Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8, 6th Shabbat of Consolation

Rosh HaShannah is in only two weeks and we bask in the full moon of the month of Elul. This month is an “eit ratzon – a time of desire, a time of transparency to the Divine.  The resonance between the inner point of Divinity inside each of us and the Essence of which this point is a part is ever more finely tuned.  The shofar is sounded each morning just before we chant Psalm 27[1]:  “The one thing I ask is to dwell with You, here in Your earthly abode…Direct your hope and aspirations to the Mystery with your strong and courageous heart.” (27:4,14) 

10 years ago, this season was forever changed for us.  9/11/2001 shattered our illusions of separateness from the rest of the world.   Each year, since, as we prepare for the Days of Awe, we again know, sense and feel our vulnerability.   We must call upon the courage and strength of heart with which Psalm 27 concludes.

Our parashah for this week begins with Moses admonition to the Israelites, as they are on the verge of crossing the Jordon to enter the Land, not to forget to bring the first fruit offering to the Holy One.  Elsewhere (Leviticus 25:19) we are assured that the land will provide us with fruits that will satisfy us and that we will dwell on the land in security.  As we expand beyond the simple meaning of the text going deeper than the level of collective myth, we discern what this story means for our spiritual quests. What does “the Land” symbolize for us? Why are first fruit offerings so important?  How are fruits related to a sense of personal trust, safety and security?

Rabbi Moshe Aharon Krassen mystically interprets the first verse of this parashah: “There is great joy when you come to that Land of Unlimited Beginning, where Be-ing who G-ds you connects you to the Stream of Divine Be-ing, and there you can channel its flow while resting within its source.” (Devarim 26:1)

The Land is place of potential, the container for the ripening of our gifts and highest potentials as human beings.  A place where our actions resonate with the earth, She – the Land, the Divine Feminine principle, actively participates in the unfolding of our purposes – individual and collective. There is no certainty other than in the knowing that we try our best and yet are imperfect.  Security is the awareness that we are resting in Source, that Sh’khinah surrounds us.  “Kaveh el Hashem”(Ps 27:14)- we place our hopes and trust in this knowledge.  Vulnerability is real when we believe in the mythos of the possibility of physical security.

So, our first fruits – our choicest talents and aspirations, our most worthy projects and creations – are offered as gifts up back to the Source in acknowledgement that our lives are our choicest gift.   “O, that I could rely on my capacity to always see the Goodness-of-Source in the Land-of- Aliveness” (Ps 27:13) . 

May our spiritual practice ever strengthen our ability to feel the safe in unsafety through the practice of ever deeper gratitude.

With blessing as our hearts’ wisdom, courage and strength become more revealed and clear,

Rabbi SaraLeya
15 Elul 5769

September 14, 2011

[1] Psalm 27 is chanted daily beginning with the 1st of Elul until the end of Sukkot.  This entire period is the annual period of Teshuvah – of self-accounting (heshbon ha-nefesh) and turning toward the Unity.