April 20, 2012 | 10:28 am

Silent Retreat - Kosher Sutra: Shemini

Posted by Marcus J Freed

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When were you last with someone who spoke a lot but said nothing? Oftentimes, it can be a human tendency to speak as a way of letting out anxiety. Rather than acknowledging uncomfortable emotions, we chatter so that we don’t have to feel the discomfort. Few people take the time to go on a retreat into silence, which is why very few discover the incredible rewards from this practice.

Moses’ brother Aaron makes a powerful choice of words when faced with an extraordinarily challenging personal situation concerning a Divine punishment on his sons: he says nothing. Instead of wailing, blaming God, or anxiously talking through his problem, he chooses not to make it a problem and retreats into a contemplative, accepting silence.

The Hebrew word used is ‘Dam’, which is a form of silence. It is a self-controlled, spiritually connected, completely aware, active silence. The same word is used when Elijah hears the ‘still, silent’ voice of God and the same word also appears when King David wrote ‘Be silent and know God’ (Psalm 46:10). This is Aaron’s form of silence; it is not passively accepting tribulations from heaven but acknowledging that there is a time listen rather than speak.

Ayurveda is the primary school of yogic medicine that originated in India over 3000 years ago . It is based on the five elements of earth, water, fire, air and ether. One of my yoga teachers suggested that our society is engulfed by the air and ether elements, what Ayurveda calls ‘vatta’. In other words, we have tendency towards a flitting, airy nature which would benefit from grounding. How can we ground ourselves? Through holding the air within and using the tool of silence. Yoga postures which are good for grounding include all of the standing poses, such as Triangle, Mountain and Pyramid pose.

Both business leaders and spiritual sages know that less is more, but it can take more energy to say less.

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com). He lives in Los Angeles.

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March 30, 2012 | 12:54 pm

Kosher Sutra: The Holy Grudge (Tsav/Shabbat HaGadol)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

There is a powerful field of medicine known as ‘intuitive healing’. Whereas traditional (allopathic) doctors focus on symptoms within the physical anatomy, intuitive healers are able to read a person’s energy field. One of the most well-known is Dr Caroline Myss who wrote Anatomy of the Spirit. She explains that we can all bring about a huge amount of healing if we are able to forgive.

Forgiveness isn’t easy. We enjoy holding onto past pains and having something to complain about. It is easier to make our loved ones feel guilty about something they did in the past rather than forgiving them in the present, but as Myss points out, we never feel like forgiving someone until we have followed through and completely forgiven them! At that point we feel more clean, pure and light.

This week’s Kosher Sutra speaks of the guilt-offering, a sacrifice that is described as ‘a holy of holies’ (Leviticus 7:1). The process is sequential; a person feels guilty about something, brings a guilt-offering, it is slaughtered, burnt and eaten, and then they have reached this ‘holy of holies’. There are no more guilt-trips and no more reminders, because everything is forgiven and truly finished. I think this points towards a radical idea, that when reach a place of true forgiveness - whether it is forgiving ourselves or others - we are in the holiest place on earth.

The Kabbalists connected the Holy of Holies, the **Kadosh Kadoshim** with the heart. Perhaps this is because when we truly forgive someone, it really has to come from our heart. Not only that, but the Holy of Holies is the place where the High Priest used to connect directly with God, and if we create space in our heart by forgiving someone else, then we really have the chance to establish a Divine connection.

Meanwhile, the ancient yogis had absolutely no doubt about the need for clearing energetic blockages. Neither did the Taoists, the Buddhists, or any other spiritual groups. The yogis noted five levels of the body, the koshas, and viewed the physical body as only the most obvious manifestation. The driving idea behind yoga is to remove blockages within the body to allow healing to take place, so that the prana/life-force can flow through the channels. When energy is blocked, cell tissues do not get the life-force they need, the body is ill-at-ease, or dis-eased, and this is what we call ‘illness’. As Dr Myss repeats time and again, one way to heal the body is to free up bound energy by forgiving people.

When the Torah states “Do not take revenge and do not bear a grudge against a member of your people.. ” (Lev 19:18), we can do an instant Bibliyogic rereading. Do not bear a grudge against a member of your people is an Imperative Universal Law because we are actually storing that grudge in our own physical members, e.g. our limbs. If we don’t forgive other people then we are harming ourselves. When somebody says “but I can’t forgive X for what they have done” then it just means they have to work harder to find that forgiveness and bring about closure. Otherwise the energetic law states that they will suffer. Paradoxically, we will often feel a greater amount of joy if it has been more difficult to forgive someone. When we truly clear our hearts, we create a space for God.

