Parshat Vayahkel-Pekuday-Shabbat Parah- the Head Within the Heart

Parshat Vayahkel-Pekuday-Shabbat Parah- the Head Within the Heart

There are those who have the custom when going to the Mikveh[i] to contemplate the spiritual rebirth that takes place upon emerging from the waters. Imagine the following scenario: You go to the mikveh and hold your entire body in a fetal position suspended underwater until holding your breath any longer would cause unconsciousness. With this awareness, and desperate need for oxygen, you release your arms and use your strength to push your body above the surface. Upon emergence you take what feels like the first breath you ever took, as if, you were just Born.

Indeed there are hypnotists and homeopathic practitioners who claim they can guide you to your emotions at birth, and there are even some who say they remember their mother’s womb, I would like to argue that most do not remember their birth date, and state as a matter of fact that no creature can fathom their first breath. On a daily basis, nay, at every moment we are given an opportunity to experience this novelty, but because of our negative experiences and poor conditioning many feel too small to see this. It is only a total change of consciousness that one can bring about the wisdom to even attempt a rebirth in one’s life—this is Purim!

The Talmud teaches that Haman came to King Achashvayrosh and stated “come, let us destroy them. He replied: I am afraid of their God, lest he do to me as he did to my predecessors. He (Haman) replied ‘they are negligent of their commandments’”[ii] Haman’s and Amelek’s thought processes are implicit in the text: Because Israel struggled to maintain its faith in the G-d through exile, G-d’s shield over the Nation was removed. Haman was not only successful in convincing the king of this, but also was capable of implanting this idea deep into the hearts of Israel, causing the dreadful roots of doubt to remain within and unnoticed, to only draw from energy from everything we are—our hearts.

On Purim we destroy any false perception of the world, ourselves and others. By demolishing this building (perceptions), we create the opportunity—in the very same space (body)—to build an even stronger structure. On Purim we enter into a consciousness of “until you no longer know,” to only reveal the secrets in your own life of what you really do know. Finally, on Purim we look Haman in the eyes and say “you may only believe in lotteries and chance, but I believe in more, for today My G-d showed me that “He renews with His Kindness every single day FOREVER since the acts of creation.”[iii]

When our head and heart are exiled from one another, it is hard to arouse within our being the ability to submerge into the flowing waters and emerge with the feeling of being reborn. It is Purim that trains us to practice not with the wisdom of the mind, but the “wisdom of the heart.” Because your mind will never remember its first breath, but your heart will forever remember when it began to pulse by its own command. It is this wisdom of heart that allows us to create the most beautiful of realities. It is the wisdom of the heart that severs the roots of doubt, and gives us the sight to see what we are truly meant to do in this world.

“and Moshe called to Betzalel and to A’ha’liav and to all people with a wise heart—that HaShem gave wisdom in their hearts; anyone whose heart motivated him (her) to come close, and to do the work needed to make it (the Tabernacle).”[iv]

This exquisite design was not the vineyard planted by Noach[v], nor the tower of Bavel erected by the wicked to reach heaven and conquer G-d,[vi] this was the craft of the wise-hearted, those who were motivated and desired to establish a sign for all the world to know that “I am HaShem, your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt to be a G-d to you, I am HaShem your G-d.”[vii] your God, means your heart. A heart of stone cannot create, it just is, but a heart of wisdom discerns that one can emerge from the shackles of slavery and the waters of strife and suffocation to live a new moment unparalleled to anything else—This is Pesach!

“And HaShem spoke to Moshe saying: On the day of the first month, the first day of the month, You shall establish the Mishkan, Tent of Meeting.”[viii]

It is no mistake that the Mishkan was to be erected during the month of the exodus, because it is through the cumulative efforts that begin on Purim through our first breath that we can come to recognize that we deserve more than Pharoah as a leader and king, it is through this rebirth that we too can not only feel worthy of leaving Egypt, but actually leave Egypt!

This is what is meant by having a head within your heart

This week I will try to: believe in the newness that you are capable of being, and realize that it is only fitting once Man feels purified by the hidden qualities of Purim and the Red Hefer, that s/he is capable of seeking power of his/her worthiness, and ultimately seek the Source thereafter of that power. Through this change a heart of wisdom can bring us about to an appreciation of the self which enables us to build a greater building in the place of what once stood. As the king wrote: “Teach us to Count our days, then we shall acquire a heart of wisdom.”[ix]

Shabbat Shalom and Adar Samayach!

[i] A Mikveh is a ritual bath that serves two purposes: To purify that which has become impure and elevate something or someone’s status to higher spiritual vibrations. When elevating a vessel made by Man one brings it to the ritual bath (elevating to sanctity), when one finishes their menstrual cycle
[ii] Talmud Megillah 13b
[iii] The Siddur
[iv] Exodus 36:2
[v] Genesis 9:20
[vi] Ibid 11:4
[vii] Numbers 15:41
[viii] 40:1
[ix] Psalms 90:12