http://www.sandiegojewishrenewal.org/services



9:01 am
January 15, 2011

Bithday of the Trees



Service will be led by
Rhonda Mason, and David Rafsky
Torah Service- Judith Lief will layne Shir Ha Shirim
Torah Drash by Nancy Handwerger

Followed by Tu B’Shevat Seder
and a vegetarian potluck lunch


(Excerpt from R. Shefa Gold’s Torah Journeys
http://www.torahjourneys.com)


IN Parsha BESHALLACH weare sent on a journey of purification. The path seems impossibly circuitous, doubling back on itself, spiraling around and through every place of darkness within us - untangling the residual knots of our enslavement. We must take with us the bones of Joseph.1 The Hebrew word for bones also means "essence." As we journey forth we carry the essence of our lineage, the bare bones of wisdom which we will flesh out with our own experience. Our blessing is the wilderness, the landscape that will allow us to recreate ourselves in the image of freedom! The journey will call forth all of our strength and reveal every flaw. It begins in miracle as we walk on dry land in the midst of the sea.
Thus every spiritual journey begins. In the midst of the turbulence of this world, and in spite of our fear, we somehow find the courage to take one loving focused step and then another, with each step finding our footing on a path that only reveals itself step by step. But we DO it! We don’t let the fear stop us. We cross into the wilderness leaving behind the safety of slavery - a life of conditioned response.
WE CELEBRATE THE MIRACLE of this crossing with a song and a dance that become the force of "sending" (beshallach). The power of the song and the magic of the dance propel us into the wilderness. The song lays out a formula for Salvation. My strength, "Ozi," and the Song of God, "ve-zimratYah," will be my salvation.2 The blessing of Beshallach comes in the balance of these two aspects. Ozi is the force of will that I bring to this crossing - the place inside me that desires freedom and truth, and will do anything for its attainment. Ve-zimratYah is the part of me that knows how to surrender, that opens to the rhythm and melody of God's Song and gives itself unconditionally to "what is." The blessing comes in the balance of will and surrender. The blessing of Shabbat is given to us as a practice of re-balancing and of integrating the gifts that we have been given.
(Excerpt from R. Shefa Gold’s Torah Journeys
http://www.torahjourneys.com)




B’SHALLACH
Drash in January 2011

Nancy Handwerger

B’shallach is an amazing Torah portion,
filled with magic and miracles. Pharoah……
SENDING OUT the Israelites from Egypt
is a pinnacle of our early Israelite story …
transitioning the freedom FROM slavery……
to freedom FOR what’s helpful and growth producing in life.
In Hebrew the word Ivri means to cross over.
The early Hebrews were called Ivrit. They crossed over the sea.
They crossed over lands.
They crossed over pagan practices of their day.
After the Israelites cross over the Reed Sea,
the songs of Moses and Miriam celebrate
the beginning of national liberation with the anticipation
of building a Temple in the Promised land.

On their journey five miracles happen in this parasha.
Four of them involve water.
According to R. Diane and other rabbis, water
in Hebrew represents higher or G. consciousness.
Is it plausible that using or crossing over water can
transform darkness into divine light?
The Israelites were trapped between the sea
and the Egyptian army. The Israelites FEARED for their lives.
An angel and the cloud leading their travels by day
moved behind them.
The angel & cloud (water vapor) illumined their darkness
in the night.
G. split the sea to dry the land. They crossed over.
The Egyptians, however, remained in darkness.
Their darkness of FALSE POWER and PRIDE, trusting only in chariots and weaponry,
sealed their fate. They perished in the sea.
THREE days later the Israelites were traveling in the Wilderness.
They succumbed to the darkness of bitterness and complaints.
They met brackened…bitter… water. Through divine guidance,
Moses threw a designated tree into the water to sweeten it.
They quenched their thirst.
Then they were blessed by discovering Elim, an oasis with 12 springs of water and 70 date palm trees. WOW! Imagine their excitement!
Note the #’s, 12 and 70. What might they represent?
It is challenging to stay in a state of illumination. The darkness of doubt and distrust soon overcame them. They grumbled over lack of food, although they left Egypt with their ample supplies of livestock. G. provided quail and manna. Manna descended in a watery dew.
Convenient and reliable.
Now they were approaching Mr. Horeb, Sinai.
The darkness of terror, anger and sarcasm again enveloped them. They were thirtsy……
.for water?……for freedom? For wider vision?
G. directed Moses to strike a rock.
The Wellspring of Life poured forth ….water,., which led to
The fifth miracle at Refidim.
Through Divine guidance and strength, the Israelites
met and overcame the first threat of Amalek at Refidim.
Refidim comes from a verb that means help, or support.

