a higher awareness of our relationship to the Divine.

The Amidah experience essentially serves to educate us to that which our souls genuinely desire – the aspirations we were placed into this world to achieve. While whispering the words of the tefillah to ourselves, we are meant to internalize how much we actually yearn for the realization of these goals so that we can then dedicate our actions towards practically attaining them. As most people generally work through concrete human endeavors in order to achieve that which they truly desire, the requests of the Amidah should naturally guide our actions as the blueprint for how we direct our energies and resources. The Hebrew Nation works in partnership with HaShem and any tefillah not complemented by human effort could justifiably be viewed as lacking sincerity.

It is difficult to know how many tefillot are necessary to sufficiently elevate ourselves to merit receiving that which we desire. Had Moshe entreated five hundred and sixteen times, he would have been transformed to the point of being able to cross the Jordan. HaShem commanded His prophet to stop at five hundred and fifteen because it had been decreed and was necessary according to the Divine plan that Moshe would not bring the Hebrews into Eretz Canaan.

Tefillot are not always answered according to expectations. While at first glance G-D’s words to Moshe appear harsh, HaShem is actually consoling His prophet by hinting that although he will not be crossing west of the Jordan, he is already standing well within the Land of Israel.

“‘Ascend to the top of the cliff and raise your eyes westward, northward, southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes, for you shall not cross the Jordan.’” (DEVARIM 3:27)

HaShem tells Moshe to look not only westward but also northward, southward and eastward at the Land of Israel, implying that Eretz Yisrael already surrounds him. The borders of the Promised Land are not merely west of the Jordan River but actually stretch from the Nile to the Euphrates.

“On that day HaShem made a covenant with Avram, saying, ‘To your descendants have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River.’” (BEREISHIT 15:18)

There are levels to the Land of Israel’s kedusha. And although Moshe would not be permitted to enter the loftiest regions of Israel Proper, he was already standing on the east bank of the Jordan. Despite Moshe not being granted his wish as he consciously understood it, he received the consolation of knowing that he was already in the homeland and that his beloved student Yehoshua would lead the Hebrew tribes in liberating the territory west of the Jordan.

“‘But you shall command Yehoshua, and strengthen him and give him resolve, for he shall cross before this people and he shall cause them to inherit the land that you will see.’” (DEVARIM 3:28)

As characters participating in one of history’s most incredible chapters, we must focus our efforts and tefillot on the challenges specifically facing our unique generation. In addition to practical earthly endeavors, we must l’hitpallel for the complete salvation of humankind, beginning with the ingathering of Israel’s exiles from the Diaspora, the defeat of those scheming to uproot us from our land, the attainment of true justice in Israeli society and the building of G-D’s Temple in its proper location. The more we internalize the words we whisper three times a day, the more we will actually thirst for that which our souls yearn. And the more we begin to truly desire and struggle for these goals, the more we will recognize HaShem bringing them to fruition before our eyes.