Terumah: Opening to receive God's offerings

Terumah Exodus 25:2 – "from every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering..’    

Usually we read this verse as instructing us about something that we humans offer to God.  However, the language (terumahti) clearly says that  God is offering us something - something that can be taken from the inspired and generous heart. And what is it that God offers us when we are open-hearted?  Open-heartedness brings a sense of connection, a feeling of safety, and an overwhelming gratitude for having something to be able to give. Generosity begets gratitude, a gratitude we ourselves feel (rather than the gratitude of whomever has been the recipient of our generosity). This gratitude further softens our heart and inspires us to greater opening, creating a flow of connection so that we become aware of the beauty and preciousness of the incredible mishkan of the Universe in which we live.

May we be moved to act generously toward ourselves and others. And may we discern, in the fruits of that generosity, the richness of life that God continually offers us.

Bereishit - Love Power

The last word of the Torah is Israel. The first word is bereishit (“in the beginning” or “at the head”.) Combining the last letter (lamed) and the first letter (bet) together,  we get a word which can be read as lev (heart.) From this we learn that love is the power that enables us to move from an ending to a new beginning.

May we look into our hearts and be moved by love to begin again.

Eikev - Freedom from our changing moods

Deutoronomy 8:14. “and your heart grows haughty, and you forget the Lord, your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage”

So often it is our heart, our emotion, that leads us to act the way that we do, whether for good or for ill. A midrash* catalogued the many moods of the heart displayed in the Torah as follows:

The heart speaks (Ecclesiastes 1:16 ), sees (Ecclesiastes 1:16 ), hears (1 Kings 3:9), walks (2 Kings 5:26 ), falls (1 Samuel 17:32), stands (Ezekiel  22:14 ), rejoices (Psalm 16:9 ), cries (Lamentations  2:18 ), is comforted (Isaiah  40:2 ), is troubled (Deuteronomy 15:10 ), becomes hardened (Exodus 9:12. ), grows faint (Deuteronomy 20:3 ), grieves (Genesis 6:6 ), fears (Deuteronomy 28:67 ), can be broken (Psalm 51:19 ), rebels (Jeremiah   5:23 ), invents (1 Kings 12:33 ), cavils (Deuteronomy 29:18 ), overflows (Psalm 45:2 ), devises (Proverbs 19:21 ), desires (Psalm 21:3 ), goes astray (Proverbs 7:25 ), lusts (Numbers 15:39 ), is refreshed (Genesis 18:5), can be stolen (Genesis 31:20 ), is humbled (Leviticus  26:41  ), is enticed (Genesis 34:3 ), errs (Isaiah 21:4 ), trembles (1 Samuel 4:13 ), is awakened (Song of Songs   5:2 ), loves (Deuteronomy 6:5 ), hates (Leviticus 19:17 ), envies (Proverbs 23:17  ), is searched (Jeremiah 17:10  ), is rent (Joel 2:13 ), meditates (Psalm 49:4 ), is like a fire (Jeremiah 20:9 ), is like a stone (Ezekiel 36:26  ), turns in repentance (2 Kings 23:25 ), becomes hot (Deuteronomy 19:6 ), dies (1 Samuel 25:37), melts (Joshua  7:5 ), takes in words (Deuteronomy 6:6 ), is susceptible to fear (Jeremiah 32:40 ), gives thanks (Psalm 111:1), covets (Proverbs 6:25 ), becomes hard (Proverbs 28:14 ), makes merry (Judges 16:25 ), acts deceitfully (Proverbs 12:20 ), speaks from out of itself (1 Samuel 1:13 ), loves bribes (Jeremiah 22:17 ), writes words (Proverbs 3:3 ), plans (Proverbs 6:18 ), receives commandments (Proverbs 10:8 ), acts with pride (Obadiah  1:3 ), makes arrangements (Proverbs 16:1 ), and aggrandizes itself (2 Chronicles  25:19 ).

When we sit quietly, observing the changing moods of the heart, we begin to have compassion for our volatile selves. Eventually, we remember that there is something unchanging and steady that we can rest in. In that moment, we are freed from the bondage.


* Source: Thank you to Wikipedia for pointing me to the midrash!! (Ecclesiastes Rabbah <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastes_Rabbah>  1:36.)

Va'era - The strength to listen

Parshat Va-ayra - Exodus 7:22: after the water turns to blood:”… and Pharaoh’s heart remained strong, and he did not listen to them.”
Exodus 9:34: after the hail stopped: “ he continued to sin: he made his heart heavy”

When first faced with Moses’ demands, Pharaoh’s heart was strengthened. Is this not a good thing? Pharaoh had to deal with a very difficult situation, a potential rebellion, a potential revolution. He needed to respond with strength and wisdom.  But Pharaoh used his strength to not listen.  This is the sin – to not listen fully.  And because of this refusal to listen, Pharaoh’s heart became heavy with rigidity.

May we use our strength to listen even to very difficult messages, so that our heart does not become so rigid, so hard, and so heavy that we cannot go forward.

Vayyechi - Yosef comforts from the heart

Parshat Vayyechi   – Gen 50:19-21 – “But Yosef said to them: Do not be afraid!  For am I in the place of God?  Now you, you planned ill against me, (but) God planned it over for good, in order to do (as is) this very day – to keep many people alive. So now, do not be afraid!  I myself will sustain you and your little ones!  And he comforted them and spoke to their hearts.”


Yosef, who was thrown into a pit by his brothers to be devoured by wild beasts, and later put into the dungeon by Potiphar, could have remained bitter all of his life.  Instead, Yosef was able to learn from his pain and suffering, first to gain insight to interpret dreams, later to advise Pharaoh, and finally to forgive and comfort his brothers.  How was Yosef able to do this? Over time, Yosef learned to listen to and respond from his heart, rather than his ego. While in his youth he brought an ill report of his brothers to his father. In his maturity he wept when he heard his brothers arguing over which of them was responsible for his death (Gen. 42:22-24), when he first saw Benyamin (Gen. 43:29-30), and when he revealed himself to his brothers (Gen. 45:1-2 14-15).

May we, like Yosef, open our hearts, forgive, and comfort ourselves, our families, and our communities.