Pinchas

This week marks a wonderful week to be alive! This week we have an immense ability to heal: ourselves, our families, our country, our environment, and our world. This week we read the Torah portion known as Pinchas. This section is named after a person in it, Pinchas. Pinchas was renowned as a great healer, and his abilities came from his ability to restrict his reaction to circumstances around him. To be able to heal you must be able to restrain your reactive nature. The reactive nature is that base reaction you feel whenever someone cuts you off in traffic or you stub your toe in the dark. This reaction is a typically a very self-centered or ego-centric reaction.

The lesson for us to learn in this portion is that we should be running from our 'desire to receive for oneself alone' with the same passion that we would run from Death. They are, in fact, the same. The more we focus on our 'desire to receive for oneself alone' the more we bring upon ourselves the energy of death. In other words the more we focus on ourselves the more we put ourselves at risk of disease, destitution, and death. This works both ways though. The more we focus on changing our behavior from a 'desire to receive for oneself alone' into a 'desire to receive for the sake of sharing,' the more we will free ourselves from death and are blessed with the energy and Light of Life.

How do you do that? Well, it is not so easy. Nor is it comfortable. Ask yourself though, do you want to bring the energy of death and destruction upon you or the energy and Light of Life? The power is yours. By participating in the Torah reading this coming Shabbat morning we connect to the energy the Pinchas himself created in this world. This connection gives us the power and strength to connect to our 'desire to receive for the sake of sharing.' This week, even if you cannot participate in the Shabbat reading, we all are given access to the Light that Pinchas revealed in this world. There is an immense energy available to us, if we actively try to restrict our 'desire to receive for the self alone' and attempt to share with others, then we can connect to the Light of Life. We can heal ourselves this week! We can heal the world this week! The end of death can be achieved this week! We have the power, and as we change ourselves to be more sharing we WILL change the world around us.

Kol Tuv,

Matthew