This weekend, try to forgive someone. You may not feel like it beforehand, but when the deed has been done you are guaranteed to feel lighter. And if you don’t, then blame me and I will promise to forgive you.

Shabbat shalom

Marcus

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Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com). He lives in Los Angeles.

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March 23, 2012 | 3:36 pm

Kosher Sutra: Burning Man (Vayikra)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Burning Man. Burn, baby, burn.

There is a pilgrimage that takes place every summer in the Nevada Desert. 50,000 people head to the sandy wasteland and participate in a week-long festival which culminates with the night time burning of a massive effigy of a human being. Burning Man is a phenomenon that eerily connects modern living with the ancient phenomenon of sacrifice.

Our Kosher Sutra is stark: “When you bring an offering to God, you shall bring an offering of cattle, or even of herd or of flock. If the offering is a burnt-offering of the herd, it shall be a male without blemish…” (Lev 1:3-4). The Hebrew word for offering or sacrifice is Korban and the root of the word, karev, literally means ‘draw close’. Through the process of sacrifice, humans come closer to God and closer to one another.

Sacrifice is a painful business. It hurts. It smells. It is visceral. When we talk about ‘making sacrifices’ in our life, we usually refer to giving something up in order to transform something else. We might sacrifice the last drink of the evening in order to get to sleep so that we can rise early to exercise, or we might sacrifice some pride if we are to create a lasting sense of peace within the home.

The teachings of yoga refer to an idea of inner sacrifice and it has been taught that ‘the sense organs, the tongue, etc., are the sacrificial vessels, the objects of the senses, taste, etc., are the sacrificial substances’ (Merce Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, p111 fn.50). The fire or ‘tapas’ of a yoga practice heats us up and burns away our ego, wiping away the sacrificing the thoughts and behaviours that hold us back.

If we practice with commitment, we can end up with a purer heart, a clearer mind and spiritual clarity. It just might burn a little.

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com). He lives in Los Angeles.

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March 16, 2012 | 3:33 pm

Kosher Sutra: The How of Happiness (Vayakhel-Pekudei)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Kosher Sutra: The How of Happiness (Vayakhel-Pekudei)

Freud articulated it best when he explained the Pleasure Principle. Ultimately, we all want to be happy. Almost everything we do derives from that one basic desire, whether it is pursuing money, entertainment, love, or intellectual pursuits….we just want to experience joy.

In “The How of Happiness” Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky suggested that up to 40% of our happiness quotient is with in our own control. She outlined ‘a scientific approach to getting the life you want’ and used academic research data to create a systematic approach to help us feel better. This included ‘happiness activities’ such as Practicing Acts of Kindness, Nurturing Social Relationships, Learning to Forgive, Savouring Life’s Joys, Taking Care of Your Body and much more. The book is very good indeed!

This week’s Kosher Sutra is a repeated phrase about ‘everyone who is generous of heart’ (Ex 35:5), ‘everyone whose heart inspired them, and everyone who is generous of spirit’ (Ex 35:21), describing those people who are motivated to help others and build part of the community. This can be understood as Karma Yoga, something which has been explained as ‘selfless community service’.

Karma Yoga is the exercise that takes place away from the mat for the direct benefit for others. Perhaps the puppets of Avenue Q said it best when they sang ‘when you help others you can’t help helping yourself’.

Shabbat Shalom

Marcus

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com). He lives in Los Angeles.

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March 9, 2012 | 4:40 pm

Kosher Sutra: Super-8 (Ki Tissa)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

There was a time when every second mattered. My childhood birthday parties were captured on Super-8 cine film that my father carefully filmed, before sending off the four-minute reel of tape for developing and waiting two weeks. He then physically spliced the film for an edit, before closing the curtains, setting up the projector and gathering the family for a long-awaited film showing.

There was a time when every shot mattered. We bought rolls of 35-mm film for our cameras, and were careful about how we used those 24 or 36 photographs.

