Awakening Lech Lecha 5783: Torah Mussar Mindfulness, 3rd Sit

Welcome.

Allow yourselves to settle and arrive.

We will begin in one minute.

Okay.

I'm delighted that you are here with me now on our third parashah,

Torah portion.

We have Bereshit in the beginning of Genesis.

Then we had Noah,

Lovely story.

The Teva on the flood,

Not so lovely but you know what I mean.

And now we've moved into Lekh Lacha,

The master,

The master narrative of our ancestor Avraham who starts off as Avram.

So as always,

Before we begin,

We set our kavanah,

Our intention.

Shalom to you,

Welcome.

We begin our kavanah,

Our intention for today's practice.

I always share first by screen.

Share if you have vision and are watching on video or here live with us on live stream on YouTube or on Facebook or here on zoom.

And for those of you who don't have vision or will be listening just to the podcast just to audio you can hear me read these kavanah,

These intentions.

So we say we see this act that we're doing together here at awakening Torah,

Musa mindfulness where we're at awakening Lekh Lacha 5783 of the Jewish year and the Jewish calendar,

The Hebrew calendar.

And that we're really engaging an act of radical self care,

While caring for the other in relationship and taking refuge and community and with the divine.

And so it's a really a beautiful community and practice together.

So,

We start with that intention that this is something I am doing to strengthen my own soul,

In order to be a benefit to others in the future.

And we also say this is something that we are doing to strengthen our relationship to others,

So that we can be a better conduit to God's good to others when they need us,

Just kind of the whole points of life in some ways.

And finally,

We're doing this to strengthen our relationship with the divine however you define the divine or that relationship.

This is something I'm just strengthen my relationship with God,

So I can be a better conduit of God's good to others when they need me.

So,

May we merit today.

Our practice of learning the parish of the Torah portion called left Lacha,

Get up and go that we do it from the lens of moose our mindfulness our specialty here at the Institute for holiness key let moose are to really gain the wisdom of these united traditions and to get the most out of this text what our ancestors want us to learn what the divine does,

And then apply it to our lives and practice,

We will move into a guided mindfulness meditation practice afterwards.

And then of course I will leave you with practice during the week.

This year,

We are being guided by Jamie Arnold's wonderful Torah to me man which I will explain towards the end.

So let's jump in.

Obviously for those of you who are new to join us we can't cover everything in the Torah portion there too large too many stories.

So if you're new to us in this whole method.

Basically you want to read the Torah portion before you join us me if you're belong to any type of community that reads it out loud or studies it in the week beforehand,

Please do so.

Okay,

So we're covering left which was on November 5,

Even though today is November 6 2022.

And I want to make sure that I also tell us that today is the 12th of hash van,

A 5783.

So here we go.

If you haven't looked at their sheets and Noah,

Please do so on your own time so you can start seeing the thread that we are going to build together this year that there's going to be a very strong theme that we will hold and practice together.

All right.

Me has some help us here right we say,

See me.

See my father.

May this be a good sign.

So,

After it we have,

We're now 20 generations later from Adam and Hava.

Adam and Eve 20 generations later,

10 generations later it was Noah.

Noah,

And the flood.

And now we're 20 generations later and we have a drum.

Okay,

He first goes by Avram.

His name's changed later to Avraham.

So,

After the people back if you think back to this story of Noah,

And the flood and coming out and having to repopulate the world.

The people are essentially commanded Noah and his family and then those of their descendants to spread out to actually go out to all corners of the planet.

To inhabit it,

And to repopulate it to be fruitful and multiply.

And they didn't follow this commands,

And you may recall the incident of the meek dial about the right where the people wanted to stay close together,

Build together,

Protect each other probably in response to the collective intergenerational trauma of the flood and the aftermath.

So,

You essentially now with Avram and Leklacha have an individual who listens to this command.

He goes out,

Right.

He leaves all that he knows.

He leaves his country.

He leaves his father's home,

Right.

