July 15, 2013 at 3:59 am · Filed under Torah Portion
Deuteronomy, 1:1-3:22
This Week’s Torah Portion | July 7-13, 2013 – Tammuz 29-Av 6, 5773
In A Nutshell
The portion, Devarim (These Are the Words) begins with a long speech that Moses makes before the people of Israel just before his death. The portion contains a historic review of the forty years in the desert, which Moses describes to the people of Israel.
The portion also deals with appointing the presidents of the tribes and the judges, the sin of the spies and the punishment, the relationships between Israel and Edom, Israel and Moab, and Israel and Amon, as well as the wars with Sihon and Og. Moses reinforces Joshua, son of Nun, as the next leader of the people of Israel, who is to lead them into the land of Israel.
Commentary by Dr. Michael Laitman
From the cascading of the spiritual degrees and what we learn about the perception of reality, we know there is no world outside of us. All that exists are the spiritual states we go through, states that are depicted within us. Everything is within us, as it is said, “man is a small world.”
We move from state to state. Each state emerges out of its predecessor and is included in it. This is called a Partzuf (face). Each state contains what exists in the previous one, the Reshimot (recollections), impressions, and memories out of which it is born, and which it must now implement. Nothing comes out of thin air; everything relies on what precedes it.
These are the stages by which one ascends from the degree of the desert to the degree of the land of Israel. The degree of the land of Israel contains all the previous degrees, from Adam HaRishon (the first man, Adam), with whom the Torah begins. This is why we find that the Torah always repeats states described in previous books and extends them to the next, higher degree.
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July 15, 2013 at 3:37 am · Filed under Definitions
Glossary of Terms Used in the Devarim Weekly Torah Portion
What does it mean that nations must be destroyed, such as Amon, Moab, and Edom, which are desires within us?
Destroying them means that we temporarily avoid using them. We cannot, nor should destroy these desires. On the contrary, we must freeze them within us until we can correct them and use them properly.
Speech / Dialog
It is an internal scrutiny. Man is his own psychologist. He analyzes himself. We analyze which desire to use and which to not use, and whether a desire should be used one way or another.
But once we have made a scrutiny, where will we find the strength to carry it out?
This requires two lights—one for scrutiny, and one for correction. This is why it is written, “I have created the evil inclination, I have created for it the Torah as a spice” because “The light in it reforms them.” That is, only through the light does one go through all those stages. During the study, the wisdom of Kabbalah brings us inner light with which we see how things are. We begin to see our own internal system, and how we partake in the overall system of the world.
Leader
A leader is one’s highest quality, whereby scrutinizing it we advance.
Equality
Everyone is equal idiosyncratically. Put differently, we need to take into account that we are not born equal in our qualities or desires. Accordingly, each of us should receive differently.
Does that apply to both this world and to spirituality?
Yes, but for that we need to know people’s internality. Otherwise we will not distribute justly. The human society of today cannot resolve these problems until we learn the laws of Nature. Society must come to know the internality of the world, so eventually we will have no choice but to study the wisdom of Kabbalah.
Unfounded Hatred
These are forces of rejection that a person discovers within when wanting to draw closer to people. However, it happens only on condition that one truly wishes to unite with others. We discover that these forces exist without expecting to find them. These are things that we receive at birth, deliberately, from above.
New World
We have now entered a new, circular, global system of Nature, which is closing us together in a sphere. We are interdependent and cannot break apart or manage ourselves independently, both within the factions of the nation, and throughout the world.
The formulas for this are found in the wisdom of Kabbalah. If we study them, we will be able to manage the world beautifully.
Then Moses Sang
“Should you say, ‘Since they are tied in the bundle of life and delight in the upper pleasure, why should the Creator bring them down to earth?’ When all those spirits and souls that were in the highest degree were born and came out to the world, the Creator brought them down to earth below. It is all the more so now, since the Creator wishes to straighten what is crooked by showing them the signs and wonders that He will do for Israel.’”
Zohar for All, BeShalach (When Pharaoh Sent), item 218