There was a time when every friend mattered. We knew exactly who our friends were, physically wrote their names and numbers in a contacts book and the word ‘friend’ held a higher linguistic currency. Most people couldn’t number their friends in the facebook thousands and there wasn’t the option to add, delete or ignore them at the click of a button.

What is the impact of all of this on our time, our self-respect, our value?

Our Kosher Sutra recalls a system of counting people; “When you take a census..everyone shall give a half-shekel” (Exodus 30: 12-13). Rather than counting them by their numbers, the community was counted by their contribution. Everyone had to give a half-shekel unit of currency towards the communal structure, and the money was then calculated, telling the leaders how many people there were. This was a simple but radical shift. What makes us matter is not how much we have (status, possession, friends), but whether or not we are prepared to give.

As I write, both the Girl Scouts of America and Lady Gaga are running campaigns to help children improve their confidence and sense of self-worth (Time Magazine, March 2012). If we look closely, many of us question our value at some point or other.

Yoga’s overarching goal is for us to become sukha stiram, or ‘stable/secure and joyful’. To find peace of mind and inner joy at every moment. Although joy may be our birthright, it doesn’t always come automatically.

Perhaps we can achieve more by accumulating a little less. Take shorter videos, fewer photographs, collect less friends and instead to focus on each moment and each person we are spending time with. The paths of spirituality, yoga and meditation may demand discipline, but the rewards can be immense.

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com). He lives in Los Angeles.

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March 1, 2012 | 6:47 pm

Kosher Sutra: The Shmatte Game (Tetzaveh)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

There was a time when three generations of my family were involved with the clothing business, or as my Dad calls it, ‘the shmatte game’ (shmatte = Yiddish for rag or fabric). My late Grandma Sadie was in her 80’s, sitting by her classic Singer sewing machine, patiently making dresses, doing alterations and fixing hems. My father was flying to and from fashion warehouses in Milan and Bologna to source new women’s clothing lines for London buyers, and my sister was weaving fine silks on the loom she’d bought after graduating from the famed Central St Martin’s College of Art & Design.

Our Kosher Sutra centres around clothing production. We read about how “all the wise-hearted people whom I have invested with a spirit of wisdom shall make the garments of Aaron, to sanctify him” (Exodus 21:3). The designers, garment-makers, weavers, haberdashers, milliners and their colleagues all have full employment in the preparations for the Mishkan, the predecessor to the Temple.

One thing I’ve learned from watching family members at the sewing machine is that it takes patience. This isn’t mentioned in our Kosher Sutra, but it is certainly implied. If you’ve ever tried to sew something, you’ll know that it takes time and concentration. When my father works on the sewing machine, he is in a zen-like state of focus. The hems have to be lined up, the needles have to be thread carefully, the seams are ironed dutifully and all of the preparation goes towards creating a perfect result.

Spiritual growth takes patience, focus and concentration. The Yoga Sutras teaches Dhyana (inwards-focused meditation) and Dharana (outwards-focused meditation), which are considered the fifth and sixth ‘limbs’ of yoga. Whether our meditations are on a specific point or on the entire universe, it is through concentration that we can become one with the object of our focus. This oneness can be called ‘yoga’, ‘spirituality’, ‘enlightenment’ or many other names. In every form, though, it is characterised by patience and focus.

There are a million routes to stillness but if we want the ‘spirit of wisdom’, the ruach chochma of the Kosher Sutra, then we need to be open to receive it. The idea of vinyasa yoga is that we are achieving a sense of stillness-in-motion, keeping a fluidity to our body and a fluidity to our mind. If you want to check whether you’re achieving this, pull out a needle, and thread and start sewing.

Shabbat shalom

Marcus

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com). He lives in Los Angeles.

[www.bibliyoga.com](http://www.bibliyoga.com)

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February 24, 2012 | 11:48 am

Kosher Sutra: Sanctuary (Terumah)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

Kosher Sutra: Sanctuary (Terumah)

“Oh Lord Prepare Me
To be a sanctuary
Pure and Holy
Kind and True
With thanksgiving
I’ll be a living sanctuary
For You” (Gospel Standard)

Our Kosher Sutra reads: “Make for me a sanctuary and I dwell within them” (Exodus 25:8). The rabbis teach that there is an apparent mistake within this verse in that ‘sanctuary’ is a single noun, but ‘them’ is plural. They resolve the problem by explaining that every single one of us is a sanctuary, and a dwelling place for God.