He leaves his land he leaves and not even in that order it's like country and then his land and then his father's home.

He leaves all that he knows.

And he doesn't settle right he's constantly moving he's a nomad.

And in some ways,

He's a bit of an orphan,

Even though when he comes onto the scene,

He's technically 75 years old.

He's left his family and all that he knows.

Okay,

Obviously he has his new spouse and those who follow him,

His wife his nephew lot is a ride who is his partner his wife,

And others who follow.

So,

What is the first thing that comes to mind that that the rabbis and in our tradition are going to struggle with and you might even be thinking to is this Avram right,

Who is this Avram wife.

Why is he selected.

Why is he on the scene,

Why does he listen to the commander to go out and be kind of a nomad right.

So,

Basically our stages in midrash are acutely aware of this immense gap in the Torah and the story.

Right.

And if they decide to tell us what they either know from tradition passed down or have decided to tell themselves a what they're trying to fill in of of rooms life that God spoke to him beforehand,

And that he essentially within a family that of idol worship worshipers and had he was against it and fought against it.

A all these things that wanted to show that he made a radical departure from his birth family and how they lived in practice and how the people around him did.

Okay,

So,

In a way he's a bit like Noah,

And the sense that he does not behave like all those around them we don't know anything about Noah's family his birth family,

But there's some similarities there right.

So,

We just from the Torah text itself we don't have this information right we really don't know anything so much about him.

And that is going to be part of what draws the attention of our ancestors of trying to fill that.

But I actually want to challenge us,

I'll share one more thing with you.

So here this is a wonderful paragraph from JPS the Jewish publication society and page 88.

It says God's election of Abraham which first starts as off from right.

The story of Abraham opens with an identifying formula with without without an identifying formula.

No preliminary observation that actually introduced Noah.

Instead,

Of from our future patriarch right of the Jewish people and of humanity in general right he burst upon the scene of history with astounding sadness.

The first 75 years of his life,

Our past over in total silence 75 years.

God's call comes in and in an instant without for warning or preparation.

It is a brief and compelling and its commands and around the mediates response marks the true beginning of his life.

And the true beginning of our engagement with Abraham and are are getting to know him.

Okay,

So,

Um,

This is what we start here so this is what I want to posit for us.

I don't think we need a from to be someone special and unique and different from all those around him.

I don't think we need him to have gone through the furry,

The fiery furnace of me rod and survived which is a major ashes story.

I don't think we need the story of him smashing his father's idols.

It's not that we don't benefit from these and learn about him,

But I think there's a much more radical idea and departure that we can go with here,

Which is off from is sent simply a human being,

Like you.

And like me.

He's a human being that listened to the call was aware was mindful and had the courage,

The bravery to go forward and do so.

And follow such commands.

And that's essentially in some ways what we are doing daily in our practice of most are mindfulness we are regular human beings on this path towards holiness,

Hoping that we are awakened alert to the call of our purpose what's commanded of us to do to take care of others.

And that's how I like to see our from.

And if we pay close attention to him as we get moved further into my teaching with you today.

We're going to find a really human.

And I mean that that he makes mistakes.

He lies,

He went later when he becomes Abraham will have a whole nother issue to deal with the next week's partial.

I want to address that now.

He really learns from his experience in life he's really into what we call experiential education,

Meaning he moves through life and embodies it and learns from it so let's jump in and see how this is the case for him.

So,

Um,

I want to say one very important thing is I want us to pay attention that are from doesn't actually his faith in God and his willingness to act and be and do and be of service to do that for God is not based so much on promises and miracles by God.

He definitely gives him promises and does miraculous things which will just will discuss what those are.

And that's where his faith is his faith is the step by step,

Daily,

Living the path,

Learning from his mistakes in the past,

Continuing to be in relationship instead of abandoning it when it actually doesn't go well or the promises are not fulfilled,

Or,

And,

You know,

A worry the storytelling the fear,

Essentially that the miracles will run out.

