(He) Lived
THE BIG IDEA
It is hard to believe that this Shabbat we close the book of B’reshit. It’s even harder to believe that the war lasted the entire B’reshit cycle, and that despite ongoing loss of precious lives and passage of time, war continues to be the only way to ensure Israeli life.
Be sure to take time to reflect on the ways this war has affected both your personal identity and sense of spiritual responsibility in the world.
B’reshit, more than anything, teaches us the human tendency toward evil (the illusion of separation), and the nature of karmic consequences from the moment good and evil was ingested into human consciousness. Note the way evil doesn’t just go away, not within ourselves, not within the world. It lingers and it haunts —- until a conscious surrender to the Absolute Oneness is achieved.
It is no secret in the land of Israel that our internal hatred and division made us vulnerable to attack. And now, even in the face of existential threat, that tendency is beginning once again to percolate.
And so, I beg you,
please, before we drop into the energy of enslavement,
Let’s learn from Joseph’s faith in divine unfolding as the key to forgiveness*, and the calling of the moment.
As the torah energy honors the life of Israel (Jacob), and we close the Book of Origins, take a moment to re-align yourself with Abraham’s unconditional loving kindness and Sarah’s strong spiritual boundaries. Note the places you hated and judged yourself, your family, your spiritual heritage, the nation of Israel, and make the Abrahamic commitment to believe in the Absolute Oneness — even in war, even in disagreement.
The only way out of our petty small mindedness is to yearn with every fiber for a light (consciousness) bigger than our own. It is only higher awareness that we can heal this mess of internal hatred that infects us all — and continues to attract our enemies like flies.
Let’s once and for all heal our tendency to throw each other in pits, and our tendency to want to destroy anything other than someone that is literally trying to kill you.
INTERNAL EXCERCISE
*After burying their father in Hebron, ten of Jacobs sons, still feeling guilty over what they did to their brother, throw themselves at his mercy, anticipating and almost inviting consequences for their actions. Joseph, in tears at the suggestion, knows he can’t personally alleviate their soul’s burden, or save future generations from the painful aspects of their karmic inheritance.
This weekend scan your heart and soul for any lingering shame, guilt, hatred, and blame that you carry for your past actions - and summon Joseph’s ability to see divinity even in the places you faltered.