Av to Elul

Late August 2017
Av to Elul

Give the best you have to God
This is an offering with no blemish

Okay, but the immediate questions is
“What is the best we have?”
Music, song, prayer, service, passing along the teachings,
Dancing in the light, helping someone a little,
Baking a pie and sharing it?

Now I hear a tree singing out like a bird
Chirping cheerily during this sunset
(Sunset is a good time to make an offering, says the Torah)

Give the best you have

This book I’ve written, Song of the Torah
I pray this is the best I have
And I’d like to offer it to everyone
Which is an offering to God
At sunset

There’s that bird singing again
From the West this time
Seems like a great eagle is flying overhead
A few more selections from this week’s portion:

Enter the land God is giving you
Settle in it

Pursue justice and righteousness

Bafflement is also an acceptable offering
Listen for wise guidance

The last words I heard my teacher say were
Ask God, “Please make me a good listener.”

Whatsoever your intuition and conscience advise
Do so right away

Walk the middle path
Reign in enlightenment

With your life write your own Torah
Look into these letters daily

Themes from the Yitro portion in Exodus

Themes from the Yitro portion in Exodus

A fountain of blessings is God, says Jethro
Who frees you from the hand of Pharaoh (control by the ego)

Draw up from within yourself the capable one 
Humbled before the vastness, who loves straight-forwardness
Let this, your nobility, govern you through all seasons of life

The mountain is trembling. God is descending in fire                      Ex: 19.18
Everything’s shaking (and so are we, can’t move, can’t talk)

The sound is getting louder and louder (enter the silence in its center and hear)
I am the Lord your God who brings you out of bondage
Out of the straits, out of narrow-mindedness

On the seventh day celebrate the oneness
Bring honor to your parents (and teachers with an honorable life)

Make an earthen altar (Make an altar of this earth)

An Eternal Light

An eternal light is described in Exodus in the course of setting up a mobile sanctuary while traveling though the wilderness.

This is a metaphor for our physical minds and bodies going through this world in this lifetime with a ner tamid, an eternal light within us at all times.

Last night looking up at the night sky I saw that a north wind was moving dark clouds shaped like a flock of great dark geese slowly passing overhead from north to south. And there too and was a young new moon shining between the moving clouds. Even when they seemed almost to cover her, you could always see her glow on their outer edges, and soon she was right out there clear again filled with gold light.

That eternal light, the ner tamid, is in us each all the time. Just look and you can see her light.

The Zohar (Book of Splendor) says that the great light comes out of the darkness. There can be no light without the darkness to reveal her.

                                   

June 2017

I’ve been working on Song of the Torah, a book of scripture selections with a bit of commentary. In the course of my studies I noticed that when one of the patriarchs dies, the Torah often says “and he was “gathered to his people.”

There’s a nice fellow in town here, whom I only know slightly. When I learned that his wife had just died, I wrote him a sympathy card and noted that his wife is now being joyfully “gathered to her people.”

I woke this morning from the sweetest dream. I was in the mountains with a few friends, helping them get settled before I was leaving to be with family when, lo - a sweet old car from the ’40s drove up and there was my dad driving and smiling at me warmly. Then he pointed across the mountains, and there in the distance was Mom waving hi.

I was talking by phone with my son now in Baghdad. I asked if he felt safe there. He said, yes, pretty safe, but if anything were to happen, we should know that he loves us.

 Same here, I said. I’m a bit older than you and I’ll probably return home before you. Just know I love you and we’ll be “gathered to our people.”

                                              

Child Bearing Ritual and Priestly Service Selections from Tazria in Leviticus 12.1-13.59

Here are considerations for the mother at childbirth and healing capabilities that come with one’s service when in the priestly role.