He doesn't do that right there's in a sense an unconditional love and unconditional a Kesher way of being in relationship with God.

And this is where I think he's beautiful.

His soul is beautiful we have much to learn from him.

Okay.

And I say we embrace the humaneness right within so much in new strike this quality of him of a mench.

So what happens.

We get to know of from after he actually goes to war with four kings.

And you might be thinking,

Wow,

Really like what what what's what's happening right.

He goes to war with 14 so right,

And,

And he might be thinking,

People who read this part of the person might be thinking what is this story really about why do we have to read this story is way up past the border of modern Israel,

A to to redeem his nephew lot.

He goes out of his way to go and redeem him okay and so he goes to war with four kings who had kidnapped lots from the dome and took him north okay essentially.

And that's the purpose of the story right this is kind of incredible.

And it undoubtedly what we're taught is that I think the primary motive is brief,

Basically to bring this prominence of new facets of around care,

His character,

Who he is and his character right.

So,

Jps Jewish publication society and page 103 103 teaches us of rom who displayed fear and evasiveness in Egypt,

Which you might recall the story of Egypt that he had to go down during a famine.

He was totally fearful that he was going to be killed he asked his sister to lie and say that she is sorry his wife's array he asked her to lie and say she was his sister.

I mean in some way she is his half sister but he did that to save himself because he thought he would be killed by the Egyptians for being the husband.

Okay,

So he was fearful and he was evasive and he lied okay.

And that's how he was in Egypt.

Now this story of this war with the four kings shows himself to be decisive and courageous in the promised land.

The man of ram of peace.

Suddenly knows how to exhibit skills and heroism in battle.

He who experienced actually his nephews estrangement they ended up having to the parts,

Lots and have room,

Because they had too much cattle,

And the people who were taking care of their cattle couldn't get along,

They couldn't share the soil of the land and they couldn't sell familiar coming 20 generations later,

And they had to,

They had to part so he basically experienced his nephews estrangement on hesitantly right and now he demonstrates self sacrificing loyalty to him.

In his hour of need.

He's willing to risk his own life and all that comes with around to save laws.

He's a mere a military hero but he's never glorified as such.

He does not,

Or others do he's drawn into it,

And he acquits himself against enormous odds.

And then,

Towards the end he will not accept the wealth from the war,

Right,

Nothing about him essentially right nothing deters him the size of when we don't get any of this information in the story,

But the size of the opposing armies,

The weapons that might have been used the mode of transportation,

The number of casualties the content of the booty.

None of this right,

None of this that that's actually staple ingredients and other ancient Near Eastern stories,

The war chronicles of the Near East.

Instead,

The story of Avram going to war with these four kings in order to redeem his nephew lots serves to emphasize the values the virtues of Avram of loyalty to family.

The redeeming of captives,

The disdain for material reward,

And the faith in the power of the few against the many.

It's a beautiful paragraph because suddenly we're getting a much more complex picture of Avraham Avinu who will become Avraham Avinu right this is Avram.

He's someone that was fearful and lies and hides,

And now he's really brave,

And he's trying to take care of his family.

There's this complex human being emerging right and he will do this with us we will see this dance,

He will fail us here and will feel it and not want it and then he will redeem himself.

And so this happens over and over again right.

But what happens is so important afterwards this where this is where it really shows who he is.

Besides all this this of course shows us what this is.

These are all meets the vote that we should all fire to commandments to live like how Avram did it but this is the key one.

And chapter 15,

Verse one.

It's not that Avram is actually fearful.

After the war,

After what would seem to be a victory.

Now now from a level it's in her unbelievable knowledge and breath and depth of Torah teaches us,

There's really no such thing as victory in war,

Because the seeds the germs are have been planted essentially for the next war.

And that's what we've found that really ties into our teaching of harm and suffering from the Tara Vada tradition that once you cause the harm and suffering of war,

Essentially that you even adjust one that you had to fight to save someone.

