“And this is the blessing (v'zot
habrachah) with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the children
of Israel before his death.” (Deuteronomy 33:1)
The man of God,
who represents our awareness of the Divine Presence in all dimensions of
Creation, is the best one to lead us into that awareness. Moses represents the
highest level that our intellect can reach regarding the knowledge of the
Creator, the one that has everything about Him quite clear in our
consciousness, the one that knows the best of the best.
This is the
clarity we need in order to fulfill our destiny, and this clarity is the full
awareness of love as our true identity. Love as material manifestation of God's
love.
“Indeed, You
showed love
for peoples; all his holy ones [of Israel] are in Your hand, for they
let themselves be centered at Your feet, bearing Your utterances.” (33:3)
We are holy when
we are in His hands, in humbleness, being and manifesting love’s ways and
attributes.
“The Torah that
Moses commanded us is a legacy for the congregation of Jacob.” (33:4)
This is the
legacy that makes us who we are, our identity as the chosen people. This is our
identity as Jews. Choosing differently is not our legacy and this is why we are
warned so many times in the Torah against the nations’ idolatry, against
believing and following the illusions and fantasies of the material world.
This legacy is
also about will and determination to fulfill Israel’s destiny, as Moses stated
in his blessing to the tribe of Judah, the one that encompasses all Jews in
present times.
“O Lord, hearken
to Judah's voice and bring him to his people; may his hands do battle for him,
and may You be a help against his adversaries.” (33:7)
Willingness and
determination are our attachment to God and when we walk in His ways and
manifest His attributes, what could be against? This blessing is about the
commitment we make when we individually and collectively embrace the Torah’s
legacy.
Moses’ blessing
for the Levites reaffirms their role as the higher awareness of our connection
to the Creator, hence their guidance of all levels of consciousness from the
Temple, the place where we are permanently connected to our Father.
“They shall teach
Your ordinances to Jacob, and Your Torah to Israel; they shall place incense
before You, and burnt offerings upon Your altar.” (33:10)
The complete
awareness of God's ways and attributes in all aspects of consciousness is
also the fulfillment of our destiny as His children.
This highest level was undoubtedly achieved by Joseph, therefore the sweetest blessing is bestowed in him and his descendants, the ones who choose to follow his steps.
“His land shall
be blessed by the Lord, with the sweetness of the heavens with dew, and with
the deep that lies below, (…) and with the sweetness of the land and its
fullness, and through the contentment of the One who dwells in the thorn bush.
May it come upon Joseph's head and upon the crown of the one separated from his
brothers.” (33:13-16)
It is indeed the
sweetest blessing of all, the blessing of love bestowed to the purest vessel
for love: humbleness. Moses mentions here the bush from where he had to take
off his shoes, and it is through the contentment of Love that we face our
Creator because in joy is our acknowledgement of His love that created us.
“And to Zebulon
he said: "Rejoice, Zebulon, in your departure, and Issachar, in your
tents.” (33:18)
Rashi remarks
that while Zebulon trades in the seas Issachar learns Torah in the tents, and
they help each other. Moses’ blessing to both tribes highlights the cooperation
that must prevail among all Israel.
Each tribe is
blessed with particular traits and qualities that complement each other in the
unity that we must have as one people and one nation. This cooperation is to
care for each other, and our diversity must be the foundation of our unity.
This is one aspect of the Torah’s legacy that makes us different from the rest
of the nations which represent the lower aspects of consciousness and ego’s
fantasies: pride, selfishness, egotism, envy, lust, indolence and other
negative traits.
Let’s keep in
mind that the blessings received by each tribe are the blessings for all Israel because in the blessing of each we
are all blessed.
“Jeshurun, there
is none like God; He who rides the heavens is at your assistance, and with His
majesty, [He rides] the heavens.” (33:26)
The One who
created us is also the One who sustains us because His glory covers all creation,
hence there is none like Him. The last book the Torah ends reminding us again
that it is Moses, our highest awareness of the Divine Presence in all creation,
who guards us from falling into the illusions and fantasies that we create for
no reason.
Mystic sages say
that those are the fantasies represented by the cult of Baal Peor.
“And He buried
him [Moses] in the valley, in the land of Moab, opposite Beit Peor” (34:6)
Thus Moses will
always remind us not to fall in unnecessary fantasies. It is in the highest
level of our intellect that we make a clear difference between ego’s fantasies
and illusions, and love’s ways and attributes. Still the choice is only ours.
“And there was no
other prophet who arose in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,
as manifested by all the signs and wonders, which the Lord had sent him to
perform in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and all his servants, and to all his
land, and all the strong hand, and all the great awe, which Moses performed
before the eyes of all Israel.” (34:10-12)
This is the
privilege of the humble ones like him: “Now this man Moses was exceedingly
humble, more so than any person on the face of the Earth.” (Numbers 12:3), the
empty vessel eager to be filled by our Father and be able to see Him and
perform His miracles so the rest of our levels of consciousness (all Israel) can see it and learn from
Moses, our teacher.
No comments:
Post a Comment