This is all nice and fluffy, but what does it mean? The context of the verse is at the beginning of a long passage that describes the incredibly specific details for building the mishkan, the structure which will become a ‘house’ for God. It describes beams, staves, joints, foundations, furniture and accoutrements of all sorts.

The traditional purpose of asana - yoga postures - is to strengthen our body so that we can sit and meditate for extended periods. ‘Asana’ means ‘seated’ (in Hebrew it would be ‘yoshev’ or ‘yeshiva’!), and they are supposed to be rigorously applied to bring strength and vitality to our body. This is so much more using yoga just as a flexible workout or relaxation practice. Although it has all of these benefits, it is supposed to really focus our body so that it is a powerful dwelling-place for prana (yogic energy).

In our modern world, spirituality is often described in very vague terms. Teachers talk about ‘doing what you feel is right’, ‘follow your heart’, ‘listen to your intuition’. These statements are all truthful but they are incomplete if they are all that is taught. Spirituality takes a lot of work and continued application if it is to come to fruition.

Yoga postures are a very helpful tool for strengthening our body, which is the dwelling-place of our soul. Standing poses help our feet and legs provide a firm foundation for the structure, backbends help open the upper cavities for the breath and create openness in the spine, while twists help cleanse toxins and clear blockages to keep the life-force flowing.

Our reading begins with saying that ‘everyone whose heart will motivate them’ should get involved (Ex 25:2), but it then goes on to say how they should get involved. If we really want to create a dwelling place for the Divine, then we have to work consistently to make a vessel that can hold the spirit of the universe. The stronger the vessel, the more light it can contain.

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com). He lives in Los Angeles.

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February 17, 2012 | 12:41 am

Kosher Sutra: Freedom isn’t Free (Mishpatim)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

One failing of the penal system is that prisoners can become too comfortable with the lifestyle. Some people enjoy the feeling of being cared for by an institution and the rent-free living inspires some ex-cons to quickly reoffend upon their release so that they are thrown back into jail.

Our Kosher Sutra centres around the Hebrew slave who has completed his term of service but tells his master “I will not be free” (Exodus 21:5). These are not conventional slaves according to the modern understanding because they still have some human rights, albeit limited. Nonetheless the owner is commanded to take the slave and nail his ear to the doorpost as a sign that he has voluntarily given up his liberty forever.

The Talmud explains that the mark must be made on the slaves ear because he has chosen not to engage with the proclamations of freedom that were heard at Mount Sinai, and he has also chosen not to walk through the doorway that would be the first step towards his new life (BT Kiddushin 22b).

Shockingly, many of us behave similarly in our own lives. We complain about the slavery in our jobs, relationships, body-image, weight, fitness-levels, psychological wellbeing…but we also don’t take any action. Rather than stepping through the doorway and making the journey towards freedom, we would rather moan and choose the path of restriction.

Yoga is the path of freedom, or Moksha Dharma and it can lead the practitioner towards “liberation of the spirit” (Yoga – The Great Tradition by David Frawley, p34). “Yoga was devised as the sovereign means to end all suffering” (Ibid, p33), but it takes daily practice to really become free. It is much easier to find reasons not to practice – ‘I’m too busy, I can’t afford it, I don’t have the time, I don’t have a teacher’ – and it is much easier not to begin the work than to go through the trouble of putting in the time.

As one song wrote: “Freedom isn’t free…there’s a hefty..fee” (Team America: World Police). The question is this; we all want self-realisation, but are we willing to pay the price

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com). He lives in Los Angeles.

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February 17, 2012 | 12:27 am

Kosher Sutra: Synaesthesia (Yitro)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

In the mid-1920’s a Russian Journalist called Solomon Veniaminovich Shereshevsky was reprimanded by his boss for because he didn’t write any notes during a meeting. Shereskvsky didn’t need to because he had a photographic memory. He was later discovered to be a synesthete. Synaesthesia is a state whereby someone’s neural pathways crossover, so that when they hear a musical note they will see a colour, when they touch something it will trigger a taste sensation and so forth.

Our Kosher Sutra takes us to Mount Sinai where people ‘could see the voices’ that were usually heard (Exodus 20:15). There was a disagreement between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yishmael over whether this was indeed a miracle. The former argued that it was supernatural as it lifted humans up to a heavenly realm, whereas the latter suggested that it was merely an opportunity for everyone to experience the Divinity that is always around and within them*.

