~ Rabbi Shefa Gold's Torah Journeys ~ (Because) DEUTERONOMY 7:12 - 11:25 Moses warns the people about the spiritual dangers that will face them when
THE BLESSING EKEV MEANS "because." Our covenantal obligation binds us to pay careful
attention to the details of service to Life and Love. It is BECAUSE of
that attention that we become present and receptive to the Great Flow of
blessing. It is BECAUSE of our remembrance of God-Shining-Out-From-the-Center-of-All-Things, that we can truly experience this blessing. As
we receive the blessing of Ekev, the blessing is expanded to include an
understanding of just how and why this blessing comes to us. YOU SHALL EAT: Open yourself wide to receive all the goodness and beauty of the world. Take in with pleasure the fullness of its nourishment. YOU SHALL BLESS: When you eat, remember the Source of all Goodness. Taste God in every bite and acknowledge the gift you are receiving. AND YOU SHALL BE SATISFIED: Instead of immediately reaching out for more or for what's next, rest consciously in the fullness of this moment, this bite, this morsel of life. THE ADDICTIONS AND HABITS that keep us unsatisfied also prevent us
from the passionate fulfillment of our relationship to God. The prophet
Jeremiah quotes the Divine Lover's lament, "They have forsaken Me, the
fountain of living waters and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns,
that can hold no water."2 (God brought us out of slavery to be in loving
relationship with the Divine spark in all things. That relationship is fulfilled through the blessing of satisfaction.)
IT IS POSSIBLE to eat everything in sight and to say 100 blessings a day
in perfect Hebrew, and yet remain unsatisfied. The spiritual challenge
of Ekev is to break the spell of consumerism whose power rests in our
continual dissatisfaction. WHEN WE CROSS from the place of our spiritual practice into the Land of
our everyday lives, Ekev tells us that we must circumcise the foreskin of
our hearts, and be no more stiff -necked. So what is the foreskin of my heart? TONIGHT I WATCH as moonlight dances on the water. I stop my worrying, let go of my plans, and surrender to the simplicity of light and water and a cool breeze against my face. I look up at the stars and feel my place among them as all the petty dramas of the day dissolve in this vast expanse. My body opens to the pleasure of just being. My spine lengthens, shoulders drop, belly softens, and breath deepens. The whole world seems to breathe with me. And what does it mean to be stiff -necked? I HAVE BEEN rushing around all day, trying to get things done. I have been focused on my "To Do" list, trying to do as much as possible, trying to accumulate power and knowledge. I lift my head from the list, from my accomplishments and I notice the world. Suddenly the world lifts me up above the smallness of my life. The panorama of Creation spreads out before me. In a flash I am the primordial human seeing from one end of the world to the other. I see everything. And I know absolutely nothing.
LIFTING UP THE HOLY SPARKS IN OUR FOOD "You shall eat and you shall bless and you shall be satisfied." Our practice for this week of Ekev is to fulfill this commandment in the dangerous land of our everyday lives. So many Jewish spiritual practices are about eating, because it's a fragile time for consciousness. There is a tendency to lose awareness, go on automatic. When our level of awareness drops, we don't notice the subtleties of satisfaction. We may eat to try to fill some other unacknowledged hunger that has nothing to do with food. Spiritual practices that surround eating are designed to open our eyes to the miracle of appetite, taste, nourishment, and satisfaction. When we eat, we are transforming matter into energy. In Hasidic language, we are "lifting up the holy sparks" that are in the food. THE BA'AL SHEM TOV TEACHES,3 "When you are eating or drinking something, have it in your mind that the taste you feel in your mouth when you are chewing or swallowing is the innermost holiness of the food, the holy spark that is in the food or drink." AS WE LIFT THE HOLY SPARKS UP TO THEIR SOURCE, so may we be lifted through our enjoyment of them. PREPARE A SACRED MEAL and set the table beautifully with candles, flowers and your best dishes. When you sit down to eat, imagine that your table is the holy altar in the Temple. Say a blessing. Savor the fragrance of the food. (No TV or reading during this meal.) Eat slowly, enjoying each bite, knowing that the taste of the food holds its innermost holiness. After your meal, take a few minutes to experience satisfaction. THE TRADITIONAL BIRKAT HAMAZON (GRACE AFTER MEALS) is composed of four main blessings. Create your own blessing in four parts by meditating on each of these four themes. Take a few moments to commit your new blessing to paper. THE FOOD - Gratefulness and wonder at its taste and texture and fragrance and nourishment. THE LAND FROM WHICH THE FOOD GREW - Gratefulness and wonder at the process of growth (from sun and seed and water) through harvest. JERUSALEM - Find the center of holiness within yourself. Bless the place within that allows you to experience the miracle of this meal. GOODNESS ITSELF - Through the pleasure and energy of this food we are reminded of the essential Goodness of life. PLACE THE BLESSING YOU HAVE WRITTEN ON YOUR TABLE to keep it handy during this week of Ekev. RECITE YOUR PRAYER AT LEAST ONCE EACH DAY after you have eaten.
1 Deuteronomy 8:10
Rabbi Shefa can be reached by email at: Shefa@RabbiShefaGold.com
Rachmiel O'Regan can be reached by email at: CDEEP@RabbiShefaGold.com
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