hello everyone,

Last week’s parsha (weekly Torah portion), we listened to Moshe review our journey from Mount Sinai to the edge of the promised land.

In this week’s parsha, Moshe (Moses) talks about haShem (god) turning down his request to enter the land, all that haShem has done to get the people to this point, what will happen if the people forget haShem, which cities east of the Jordan are safe havens for unintentional murderers, the 10 statements (commonly referred to incorrectly as the 10 commandments) and the events surrounding the hearing of them, to be careful when things are good that one does not forget haShem and what will happen if one does forget haShem, to teach one’s children the story of the leaving of Egypt, to completely push out the nations already in the land and not to be afraid to do so for haShem is with the people.  Whew, that is a lot of info to digest!

Now what can we find in all these words/things?  To me, I see a pattern of emphasis:  haShem went out of his way to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt and to this special land.  And in order to be in the land and prosper, the people will have to live by a set of rules laid down by haShem.  Living by these rules, including the 10 utterances, will have the side effect of making one prosperous.  However, when things are going well, it is real easy to forget haShem, to start relying on physical symbols, and eventually start thinking of these symbols (stars, statues, etc.) as gods.  If one falls into that trap, haShem will act in a like manner, which is total inaction, and the person doing this will lose his wealth and the land she is on.  The best way to not fall into this trap is to always remember where you came from and to teach this to your children, so they will know haShem and the rules and why they should follow them and they will not fall into the trap.

Now, that I have given my spin on the last parsha, I can hear people asking, “what does this have to do with me on a personal level?”

My answer to that is that this is a paradigm to live by.  Way back when, I translated Egypt (Mitzrayim in Hebrew) to mean a narrows, and that each one of us at times has been enslaved and stuck to habits or patterns or places we didn’t want to be in.  Hopefully all of us have worked thru these to become people free of these things.  We have now come to a place where we can grow and prosper:  our personal promised land.  However, to stay there, we need to follow certain rules.  We need to remember where we came from and what it took to get where we are now (hint: it wasn’t our egos).  And we need to be wary of forgetting how we now live/desire to live, for in this new place are new traps, new ways of being enslaved which will lead us back to Egypt/Mitzrayim.  As we get “wealthy,” we need to remember not to get jealous of what others have, we need to not step on people to attain more, not to worship idols like money or power, to take a day of rest and contemplation, just to name a few of the things we now need to do to stay prosperous.  This parsha outlines a set of guidelines to stay true to ourselves and in our personal promised land, and out of Egypt.

This is the message Moshe is trying to get across:  we no longer need a mentor (for this cycle of growth :); we know what to do.  It is now up to us.  Don’t forget the divine within and without that helped get you here.

As I reread this, I remember a conversation I had with a friend of mine who was seeing this lesson played out in his life a number of years ago, during this week’s parsha.  I wished him, and I wish all of you, blessings that you don’t need this kind of reminder often, and when you do, that they be mild taps on your shoulder, and that you all continue to grow and prosper and do what needs to be done in a joyful and timely manner.

Oops… I almost forgot to mention the meaning of the very first thing in the parsha:  Moshe getting turned down in his request to enter the land.  The lesson here is that god does listen to your prayers, and sometimes the answer is, “No.”  Why?  Well, I guess because we don’t see the big picture enough to realize that what we are asking for is really detrimental to us.  It is like a 5 year old wanting to stay up late the night before his birthday.  His parents hear his pleas, but they still till him no, because they know he will enjoy his birthday more if he is well rested.  This however is not something a 5 year old will understand.  He just hears the no.  We are like that 5 year old, and god is like our parents.  Don’t forget to honor them too. 🙂

Have a good week/shavuah tov,

About the Author

Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.