How to hear your home's silent voice

This week's Torah portion, Haazinu (Deuteronomy 32:1-52), opens with Moses calling upon heaven and earth to bear witness to his final song. But before he launches into his epic farewell, he begins with a single, urgent word: "Haazinu!" - Listen! Not "understand" or "obey" or "remember" - just listen. Deep, receptive, mystical listening.

I try to ‘listen’ every time I walk through my front door now, but it wasn't always this way. In our previous apartment - the one where I got so sick - our entrance was dark and cramped with a door that was hard to open and a musty smell from lack of air circulation. You couldn't pause, couldn't breathe, couldn't manage the transition gracefully. I replaced the door (it remained difficult to open), fixed the lighting at the entrance, painted the walls. But the space kept screaming at me: "I'm broken! Fix me! Try harder!" What I didn't realize then was that the entrance was trying to teach me something crucial about how I was entering my own life.

According to medieval sage Rashi, Moses chose the word "haazinu" because it implies intimate listening - the kind where you place your ear directly against someone's chest to hear their heartbeat. Our entrances deserve this same quality of attention. They're not just functional spaces; they're the "Mouth of Chi" - the primary channel through which all energy and opportunity flow into our lives.

When we learn to listen to our entrances with depth of attention, they stop being problems to solve and become portals to understanding. It's about creating conditions for wisdom to enter our lives as naturally as we enter our homes.

ROOM OF THE WEEK: THE ENTRANCE

This week, we're practicing Moses's call for deep listening at the threshold where transformation begins.

DAILY ENERGY FOCUS

Sunday (Yang/Sun) 

OBSERVE stagnant chi indicators in your entrance. Notice: where does energy feel stuck or heavy upon entering? Yang energy reveals: where your entrance might be holding old patterns that need clearing for new opportunities to flow.

Monday (Yin/Moon) 

SENSE rushing chi indicators in your entrance. Check if: you automatically speed up or feel hurried when coming home, conversations feel interrupted here, or you skip normal entering rituals like hanging up your coat. Yin energy asks: where does your entrance need more receptive, welcoming stillness?

Tuesday (Fire/Joy) 

NOTICE the fire qualities in your entrance - bright colors, triangular shapes, sharp vs. soft acoustics, spicy scents, red flowering plants, candles or lighting fixtures. DETECT signs of stagnant chi by observing: items sitting untouched for long periods or family members avoiding spending time here. Fire's transformative energy asks: What wants to be illuminated or celebrated at your threshold?

Wednesday (Water/Flow) 

OBSERVE water elements in your entrance - flowing shapes, dark colors, glass/mirrors, how your body naturally moves through this space. SENSE rushing chi through: whether you feel immediately pushed in a direction rather than allowed to pause and transition. The flowing energy of water asks: How can this space better support the natural rhythm of coming home?

Thursday (Wood/Growth) 

FEEL the wood energy in your entrance - wooden furniture, herbal scents, tall stems or bamboo, expansive vs. intimate zones, where you pause vs. where you rush. CHECK IF stagnant chi is present by noticing: dust accumulating quickly in corners or feeling sluggish when lingering here. The pioneering energy of wood asks: What new growth wants to emerge from this threshold, creating that indefinable quality that draws people in?

Friday (Metal/Structure) 

SENSE metal qualities in your entrance - clear sounds when opening/closing doors, white flowering plants, metal door hardware, precise vs. loose arrangements. DETECT rushing chi by observing: whether doors slam shut on their own or you feel anxious upon entering. The structured energy of metal asks: What boundaries or systems would create more graceful transitions at your threshold?

Saturday (Earth/Grounding) 

REST and INTEGRATE this week's chi observations without acting. Simply NOTICE: what your entrance needs while considering both stagnant and rushing chi patterns discovered this week. Earth's grounding energy asks: How can this threshold better support your daily transitions and sacred pauses?

BAGUA MAP

Below you'll find ideas for how to work with mystical listening and hidden unity based on where your front door is positioned.*

*In BTB feng shui, we determine the location of each gua by aligning your front door with the bottom of the map below that looks like a tic tac toe board. This is different from the Compass approach to feng shui which uses directions for alignment. Also note that the rooms and walls of your home won't perfectly align with the bagua map, and some rooms may fall in more than one gua area.

┌─────────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────┐
│   Wealth        │    Fame         │ Relationships   │
│   Corner        │   Corner        │    Corner       │
├─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│   Family        │    Center       │   Children      │
│   Corner        │                 │    Corner       │
├─────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────┤
│  Knowledge      │    Career       │ Helpful People  │
│   Corner        │   Corner        │    Corner       │
└─────────────────┴─────────────────┴─────────────────┘
          ↑               ↑               ↑
      Front door typically aligns somewhere along this edge

If Your Entrance Is In The Wisdom, Knowledge & Spirituality Area (Gua #8)

How does your threshold here support or challenge your learning and spiritual growth? Moses's call for deep listening shows that wisdom comes through receptive attention rather than forcing understanding. Your entrance becomes a daily practice ground for mystical listening - each homecoming an opportunity to pause and receive whatever teaching the day has offered. The stable mountain energy of earth responds to heavy, solid forms and earth scents like vetiver or patchouli. Consider: CLEAR outdated beliefs or learning materials that no longer serve your growth, ADD elements supporting current spiritual development like meaningful books or meditation objects, or OBSERVE what wisdom wants to emerge from this sacred threshold.

If Your Entrance Is In The Career & Life Journey Area (Gua #1) 

How does your threshold here support or challenge your professional path and life direction? Moses's song shows that even when we can't enter the promised land ourselves, our actions can still serve the greater journey. Your entrance carries the energy of daily purpose - each departure and return connected to your larger calling in the world. Water's flowing energy benefits from flowing water features or even just a glass vase with a single iris or calla lily. Consider: CLEAR any clutter that may be contributing to career obstacles or stagnant professional energy that's blocking your path, ADD elements representing your true calling and life mission, or TEND to symbols of your work life with renewed sense of sacred purpose.

If Your Entrance Is In The Helpful People & Travel Area (Gua #6) 

How does your threshold here support or challenge your ability to give and receive support? Moses's final teaching required both heavenly and earthly witnesses - sometimes our greatest help comes from unexpected sources. Your entrance becomes a gateway for divine assistance and meaningful connections. Metal's clarity energy works with metal wind chimes and white flowers like gardenias or white orchids. Consider: CLEAR clutter that creates barriers to receiving support or anchors old patterns of isolation, ADD elements representing your mentors, guides, and support network, or AMPLIFY gratitude for existing helpful connections while remaining open to new forms of guidance.

Not sure how to read your space according to this map? Click here.

CLOSING INSIGHT

According to the Zohar, the most influential foundational text of Kabbalah, whoever hears a blessing but doesn't concentrate deeply on the "Amen" faces spiritual consequences - not punishment, but disconnection from the flow of blessing itself. Our entrances teach us this same principle. When we rush through without truly arriving, we miss the daily blessing of homecoming.