Child Bearing Ritual and Priestly Service
Selections from Tazria in Leviticus 12.1-13.59

When a woman bears a male child
She may have a seven day retreat from men and community

When a woman bears a female child
She may have a two week retreat from men and community
These retreats are blessings for the mother

On the eighth day a new child may be dedicated to the sacred
The eighth day, the day of infinity, a day beyond space and time          Lev: 12.3

The mother of a male child may continue her retreat for 33 days
The mother of a female child may continue her retreat for 66 days
Woman to woman, mother-daughter bonding, more time given

On completion of such periods of purification
The mother is a priestess at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting
This ritual and purification brings forward the priestess within
When performed sincerely, it brings one to the threshold of communion

She may now present a burnt, uplifting offering
For her new son or daughter  
Joyful thanks for this child who is the fruit of her labor pains

And a sin offering in expiation (asking God’s forgiveness ahead of time)
For the child’s possible misbehavior while still learning the way
And for any inadvertent errors she may have committed
While withdrawn from community

Thus one is cleansed from the flow of blood                               Lev: 12.7        
Blood is a symbol of mortality. Cleansing of blood reveals our immortality

When there are physical ailments needing attention
Such shall be reported to the priest or priestess
Who is asked to come investigate
The priest or priestess within also has healing gifts

The priest or priestess can declare an uncleanness or poor health
And the priest or priestess can also declare a person clean
And welcome that person back into the community
The priest or priestess within has these gifts for service to others

The Eighth Day Selections from Shemini in Leviticus 9.1-11.47

After seven days of purification, preparation and atonement.

The Eighth Day
Selections from Shemini in Leviticus 9.1-11.47

On the eighth day Moses calls Aaron
Aaron’s children and the elders of Israel
We've been given the design of the sanctuary and are called to bring it to life
On this, "the Eighth Day," Shemini, the day of infinity

Bring offerings before God to the front of the Tent of Meeting
For today God is appearing to you (Put your offerings on your own altar)

Bring your offerings to the altar thus making expiation
For yourself, for your family, for your people and for all humanity  
If our offerings are sincere, they are accepted and we find ourselves
In the presence of holiness

Lift your hands toward the people and bless them, Moses continues

Then Moses and Aaron go inside the tent of meeting
When they come out, they bless the people
And the presence of God appears to all

Fire comes forth and consumes the offerings
The people shout (exulting) and fall on their faces                   Lev:  9.22-24
             
Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, each takes his fire pan
Puts fire in it; lays incense on it, and offers himself to God

Fire from Yah consumes them; they die instantly.
The glory of God is on all the people
Nadav and Avihu give themselves utterly, and suddenly
Amazing grace all over the place … on everyone’s face

Moses exclaims to Aaron: This is what God meant
Through those near me I am sanctified
Upon the faces of the people I am glorified  

Rabbi Shefa Gold explains, one is transformed through such giving
God takes us rather than our gifts. In that moment of selflessness
The glory of God appears upon the faces of people

Aaron is silent (He sees and remains poised in equanimity)          Lev: 10.3
                                                                                     
Moses asks about the sin offering (and discovers it’s been)
Already burned, but not consumed. What? Moses becomes disturbed


Why didn’t you eat the sin offering; it’s the most holy
It’s given to you to remove the guilt of the entire community

Look, says Aaron (the high priest), today my sons
Brought their offerings before God and such has befallen me
Had I eaten today (for the community’s expiation)
Would God have approved? Moses hears and approves                  Lev: 10

I am your God.  Sanctify yourselves and be holy for I am holy
I am the one who brings you up from mitzraim to be your God       Lev: 11
From the straits, from the clutches of materiality
                                                 
When serving as priest or priestess
Don’t drink wine or take other intoxicants (Stay focused and clear minded)
During times of such service don’t use alcohol, pills or drugs to get high
Use prayers of thanks, songs of devotion and selfless actions

Discern what is sacred and what is not    
Teach seekers along the way the guidelines
God is passing through Moses and through you

Take of the leftover meal offerings dedicated to God and eat them
Accept the gifts God is giving you without self-consciousness
It’s for the service of everyone

This is your due for all time (Genuine loving with one another)

