Naso: Holy Camping
After counting each individual and constructing the camp – the Parsha goes into the mitzva of keeping the encampment holy (5:2, Ramban)
The holier something is – the more sensitive it is to tumah, impurity.
Think of Tumah as a blockage, that which keeps the light of the soul, which is the source of life, from being present in the body. Therefore we have a Mitzvah to clean out anything that sickens the camp with tumah.
There are 3 levels of holiness to the camp – (Rashi 5:2), Shechina, Levia, Yisroel.
Shelah Hakodesh says the encampment is a hint to the 248 limbs of life, thus moach, the brain = Machane Shechina; Lev, the heart = Levi; Beten, the digestive system = Yisroel.
Let's look at each one.
Brain: What is “bad thinking?” What are called in Yeshiva parlance crumb hashkafos?
They are thoughts based in falsehood and illusion. This is the tumah of the brain.
What do we need to replace it with? Torah – the honest search for truth.
Heart: What does having a “good heart” mean? Just as the heart pumps blood, our life force, throughout all the limbs and organs of our bodies, so too our emotional centre, our metaphoric heart is the area of our motivation in action. What’s bad for the heart? Depression, anger, lust, the desire for retribution, anxiety, loneliness, should I go on? These are impurities of the heart.
What can we replace them with?
Prayer. Prayer is the service of the heart. If we feel these unfortunate things, the very private place of a personal encounter with the Almighty is needed. People go to therapists to pour their hearts out. I think this is a good thing. In fact, I like to say "if you're not in therapy, you must be crazy!"
Still, the difficulty with a therapist, even a very good one, is that they do not actually know you, inside. God knows your thoughts, better then you do. God loves you, more than you do. God wants to help you, more than you want to help yourself. God wants to protect you, more than you want to protect yourself. God has given you all the information you need to make good choices and life happily. All you must do is open up to Him as allow enough time, introspection and self awareness to arise in you (also with the help of therapy, and medication if necessary) so that you may find your own heart is again your own.
Stomach and digestive system, what do these represent?
Easy.
It's about how we consume. Literally, how (and what) we eat. As well as other forms of consumption.
Do we overeat, or eat for reasons other than enjoying life and keeping our bodies in good working order? Do we eat out of loneliness and frustration, anger, full of resentments and with an intent to punish... someone? Do we make blessings when we eat? Do we appreciate just how much human effort, as well as Divine blessing has gone into the McHappy Meal we're eating. Of course one does not make a blessing over unclean food - I was being flip. One does not make a blessing over unclean food because it is no blessing to eat it - and therefore it would be a blessing in vain. So says the halacha. God forbade us from the drive thru window of Jack in the Face, so we cannot release it's potential with a blessing thanking Him, for to do so would be the epitome of arrogance.
The three levels of the encampment of the desert are also three levels of encampment within the human psyche.
It is our job to keep the camp clean, campers, it is our job to keep the place spic and span, and ready for action!
The holier something is – the more sensitive it is to tumah, impurity.
Think of Tumah as a blockage, that which keeps the light of the soul, which is the source of life, from being present in the body. Therefore we have a Mitzvah to clean out anything that sickens the camp with tumah.
There are 3 levels of holiness to the camp – (Rashi 5:2), Shechina, Levia, Yisroel.
Shelah Hakodesh says the encampment is a hint to the 248 limbs of life, thus moach, the brain = Machane Shechina; Lev, the heart = Levi; Beten, the digestive system = Yisroel.
Let's look at each one.
Brain: What is “bad thinking?” What are called in Yeshiva parlance crumb hashkafos?
They are thoughts based in falsehood and illusion. This is the tumah of the brain.
What do we need to replace it with? Torah – the honest search for truth.
Heart: What does having a “good heart” mean? Just as the heart pumps blood, our life force, throughout all the limbs and organs of our bodies, so too our emotional centre, our metaphoric heart is the area of our motivation in action. What’s bad for the heart? Depression, anger, lust, the desire for retribution, anxiety, loneliness, should I go on? These are impurities of the heart.
What can we replace them with?
Prayer. Prayer is the service of the heart. If we feel these unfortunate things, the very private place of a personal encounter with the Almighty is needed. People go to therapists to pour their hearts out. I think this is a good thing. In fact, I like to say "if you're not in therapy, you must be crazy!"
Still, the difficulty with a therapist, even a very good one, is that they do not actually know you, inside. God knows your thoughts, better then you do. God loves you, more than you do. God wants to help you, more than you want to help yourself. God wants to protect you, more than you want to protect yourself. God has given you all the information you need to make good choices and life happily. All you must do is open up to Him as allow enough time, introspection and self awareness to arise in you (also with the help of therapy, and medication if necessary) so that you may find your own heart is again your own.
Stomach and digestive system, what do these represent?
Easy.
It's about how we consume. Literally, how (and what) we eat. As well as other forms of consumption.
Do we overeat, or eat for reasons other than enjoying life and keeping our bodies in good working order? Do we eat out of loneliness and frustration, anger, full of resentments and with an intent to punish... someone? Do we make blessings when we eat? Do we appreciate just how much human effort, as well as Divine blessing has gone into the McHappy Meal we're eating. Of course one does not make a blessing over unclean food - I was being flip. One does not make a blessing over unclean food because it is no blessing to eat it - and therefore it would be a blessing in vain. So says the halacha. God forbade us from the drive thru window of Jack in the Face, so we cannot release it's potential with a blessing thanking Him, for to do so would be the epitome of arrogance.
The three levels of the encampment of the desert are also three levels of encampment within the human psyche.
It is our job to keep the camp clean, campers, it is our job to keep the place spic and span, and ready for action!