Deuteronomy - Cycle One - 0323-0711 - VaEthchanan

VaEthchanan brings us to the foundation of God’s radiance, where heaven meets earth. This is big. We have, after all, been journeying towards this point since Genesis (1-1).

Throughout Torah we have been transformed by our journeys within journeys (Massey). We have taken part in our expansion and contraction (Devarim), have crossed the Zered Brook (Devarim) and have let the energy of our transformation direct us towards the divine. Now, what we see is that as we breathe, God breathes us, inhaling us into the very heart of light and beauty. In VaEthchanan we continue to spiral towards His foundation and we are so close. There is so much intimacy we can touch many important moments and lessons. Each is crucial in the cycle of light, the flow of giving, and our return.

First, we see that God is giving light (VaEthchanan 4-39/40). We can open Torah to any page and God is speaking to Moses, giving decrees, or showing His love and/or His anger. These are actions, all of which revolve around the giving of light. We see that in order for light to be pure it has to pass through a million prisms, a million eyes (VaEthchanon 3:27, 4:3, 4:6, 4:25 for example). We see that we, the Israelites, are born one nation out of another nation (4:34) with so many tremendous miracles that clearly this is an allusion to our very creation, the primal moment when a divine spark holds such a powerful vibration it gives birth to its likeness (Genesis 1-27). We see, once again ( VaEthchanon 4: 41 and Massey) that God’s creation expands beyond human life, that even teachers and leaders must be excluded from divine consciousness if they have been made impure by the fear and/or doubt of others (VaEthchanon 4:21). We see that there’s a cycle from spark to spark, from creation to the embracing of creation, expansion to contraction, inhale to exhale, generation to generation (VaEthchanan 4:40), heart to heart (4:40), nation to nation (4:38), heaven to heaven (4:32). And we see that we, the Israelites, not only want to respect this cycle (4:23) but want to remain in it so that the central energy doesn’t push us away (God’s anger, 4:21). Of course, we always have the ability to transform and return again (4:30) and the longer we are transforming certainly the more powerful our return. If we keep our hearts open, we can return without leaving the spiral of light. If not, we die inside. So we want a clean focus, exclusive allegiance (4:24). How can we do this?
There are many decrees in Torah (Leviticus) but there are certainly ten that are emphasized and repeated in VaEthchanon.

And this is the path as we, the reader, the person with page open, spirals into the very center of truth, of brilliance, as close to God as words can allow. In the center God cannot be seen (VaEthchanan 4:15). So after a gentle intensity, and after reminder after reminder, we don’t see or touch Him. We hear. There is a sudden change of perspective (to direct address) and we are gifted with recognition of eternal love in our everyday world:

Shema Y’Israel Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echod. Hear oh Israel, God is our Lord, God is One.

So, first, what are we hearing? In Torah, there have been constant references to sight until now; to perspective. Clearly, we are beyond individual perspective, in a place where all meet, where individuals become one. So then how do we remain conscious of ourselves and our absolute connection at the same time? We hear all. Sound, as compared to vision, both unifies and fortifies us each as distinct beings. We have therefore gone from seeing to hearing. And we are hearing the pure light and silence of the divine.

Next, what are we feeling? The rhythm of each word creates a classic balance. If you look closely at the syllables we flow from Shema (2 syllables) Y’Israel (3) to Adonai (3) Eloheinu (4) to Adonai (3) Echod (2). There’s 2 and 3. Then 3 and 4. Then 3 and 2. It feels like a breath. The longest word (Eloheinu) slides deepest into our center, into our soul. The prayer reflects our expansion and contraction at a point where inhale and exhale meet, a point that stands out, that rests for a second. When we breathe we can feel it. It’s where we feel satiated, satisfied, finished and then we return to the rhythm. In and out. In and out. We feel the spiral of the divine as it pulsates. It is not our heartbeat. That’s a different rhythm altogether. But it is clear that our breath, this pulsation, is the heartbeat of God. And when we repeat this line of the Shema (or think it) we can know God at the foundation as much as we can know anything through a line. We can know the place where heaven meets earth.

There’s an intellective meaning. I personally see creation here and the embracing of creation. I see all of this process happening constantly right at the core. Specifically, if the Lord is the finer light, the more powerful vibration, then God is created by our Lord. At the same moment, God is embraced and we are one. Creation and the embracing of creation happen concurrently. The Lord is always folding into the light created (our God) and this energy continues to create even us. We are told this truth in Genesis but immersed in it here. The final word Echod with the powerful closed ending (the d sound) along with the direct address (2nd person present) gives this spiral, this beautiful point of return, the emphasis and stamp of validation. There is no reason to doubt.

We could stay here forever in the heart of God but there is a force and push to now spiral out. So from this center we bring the clean and pure energy into our bodies. We are told (with direct address) to open ourselves to the light so we can love God not only with our hearts but with our souls (with our Godconnection) and with our strength. This is great. Here, love (in the form of light) radiates from the core of God into our core, rises to our hearts, cycles through our bodies to cleanse and then flows back to the divine. We are told to be active in this process. We are told as if we are children and don’t know. So whether we feel this flow or not, whether we want to or not, it is here and now.

For many, this healing could be the only focus forever but there’s more, the next ring of the spiral. Now, we allow the light, the love from God, to rise from our core through our heart and into our minds. This is a change. Now we can radiate God’s light through our minds and therefore with words, heart- felt. Since we are in the realm of the mind, we also are in the cycle of generations, of inside and outside as well as of day and night, when we lie down and rise up. Words, our words, are now a part of the cycle, the act of giving light. They are a gift.

And while words are powerful when spoken, when written they pound their light into the earth, into the world we know. Therefore, when the Shema is written, the heartbeat of God is in the earth and it heals and helps others spiral towards His radiance. When the words are written, we can enable this transfer with our hands (the sign on our hands) and with the emblem on the center of our heads, through vision.

And as we move outward on the spiral we reach the levels of perspective and sight so predominant in Torah ( see Balak, Massey, Pinchas, VaEthchanan and more) while still holding fast to the foundation.

It’s important to remember though that by placing the Shema on the doorposts of our home (and
therefore on our most sacred personal identities and structures) and on our hands and heads we are not only spiraling out from God but also back to the center, to the foundation. We are intricately involved with the flow as we conduct light from God to others and from others to God. We aren’t just receiving. We are giving. As givers of light, we then become God. We are not only created by Him but fully embraced. It feels like a double spiral to me, going out and going in. It’s just like the pulsating of the Shema itself. In and out. In and out. We are beautiful. We are merging.

Sometimes you say something over and over and you know it since childhood. You don’t read much in it. You’re just supposed to say it because everyone else is. Or maybe you chant it and like the rhythm and don’t know why. It sounds good. I think that’s one of the beauties of the Shema. It begs repeating. So may the sound of the Shema spiral into our hearts and help us to reflect eternal love in our everyday world. May we hear each Shema as distinct and new and focus on the sacred of each sound. Let us feel the Shema deep in our hearts and in our bodies so that we can all know that we are manifestations of love and light. Let us bless each other with the gift of heart -felt words, and may we feel God in our homes, in the people we love, in our hands as we heal, in our vision and in the space beyond human dreams or awareness. May we keep the cycle of light flowing. May we always be in the place of return, transformation, creation and embracing. And may we breathe in the heartbeat of God so that we hear Him in our hearts and minds forever.