Parshat Ki Tisa: Don't Follow the Fear

This week: Parshat Ki Tisa

As we come through the waves of Purim
We listen to the call of the Torah portion, Ki Tisa.

Moshe had gone back up the mountain
And the people grew afraid he wouldn’t return.

So they made something they thought
They could hold onto
Something that would be definite and sure.

Out of gold, silver and precious stones
They fashioned for themselves a god.
A god they could see and touch.

          A god that would lead them

       And would keep them safe always.

In the throes of fear,
Our ancestors grasped for certainty
And created a place where there was no room for Mystery.

 
And when Moshe returned to camp,
Carrying the tablets
Inscribed by the Infinite Presence,

 
The tablets shattered.

 
These tablets, containing the light of the Infinite Mystery,
Could not enter a place where fear ruled
And certainty was insisted upon.

 
So, the shattered pieces
Spread throughout the camp
And the people wailed amid the broken fragments.

 
But from within the brokenness,
The Mystery called:

Hinei makom iti—There is a place for you with me. (Exodus 33:21)
In the midst of fear,
In the grip of doubt and mistrust,
Even here,
There is a place for you with me.

 Feel my presence.
I am standing right beside you.
Listen as I call out my name:

 All Being, All Being, Compassion and Graciousness,
Patience, Forbearance, Abounding in Love and Truth,
Extending Generosity through time and space,
Lifting up Guilt and Despair from the Depths of Misdeeds,
And making you free.(Exodus 34: 5-7)

 
The Torah urges us to not be hijacked by fears,
No matter how insistent they are,
And to not allow regrets and misdeeds to shatter us.

Listen, the Mystery calls:
There is a place for you with me.
I am standing right beside you.
And this is my name:
Compassion, Graciousness, Patience, Love, Truth, Generosity, Forgiveness.

Shalom,
Rabbi Yael Levy

Listen to the recording from today's Morning Meditation Sit for this week's Torah portion Ki Tisa. (There is no recording available this week for Torah Study).

Join Rabbi Yael and the A Way In community this Saturday morning for services online together.

Shabbat Morning Mindfulness Service - Ki Tisa

Saturday, March 11, 2023
10AM ET/7AM Pacific

We witness the making of the golden calf and experience the thirteen attributes of Divine Love and Presence. This Torah portion, Ki Tisa, brings us face to face with what arises from fear and anger and what is possible with love and forgiveness.
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