5783 Musical Torah Journey
The Birth
Nitzavim/Vayeilech 5783 - Hayom Harat Olam “Today the world is pregnant with possibility. Today all of creation stands in judgment.” On Rosh Hashanah each year we say this line after every set of shofar blasts. It may look more familiar in the Hebrew: “הַיּוֹם הֲרַת עוֹלָם - הַיּוֹם יַעֲמִיד בַּמִּשְׁפָּט כָּל יְצוּרֵי עוֹלָמִים” This year on the first day of Rosh Hashanah that moment will look different, for we will be saying these words after silence - the shofar is not traditionally blown on Shabbat. How can we feel the awe and grandeur of the day without this iconic literal wake up call? I like to believe this provides us with a powerful opportunity - how will we center and wake ourselves up when there is no sound here to do it for us? Rosh Hashanah is unique among beginnings on the Jewish calendar. We celebrate the new month (Rosh Chodesh) every month with fanfare and Hallel. We even precede Rosh Chodesh with an announcement on the Shabbat beforehand where we proclaim the...
The Chaser
Ki Tavo 5783 - Darashti In one of the most famous lines from one of my all time favorite movies, Ferris Bueller looks directly at the camera and says to us, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” It seems cliche at this point, but, as I’ve mentioned a few times already in these writings, I believe this is a core tenet of Judaism - living life with awareness and intention. Judaism makes life meaningful. We say brachot to notice and mark important moments in our lives, whether that moment is a holiday, lighting candles, seeing a rainbow, or even meeting a new person or seeing a friend after a long time. In this week’s parashah, Ki Tavo, the people of Israel are at the periphery, about to enter into the land of Israel. They receive laws about how to treat each other and the stranger in their midst, and listen to a very long list of curses (the tochecha) and blessings they may or may not receive should they follow God’s law....
The HindSight
Ki Teitzeh 5783 - If Only (Lulei) We are now a few days into the month of Elul - a time of introspection and reflection, of looking forward and looking back. This time period need not only be felt with fear and trepidation, but rather with hope and excitement. The letters א.ל.ו.ל also spell out the word לוּלֵא - meaning “if only.” This time of year is filled with possibility if we allow ourselves to be open to change. And so much of this is a matter of our own intentionality, our own mindset. We see this clearly in a verse from this week’s parashah, Ki Teitzeh. We read, לֹא־תִרְאֶה אֶת־שׁוֹר אָחִיךָ אוֹ אֶת־שֵׂיוֹ נִדָּחִים וְהִתְעַלַּמְתָּ מֵהֶם הָשֵׁב תְּשִׁיבֵם לְאָחִיךָ׃ “If you see your kin’s ox or sheep gone astray, do not ignore it; you must take it back to your kin (Deut. 22:1).” A very similar line appears in the book of Shemot, with one very important difference: כִּי תִפְגַּע שׁוֹר אֹֽיִבְךָ אוֹ חֲמֹרוֹ תֹּעֶה הָשֵׁב תְּשִׁיבֶנּוּ לֽוֹ׃ When you encounter your...
The Hidden Measure
Shoftim 5783 - Mah Rabu In a week where we have seen daring and wisdom from our judges and officials in Georgia and around the country, we read parashat Shoftim, where God tells us to set up judges and officials throughout our communities to uphold the law, maintain order, and sustain a thriving and fair society. The Toldot Ya’akov Yosef, Jacob Joseph of Polonne (1710–1784), teaches us not just to view this message as an external declaration to elect judges, but also to think about how we judge ourselves and the people around us. The verse in the Torah reads: שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ (דְּבָרִים טז:יח) Judges and officials you shall give to you for all your gates He points out the word Lecha, “to you” in the verse and says: לְךָ, לְעַצְמְךָ. קֹדֶם לְכָל תִּשְׁפֹּט אֶת עַצְמְךָ, קְשֹׁט עַצְמְךָ תְּחִלָּה. וּבְאוֹתָהּ מִדָּה שֶׁאַתָּה מוֹדֵד לְעַצְמְךָ תִּמְדֹּד גַּם לַאֲחֵרִים. שֶׁלֹּא תְּהֵא מֵקִיל לְעַצְמְךָ וּמַחְמִיר לַאֲחֵרִים, מוֹחֵל...
The Blessing and the Curse
Re'eh 5783 - Lecha Dodi (Corning) “There's only us, there's only thisForget regret, or life is yours to missNo other path, no other wayNo day but today” If you know me, you know how much I love musicals. As I was studying this teaching for this week’s Torah portion, Re’eh, these words kept singing their way through my mind. At the very beginning of the parsha we read these words: רְאֵה אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן לִפְנֵיכֶם הַיּוֹם בְּרָכָה וּקְלָלָה׃ See, this day I set before you blessing and curse: (Deut. 11:26) A blessing and a curse - a fork in the road lies before us. And it seems so daunting to confront this choice and not know which path to take. Rather than focusing on the choice, The Vilna Ga’on (HaGaon Rabbenu Eliyahu, 1720-1797) focuses on how we get there - those five words that precede this choice. Perhaps there is more here in this single sentence intro than meets the eye. He says: And notice that it says “Re’eh” (See) in the singular, so that a person will not say, “Who am I that I...