And that's the consequences that will potentially be visited on you either by those who survived the war,

Or their descendants.

So Avram here has intense fear and our ancestors of course kind of the rabbi is trying to figure out what is this fear right and how fearful God appears to him and a vision and says fear not Avram.

Not yet,

But,

Um,

What we try to figure out is what is he so fearful of right and so we conjecture that he's fearful that the kings that lost the war and their descendants will eventually come back for revenge.

And so he's fearful and this is a beautiful one that he's possibly murdered killed in war committed homicide against someone who is innocent and righteous.

Now I don't even think Avraham would limit it to someone who is a righteous and innocent.

And I think that would be troubled by as anyone who's actually fought a war usually is that they've murdered anyone that they committed to homicide against anyone because you have to live with that you've taken a soul created in the image and likeness of God.

That's enough to be fearful of that's enough to live with that,

That your hands have blood on them,

They're stained even if it was for a righteous act.

And I think this is what we're witnessing with Avram here.

This is the fear right he's,

He knows that he's becoming when he's becoming 10 times more human right.

And I think there's something painful about that,

Sometimes,

But I think he's fearful that the more human he becomes the more stained he becomes and being human which we all have to do that maybe that will distance him from the path.

Maybe that will distance him from his relationship with God.

And I think that's I think the fear right and we all have that if we've all sinned,

Which we all have depending on the sin and how much and where we all fear that maybe we've just gone too far.

Maybe this can't be forgiven.

Maybe this will stay with us maybe this is kind of created a blemish,

The sin on a stain on us a ketem in a sense.

So I think that's what's going on here.

So,

In closing on this teaching today.

I want to say,

Bring you a couple more teachings essentially that when boober wants to teach us something in the sense that Avram is someone who breaks out of his habituation and attachment to the soil.

Why am I bringing this up,

Because it was a dumb who was basically kind of cursed to work the land for the rest of his life and it was going to be difficult and he was the,

He's the father of all humanity so essentially we all are that like toiling with that soil and his own son,

Obviously kyen ends up committing homicide against his own brother heaven.

He's someone who worked,

The fruit,

Essentially of the trees or the fruit of the soil.

And in you find our ancestors struggling with this relationship with the soil his consequence his punishment for murdering or this case committee homicide against his brother heaven is that he loses the privilege to be in relationship with the land.

He must wander now forever.

And this essentially who Avram becomes not because he murdered someone or committed homicide,

But because he's been now commanded left Lacha go right so essentially be a nomad be this orphan.

Don't be tied to the soil which is very against everything that we have for the previous 20th generations.

Right,

So he takes his family out.

And I think here that we're witnessing that God's realizing that this is maybe what has to happen with the human,

At least at that time in history for them to behave in the ways that God envisioned and desire.

And our famous Jewish philosopher says to us that Noah stayed put in nature,

Building the Teva.

And really in some ways I said how could he really be anything else essentially right after God set the path for a DOM and humanity just 10 generations earlier,

But boo boo bar wants us to really understand that Noah is the man of the soil who is rescued from the soil.

And if anything,

Maybe Avram is essentially a rescued from the soil and being tied to it,

Being almost a slave to it in the sense that that is the curse that Adam must do.

So let's just hold that in mind about our beloved of ramen how he travels and what he does.

What what what happens why why is this,

Why is this relationship with him so important.

What,

Why are we what are we going to do with him.

So let's just say something beautiful stated here that will affect us the rest of our lives and still does thousands and thousands of years later,

Which is God says I will bless you to offer him.

You shall be a blessing,

Because I've blessed you.

And I will bless them that bless you.

And then you should be blessed.

Lots of brothel lots of blessings going on here right quite beautiful.

So what does that mean,

Who is this person.

Right.

He's being blessed,

He's going to be a blessing to all of us,

All of humanity,

And to the Jewish people.

And we who bless him,

Which a lot of us do both Jew and non Jew.

