The Place of God's
Choosing
by Chava Lion
Imagine this. We collect in the town square with fresh fruit and grapes (if we live close) dried fruit and raisins (if we live far). We bring the seven species; figs, pomegranates, olive oil, date honey, wheat and barley. An ox with horns wears a crown of olive branches. The flute plays. We walk up to the temple, mothers and fathers with babies, wise men and women, lovers, friends. Leaders and artisans come out to meet us. The Levite does a wave offering of our basket of first fruits by placing his hand below while we hold it by the handles. We recite a verse from Psalms 30:2: I will extol you O Lord for you have raised me up and have not suffered my enemies to rejoice over me.
This is how Ki Tavo begins. Once we are in the Promised Land and only once we come into it (Rashi) we are to bring the first fruits to the place-name of God’s choosing. In the scene above (in Talmud) this place is the temple.
But what is the place name of God’s choosing today? It has been seen as the center of the past the present and the future…where all divine sparks from all beings meet. It can be seen as the temple. It can be seen as an intangible place within our hearts. It can be seen as a moment when we share a deep connection with a friend, a rush of feeling at a waterfall or a canyon, a solid link to the miracle of life. It’s the knowledge of God without doubt. Wherever it is, it’s to where we must cause the fruits of the earth to rise and come. It’s where we find healing, flow, touch, taste, spiritual honey, the entry to the home of God.
It’s work though to do this offering. It just doesn’t happen. We want to begin by shedding the material world, just a bit, and raising our eyes. Rabbi Nahman says this: God created the world out of love…He brought about the entire creation from the beginning…of Atzilut…down to the end of the central point of the material world, all in order to manifest His love. You can say that the first fruits are in our eyes and as we raise them we make our offering. The higher we can look up, the more we can move towards our vision. So we visualize the first of the harvest, collect these pure fruits, begin walking, hold the intention. In other words, we don't look away.
We continue by looking at the word bo (come) with the eyes of the spirit. We’re looking at the hipheel (26:10). It’s causative. So we move forward to a Promised Land within which is an even more Promised Land. And the way we get within is by not only coming but by causing-to- come. We have to cause-to-come our spirits from our hearts as if we are tending-watering-alluring fruits from the land. We have to cause-to-come all divine sparks from all life (even beyond our own bodies). We work hard on freeing that spiral from our hearts. We create a continuum of forward movement. It just keeps happening. Faster and faster. You let loose. And the fruits pop up from the earth. The light pops out from the tree. All sparks collect at a nexus. More people join you on the march. More fruit. More music and celebration. You collect at the temple today before your eyes. And then the basket of this essence…the absolute essence… is raised to God.
It all seems so perfect. This perfection though depends on the boundaries. The more solid, the more direct the path, the greater the gift to God. Our bodies are already boundaries for the light within us. So there also must be boundaries outside of our body. These boundaries seem cruel if we forget they are for a reason...to help us to see our path. These curses seem to deny our very God if we forget that without boundaries there isn’t a path. We enjoy the walk and move forward. We are careful and we move forward. We recognize the fear and doubt and keep it out of the path. We keep out words or actions that can destroy the path. And then carefully, the basket is raised by the Levite to God.
So, may we see that we are being asked to cause-ourselves-to-come to a place beyond what we see. May we realize that there is great abundance in our connection with God... joy, beauty, generosity, caring, compassion. May we see that the boundaries enable our offering and our march to a place of pure beauty. May we honor the curses as well as the blessings for they are all God. May we join the flow of divine sparks and move to the center of love.
Imagine this. We collect in the town square with fresh fruit and grapes (if we live close) dried fruit and raisins (if we live far). We bring the seven species; figs, pomegranates, olive oil, date honey, wheat and barley. An ox with horns wears a crown of olive branches. The flute plays. We walk up to the temple, mothers and fathers with babies, wise men and women, lovers, friends. Leaders and artisans come out to meet us. The Levite does a wave offering of our basket of first fruits by placing his hand below while we hold it by the handles. We recite a verse from Psalms 30:2: I will extol you O Lord for you have raised me up and have not suffered my enemies to rejoice over me.
This is how Ki Tavo begins. Once we are in the Promised Land and only once we come into it (Rashi) we are to bring the first fruits to the place-name of God’s choosing. In the scene above (in Talmud) this place is the temple.
But what is the place name of God’s choosing today? It has been seen as the center of the past the present and the future…where all divine sparks from all beings meet. It can be seen as the temple. It can be seen as an intangible place within our hearts. It can be seen as a moment when we share a deep connection with a friend, a rush of feeling at a waterfall or a canyon, a solid link to the miracle of life. It’s the knowledge of God without doubt. Wherever it is, it’s to where we must cause the fruits of the earth to rise and come. It’s where we find healing, flow, touch, taste, spiritual honey, the entry to the home of God.
It’s work though to do this offering. It just doesn’t happen. We want to begin by shedding the material world, just a bit, and raising our eyes. Rabbi Nahman says this: God created the world out of love…He brought about the entire creation from the beginning…of Atzilut…down to the end of the central point of the material world, all in order to manifest His love. You can say that the first fruits are in our eyes and as we raise them we make our offering. The higher we can look up, the more we can move towards our vision. So we visualize the first of the harvest, collect these pure fruits, begin walking, hold the intention. In other words, we don't look away.
We continue by looking at the word bo (come) with the eyes of the spirit. We’re looking at the hipheel (26:10). It’s causative. So we move forward to a Promised Land within which is an even more Promised Land. And the way we get within is by not only coming but by causing-to- come. We have to cause-to-come our spirits from our hearts as if we are tending-watering-alluring fruits from the land. We have to cause-to-come all divine sparks from all life (even beyond our own bodies). We work hard on freeing that spiral from our hearts. We create a continuum of forward movement. It just keeps happening. Faster and faster. You let loose. And the fruits pop up from the earth. The light pops out from the tree. All sparks collect at a nexus. More people join you on the march. More fruit. More music and celebration. You collect at the temple today before your eyes. And then the basket of this essence…the absolute essence… is raised to God.
It all seems so perfect. This perfection though depends on the boundaries. The more solid, the more direct the path, the greater the gift to God. Our bodies are already boundaries for the light within us. So there also must be boundaries outside of our body. These boundaries seem cruel if we forget they are for a reason...to help us to see our path. These curses seem to deny our very God if we forget that without boundaries there isn’t a path. We enjoy the walk and move forward. We are careful and we move forward. We recognize the fear and doubt and keep it out of the path. We keep out words or actions that can destroy the path. And then carefully, the basket is raised by the Levite to God.
So, may we see that we are being asked to cause-ourselves-to-come to a place beyond what we see. May we realize that there is great abundance in our connection with God... joy, beauty, generosity, caring, compassion. May we see that the boundaries enable our offering and our march to a place of pure beauty. May we honor the curses as well as the blessings for they are all God. May we join the flow of divine sparks and move to the center of love.
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