When we stop to truly listen to that which is going on around us, we can quickly find ourselves in the realm of the supernatural, hearing things that we otherwise missed. We can ‘see’ the anger in someone’s voice even if they are speaking calmly if we quiet ourselves and look at their body language. We see the anxiety and depression in someone’s voice if we stop listening to just the words they are saying and really listen to them in their entirety.

The journey of yoga and meditation takes us much deeper, and far closer to our full potential. The book Autobiography of a Yogi describes someone having extra-sensory experiences on a daily basis, but are these really miracles? Or are they merely touching the potential that we all have?

Last year’s excellent film Limitless showed a man who took a drug to open up the full potential of his brain, although we don’t really need this drug to enjoy our brain to its fullest. We just need to slow down and listen.

The standard manual of mental disorders DSM-IV does not list synaesthesia as a neurological condition because it does not have to cause problems with everyday life. Many people who experience it have begun to see it as a gift rather than a burden.

We have incredible abilities at our fingertips and most of us have only just begun to scratch the surface of our body and soul’s potential.

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com). He lives in Los Angeles.
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*(as recounted by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Likutei Sichot, vol. 6, pp. 121-129 and vol. 1, pp. 149-150)

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February 5, 2012 | 1:09 pm

Kosher Sutra: Generation Flux

Posted by Marcus J Freed

There is a question as to whether our economy is in a recession or if it has entered a full depression. One thing we can be certain of is that things have changed. The current issue of Fast Company magazine leads with a story about ‘Generation Flux’, its name for the status quo. Gen Fluxers could be 20 years old, 40, 60 or older, and are defined not by their age but by their attitude. “You don’t need to be a jack of all trades to flourish now”, they wrote, “but you do need to be open-minded”.

Our Kosher Sutra joins the Children of Israel who are in a state of flux. They have been uprooted from the ‘comfort’ of slavery and are being pursued by Egyptian forces as they escape towards the Sea of Reeds. Things have become so uncertain that their anxieties are running sky-high and they are campaigning to return to a life of slavery rather than open up to the possibilities of a new and exciting world. Moses gives them a very simple and very yogic instruction: “Do not fear! Stand fast and see the salvation of God….[and] remain silent” (Exodus 14:14).

How can we stand still and remain silent when we are overcome with the fear and anxiety that is brought on by sudden change? Which Bibliyoga tools can we use when we are longing to wind back the clock to the way things were?

On a recent trip to China, yoga guru BKS Iyengar gave some helpful clues on how we can learn to stand fast, using the metaphor of a tree. He explained that “the movements for any asana (yoga pose) should come from the root not the shoot”*. For example in a standing forward straddle bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), the focus should be on spreading the legs from the groins (‘the roots’) rather than the feet (‘the shoots’). When standing straight we might also focus on keeping the front of the groins open and using gravity to bring our weight so that it is evenly distributed across our feet.

The world is going to change whether we like it or not, and it is our choice how much we want to suffer. We may feel like resisting the flux and turning back the clock. Some say ‘better the devil you know’, but that doesn’t need to be the motto by which we live our lives if we desire liberation. Rather, we can stand up straight, get rooted, listen actively and watch carefully for the miracles that are about to unfold before our eyes.

*Yoga Rahasya, Vol 18, No 3, 2011. Sweet timing for Tu B’shvat.

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com). He lives in Los Angeles.

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January 29, 2012 | 12:01 pm

Kosher Sutra: Night Terrors (Bo)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

A couple of my friends have trouble sleeping at night because their three year-old son wakes them up. For a few months he suffered from ‘night terrors’, screaming and scared at 2am, or he was wide awake and in the mood for playing and singing. Many other people have problems sleeping at night through anxiety, troublesome thoughts or disturbing dreams.

The long, lonely night was a theme frequently visited by the Psalmist and King David spoke of how ‘every night I drench my bed, with my tears I soak my couch (Psalm 6). His counterpose to this fear was ‘though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me’ (Psalm 23).

But how can we banish fear if we awake with anxiety? How do we jolt ourselves into a state of consciousness that is free from fear? If you’ve ever tried pulling out a yoga mat at 3am and trying to meditate or do a physical yoga practice, it isn’t always that easy to calm down and become present.