The Israelites bounced between darkness and divine light like yo-yos on a string. Water becomes an intrinsic part of these stories.
Water closely connects with the Wellspring of All Life.
In Kabbala the sephirah of Binah, symbolized by her watery womb, allows energy to flow between the Wellspring of Life
(Ein Sof or Keter) and the daughter qualities of lovingkindness,
inner strength, healthy assertiveness and humility.
Genesis opens with: “When G. was about
to create heaven and earth, the earth was chaos, unformed.
On the face of the chaotic waters there was darkness.
Then G’s spirit glided
over the face of the waters.
G. said “Let there be light!” and there was light!.”

My story: Jay and I on spiritual journey
walking in underground tunnel beneath
the City of David in Jerusalem…….
We were walking thru in total darkness,
pitch black darkness……..
I looked up and saw a small bright light, like a twinkling star,
shining through
in the upper right side high above me.
I felt excited and joyful.
I walked along the deeply pitted tunnel floor
with renewed confidence,
no longer afraid of falling.
From this experience I became aware that
THE LIGHT OF CREATING IS EVER PRESENT.
It is said that we can see only specks of it at a time…..
if we are lucky.
In the Silva Mind Control course we learned t
hat when feeling fear, frustration, deprived,
helpless or powerless,
drink half a glass of clear water before retiring
with the request
that the water stimulate a dream or insight
into the problem.
It can and does work.

In Judaism there are traditions
using water that can help us move
from mundane tasks, from distress
or darkness, (darkness being an absence
of light). into an uplifted clarity of heart and mind.
What is your experience of Jewish traditions
or rituals with water? Do you use any of them to transition
from one state to another?
--washing hands in a.m.;
before meals; during seder meal; mikveh (baptism)
--placing water in room of healing
and intended transformation (Dosick Indigo child/adult)
--non-Jewish rituals: shower, bath,
hot tub or steam immersion; Indian smoke lodges
As the Torah portion teaches, Divine light is always present.
It is so bright; it is blinding, therefore difficult to see.
Yet, when we meet our personal fears, frustrations,
disappointments, projections or angers,
it is possible to transform that darkness…..
Just as SEEDS ARE SOWN IN THE DARKNESS OF EARTH
UNTIL THEY CAN REACH UP TO RECEIVE LIGHT..
Water reflects light. Water, as higher consciousness,
connects with the Wellspring of Life. Water,
used with positive intention, can transform fear
and complacency into joy and light.
******Lift a cup of water: L’chaim ….
to an ever brighter and more joyful life!


******A blessing from the Siddur Kohanot
by R. Jill Hammer and Holly Shere:
Everything in the sky has its counterpart
on earth, and everything on earth
has it counterpart in the sea,
and yet all form a unity. Zohar II, 20a
Lishmah lishmo leshem almayah
ar’ah, yama, veshamay anu osin igul nafshaya
In Her name, in His Name,
in the Name of the worlds, earth, sea
and sky we make a circle of our souls.
Repeat the Hebrew
We are the earth, wind, water and fire.
May our souls circle higher and higher.

Dear Leslie,

Attached is my drash on B'Shallach.
Thank you for requesting it.
On page 3 is a blessing from the Kohenet Siddur that I did not offer.
It does fit with the drash, however.

I felt deeply moved by your drash
and the love you have for friends and for our earth.
I feel both happy for you and at the same time saddened
by your expression of feeling your work on earth has been fulfilled.
While I honor your truth about your life and work,
I believe that we do not know
what unfolding may be around the corner waiting for us.

Whatever is next for you,
I wish you love, gentleness, kindness and healing.

With many blessings,
Nancy Handwerger


[ I will comment on this later....
Leslie... ]






 

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