Deuteroonomy Cycle Three VaEtchanon 3:23 to 7:11

VaEtchanon

In VaEtchanon Moses pleads with God to enter the Promised Land. Then he pleads with the people to act according to the mitzvoth. This is a two-way plead. So, while the vision between God and the people is possible without Moses (think of Abraham) Moses certainly facilitates the process. The Zohar says that he rises from the broken vessels to tiferet. Looking at the kabbalistic construct, Moses is therefore a metaphor for the heart of the Jewish people. With his help, the people can see a concealed God, and God can see a concealed people.

Wait a minute. A concealed people? Since when are we concealed? Since we are in God’s image we can only infer that we are. Think of Exodus 33: 13 when Moses begs God to see Him face to face. Think of Song of Songs. There, according to Ariel Bloch, we have the beautiful back and forth of seeking and sensual revelation. Think of VaEtchanon 4:29: Then you will begin to seek God your Lord and if you pursue Him with all your heart and soul you will eventually find Him. For both God and the regular guy/girl, pursuing and finding fall one step after the next.

There’s more to this though than what meets the eye. Clearly, concealment comes hand-in-hand with revelation. And revelation, according to Neil Gilman, creates Judaism as a religion. But how does revelation work? Arthur Green in his book The Zohar describes the process according to the kabbalists. The flow to tiferet is seen as the revelation of Torah at Sinai. Here, voice or kol is joined to God’s thought. However, we don’t get to the place of dibur or speech until Torah can be understood through an authoritative rabbinic chain of interpretation. What this means is that the garments of Torah are the narratives and the halakhic readings. The true Torah though is the soul of soul, where no distinction exists between the innermost Torah and the divine self of God. When we recite the Sh’ma this is what we are making solid …that soul of soul, that acceptance and admission of the revealed or un-revealed God.

Now let’s turn this. If we are concealed from God then God is seeking revelation from us. As the mystic Cordavera says, there is not only great radiance (and revelation) coming from God to us, but a refraction of that light rises back. Let’s simplify this. Let’s imagine ourselves when we walk into a dark room. After a while our eyes can adjust to the light. That’s just an adjustment though. There is still much that is left in the dark. This needs to be healed so we can know we won’t trip over a chair or the sleeping dog. We need the refracted light of which Cordavera speaks. But if it isn’t rising, if it isn’t there, then we (the people in the room before God enters) need to be able to turn it on. Correction. According to Moses, it is our responsibility to turn it on. In line 4:39 he says: Realize (God’s love) today and ponder it in your heart.

This isn’t a simple request. This is a command. Turn on that light so God can see.

How can we do this though? Isn’t it enough, we might like to think, that we are trying to see God? Why does He have to see us? This is my own opinion but I don’t observe much in Torah that is a one way street. Even Abraham has to almost-offer Isaac to receive the revelation for which he so desperately seeks. Think of all the fire offerings in Torah. They can be seen as smoke signals to the divine. Here we are, we are calling. Here we are. Hineni. It is clear as a bell that if we reveal ourselves to Him, He will reveal Himself to us.

But, once again, how do we do it? Well, a midrash catalogues all of the actions of the heart in Torah. The heart can do a number of things. It can speak (like in Kohelet), walk (like in Kings), plan (like in Proverbs), be like a fire, be like a stone, give thanks, become hot. It can act with pride, see, hear and grieve. In this week’s parsha it can be written upon. If the heart can do all of that, and if it is the metaphor for Moses who is so vital as a channel between God and the Israelites, then I imagine that it can flip a switch. We are our hearts. We can let that sphere of light flow, blow the fuse in our dark little room. Then God will approach. Then the Messiach will come. As the 18th century mystic the Ramchal says, the Future Temple will not just arrive here. It will expand from the heavens to here. And it is our responsibility to allow the expansion to happen.

So, may we pray. May we pray a lot. May we use our speech, make that smoke signal. May we get the Future temple to extend a couple football fields in our direction. May we speak for God and recite: Sh’ma Yisrael Adonay Elohenu Adonay Echod. And may we ourselves with confidence and courage respond: Sh’ma Adonay, Yisrael Elohenu, Yisrael Echod… Listen, God, Israel is Elohenu, Israel is One….so He will know. He will hear that We are ready. And may we chant both mantras with joy until the dialogue joins in one eternal clean ring of merging and pure love.