Joshua by Phillip Ratner
This portion clearly emphasizes the Land as the anchor place of our relation with G-d, Love. It is in this land, the conquered Promised Land, where our existence, our identity as the Chosen People, is fulfilled. It is in this Land where we celebrate our unity with our Father, and the reason for that unity: “Then, you shall rejoice with all the good that the Lord, your G-d, has granted you and your household (…)” (26:5-9, 11). All this happens when we live in the Land that represents life free from the negative aspects of consciousness, and free from the illusions and fantasies of the material world.
It is in this awareness that we offer the first fruits of the Land to our Father, because everything that we are and do in His ways and with His attributes reaffirm His will and our Oneness with Him. This is the awareness that Divine Love is His own cause and effect, and there is nothing else. What is the practical purpose of being and doing Love’s ways and attributes? To create a place for Him to dwell among us permanently, and we do that by taking care of each other, by being responsible to each other as the Oneness that we are in His Love: “(…) you shall give to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that they can eat to satiety in your cities.” (26:12). We understand this Commandment in two ways: In its literal meaning, by sharing our individual abundance with those less fortunate; and by filling those aspects of consciousness that are also part of our life, such as the permanent awareness of the Creator and our connection to Him (the Levite) and the weaknesses that we need to strengthen in order to make our lives vibrant and significant in every way. We have to fulfill this Commandment every day just because it is about Love: “This day the Lord, your G-d, is commanding you to fulfill these statutes and ordinances, and you will observe and fulfill them with all your heart and with all your soul.” (26:16).
The portion continues with our highest awareness of G-d, Love, warning us about the consequences of separating ourselves from His Oneness, as the “curses”, starting with the cause of the rest of them: idolatry (27:15); which we have defined as ego’s fantasies and illusions. These fantasies separate us from Love’s ways and attributes, which are ethical principles to safeguard our individual and collective wellbeing. All the curses listed are some of the improper ways in which we relate with our fellow man (27:16-20, 22-26). The Levites also mention the blessings inherent to Love when we choose His ways (28:1-13); and, again, they warn us against idolatry: “And you shall not turn right or left from all of the words I am commanding you this day, to follow other deities to worship them.” (28:14), simply because there are no other ways except Love’s ways, and we need to be aware of this Divine Truth. That’s all it takes: to be constantly aware of Love as our Creator, our Source, our Essence, and our true identity.
The remaining curses, as we said before, are not mentioned as explicit curses but as direct consequences of our separation from Love. Sages also understand them not as curses but as prophecies that have been fulfilled over more than two thousand years (28:15-69). The parshah ends with a positive note: “And you shall observe the words of this Covenant and fulfill them, in order that you will succeed in all that you do.” (29:8). Let’s be aware that the Covenant with the Creator is our own success, which is also the awareness of His ways and attributes; and living in His will is the reason for us to be in the world. As we said in the book “God as Love”, the Light is partially revealed in the Creation, and this Light is Love. We are in this world to reveal Him where and when He is concealed; and when we do it, we are aware that He is present in all His Creation: “(…) the entire Earth if full of His Glory.” (Isaiah 6:3), including every level of our individual consciousness as the haftara for this week confirms it: “and the Lord shall be to you an everlasting Light, and your G-d your glory.” (60:19).
Ariel Ben Avraham
Safed, Northern Galilee, Israel
Born in Cartagena, Colombia in 1958. After studying Cultural Anthropology in Bogota, moved to Chicago in 1984, where I worked as a writer, reporter and producer for WSNS/Telemundo for 18 years. Produced video documentaries related to art, music, history and culture, such as “Latin American Trails: Guatemala”, distributed by Facets.org. For more than thirty years studied spiritual traditions from all over the world, and the mysticism of major religions, understanding the mystic experience as the personal means to connect with Divinity. Since 2004 study and write about Jewish mysticism and spirituality, mainly derived from the Chassidic tradition, and the practical philosophy of the teachings of Jewish mystic Sages from the last 2000 years. The book “God as Love” is the compilation of my last three years studying and learning Jewish mysticism, and the messages of the book are part of the content, exercises and processes of a series of seminars, lectures and retreats that I facilitate in several locations in Israel.
