A Partner in Holiness Vol 2 , livre ebook

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To rabbis Nancy Flam, Sheila Peltz Weinberg, Rachel Cowan, and Lisa Goldstein
With gratitude for faith, support, and love
To Arthur Green
Because you sent me out to find my path, I have been able to trace it back to you
Contents: Volume 2
The Book of Leviticus
Vayikra
Tzav
Shemini
Tazria
Metsora
Acharei Mot
Kedoshim
Emor
Behar
Bechukkotai
The Book of Numbers
Bemidbar
Naso
Beha alotekha
Shelach Lekha
Korach
Chukkat
Balak
Pinchas
Mattot
Mase ei
The Book of Deuteronomy
Devarim
Va etchanan
Eikev
Re eih
Shofetim
Ki Teitzei
Ki Tavo
Nitzavim
Vayeilekh
Ha azinu
Vezot Haberakhah
Acknowledgments
Suggestions for Further Reading
Hebrew Texts
About the Author
Copyright
Also Available
About Jewish Lights
Here Is What You ll Find in Voume 1:
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
The Book of Genesis
Bereishit
Noach
Lekh Lekha
Vayeira
Hayyey Sarah
Toledot
Vayeitzei
Vayishlach
Vayeishev
Mikkeitz
Vayiggash
Vayechi
The Book of Exodus
Shemot
Va eira
Bo
Beshallach
Yitro
Mishpatim
Terumah
Tetzavveh
Ki Tissa
Vayakheil
Pekudei
Notes


Vayikra
[He] called to Moses [and YHVH spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying] (Lev. 1:1).
The final letter, aleph , of the opening word He called ( vayikra ) is written in the Torah such that it is smaller than the other letters.
We can make sense of this in light of the verse Then He said to Moses, Come up to YHVH (Exod. 24:1). When we perform a mitzvah, this mitzvah makes an impression above, which arouses and inspires us always to fulfill the will of the Creator through this mitzvah. Now, this was Moses s desire, to constantly ascend toward God, as we learn from the Zohar on the verse Moses went up to God (Exod. 19:3). From this we learn that it was his constant desire to ascend toward God, and this, in turn, would arouse him constantly to ascend toward God! So, this is how we should understand these verses: Then he said to Moses, Come up to YHVH -Moses s own desire to ascend to God was that voice that said to him, Come up to YHVH .
This, too, is hinted at in the small aleph . Moses s quality was that he was more humble than any other person on earth (cf. Num. 12:3). Therefore the aleph is small, to indicate his particular quality.
FOR FURTHER THOUGHT
In this lesson, Levi Yitzhak seems uncharacteristically terse. His ultimate point is that Moses s humility, which surpasses all others, was such that he never thought that he had made it. He always sensed that there was more he could learn, that there was another level of awareness he might attain, a more profound capacity to serve God to uncover. It was this humility, signified by the small aleph , that generated the energy that constantly moved him upward toward God. We know about Moses s deep desire to move constantly toward God from the two verses from Exodus. First, Moses went up to God. He set out to serve God and experienced delight in that movement. In turn, it registered above, and his original devotion continued to come back to inspire him. He said to Moses -that is, Moses repeated and reiterated his desire to himself- ascend up to God.
What we do registers in us. It makes an impression through patterns in our body, in our nervous system, in our brains, and in our hearts. Particularly when we do a mitzvah (perhaps best understood in its broadest, colloquial sense of good deed ), we feel pleasure at what we have accomplished. In the brain, hormones are released by which we sense that pleasure. In turn, the body seeks to feel that pleasure again. We look for ways to do a mitzvah -either that same one (isn t that how we form habits?) or another, just so that we can feel that pleasure again. The impression above calls to us, reminds us to do again what was so satisfying and good before. Our own bodies-and our own awareness of God-energize us to continue on this path, to go up to God.
Here is the passage from the Zohar (II 79b) that Levi Yitzhak cites:
Moses went up to God. How pleasant is Moses s portion, that he merited this great honor: that the Torah testifies to his quality. R. Yehudah taught: See the difference between Moses and all other people. Everyone else, when they go up, they go up in wealth, they go up in honor, they go up in power. But, when Moses went up, what does the Torah say? Moses went up to God. Happy is his portion. R. Yose said: On this basis the chaverim say, One who comes to purify himself, is helped (Yoma 38b). It says, Moses went up to God. What is written afterward? YHVH called to him. Anyone who wishes to come near is brought near.
Note that the Zohar cites Exod. 19:3 correctly-the phrases do follow one after the other-and that Moses moves toward God ( elohim ), after which YHVH calls to him directly. In our original verse in Leviticus, it is not clear who is speaking to Moses at first. It simply says, He called to Moses, and only afterward does it say that YHVH spoke to him. So, Levi Yitzhak is reading very carefully and creatively in bringing these verses into conversation with our verse. On the basis of his reading of the Zohar and the verses from Exodus, he hears into our verse even more deeply. He suggests that it is Moses who calls to Moses at first. It is out of his inner process, his constant devotion to moving toward God, that God then responds, speaking to him from the Tent of Meeting. And, it will be Moses s voice-our own inner voice-that will call to him continually to draw nearer to God.
In the commentary above there is a very concrete biological explanation for how doing a good deed can generate the energy that moves us to do another. But Levi Yitzhak is precise in his language: the act makes an impression [ reshimah ] above. How do you understand this? What is the permanent effect of our actions? What changes in the world in response to our actions? How does that affect us in turn? What experience have you had in which you sensed that you were being called to do something? Where did the voice that called you come from? In your experience, what is the difference between doing something again out of habit and doing something again out of a renewed interest, desire, or commitment? Which is more pleasurable? Which is easier? Which brings about more commitment and determination? How do you distinguish between the two?

