Devarim
What is the intent of distractions?
Reflection by Carrie Watkins, US Community Manager
"In his commentary on this week’s parsha, the early Hasidic Master the Meor Eynaim brings a beautiful teaching on what it means to study Torah mindfully. Woven into a long teaching on the word `devarim,` meaning words, the Meor Eynaim expounds upon the process of moving from speaking words of Torah without truly understanding them to beginning to inhabit something deeper. As an example, he sets a scene of a person engaged in studying Torah, but doing so not entirely `for its own sake.` In other words, distracting thoughts are arising. Don’t just give up and cease studying, he implores! Instead, use the study of Torah as an anchor, and turn your attention towards the distracting thoughts themselves.
`There is a reason why various distracting thoughts and prideful allures come to you as you engage in Torah. These are your own judgment forces . . . they may be there in search of redemption, hoping that you will submit them to Torah as you study. If you have eyes in your head to understand that they have come for this reason, you will become stronger in holding fast to the good and redeeming them . . . those who have neither the awareness nor the faith to do this get caught up in those distractions.`
The original Hebrew: מאור עיניים פרשת דברים
כי באמת מה שבעת עסקו בתורה באין לו מחשבות ופניות חיצוניות וגדלות הוא ממש הדינין שלו שבאין ואינם מניחים אותו להתקשר את עצמו למעלה עם התורה או שבאין לתקנן אז בלימודו ולשעבדן להתורה ואם עיניו בראשו להיות מבין זאת שבאו אליו לכוונה הנ״ל אזי בודאי יתגבר את עצמו לאחוז בכל המדות לטוב ולתקנן אך השוטים שאין להם דעת ואמונה זאת אזי אוחז את עצמו בהן ומקלקל
The key, the Rebbe shares, is to know that each thought is showing up for a reason. It might not be a great reason! But knowing that our thoughts have, in a sense, a will of their own, allows us to have enough spaciousness between our ‘eyes in our head,’ our intentional awareness, and the arising thoughts that we can choose to not get caught up in them.
The Rebbe goes further. Once you have the space from these thoughts, then turn towards them! `Have the faith to say: these bad thoughts and distractions are judgment forces that I need to transform . . . their intent in coming to me is that I repair them, including them within the Torah.` From that place of inclusion, `distractions` cease being `distractions` at all and instead become opportunities to bring Torah to life.
והן הנה כוונת בואם כדי שאתקן אותם ואכללם להיותן כלולין בהתורה
Whether we’re meditating on our breath or on the study of Torah, our distractions are only distractions if we get lost in them. The more we practice turning towards what arises with spacious understanding, the more our `distractions` transform into opportunities for insight and integration.
Wishing you a Shabbat of `eyes in your head` awareness `holding fast to the good.`"