Exodus | Shemot
Once again we are bearing witness to the horrors of war, this time in Europe. This week’s Torah at the Intersection takes inspiration from the Bearing Witness Retreats of the Zen Peacemaker Order. At these retreats people from dozens of countries throughout the world come together to witness human suffering wrought by war and violence, to deeply examine the causes of war and violence and pledge to dedicate ourselves to live and work for a world without war, violence and hatred.
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On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to יהוה; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout your settlements on the sabbath day. (Exodus 35: 2-3)
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This week’s essay draws on Thich Nhat Hanh’s Buddhist teaching that this moment is the only moment. Looking deeply, we see that past and future are only alive in this very moment. This is good news! This means that we can heal the past and prepare a better future when we stay fully present and aware of our choices and how they affect everyone around us.
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This week’s moment in the Torah Exodus story continues the journey of the desert wanderers from constricted slave-owning hearts to the qualities of heart needed to fulfill the human promise.
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As we build sanctuaries in our own hearts for each other we are uplifted. The better world we dream of arises as the collective body of the people build it and govern with willing and receptive hearts.
READ MOREA video talk offered as part of the “A Shtickele Toyrah” (a “small piece” of Torah) with the Woodstock Jewish Congregation.
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When I was a young civil rights lawyer in New York City I worked briefly on the criminal defense of Yusef Salaam, age 15, one of the now exonerated Central Park Five. After spending a short period of time with some of the young, accused black men and their families, it was apparent to me that they were innocent. It was apparent to all the lawyers in our office.
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This week’s post emerges from the intersection of the fires of Buddhism, Nonviolent Communication and Torah.
This has been a week of Rabbis speaking of Thich Nhat Hanh and his impact of returning them to Judaism. Students of Nonviolent Communication trainer Robert Gonzales speaking of how his life and work grounded their NVC practice in the Buddhist values of compassion and bodhichitta. And my own weaving of the NVC principles of needs and strategies into the Torah portion of Mishpatim.
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With a heavy and grateful heart I dedicate this week’s Torah at the intersection blog to my teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. I am not overstating to say that Thay, the Vietnamese Buddhist term for Rebbe, Roshi and teacher, sent me to Torah and has guided me in every breath of my life. Here is this week’s blog, finished shortly before I heard the news this afternoon that he has passed from the body. As with everything I write, I mention him by name and walk with him.
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This week’s Torah portion begins with Moses’ father-in-law, Yitro, high priest of the free desert people of Midian, hearing about the deliverance of Israel from slavery…Without hesitation, Yitro leaves his home to join the wanderers in the wilderness, and he brings Moses’ wife and sons with him.
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This week’s essay follows the teachings on “letting go” in the dynamic among the G!d of Torah, Pharaoh and the Israelites as they flee from enslavement into the wilderness.
What does it take for them to let go of doubt that there is a healing power at the center of existence?
I’m writing this in the midst of ambulance sirens in New York City, attacks on voting rights for people of color, greater and greater polarization between people making different choices about vaccines. Not seeing any straight road ahead has me teetering on the edges of self doubt and despair.
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This week’s Torah portion is the first retelling of the flight from Egypt, the crossing of the Reed Sea and the entry into the wilderness. It is a story of a people’s escape from slavery, from a place ridden with plagues and suffering, a journey out of a familiar place of suffering into the unknown.
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