Do not eat camels, reptiles, swine or swarming things
Do not eat carnivores or bottom dwellers. Don’t make yourself unclean
Restrict what you eat. Take only the best fuel for your bodies
Fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts yogurt

I am raising you up, says God                                          Lev: 11.45
To make a difference in the world

Love from Above

Love from Above
Deep Flow from Below

So much heart and a radiant soul
When you’re nearby I know that I’m whole

Talents and skills spill off your plate
Morning ‘til night, must be your fate

Wherever you go people are touched
Animals too, they love you so much

This animal also is grateful to be
Blessed with your love from heavens above

Day after day is never the same
The trees in our yard are calling your name

And singing out praise to have you nearby
Me too, this blessing brings tears to my eye

And songs of love keep coming up
What luck! What luck! You’ve filled my cup

That light of love in your eyes
The thrill to touch your thighs

Your presence makes faith true
I fell for you before I knew

How magnificent you are
Did you come down from a star

To make us laugh and bring us home
Or just to tease us with your beauty

However it happened I heard the call
And here am I in your great hall

Sing your song and dance your dance
Go deep fly high and have romance

Of course you’re free, but please consider
Truckin’ with me for one more year, for one more day
One more lifetime dancing this way

Now here we are in this beautiful place
Blessed with love blessed with grace
O’, what a mystery, so full of wonder
We hear the lightning and see the thunder

Death

Feb. 10

At just this hour three years ago today, my father died and vanished. Gone into blue gray skies like disappearing ink. Three years gone except for memories, momentary visions feeling his presence and a few dreams in which I saw and talked with him and hugged him. Three years ago today my sweet Dad left this world for a better land, I hope, while I'm here in a car wash place waiting for my car which I'm hoping to sell. It's been a long time and it makes my heart ache a little as I sit here writing on my knee while eyeing the nylon stockinged leg of the dressy young woman seated to my left waiting for her car.

Oh, the contradictions in life, paradoxes and polarities, tragedies and ironies. I hope he's free of all this shit. I miss him. Life is sort of grim these days, but hey -- they're killing civilians and babies in Yugoslavia. Guys are sleeping on sidewalk grates in every American city, and I complain? I remember the intensive care unit in the hospital. Dad shuttered and left. (Gone)

Rumi:  To one who knows, death isn't bitter.
An earthquake opens the prison walls.
Do you think an escaping prisoner will complain
Of the damage done to the stone and marble work?
People will say, "So-and-so is dead. But you'll know how alive you've become. The soul soars when it's freed from its body. Like a sleeping convict in his cell dreaming of a rose garden, he knows he's dreaming and doesn't want to go back to his body dungeon. So he prays, "Let me keep walking here like a prince." God says, "Yes, your prayer is granted. Don't go back." He dies in his sleep and stays in that rose garden
with no regrets for what he left back in his prison cell.

Expect the best and most noble dishes
and the host will bring them out.
A mountain lifts its elegant head
like a guest who receives the dawn.

One might think this place would be fine if it weren't for dying. If there were no death, the world would be just a tangle of straw unthreshed in the field. No one who has died is grieving because of death. The only grief is not being well enough prepared for dying. No one objects to exchanging sour buttermilk for choice wine.

 -- Rumi Selections from Coleman's Bark's Feeling the Shoulder of the Lion

Presenting Offerings to God Selections from Vayikra in Leviticus 1.1-5.26

Introduction to Levitcus

The third scroll in the Song of the Torah is Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus. At this place in the song we spiritual seekers, sometimes called “the children of Israel,” have received sacred wisdom at Sinai and are now continuing our adventures enroute to a promised land, a state of enlightenment.

We’re traveling together in community. Leviticus gives teachings how to live harmoniously with others and how to serve effectively as a team living in and passing on the light.

We are re-introduced to the kohen, the priest or priestess within us each and shown how to bring that service forward to navigate between worlds and to be an instrument of blessings.

