Behaalotecha, בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ.  "When You Raise".   Numbers 8:1-12:16

With Hyssop

Poetic notes for the parashat Behaalotecha*

In an appointed time,

with hyssop and lamb's blood,

the eternal word of God retouches the gap,

the gap between eternity and time,

re-anchoring the bridge from both ends

It is a bridge to the world’s foundation,

an appointed time is created for God and Adam to meet

to sit down and discuss eternal redemption

It was the appointed time

It was the time not long ago

for the beloved children of Israel,

by number and by name,

to go down into Egypt

And it was the appointed time

for the them to come up from Egypt again

Israel’s exodus from Egypt

and its passover sacrifice 

were above all things,

A time above all other times

And now, every time Israel keeps the Passover 

the word of God crosses over the bridge again

between eternity and time

And there is a second appointed time

It is there above all things

It is there 

at the point of the delicate touch of the word of God

It is there at the point of time above time

It is the time of the second Passover

Let Rabbi Hillel be your Nasi

He said, the Passover Sacrifice,

like the Daily Sacrifice,

Speaks of the Sabbath above all Sabbaths

When you recline by the river of life on that Sabbath Day,

you will remember all the laws of the Passover,

the first Passover and the second

The lips of the people who were touched by the dead,

those who kept the second Passover,

their lips will be kissed by the water of the river of life

The waters of their heart will be moved

The Spirit of God hovering upon the face of the waters

And they will remember every law of life

It will be the appointed time

They will bring the corban and partake

Those who came last will be first

They will listen first

They who listen first will hear first

They will be first to share the testimony of the heart

They will be first to shine like the stars of the heavens

They will obey the appointed time and meet with God

They will cross over on the bridge of the word of God

into the eternal Jerusalem

and learn to be still and know that Hashem is God

From the beginning we were made able to listen

We can truly listen to another

without listening to any thought that begins from ourselves

When we truly listen

it is like when we were born into the world

We were aware, we were still, we paid attention

We were ready to listen 

to whom and to what we needed to listen,

but we did not yet know what we had to learn

Every moment that we are born,

our awareness attends only to the one

to whom we desire to listen

And the one to whom we listen

truly gives birth to our knowledge

Those who are first to listen by the river of life

on that Sabbath Day

will speak to the community

They will perfect the seder of the entire community

The lamb will not be too small for the household

But the household may be too small for the lamb

For this reason,

Jacob elevated his love for Rachel

to the level of his love for Leah

When Jacob saw Rachel he loved her

as Adam loved Eve,

as Abram loved Sarai

But Abraham’s first love for Sarai

was not large enough for the whole household of redemption

Therefore his love for Sarai was elevated to his love for Sarah

And Jacob’s love for Rachel was elevated

to the level of his pure covenant love for Leah

Jacob perfected his love for Rachel,

as all Israel would perfect its Passover observance

through learning the Torah of the Second Passover

When Jacob did this,

Hashem blessed Rachel with Joseph,

and not only with Joseph,

but also with Benjamin

Adam was enslaved by a lust for freedom

But Joseph, though he was a slave,

had desire only to see Benjamin again

At the time when Israel developed into seventy souls

the seventy nations were like a mob with a clamouring greed

and with a spirit of lust in Egypt’s gleaming eye,

waiting to take Joseph into captivity

But the Foundation of Joseph’s soul

took captivity captive,

sitting the nations down below in the lowlands

at the foothills of the Torah Mountain

The Foundation of Joseph’s soul

taught Adam what it was to be free,

by pointing to the embrace of Joseph and Benjamin,

as they met with Hashem on the Torah Mountain

Knesset Israel will slaughter the lamb in the afternoon

God himself will take care of what was left undone in the morning

The Temple will not be too large for Knesset Israel

But Knesset Israel may be too large for the Temple

If so, let them come in camps,

like a seven branched menorah,

three branches to the left and three to the right,

all shining towards one Tzaddik in the middle

With hyssop and lamb’s blood

the whole household will be preserved and healed

and will be made one

Many attributes of Divine Service

will form one body

In these days, however,

the tree lies on its side

Roots and branches have intermingled and are entangled

The nation appears to be no longer organic

An individual may be well-born or mis-born

The soul has exited Egypt but not the wilderness

Will the Foundation of the soul of Joseph be brought into the Land?

If not now, when?

The redemption of Israel

is the salvation of the whole creation

Without the salvation of the whole creation

David's son is not saved

For there is no king without a kingdom,

no flame of light without a lamp wick burning

You cannot ignore the lost soul

You must return it to its owner

You cannot ignore the soul that has lost its flame

You must ignite the soul

A warning to the enterprising hand:

Do not exploit the lost soul if you have found it

and cannot find its owner

Rather, take care to nurture it until Elijah comes

The soul’s garment

is not like the body’s garment

Love even the suicidal person as yourself

Only be fierce about the truth

Truth only lives with kindness

The garment of the soul is its anointing from Hashem

The soul of the nation is her anointed ruler

What love can measure the heart of a righteous king?

The king of Israel raises her up 

from fifty levels down in the north country

He raises her up with a brush of hyssop

and redeems her with a scarlet cord,

drawing her in from the ends of the earth

The righteous king makes the blind to see with love,

and trains the lame to be warriors of faith

Israel gives birth to hope in every land,

everywhere they go

Beautiful Israel is gathered up from endless lands

From there pathways are paved for her to one land alone

Israel’s honor and glory magnify her king’s love

World of prayer without end, Amen

Holy love,

may it come to me

Holy love,

may it freely be 

May it flow down from Jerusalem into all the earth

May it sanctify this hour of dust and deadly wilderness

and shepherd us in our footsteps of repentance

Today, if we will hear his voice