The Story
Ekev 5783 - Ya Ribon One of my favorite comics growing up as a kid was Calvin and Hobbes. I had every anthology book and would read them over and over again. In a classic series of strips from 1992, Calvin has to write a story for a class and ends up going time traveling instead. Of course, he has writer’s block, and Hobbes (his anthropomorphic stuffed pet tiger) gives him some incredible advice: I think this is the feeling basically all clergy have as we head towards the High Holiday season. And maybe last-minute panic works for some, but for others concluding Tisha B’av reminds us that the High Holiday season is fast approaching and they should figure out what the central message is that they hope to share with their communities. In this week’s parashah, Eikev, Moses seems to have a pretty good idea of what he thinks God’s central message to us is at this time, וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל מָה ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ שֹׁאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ כִּי אִם־לְיִרְאָה אֶת ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ לָלֶכֶת...
The Door
V'etchanan 5783 - Hapotei'ach This week on the Jewish calendar is known as shavua shechal bo (The week “it” resides in) - referring to the week of Tisha B’av, the fast day that commemorates, among other things, the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem. It is one of the saddest days on the Jewish calendar, and the week is marked with mourning rituals such as refraining from eating meat and playing instrumental music. Throughout Jewish history, it has been a reminder of times when our prayers were left unanswered, when we called out to God and did not hear a response. The destruction of the Second Temple was attributed to a proliferation of sinat chinam, senseless hatred, amongst the people of Israel. This week, I feel that senselessness in the Kenesset’s vote to limit the powers of the Supreme Court in order to be able to enact conservative laws that will further divide the country and threaten the very essence of Israel’s democracy. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have...
The Light
Devarim 5783 - Havdalah There are many amazing things about living in Columbus, Ohio, but one of the strange things is that Shabbat never ends. Well, it does end, but at 10:00pm when I’m almost asleep. Columbus is on the Westernmost edge of the Eastern time zone, so it’s almost as if the sun never sets! What a gift to have so much sunshine! It has always been fascinating to me that during the summer, a time of light and sunshine and joy, we commemorate one of the darkest periods of the Jewish calendar, Bein Hametzarim, “between the narrows” - the three weeks between the fast of Shivah Asar B’Tammuz and Tisha B’av. This is a period of mourning and sorrow as we remember many terrible things that happened to the Jewish people. This Shabbat, the Shabbat before Tisha B’av, is known as Shabbat Chazon (vision), due to the vision of destruction Isaiah predicts in this week’s Haftorah. But the Chasidic sage Rav Avraham Ya’akov of Sadigora (1820-1883) has a different understanding of...
The Evergreen
Matot/Mas'ei 5783 - Hameirah In today’s world of constant creation, AI, and innovation, it’s almost impossible to create something that is inherently “new.” Ed Sheeran was recently in the news for a copyright infringement case, where Marvin Gaye’s estate claimed that he copied Gaye’s song “Let’s Get it On” in his hit, “Thinking Out Loud.” The court found Sheeran not guilty, stating that the chord structure of both songs was simply “common building blocks.” So how do we find and experience newness in the world when so many things feel routine, mundane, and the same? I feel like this question is also constantly asked of Torah learning. Why study and read the same stories over and over and over again? What’s the point? Rashi quotes a midrash that states, שֶׁיִּהְיוּ דִּבְרֵי תּוֹרָה חֲדָשִׁים עָלֶיךָ כְּאִלּוּ הַיּוֹם נִתְּנוּ The words of the Torah shall be new to you, as if they were given just today. This week we conclude the book of Bamidbar with a double portion: Matot and...
The Discerning Spirit
Pinchas 5783 - Gam Ki Eilech Every few years Shavuot falls during the summer and I get the distinct privilege of celebrating Shavuot at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin during staff week. Counselors stay up all night studying, with many offering to teach and lead sessions over the course of the evening. A few years ago, I crafted a session on eight lessons in leadership from the eight summer Torah portions. It was very hard to pick just eight (there could be eight alone in just this week’s parsha, Pinchas!). At the end of Parashat Pinchas, Moses asks God to choose his successor. He says, יִפְקֹד ה׳ אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחֹת לְכל־בָּשָׂר אִישׁ עַל־הָעֵדָה׃ אֲשֶׁר־יֵצֵא לִפְנֵיהֶם וַאֲשֶׁ֤ר יָבֹא לִפְנֵיהֶם וַאֲשֶׁר יוֹצִיאֵם וַאֲשֶׁר יְבִיאֵם וְלֹא תִהְיֶה עֲדַת ה׳ כַּצֹּאן אֲשֶׁר אֵין־לָהֶם רֹעֶה׃ Let God, Source of Breath/Spirit, appoint someone over the community, who shall go out before them and come in before them, and who shall take them out and bring them in, so that God’s community may...
