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Parsha Shemini: Living A Double Life (Lev. 9:1 – 11:47)

March 17, 2014 by Jeremiah

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Leviticus can be a very daunting book, especially when you limit your Dvar to a very loose free association style discussion. In previous posts I mention for this Torah cycle I want to challenge myself by not relying on more scholarly Jew’s commentaries for my weekly Dvar but Leviticus is definitely a book where commentaries can become crucial. For me at least, this week’s portion Shemini is an exception. The life blood flowing from the beating heart of these chapters is separating the sacred from the profane.

Separation is something I have always naturally been good at. I have never lived a secret life I am just really good at compartmentalizing. As a child I had my religious friends and my secular friends, outside of birthday parties the two never mixed. Fast forward to my late teens and early twenties I was thought of as basically two completely different people, this was due primarily to working full time as a ravenous wild eyed prep cook with post shift partying requirements contrasted by my life as a hardcore kid running with a pack healthy eating and clean living punks. I never lived a lie I just didn’t spin hardcore records or eat steaks at work and drinking in back alleys before all ages shows was never my thing. Same guy just really good time management skills, but that doesn’t change the fact that co-workers thought I was joking about vegetarianism and some punks seemed surprised to occasionally witnessing me drinking out of a brown paper bag. This is exactly what Shemini is all about.

In chapter nine of Leviticus a sin offering is followed by a burnt offering which is then followed by a peace offering. The sequence of these offerings is not a coincidence they symbolize the separation of wickedness, atonement, and forgiveness. If we are unable to differentiate right from wrong and why we are right or wrong then we will be forced to remain in the proverbial wilderness. The wilderness is emotional instability, mental anguish, and physical pain only by identifying our faults and actively working to correct them will we be able to leave those burdens behind and move on to something so much greater.

To illustrate the criticality of this concept is the tragic story of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu. These sons and brothers presented a “strange” fire which Hashem deemed profane and as punishment were consumed by sacred fire erupting from the Holy of Holies. The lesson here is Nadab and Abihu were unable to completely separate their former secular lives from their current sacred lives of Priests. If they had been able to separate who knows they may have played a much more important and positive role within Judaism.

Shemini concludes with a list of Kosher versus Non-Kosher animals. What is so important about this concept of Kosher is not the permission to kill and eat certain animals but demonstrating how important things you consume figuratively and literally are. The easiest way to remember which animals are Kosher is to look at their diets and determine if they are scavengers eating what has been left by others as waste. The lesson here is do not fill yourself with wasteful things because it will only hold you down.

Shemini teaches us how not to live in the wilderness but we have to choose to make that break and enter into a promised life.

Jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: @circlepitbimah

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: abihu, Circle Pit The Bimah, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, hardcore, jeremiah satterfield, Leviticus, Nadab, online conversion, Parsha Shemini, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, straight edge, the secret life

Parsha Tzav: Seriously Dude! Another Way Too Short Dvar or Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? (Lev. 6:1 – 8:36)

March 10, 2014 by Jeremiah

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Parsha Tzav is the continuation of Torah’s listing of which offerings require this or that and how those offerings should be ceremoniously carried out. Oh and once the list of offerings is complete Moses clothes Aaron and anoints him and his sons as Judaic Priests.

Tzav does not teach us anything new, but what it does do is reiterate important lessons. Making amends and how we present our outward selves are lessons already touched upon within Torah. So why the repeat and why not combine Vayikra and Tzav into one portion? The answer is simple, only people study Torah and its no secret that everyone likes to be reminded of things. This week as you meditate on and study Tzav look through your spiritual spy glass as you would in search of positive reinforcement. Its like being told by someone special that they love you over and over again.

What verbal and non-verbal reinforcement helps you to be a better Jew? Share in the comments below or send me a message: Jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: @circlepitbimah

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: Circle Pit The Bimah, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, jeremiah satterfield, Leviticus, online conversion, Parsha Tzav, parshah tzav, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Parsha Bo: This is the Meaning of Life (Ex. 10:1 – 13:16)

December 29, 2013 by Jeremiah

Ahhh Parsha Bo, finally the plagues burdening the Egyptians come to an end and Hashem gives us Jews the holiday Passover. No matter how hard I might try I will never know where to begin to make sense of the final plague which subsequently leaves the first born male in every Egyptian household without life, and yet Bo is an integral portion in trying to understand Hashem and just how we are created in His image.

Judaism is monotheistic period. This means everything, or lack thereof, emanates from one source, Hashem. Whether it is righteousness, wickedness, or something in between the root, the seed, the source is the same and never wavering. We as human beings are created in Hashem’s image and this does not mean He looks like us externally but that we encapsulate pure dualism just like Him. Every act, belief, and feeling we have is only present because its opposite is not acted upon. Sure we exist but we emanate good and evil based on our will just like our creator.

