The next Torah Portion we can discover together is Yitro, the name of Moses’s father-in-law. You can read through this portion in Exodus 18:1-20:23. The most relatable enemy is being heavy-burdened. I often struggle to carry my burdens, those of others, and the burdens God has asked me to bear. There has to be a recipe to keep us from becoming weak and losing hope.
First, let’s try to understand the different types of burdens. There is a burden of sin. Making choices that harm ourselves and others causes shame, which is a heavy burden to bear. There are burdens that people in authority place on us; for instance, Pharaoh and the Egyptians placed heavy burdens on the Israelites (Ex 1.11), and the governors of Israel took bread, wine, and silver from their subjects, which was burdensome in Nehemiah 5:15. To apply to our modern world, government, and those people in places of authority can add to our financial burdens. God can also ask us to bear a burden for the sake of His kingdom. We can assume this because Yeshua tells us His burden is light. He doesn’t say that He does not have a burden, only that it is easy to carry. A Godly burden to bear is to love others. In 2 Chronicles 35:3, some Levitical Priests were called burden bearers or sabal in Hebrew. They serviced the community of Israel by carrying the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders until they placed it into the Temple. As soon as it was home, the Levites ceased carrying this burden. It is almost as if once we embody God’s words and they are in their proper place in the holy of holies or our hearts, they are not burdensome anymore. Moses had to carry the Israelite’s burdens throughout the wilderness journey (Ex 18.22), and then God asked the rulers or judges of Israel to help Moses with this load. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:2 that we can fulfill the Torah or law of the Messiah by carrying the burdens of others. This act of sharing burdens can bring a sense of relief and support, making the load feel lighter and less overwhelming.
Let’s examine how God enables us to carry the heaviness of life. God strengthens us by surrounding us with people who can share our burdens, as He did for Moses. They can empathize with, validate, and pray for us as we struggle. Of course, we must communicate our needs and ask for help if we want to benefit from this blessing. The next thing He does is give us the weapon of praise. It says in 2 Chronicles 34:13 that those instructed in instruments or the worship of music were al in Hebrew, meaning above, beside, together with, or for the benefit of the burden bearers and overseers of all who did service work in the Tabernacle. This observation is incredible. God instituted that the praisers went alongside those who carried heavy burdens and serviced the Tabernacle because it strengthened them. Finally, anointing oil allows us to carry heavy burdens.
The essential ingredient for our endurance recipe is anointing oil. Olives release oil when pressed, a metaphor for deep struggle and testing. Any of the children of Israel could bring oil to the Tabernacle as a free-will offering (Ex 25.1). This understanding tells us that we must overcome personal struggles to produce anointing oil for the benefit of the greater community and for the power needed to endure carrying burdens.
Galatians 6:5: For each one will carry his own load (burden).
We also endure heavy burdens when we worship through praise. Praise is the proper use and purpose of our mouths. It connects the divine Breath inside us to its source, the Ruach HaKodesh, or Holy Spirit. When we praise, it is like infusing oxygen into every cell of our body, healing and maintaining life for us. Power comes from the Ruach HaKodesh or this divine Breath, as it is described as one of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 11:2. We need power to carry weighty burdens. Praise is a powerful tool that can uplift us and spiritually strengthen us, giving us the energy and resilience to carry our burdens.
Next, we surround ourselves with a community of believers who will walk with us on this journey. Paul says that if we carry others’ burdens, we can fulfill the entire Torah or the law of the Messiah. I imagine it makes burdens feel light because “Many hands make light work.” If you don’t choose to surround yourself with like-minded people, it is not a natural human reaction for people to notice you are struggling or to know how to help. We can also become proud and refuse to ask for help, which will quickly cause us to become tired and weak, leading us to feel like giving up.
Numbers 11:4: I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden [is] too heavy for me.
Galatians 6:2: Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way, you fulfill the Torah of Messiah.
When the weight of life seems overwhelming, pray and ask the Holy One to help you. Help you know how to communicate and ask for help, help you not give up, and help you have wisdom as to whether or not you are carrying the correct burdens. When walking so closely with others, we may pick up something someone else lays down but it was never meant to be picked up. This discernment in burden-sharing is crucial, as it empowers us to make wise choices and not take on more than we can handle.
Psalm 55:22: Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you. He shall never permit the righteous to be moved (to totter, slip, shake, be overthrown, fall, or drop).
I would read the above verse over and over thinking, how do we cast our burdens on the LORD? I didn’t understand a practical meaning and then I read an analogy for the word salak or to cast in Hebrew. In the analogy, it said to cast meant that if you were out in a wilderness, instead of collecting rocks on your journey and adding them to a sack that gets heavier and heavier, you collect a rock and then cast it away, or pick it up, check it out, and then chuck it. If you apply this to burdens, it means, you pick up a burden, acknowledge it, carry it for a bit, process it, and then you throw it back down. If you just keep picking up and carrying without processing and releasing, your sack will get too heavy. I hope this analogy helps you as much as it helped me.
Galatians 6:9: So let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we don’t give up.
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