32/33 Behar-Bechukotai: Day 7 (Saturday) | Keeping Holy

22 Iyar 5786 AM | 1 AVE.

Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us by Your Spirit and invited the nations to share in the richness of Your Word. We thank You for the people and state of Israel, including the Messiah, our First Fruits, through whom the harvest of life has begun.

Today is the thirty-fifth day of the Omer according to the minority Sadducean and Essene counts, which is 5 weeks and 0 days.

May the Spirit of Truth prepare my heart for the revelation of the 50th day.

6:54 AM EDT. 

Jonathan Writes:

I have been blessed with an insight that bears attention before I proceed to the Torah reading. It occurs to me that my "Watch of the Yeshiva" could be part of a re-emergent Essene monastic, healthcare and university network. Along these lines, it is possible for me to sharply critique my public education in New York, from Kindergarten through a Master of Social Work degree, on the grounds it was excessively corrupted in the moral sphere. But this is only half of the story. The other half is my own deep corruption. Taken together, there is a need for teshuvah, forgiveness, and reconstruction. Perhaps it is time for me to begin thinking about obtaining a new degree. This calls to mind the possibility of an email to The Rev. Canon Greg Peters, PhD, SMD | Nashotah House. Am I looking at joining or co-creating some kind of certificate or degree program in Monastic Studies and Ascetical Theology? 

Today's reading is Leviticus 27:16-27:34.

This is the link to the Daily Chumash with Rashi at Chabad.

The Daily Wisdom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe is titled "Protection from Harm." 

Today's video is Behar-Bechukotai [22 Iyar 5780] from 4 minutes 0 seconds to 7 minutes 9 seconds.

What a powerful teaching in this short segment from the modern Essene university! Rabbi Cousens has me thinking about the importance of sexual ethics for men on the modern Essene path. While he doesn't say so directly, Cousens implies that men who deviate from the Torah in sexual matters will reap negative consequences for themselves and others. The correct use of sexual energy is a key part of Essene spiritual practice. Should we then only admit into our degree program in Monastic Studies and Ascetical Theology those students who uphold a high standard of chastity?  

If we receive land and other dedications from the people in order to administer this degree program in the real world, what does it mean to keep that land and those dedications holy?

We must talk about and practice meditation, yes - this is tremendously important. But if we don't also teach and practice contemporary Essene sexual ethics, along with meditation, plant-based nutrition, and a host of other requirements, are we really keeping holy as Rabbi Cousens would understand it? 

This seems to be the spirit of this final reading in Vayikra (Leviticus). 

Shalom.

End 8:56 AM EDT.