And,

And we'll be blessed through him,

And then we'll all be blessings will be like this pay it forward.

This beautiful a guy this wheel of blessing,

Okay there's something beautiful about that.

So,

All the families of the earth will be blessed through him.

And he's really the source of blessing as I said,

Even in our Jewish tradition if you're not aware of this we even say traditionally to our sons but I also say it to my daughter.

It we say May God make you like Avraham Avraham is among the other ancestors that we list is some same like off from,

To be honest with you.

And so basically,

What does it mean to bless and to be blessed and to be a blessing.

So it's to be aware and mindful of each act,

We do this comes from Avraham Davis,

And the wonderful book Genesis,

The book with 70 faces a guide for the family by Esther,

Taka.

And he says to our awareness of each act we add joy.

We begin to see how simple things such as eating drinking helping a friend providing hospitality visiting a scholar forgiving an enemy are blessed by God.

And so our consciousness is elevated that we ourselves feel blessed by this joy wonder splendor and peace and Naomi Rosenblatt says a blessing is really unconditional love.

Okay,

When we bless we become blessed and it moves forward it's quite beautiful.

So I want to share one or two more things and make sure that I cover everything with you.

I have that.

So,

I want to go back and conclude with this,

This is quite amazing here.

I'll conclude what I think is so special about him what we need to remember for our own practice but I want to begin with.

For those of us essentially,

We read the Torah looking for the beginning of the Jewish people,

And also humanity.

It's really here in the story of Abraham and Sarah,

That we find our first father and mother.

And we look at the question of the,

What does the story tell us about them as our first parents.

And Maria the diamond Hava.

Our first parents tried hard were very innocent and lied,

And also didn't take responsibility and had to live with that kind of Kermit consequence right when they didn't tell God the truth.

And then their descendants and perpetuated that right and we think 10 generations later,

Noah.

If we think of him as a father and his wife that we don't actually hear her name in the Torah.

It.

They're someone that did exhibit they followed God's.

They're the commands,

But they had difficulty right and their family relationships.

And this is not a bad thing.

None of this is,

But it's just to record that in all of our family histories,

We're going to have relatives,

And perhaps even parents who are dedicated.

And what's beautiful about it and important to the practice and moves our mindfulness is that we have models that we emulate,

Who in their very human this when they do make mistakes.

We learn from them and behave differently in the future and next time.

And so this is what we see with Abraham and Sarah particularly Abraham,

And particularly of rum,

Right,

He's more honest,

It with his partner,

Even though he might lie to the Pharaoh and his quarters in Egypt.

Okay.

And he's really informed by his experience of the war.

He in the harm and suffering that he caused.

He's really informed by his experience of having to leave his whole family and being a nomad and essentially an orphan and turns into what we call a gear.

He is a stranger.

He dwells in other people's land and moves around and as a nomad and a stranger is the most vulnerable in the society.

So he's very much informed by that experience and it really shapes how he sees the world,

Who he advocates for who he sees the world,

Who he sees the world,

Who he sees the world and who he turns to,

Who he tries to help.

So this is all to summarize for us.

This is who will become Abraham.

And I will just say in conclusion of this teaching today that he was so beautiful.

This is one of the most beautiful things about him.

So here's all these promises God makes right.

These are all miracles of,

You know,

Accompanying him as a nomad on the road,

Making sure he's safe going down to Egypt saving his wife from being raped and taken as a captive wife by Pharaoh.

These are all miracles.

And the fact that he wins a war against four kings,

That he's able to redeem his,

His nephew lots Okay,

So here this is someone who's really not going to be moved by promises and miracles.

And this should you got to hold on to this because what's coming down the road if you remember the cycle last year.

People will be born from this man,

Known as the Hebrew people as the Jewish people.

And when they're in the desert and when they come out of the institution of slavery.

They too will not have their faith be made be based in promises and miracles,

Even though we expect them to,

And maybe even want them to.

So here's our from.

