Cool It!

How’s your patience level these days?  The long term psychological effects of Corona remained to be seen and studied I’m sure.

For many people the short term impacts may be; impatience, lack of sleep and stress to name a few.  Despite the fact that there are many negatives and challenging things surrounding our experience in quarantine and isolation there are also many positives; spending time with family, navigating new depths of our relationships, discovering hobbies, slower pace of life to name a few.

All in all this is an emotional journey of sorts.

According to the teachings of Chasidus, the ups and downs of emotions are caused by the ebbs and flow of our heart, the place where the animal or instinctual soul and soul of vitality lives.

Think about it this way; when you get angry or short tempered, your heart beats faster, your body heat rises, maybe you sweat a little, but all in all your heart, your blood and your emotion are completely engaged.

There are many methods to get a grip on the situation.  Some of them are designed for short term control, to stop the expression of the emotion.  Others are designed to create inner transformation over time.

Regardless of what the method used, it is all about the mind.  The intellect guides the person to control their emotional response.  This is known is Chasidus as Moach Shalit Al Halev – The natural state of the Mind Controls the Heart.

This week’s Portion continues the discussion regarding animal sacrifices. Every animal sacrifice that was brought had an event where the animals blood was offered on the Altar.  The common denominator of this particular service begs explanation and in particular for its relevance to us today when animal sacrifice is no longer permitted.

The above discussion sheds light for us.  The blood represents the heart and emotional response.  Human beings are to be guided by the mind.  Emotions are an important part of who we are and must be present for a full Divine experience.  But when the emotions are instinctual, we are not tapping into our G-dly and human dimension.

These days, utilizing our mind, capitalizing on the down time to focus on brain work is critical to navigating these days productively and in growing ourselves as Human Beings and Jews.

It’s the blood that is sacrificed everytime we pause to reflect on our emotions.

Good luck!