Presenting Offerings to God
Selections from Vayikra in Leviticus 1.1-5.26

God calls to Moses and speaks with him from the Tent of Meeting
Saying, instruct people how to present offerings to God

Make offerings from your herd or your flock. Bring these
To the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for acceptance before God
Our herds and our flocks are our assets and our wealth
The Tent of Meeting is wherever you go to commune with the divine

To offer a sacrifice of well-being (peace, fullness)
Bring before God an unblemished offering
With no taint of artifice or pride

Such unblemished peace and fellowship offerings
Bring one to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting

Sacrifice, korban, means drawing closer
When we sincerely offer the best we got
That’s an unblemished offering, and it draws us closer

If it’s a burnt offering, let it be without blemish                         Lev: 1.10
A fire offering makes an appeasing fragrance to God
The fire of one’s self-discipline or suffering can be offered up to God

If you bring a meal offering, give the best quality you have
Include oil and incense (meditation and genuine devotion)
Don’t make your meal offerings with leaven (pride)






God says, tell the Israelites, if one has committed inadvertent sin
Dedicate one’s self to benefit all, which is an unblemished sin offering
This will bring him or her to the entrance of the tent of meeting
To the threshold of communion

If one feels guilty for erring, be aware of the error – and confess it
Take full responsibility — without “blame”
This is an unblemished offering, and atonement can be received

Errors such as witnessing wrong doing, but not speaking out
Neglecting or forgetting to cleanse one’s self before holy service
Saying you’ll do something, but not doing it (do what you said you’d do)
Confess your errors and make guilt offerings
Give yourself to God wholly and practice selfless service

Also use meal offerings for guilt
Dedicate the energy of your food and drink for the benefit of all

If you misuse things given to God (food, drink or charity, for examples)
Make full restitution plus 1/5 more

The guilt offerings for lying or dishonesty in business or with others
For misusing money or property of others, or for robbery
Make full restitution plus 1/5 more to the rightful owners
In these ways one is fully forgiven  (peace of mind is divinity)       Lev: 5.26

Now a few notes on finance from my Guru

Sri Swami Satchidananda

A. Have fun with finance (fun-ance). Being comfortable is no worry about how to pay the bills. Don't spend so much and find it hard to pay the bills. Then you're comfortable.

B. Respect everyone and everything, also money which is a form of God. See all and everything as manifestations of that cosmic consciousness; this is Yoga.

C. You can apply Yoga to all that you do. You can be a good business person and a good Yogi.

D.  Re borrowing money – if it’s for a good purpose, okay. Not for luxuries, but for a good reason -- and know you'll pay it back. Don't depend on the loan alone, or you feel lonesome.

E. Budget your life, budget money, budget everything. Know how much you
    can get, and how much you can have; how much to save (maybe 20% as Joseph taught). And know how much to spend -- within certain limits

Hear the Lightening, See the Thunder

So much heart and a radiant soul
When you’re nearby I know that I’m whole

Talents and skills spill off your plate
Morning ‘til night, must be your fate

Wherever you go people are touched
Animals too, they love you so much

This animal also is grateful to be
Blessed with your love from heavens above

Day after day is never the same
The trees in our yard are calling your name

And singing out praise to have you nearby
Me too, this blessing brings tears to my eye

And songs of love keep coming up
What luck! What luck! You’ve filled my cup

Your presence makes faith true
I fell for you before I knew

How magnificent you are
Did you come down from a star

To make us laugh and bring us home
Or just to tease us with your beauty

However it happened I heard the call
And here am I in your great hall

Dear Mr. Trump

 You are quite a warrior, accomplished and successful. You’ve attained a great prize and honor. I can’t say I like the way you’ve done it, but your skill and perseverance are remarkable.

   The next level and calling for a successful warrior is noble leadership. As you may know, that means defending the innocent, showering kindness and prosperity on all your people, being open and loving to all and dedicating the fruits of your service to the benefit of everyone.

   May you be as successful in your leadership role as you have been as a warrior.