He says God you promised me a land.

But how do I really know that I'll get it.

He says this in the sheets,

Chapter 15 plus two,

Eight,

Verse eight.

Then he says God,

You told me I'd have lots of children that I would have a descendants as many as the stars in the sky as many as the sand,

But I don't see any.

So Ryan I have no children.

This is in better sheet,

Chapter 15 verses two and three.

He has questions he has doubts.

Right.

But what does he do with it.

He doesn't just let it sit and eat at him.

Right cause his own internal harm and suffering.

So he turns to God.

He turns to God with this lack of faith with this,

These questions with these struggles right.

He brought them directly to God almost like an offering like a Corbin here God.

Here are my worries.

I don't really think you're following through the promise,

I don't like I don't where is all this really.

Okay.

And he,

He brings it to God.

What brought him closer to God.

God was full of joy that of Ram turned to him with these worries and struggles and lack of faith.

I didn't punish him because he had a lack of faith.

I was patient with it.

Right.

And,

And this is a beautiful this is Avra modeling for God,

And for us,

How to be upright,

How to stay in relationship,

Even when we have a lack of faith that we don't withdraw that we don't give up that we don't react and punish.

And so let's watch this with God God's able to do this with one individual.

When God moves to a people who will question,

Who will struggle.

The people don't know how to bring their lack of faith to God instead it comes as usually as anger and complaining,

But it's very fear based right.

But God's not able to accept those as an offering.

God is not able to establish the connection through the lack of faith,

The lack,

The fear.

But he's able to do it with Avra,

And so we're hoping in our own relationships that one we learn from Avra,

But we also learn from where it doesn't go well with groups of people between God and beneath Israel the children of Israel,

And that we may we today in our practice and every day.

Do this to do this repair.

And global generations repair that we are able to accept people's offering of their lack of faith of their struggles of their questions and not take it personally,

And allow it to be a connection a cashier to strengthen our relationship with others and and and to be able to listen to them and provide support and not react,

Because when that happens what happens to Avra very language that's used.

It's so beautiful,

I can find it for you is essentially that right here.

He had faith,

The hey mean by Hashem and said like after he turned the hand and kind of dumped all this fear and questions.

He had faith in God and Hashem.

And it was considered Sadaka,

And it was considered Sadaka,

It was considered righteousness,

It was considered a what is merits,

What is upright that to go through that lack of faith that ring of fire that we all have to go through to be able to admit where we have fear and questions,

Right,

To turn to those that we love and admit it,

And to turn to God and admit it,

That will strengthen our relationship with others and with God and the divine it'll strengthen us.

And this is what we've learned today from left side of realm.

Beautiful,

Beautiful example.

So let's move into our practice.

We move into a guided mindfulness meditation you're welcome to assume one of the four postures.

If you're new to meditation,

Please just follow my guidance,

And we will go from there.

So if you're like me and you're in a seated upright posture,

Please plant your feet firmly in the ground,

Held by the earth between heaven and earth,

So that you feel really held.

Okay,

Really here,

Presence.

Allow your hands to rest wherever it's comfortable for you sitting up beautiful strong posture,

Because you are created in the image and likeness of the divine.

If you feel safe and comfortable you can close your eyes.

If you have vision.

Otherwise,

Just lower your gaze.

And we'll begin with three deep cleansing breaths inhalation exhalation allow allow any attention in the body to leave inhalation exhalation.

And one more deep breath inhalation the gift of oxygen from God.

And exhalation.

We are beginning to settle and arrive and come to stillness.

The gift of this practice to be here sharing this breath together,

Really learning to be a witness to all that arises and passes.

Allow the breath to settle.

You need to control it.

Watching whatever arises for you.

Whether it's thoughts,

Sensations in the body,

Emotions,

Learning to become the witness to yourself a friend,

Being able to just watch what happens without reactivity.

We need to be able to see ourselves to watch without judgment.

No need to change any story that might be happening.

No need to react.

