Shemini. Towards inner freedom

Today is Day 13 of the counting of the Omer. 

Today is day 567 of captivity of my brothers taken hostage in Azza.

And just like that we have arrived on the eighth day (shemini): the day of the inauguration of the mishkan.

After months of building the space dedicated to the shekhina- divine presence, after crafting the utensils in it, and assembling the garments of the cohanim (priests), after the instructions for the various korbanot and for the service (avodah) have been carefully detailed, and after the priests, Aharon and his sons, have spent seven full days preparing themselves, the day has come for the inauguration.

All of this  might feel quite removed from us. Today there is no Mishkan and no more Temple; As a result, as a matter of fact, korbanot have become obsolete, and all that’s left to the kohanim is to bless the people during the shabbat morning prayer service--and only in the land of Israel

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Why then, do we keep reading these texts?

What, if anything, can still ring as true to us, about these strange rituals today?

 I find it important to always keep asking myself the question.

This is part of what helps my relationship with judaism stay alive: 

I don’t do things by rote. I don’t take the prayers I utter and the rituals I give myself to for granted. 

I always keep asking myself: why do I do that? What is the meaning of this?

Just because I received a tradition and am part of a culture, and just because I’m dedicated to it, doesn't mean I shouldn’t be searching for meaning all the time.

In fact, I believe meaning is the water inside everything that is alive- from this body, to the beautiful Lilac flower in the vase, next to me to Torah, which is called itself, "water".

Yes, meaning is my water.

Without it, the Tree of Life I seek to cleave to and which is also called Torah, will simply whither and die.

And I like my Judaism alive.

We are just a week after Pessah.

Having reflected, this year again, on why I eat matza during this festival, what the seder expresses, what “leaving Egypt” means and what true freedom entails -and demands from me- I had one of the most meaningful festivals of Pessach I can remember.

This is because I experienced it with all my senses and in all dimensions of my life. And I still do: Leaving Egypt was just the beginning. Now the real work has started.

We are about to enter shabbat mevarechim, the "shabbat" in which" we bless" the upcoming month. We are about to welcome of Iyar, in which we will celebrate Pessach Sheni: the Second Pessach.

In Iyar, just at the middle of the month and just a month after the Seder, we will have a second chance of freeing ourselves.

Yes, the journey of the counting of the omer, and perhaps especially this month in between Pessach and Pessach Sheni, is an opportunity to free myself from my own constrictive patterns, narrow comfort zones which prevent me from moving forward, and the like.

My heart bleeds as I write these lines and my brothers are still held Hostage.

So I dedicate my spiritual work towards inner Freedom, to them.

This week, reading Parashat Shemini in the Hassidic light, from the teaching of the Sfat Emet, helps me do just that.

As usual, the Rebbe invites us to read beyond the Pshat of the text, and to see the story of the Kohanim and the korbanot just for what they are on a deeper level: a parabol, pointing to a calling for inner work.

He infers it from one of the opening passages of our parasha, when Moshe introduces the instructions that are to come:

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר משֶׁ֔ה זֶ֧ה הַדָּבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה יְהֹוָ֖ה תַּֽעֲשׂ֑וּ וְיֵרָ֥א אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם כְּב֥וֹד יְהֹוָֽה:

Moses said, “This is what God has commanded. Do it, and the glory of God will appear to you.” (Vayikra 9.6)

What is this “thing”?

Why speaking in such abstract language?

To the Sfat emet, the word “davar”, thing, points to one of the most central tenets of Hassidut: 

כי בכל דבר שבעולם יש רצון ומבוקש השי"ת

For in every thing that exists in the world, there exists the will and desire of the Blessed Holy One. But this thing is visible only from within: if we search for the "nekudat pnimiut", the "Inner Point."

Therefore according to Sfat Emet, the instructions given to the Kohanim in our Parasha are really about cleansing our hearts from the negative tendencies that lie  within us: the yetser ha ra.

It may seem like a big word, but it is actually quite ordinary:

just as there are within us beautiful tendencies- generosity, compassion, humour or courage, there are also less pretty traits: laziness, envy, pessimism, resentment, fear.

You name it, you know yours. And these are the part that prevent us from growing.

Doing the spiritual work starts by understanding that change doesn't happen by itself.

We need to identify the seeds within us that won’t help the blooming of the beautiful garden of who we are, and waters those who will help that.

This is what we are doing right now, as we are counting the Omer each day: tikkun midot- refectification of our character traits, week after week, day after day.

And for the Sfat Emet, the instruction really given to the kohanim is as simple as that: refining their hearts.

We do need a refined heart and a clearer consciousness in order to truly Serve Life without our actions being clouded by our personal interests, our projections or the small agenda of our (generally wounded or insecure) ego to get in the way.

But it doesnt stop there.

For the Sfat Emet, the instruction doesn’t just apply to the Cohanim, but to each of us.

And it goes like this:

עבודת בנ"י הוא להביא הארה זה תוך העשי' ממש.

The service of the Children of Israel is to bring this light into the action itself.

This may be the prehistory of Jewish Mindfulness:

when we bring the light of awareness into each concrete action that we do, it helps cleanse our hearts.

Today is day 13 of the counting of the Omer.

We have just counted the sefirah of Yesod she be gevurah- Foundation within discipline.

The foundation of the spiritual discipline is paying attention; "lasim lev" in hebrew.

When we pay attention to what we are doing, when we bring the light of awareness to our action, we give ourselves a chance to step out of the loop of acting out and repeating our own familiar patterns. We give ourselves a chance to choose differently. We give ourselves a chance to be truly free.

This is the invitation for this shabbat, as we read Parashat Shemini, in which we read about the two sons of Aharon who got burnt for not paying attention to what they were doing. This is the invitation of this shabbat mevarechim, welcoming the month of Pessach Sheni, the month of Second chances. Let's we bring the light of awareness in everything we do.

Today seems like a perfect time for this.