Torah for Healing -
February 2012 Torah for
healing brings you the current month's Torah portions with study
suggestions that encourages the healing process. Each month, the
current Torah portions will appear here. Be sure to
come back to us. Before clicking on to any of the
Parshiot, please read the following articles below : The Mystery of Torah Torah: Jewish Spiritual
Therapy
A Brief Introduction to the
Healing Value of Studying Torah Torah
consists
of both story (aggadah) and law (halacha). Our particular
interest with regard to healing is story
(aggadah). The Torah is
therapeutic in the sense that each of us finds our own
solutions, through contemplating what the story seems to imply
about our inner conflicts at any moment of our lives. The
content of any chosen story usually has nothing to do with out
external lives, but a lot to do with our inner problems, which
seem unintelligible and therefore unsolvable. The text does not
refer to the outer world, all though it may begin realistically
enough to have everyday features woven into it. The unrealistic
nature of these stories is an important device, making it
obvious that the Torah's concern is not useful information about
the external world, but the inner processes taking place in each
individual.
Imagery is the language of the
soul, and of the unconscious. The study of Torah brings to you,
through the faculty of our imagination, to the higher energies
that give rise to the healing power. It makes little difference
how much Torah you presently know. There's no need to have a
scholarly background; the important thing is to study, but that
doesn't necessarily mean to read. It implies that you apply
concerted effort in trying to understand the text. The study of
Torah is the Jewish means to connect us to the higher energies
that induce healing. The traditional
format for Torah study is known as Torah Lishmah...study for it's own sake. There
are no tests, no money to be made, no special distinction other
than the spiritual benefits. Healing takes place by itself, you
don't have to do anything but to open yourself to the healing
energies of the Torah.
Try to read
the entire text by yourself. Each Parashat (weekly portion) link
below contains a brief summary of the chapters for that week.
The abridged story makes following the actual text easier. By
making a practice of study in the fascinating world of Torah we
begin to absorb the higher energies, which bring about healing
and many other spiritual benefits. As one verse explains,
"Surely, this Instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is
not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach." (Deut. 30:11)
insights" that focus on one important
spiritual theme in the text. Their repetitive appearance helps
bring your attention to the messages the Torah is trying to
bring into consciousness. The Torah imparts spiritual insights
in each weekly portion to help you contemplate issues that
are meaningful to your life.
The questions posed in "Key Verses", also contained in
each parashat, are there to help you find meaning into
your own life story. The Rabbis of old have been questioning
these verses for over 2500 years in an attempt to uncover the
mysteries of the Torah. We have purposely eliminated the views
of the classic commentators to that you can explore the
mysteries of your own life as a means toward healing. February
4, 2012 -Parashat Beshalach February 11, 2012 -Parashat
Yitro February
18, 2012 - Parashat
Mishpatim February 25, 2012 -Parashat Terumah
The Mystery of
Torah Driving
home, one clear but frosty January evening, from a Kabbalah
class I attended each week, I was mulling the very recent
discussion around in my head, with a sense of uneasiness. We
were learning a segment of the Shaar Ruach Hakodesh, Gates of
the Holy Spirit, a 16th Century text by Rabbi Chaim Vital, a
disciple of Rabbi Issac Luria, the celebrated Kabbalist of
Safed. I read and reread the material several times both before
and after the class, and I kept running into a stone wall. The
text implied something more than just the words alone conveyed,
but I couldn’t quite grasp it; I could almost feel it. I
realized there and then that words, particularly those of holy
text like Torah, were limited by the boundaries of the human
mind. I then set out on a path to uncover a way in which we can
indeed transcend the limits of the written word.
First I
decided to find out what the world of psychology had to offer on
the subject. The first bit of information I stumbled upon came
from Awareness, a book by John O. Stevens, a colleague of Fritz
Perls the founder of Gestalt therapy. Dr. Stevens writes,
“Awareness is based on the discovery that it is more useful to
simply become deeply aware of yourself as you are now. Rather
than try to change, stop, or avoid something that you don’t like
in yourself, it is much more effective to stay with it and
become more deeply aware of it. You can’t improve on your own
functioning; you can only interfere with it, distort it and
disguise it. When you really get in touch with your own
experiencing, you will find that change takes place by itself,
without your effort or planning. With full awareness, you can
let happen whatever wants to happen with confidence that it will
work out well.” In other words awareness surpasses the spoken
word, the pensive word and the written word.
I looked up
“awareness” my dictionary: Conscious, cognizant, sensible, alive
awake alert, watchful, and vigilant. To be mindful or heedful of
something. Awareness implies knowing something either by
perception (experience) or information. “Conscious” emphasizes
the recognition of something sensed or felt. This definition, I
realized, is almost identical with the Hebrew word “kavannah”
except it lacked the notion of intention, to have a plan or to
give something meaning.
With that
in mind, I explored a few Kabbalah texts a little closer to tie
some of these thoughts together. The Kabbalah teaches that, the
fundamental reality is not matter, but energy, a set of
vibrations that pass through the world, making it dynamic and
alive like a person’s thoughts or the human soul. Man can feel
these energies and control them, change them, and channel them
in other directions. Thought is the tool for mastering the
energy; it can channel unconscious vibrations into conscious
meaning. Each person has the power to perceive his vibrations
and bring to light, that which was previously hidden. Thus, each
person is responsible for himself, his needs and his beliefs.
According to Kabbalah, we are capable of changing physical,
psychological and spiritual vibrations through thoughts.
Just as
awareness applies to life’s situations, it applies to Torah as
well. Many of us grapple with the text, leaving dissatisfied
with the meanings or answers that we are seeking. For over two
and a half centuries, sages and scholars have been offering
commentaries on every aspect of Tanach (the Jewish bible) to the
extent that we now possess such exhaustive collections that
makes it impossible for anyone to digest completely, let alone
research. These varying and often opposing interpretations
encompass thoughts from the sages of antiquity, right up to
today. But all this material leaves us with nothing more
than intellectual satisfaction, while the spiritual benefit is
neglected. Somehow we believe that only trained rabbis are
capable of interpreting holy text, but in fact we’re all
qualified to understand from the narrative what we require to
put our lives together. We don’t have to know any answers; Torah
study is not a test of your knowledge. Each verse, each mitzvah
is an opportunity to breakthrough old limits (barriers) and
venture into uncharted territory. Through the relentless intent
(Kavannah), we breakthrough the old barriers of knowledge and
see the light.
The Talmud
defines “Kavannah” as directing the heart. By heart, it seems to
be implying a kind of higher level thought, a contemplative
thought. When we study or observe with mochin gadlut, higher
mind, we come to understand, as Dr. Stevens points out “that
change and understanding takes place by
itself”
Everything we need for our development we already know; it’s
just a matter of bringing it into consciousness.
By studying
Torah with “kavannah”, and observing our lives with
“kavannah”, we become able to explore new possibilities of
spiritual and emotional breakthroughs. We can look at a piece of
text or a shortcoming in our lives, focus our awareness upon it
and soon utter “aha”; that’s it. It’s incredible how much you
can realize about your existence by simply paying close
attention to it and becoming more deeply aware of your own
experiencing. What the sages have said for centuries is
really true: the world is right here—all we have to do is empty
our “minds” and open ourselves to receive it.
The questions posed in "Key Verses", also contained in
each parashat, are there to help you find meaning into
your own life story. The Rabbis of old have been questioning
these verses for over 2500 years in an attempt to uncover the
mysteries of the Torah. We have purposely eliminated the views
of the classic commentators to that you can explore the
mysteries of your own life as a means toward healing.