No need to push it away.

When something arises has a certain shelf life and then it passes,

And this is part of what we learn in this practice.

From time to time you will hear me go silence,

It's just allowing an opportunity for us to sit in silence to witness what is before us.

I want you to take this moment right now and silence and ask yourself,

How was that for me.

What came up for me listening to this teaching.

Maybe what's coming up for me right now,

Even in this sitting practice.

Simply begin again.

If your thoughts wander.

You're not in the present moments.

Each week we will give ourselves the gift of practice.

In addition to our mindfulness meditation we will use the method called Torah to me my from a beloved rabbi and teacher named Jamie Arnold who teaches first.

We want to engage,

Whatever meter,

Whatever soul tree is coming up for us in response to each Torah portion and so the last two weeks with better sheets,

And with Noah,

We focused on humility and another of how much space we take up and our self esteem our self worth.

Really trying to notice what's real for us and where our work is,

Where we might have to find some balance.

And what we noticed this week with Abraham first of round is I would venture to say that he is balanced in an above humility,

At least in this tour portion of left.

He makes up the proper amount of space he makes room for others.

He asked for permission from his wife.

He tries to navigate such the difficult terrain of life or sometimes we have to hide or lie,

Or even go to war.

So we learned from him this week we will continue with humility with an ava looking if we are balanced or if we lean towards arrogance or low self esteem.

For those of us leaning toward either extreme.

Our practice is to really begin to internalize daily that we are created in the image and likeness of the divine.

If our work is in us we've been given that gift of knowledge to know that from the receipt from the first tour portion that we covered.

The second part of the practice is to do a meets commandment,

Which we have chosen to make sure to let those in our life.

Know where they are strong,

We practice what's called I until far good I were we let them know what we love about them what we seek to emulate.

Perhaps it's a spouse who's very generous for friends who is kind.

Or maybe it's the neighbor who is compassionate.

So we let them know that.

And the final part of the practice is our own avoda our own service.

The intrapersonal practice of mindfulness meditation,

Where we really take this time of self care to build our self love and self care and compassion self compassion that really over time will build our love.

And our balanced humility.

So today and today sitting.

I invite you to repeat the meta.

Cressa loving kindness phrases after me.

May I be filled with loving kindness.

May I be safe from inner and outer dangers.

May I be well and body and mind and spirits.

May I be of service to all who need me.

May I be kind to myself.

May I accept myself as I am.

May I accept life as it is.

May I say to Abraham a vino who went first as ofram you be filled with loving kindness,

As you showed us.

You model for us and rescuing lots.

Your nephew.

Be safe,

Abraham from inner and outer dangers.

You showed us such bravery and courage and going to war against the four kings.

May you be well and body and mind and spirits.

May you forgive yourself for lying about,

Sorry.

May you forgive yourself for having to ask your wife to lie and say she was your sister.

You forgive yourself for being estranged from a lot.

May you forgive yourself for your lack of faith for your struggles with God.

May you be at ease.

May you accept your reward.

May we say to ourselves,

May we learn from our from me we emulate emulated beautiful me dot his deeds and his character traits.

Allowing the next two minutes to sit in silence.

I will ring the bells when we are to come out of our meditation practice today.

Gently and slowly open your eyes if they were closed.

Come back to this shared zoom space or on live streaming together.

I want to thank you for your practice me you give yourself an inner bow for your practice and about your teachers to God to this path that we are able to share and practice and serve mindfulness together and Rabbi has your real Steinbauer,

The founder and director of the Institute for holiness Kehlet Musar.

And again you are joining us on awakening left Lacha 5783 Torah Musa mindfulness so grateful to have you.

If you have any questions or comments or would like to share how this was for you.

Please unmute yourself and do so.

Otherwise,

I will give a bow to you and say thank you.

And may you join us next week at the same time this rotation that will be on Sundays at 1230.

So that will be me of course,

The vacation.

Thank you.

God bless take care.