Bamidbar
Bamidbar – we are now in the wilderness, we are wandering with no GPS in sight. So many jokes about Moses et al, lost but not really lost.
When time came for the shelichim, the spies, to go into the Land to check out the cities (walled or not), fertility of the Land, etc, they had no problem at all finding where they were supposed to go. But an attitude adjustment was clearly in order. Except for two of the men, Joshua and Caleb, their collective denial of the wisdom of entering the Land was punished by God, and the ‘wandering’ of the people Israel resumed.
How often have we made a decision based on fear? How often have our decisions been made by listening to others, influenced by others? Fear can blind us, can severely limit what we can see directly in front of us. One of our morning blessings is a blessing of gratitude to God “…Who opens the eyes of the blind.” May we all listen and be guided by our capacity for deep listening, deep gratitude, and the capacity to see the blessings all around us. And may that vision allow us to step beyond our preconceived limitations. Gam zeh l’tovah.
My love to all,Rabbi Lynn
Bamidbar
June 2, 2024 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk Tags: bamidbar, spiritually speaking, times colonist •
From The Times Colonist Spiritually Speaking column. I contribute an article twice yearly. This column was printed a week early, so I am including it here for this week.
This week in our annual cycle of Torah readings we open the Book of B’midbar, or Numbers. B’midbar means “In the wilderness,” referencing that 40 years as the Israelites made their eventual return to the Land of their ancestors. This is a land of between’ness, a land that shelters the people between their leaving Egypt, enslavement, and the land of their homecoming, eretz Yisroel.More