This lesson resonates with the practice of spiritual direction. In that practice, we investigate our inner awareness, our sense of how God is moving in us, what God wants of us. We conduct this inquiry in the company of another whose role is to mirror back to us what is going on in our inner life; to accompany us as we look even more deeply into our hearts and souls; and to midwife the emergence of a new understanding of our spiritual path. The goal is discovery, and we are the ones who discover our own soul s path.
One of the difficulties of this practice is in discerning what God is calling us-individually, specifically-to do. It is hard to know how to hear God s voice. Our lesson offers some help. Initially, what we may hear is, indeed, our own voice. We will want to listen for that voice that is most persistent, that is clearest in calling us to serve God through the mitzvot, the good deeds, that we do. Eventually, if we follow that voice, paying very close attention, we may hear God s voice echoing deeply in ours. We may learn how to do the mitzvah more fully, how to go up in our service, how to perfect our devotion.
Each of us knows for ourselves what we consider to be our mitzvah or our particular set of mitzvot. We sense what is most necessary, most compelling, and most important in our lives. Yet we do not always follow through. Sometimes we even forget. But the movement of our hearts does not stop. When we slow down to pay attention, we may sense it once again. We may struggle against what we hear (if it is hard to change our course). We may despair of ever living up to our ambition and commitment. But recognizing that there is a voice that calls to us-our voice, God s voice-can be a source of inspiration, solace, and strength. Listen.

A general rule regarding sacrifice.
As a general rule , sacrifice ( korban , signifying drawing near ) takes the form of the blessing ( shefa ) that the blessed Holy One pours out due to His great love, without any influence from below. For this reason, korban needs to be alive, since life is from the blessed Holy One. But, in libations ( nesakhim ) the shefa is more constricted, since they come about by means of work in the lower realms: people have to do something to make them-planting or sowing. Libations, then, signify the shefa that pours forth from the blessed Creator in response to the work of the lower realms. Due to our good deeds, we merit that the blessed Creator pours blessings out on us.
Now, when Israel were in the desert, their state was such that the blessed Holy One poured out blessing to them due to His great love, and the outpouring came to them in that manner. Neither the manna nor the well required any sort of human endeavor. But in the Land of Israel, the blessing poured out on them due to their work in the lower realms. Through their actions the blessings poured out on them-