Devarim Cycle 6 Devarim

The Holiness of Location

by Chava Lion

Devarim begins with an exact location…where Moshe speaks the law to the Israelites. There are four boundaries that create and pinpoint this holy location in Torah. One has to do with place. One has to do with time. We are used to referring to place and time to know location. What I want to focus on though are two boundaries that are also very important. There’s circumstance, the location of this action among other actions. There’s also audience, the location of the Israelites (in their minds) in terms of openness and relative receptivity.

The real lesson here is that we need to know the effect of location on our ability to both receive and transmit. We want to know where our words, given their content, urgency and intention will be most productive, influential and aligned with God.

Let’s look at location in terms of audience (the Israelites). No doubt, Moshe needs to be aware of our frame of mind if he wants to get a message to us. So at this moment in Deuteronomy what are we feeling and thinking? Well, the rush is on. This is for sure. We are at the final stages of a long journey. We have this push of adrenalin, the great beat of our heart. We can almost touch the Promised Land. We have the focus, the millions of visions, the many names, the Kings we fought as well as the thirst and dead along the way. We have memories of great acts of purification to drive out the giants of doubt, great intention, great fatigue, a buzz in our mind, almost microscopic intimacy with the details, the little moments. We’re so near collapse, mentally and physically, that we sometimes forget our breath. We’re so close to the light we can’t see it anymore. This edge of awe and fear is the perfect mind-place to receive any and all messages from God. As Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook says: The fear/awe of God…..endows life with great aspirations and with a high level of spirituality which refine the potentialities of the soul with the light of holiness.

Let’s see how circumstance helps to define location. Moshe speaks after he has defeated Sihon King of the Amorites who dwelled in Heshbon and Og King of Bashan who dwelled at Ashtarot and Edrei (Deuteronomy 1:4). According to the S’fat Emet, in defeating our enemies first, God gets rid of any impulse towards shadow and evil. In this way, according to the S’fat Emet, it’s as if God is wearing tefillin that moment. This is because God is dedicating His heart to the Israelites. Moses chooses this moment to speak because he (Moshe) is able to receive a more open message from the heart-center of God.

The Israelites are yearning. God is open. Moshe can now speak the law. Beautiful.

The artistry involved here is mind boggling. How often do we try to say something we know is true and real but for some reason it just isn’t valued? How often do we try to show our love and support but it isn’t received? Is it because of them or us? With so many modes of transmission today it’s wise to think about how we can best get a message across. Will Facebook work for every communication? Is it always best to say everything in person? How can we prepare our hearts and souls so that we can say what we mean with the greatest focus and purity? How can we know our audience and the moment they will listen and be healed? How can we know when we are ready for healing? In a world rushing with messages (many of them questionable) how can we open our hearts to receive the flow from God? How can God get through to us? What do we need to do to ease God’s light into our words and actions? How very important this is! How can we pinpoint a location as Moses does this first day of the eleventh month in the fortieth year on the east bank of the Jordan, in the desert, in the Aravah, near Suf, in the vicinity of Paran, Tofel, Lavan, Hatzerot and Di Zahav?

The variations of location are boundless and have a wide reach depending on the individual. Therefore there isn’t an exact prescription. However we the Israelites are certainly blessed. We do know this: Location can be found within the very message revealed from that same location. And the message is always the same and is the mitzvot. Follow the mitzvot therefore and we naturally know our individual location.