When the Children of Israel were preparing to leave Egypt amidst the 10 plagues and escaping Pharoah’s wrath, they were told ‘it will be a night of anticipation to God to take them out of the land of Egypt, this is the night to God, a night of guarding for all the Children of Israel for their generations’ (Exodus 12:42). The Hebrew word for ‘anticipation’ is ‘shomer’, which is also translated as to ‘observe’ as well as ‘guard’.

A meditative reading of this passage can be deeply revealing. If our nights are beset with fear, the only way to banish the terror is to become aware of our fear and to understand that they are more intensified at night. If we can ‘shomer’, truly guard and observe our thoughts, then we can reach a state of peace. The idea of ‘Leaving Egypt’ is akin to becoming free from oppression, and when we become conscious we are free from the slavery to our oppressive thoughts. Finally, we can even re-read the idea of ‘God’ as become conscious to the Will of the Universe, to really internalise the notion that there is something bigger than ourselves. A night-time worry is often based on the idea that **we** have to fix everything, that **we** are responsible, that **we** have created our problems. When we can relinquish this ego and remember that there we didn’t create the universe, our problems are shared and our problems are halved.

So what can we do if night terror strikes? Does it work to roll out the yoga mat when the night is darkest “the country cocks do crow, the clocks do toll/ And the third hour of drowsy morning names”*?

Yes! That is precisely the time to meditate. It isn’t always easy. It might take some while to calm. It probably won’t feel like your favourite upbeat yoga class, but this is where the real meditation action happens. This is the time to create ‘a night of guarding’, to guard your thoughts, guard your soul and guard your wellbeing. Breathe deeply, commit to the practice and enjoy your journey from slavery to liberation.  If you want freedom, you have to realise that it is within you.
***********

_*Henry V, 4:i. Sorry, couldn’t resist it._

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January 20, 2012 | 6:55 am

Kosher Sutra: Be a Contender (Vayeira)

Posted by Marcus J Freed

We have no shortages of excuses to excuse our lack of success.‘If only I had a better education’. ‘If only I had more money’. ‘If only I was born into another family’. Perhaps the most famous excuse is from Marlon Brando’s 1954 film On the Waterfront when he famously lamented “I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody”.

Moses has a problem, or so he thinks. When asked to lead the people out of slavery he explains to God that it’s impossible, after all, “how will Pharoah listen to me? And I have blocked lips” (Exodus 6:12).

Let’s do a quick, deep re-reading. Moses is explaining to God something that is impossible to do on earth. If God created the earth, surely he knew what was possible and what wasn’t? In case we missed it the first time, it’s repeated again that ‘Moses said before God, “Behold! I have blocked lips so how shall Pharoah hear me?” (6:30).

The yogis were well aware of the issue of blocked energy. They identified thousands of energy channels within the body –  the nadis – with the three central ones being the ida (left column), pingala (right column) and shushumna (central column). Kundalini yoga focuses on unblocking these channels through the pranayamic yogic breath.

The yogis’ ideas are reflected in the kabbalah with the three channels clearly demonstrated in the sefirot/tree of life…but as I mentioned, this is a quick, deep reading, so this week we don’t have much airtime for tangents!

Moses was convinced that he wasn’t up to the job. He described his mouth as ‘Aral Sefatayim’ which translates as ‘blocked lips’, ‘sealed lips’ or even ‘uncircumcised lips’. The last image can be helpful as we consider that sometimes we have to ‘circumcise’ our self-image, i.e. to take a metaphorical knife and cut away our excuses. This can hurt! It is much easier to stay clothed in the warmth of our own reasons for not being a success.

This week’s Bibliyogic challenge is to clear internal blockages. A basic pranayama breath is to inhale and exhale through your nostrils. Consider meditating on how you might be using an excuse as a reason not to pursue an important goal.

The path isn’t easy. Moses faced challenges, but he was able to succeed when he was able to stop blocking his own success. That is when ‘God spoke through Moses’ (Exodus 9:35). Perhaps we are able to truly get out of own way, that is the path to being a contender.

Marcus J Freed is the creator of Bibliyoga (www.bibliyoga.com), President of the Jewish Yoga Network (www.jewishyoganetwork.org) and CEO of Freedthinking (www.freedthinking.com
). He lives in Los Angeles.

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