Parashat Shof'tim - Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9

Let us not hear the voice of YHWH our God any longer or see this wondrous fire anymore lest we die.

Moses is reminding us, the mythical descendants of the Israelites, that we are the ones who beg and plead not to encounter God directly.  Moses represents us.  Moses goes up the mountain to listen to the divine voice.  Moses retreats to the wilderness to see the divine light.  And then, he tells us about it when he gets back.

Moses writes down the Torah and gives it to us.  He mentors Joshua, in whose time the Judges start a conversation about what the character of our literary history, Moses, meant to convey in the Torah.  The discussion is continued by Prophets, Priests, and Rabbis (legal interpreters of the old days and pastors of today), and finally taken over by scientists and ethicists.  They all report to us, to the extent that we pay attention.

We are the recipients of an incredible amount of information, stretching the capacity of what our sophisticated brains can process in a given moment.  (Have you watched someone under 30 multi-task?  I am so jealous.)  Consequently we're more tired, we get more headaches, and we're increasingly more irritable with one another.   I think the information overload needs to be counterbalanced.  

I literally stop and smell the roses.  I practice actually listening to my kids.  I still gaze into my husband's eyes.  I notice the migration of butterflies and which vegetables and fruits are in season.  It really puts everything else into perspective...