The
ardent plea of Moses in this portion contains the words of our
highest knowledge of the Creator, summoning Heaven and Earth as the
two dimensions that comprise human consciousness.
"Listen,
O Heaven, and I will speak! And let the Earth hear the words of my
mouth!" (Deuteronomy 32:1)
The
essential message of this portion summarizes one of the primordial
principles of our Torah and hence in Judaism, the oneness of the
Creator from whom everything emanates, and the way it happens.
"The
deeds of the Rock [the Almighty] are perfect, for all His ways are
just; a faithful God, without injustice He is righteous and upright."
(32:4)
These
are the qualities of God's love, and love as we experience Him in His
ways and attributes.
In
this sense we understand that anything different from His ways are
our own choices, either be ego's illusions or lower passions derived
from uncontrolled desires.
"Destruction
is not His; it is His children's defect you crooked and twisted
generation." (32:5)
Moses,
representing our highest awareness of God, questions our choices when
we separate from His attributes.
"Is
this how you repay the Lord, you disgraceful, unwise people?! Is He
not your Father, your Master? He has made you and established you.
(…) You forgot the Rock [the Almighty] who bore you; you forgot the
God who delivered you." (32:6, 18)
We
are reminded again that God's love does not dwell with anything
different than His ways and attributes.
"[So]
the Lord guided them alone,
and there was no alien deity with Him." (32:12)
This
is reaffirmed time and again.
"See
now that it is I! I am the One, and there is no god like Me! I cause
death and grant life. I strike, but I heal, and no one can rescue
from My hand!" (32:39)
The
vast majority in this world live in and for material illusions
derived either from ideologies, beliefs, culture, fashion, or most
commonly from consumer society's trends. We literally live and die
for them, sometimes regardless if they don't make sense, or if they
are right or wrong.
We
can call it our contemporary idolatry. The question that Moses asks
us is if these idols really nurture our life and save us from their
negative predicament.
"Then
He will say, 'Where is their deity, the rock in which they
trusted, who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine
of their libations? Let them arise and help you! Let them be your
shelter!" (32:37-38)
Hence
we must ask ourselves if there is anything of true value in ego's
illusions, and what is left after they consume the vitality of
our minds and bodies.
The
portion continues with the consequences of living in the realm of
illusions, the separation from our own essence that emanates from
God's love, as the reiterated warning against separating from His
ways.
Our
sages wisely choose one of the most beautiful reflections of king
David, inviting us to heal our ordeals in the mirages of the material
world by trusting and embracing God's love, in the
accompanying haftarah for this portion.
"God
is my rock, under whom I take cover; my shield, and the horn of my
redemption, my support, and my refuge; [He is] my savior who saves me
from violence." (2 Samuel 22:3)
"When
I am in distress, I call upon the Lord, yes I call upon my God: and
out of His abode He hears my voice, and my cry enters His ears."
(22:7)
"He
sent from on high [and] He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He
delivered me from my mighty enemy; from them that hated me; for they
were too powerful for me. They [my enemies] confronted me on the day
of my calamity; but the Lord was a support to me. And He brought me
forth into a wide place; He delivered me because He took delight in
me." (22:17-20)
The
psalmist praises the Creator and His ways always in
the right context, because he is aware that the only way to dwell
with Him is by thinking, feeling and acting according to His ways.
"The
Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the
cleanness of my hands He recompensed me. For I have kept the
ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from [the
commandments of] my God." (22:21-22)
Again
we are reminded that His love does not dwell with anything different
than His ways and attributes.
"With
a kind one, You show Yourself kind. With an righteous mighty man, You
show Yourself righteous. With a pure one, You show Yourself pure; but
with a perverse one, You deal crookedly. And the humble people You do
deliver; but Your eyes are upon the haughty [in order] to humble
them." (22:26-28)
Humbleness
is the yoke that directs ego into love's paths of righteousness, and
out of the illusions of grandeur and fantasies of the material world.
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