Passover is the perfect lesson to explain the compulsions of good versus evil we all have seeded inside of us. In fact this week’s portion is the blossomed fruit matured from the seed sprouting out of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Hebrews marking their door posts is a conscious choice to do good when faced with doing evil. This choice to mark themselves apart saves their sons and leads directly towards breaking the yoke of bondage. The Egyptians refusal to do the right thing results in the evil inclination running rampant in their hearts and minds leading to death, sorrow, anger, and the lust for vengeance. Such a heavy portion.

Bo is the perfect moral lesson to carry as a reminder while navigating all of life’s temptations. Sometimes we are the ancient Hebrew yearning to cast off the burden of evil inclinations and sometimes we are the ancient Egyptian willfully afflicting those around us. Bo is more than just the first Passover it is the morality of where we as human beings created in the divine image of Hashem exist. Actions have consequences and only you the individual can choose which path to take.

Jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: @CirclePitBimah

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: Circle Pit The Bimah, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, exodus, jeremiah satterfield, online conversion, Parsha Bo, Passover, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Parsha Va‘eira: Career Suicidal Gestures (Exodus 6:2 – 9:35)

December 25, 2013 by Jeremiah

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And I appeared or by its proper Hebrew name Va-eira is probably best known to everyone as the Torah portion where Pharaoh’s heart softens and then hardens while Hashem afflicts the Egyptian populace with plague after plague after plague. Moses and Aaron continue their presence in Pharaoh’s court demanding the end of slavery for the Hebrews, and Hashem in a very indirect way appears and then disappears with the hardening and softening of Pharaoh’s heart. Makes for a great moral lesson tackling ones intent and the motivation for actions emanating from the heart, but Pharaoh is not the only example for this so is Moses.

Va’eira begins with Moses doubting his ability and really not wanting a leadership position, and from what the Torah tells us the Hebrews agreed with Moses. This personality trait of Moses I can relate to in a complete and whole way, because like Moses I have made the same suicidal gestures with my career. On multiple occasions and to different levels of leadership I have made it clear that taking the step into management is not my goal and in so many words something I never plan on pursuing. This is not career suicide but it can be read as a suicidal gesture, in reality the incredibly small increase in pay is just not worth the stress of having to be available around the clock while “parenting” grown adults most of whom are many years older than me, and worse of all terminating the income of someone with children. I like to think this is Moses’s outlook as well besides it is not like there are no other candidates for the position, there is Aaron who becomes the head of the Hebrews 40 years after liberation and we learn later on of other Hebrews who really want the job as well.

Moses is smart enough, educated enough, and a believer enough to know the Hebrews will be set free. . . eventually. He knows it will be a long hard road to lead, move, and settle a new land with a people who have a collective body disfigured with deep scars from generations of slavery. Moses’s life is different than those he is charged to lead he understands more and leads for the greater good not the lesser few. Growing up in the west in a pursuit of wealth driven society it is nice to see that Moses’s lesson on humbleness over power is what makes him the most influential leader to Jews and one of the most influential leaders to all other people.

What does Moses’s reluctance say about Jews today? Are we as human beings scattered across a globe living comfortably under different types of government at odds with the type of character and leadership Hashem would like? Or are we so far removed from the Exodus that model is no longer relevant?

Comment below or send me a message jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: circlepitbimah

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: Aaron, Circle Pit The Bimah, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, exodus, jeremiah satterfield, Moses, online conversion, Parsha Va'eira, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

FREE eBook: Circle Pit the Bimah Torah Commentaries

March 5, 2013 by Patrick Beaulier

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PunkTorah is psyched to announce the release of Circle Pit the Bimah: Commentaries on the Weekly Torah Portion by Jeremiah Satterfield.

This collection of dvrei Torah (teachings on the weekly Torah portion) is a mosh pit frenzy of gonzo, stream-of-consciousness journalism about God, Jewish identity, Jewish history, life, love and everything in between. If you love Henry Rollins, Hunter S. Thompson and Judaism, you’ll get a kick out of this book. It’s the ideal way to get started in weekly Torah study.

UPDATE: We have edited the download link to download the eBook. You no longer need to enter an email address. Click here to download your copy.

Make sure to give a donation to support all of PunkTorah’s hard work and to keep our eBooks free to the public.

And follow author Jeremiah Satterfield on Twitter @circlepitbimah

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Media Reviews Tagged With: Circle Pit The Bimah, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, free jewish book, free jewish ebook, jeremiah satterfield, jewish ebook, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

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