Dear TBZ Community,
Before my Shabbat message, I want to hold in prayer the people of Turkey and Syria affected by the devastating earthquake earlier this week.
Our hearts are with all the people who have lost loved ones, and those whose homes and livelihoods have been affected by this tragedy. If you are so moved, you can join an interfaith prayer vigil hosted by the Boston Dialogue Foundation, February 12, 6:00-7:30pm, on YouTube.
If you are able to donate, there are many charities that are accepting support on behalf of those in Turkey and Syria. I have compiled a list based on what I have received from colleagues and trusted partners:
Last Friday, I was blessed to be at my daughters’ school, JCDS, for my youngest daughter’s chumash (printed Torah, as opposed to the scrolls) celebration. This is a celebration of the second graders receiving their first book of the Torah, Bereshit (Genesis), and starting to learn the text from a book! The ceremony was so moving. It included the children reading from Torah a few pesukim (verses) and the students teaching us, the parents, some text, asking us questions, correcting us when our answers were wrong, and challenging us in the understanding of the text. It also included songs, dance, and food, of course!
Besides my own pride in seeing my child read Torah for the first time and engage in Torah learning, this celebration was clearly a mirror of what Torah is for us. We encounter Torah through the reading of an ancient parchment, in ancient writing, with special cantilations that have been recited by many generations before us. We encounter Torah in the joy of dancing and singing. And mostly we encounter Torah in the learning, in the questions, in the discussions, and in the challenges the text brings to our own lives.
This week we read Yitro, the portion that includes the revelation story and the giving of the Ten Commandments. It is the story of being led to Torah.
In Exodus 19, verses 17-19 we read:
וַיּוֹצֵא מֹשֶׁה אֶת־הָעָם לִקְרַאת הָאֱלֹהִים מִן־הַמַּחֲנֶה וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ בְּתַחְתִּית הָהָר
Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain.
וְהַר סִינַי עָשַׁן כֻּלּוֹ מִפְּנֵי אֲשֶׁר יָרַד עָלָיו יְהֹוָה בָּאֵשׁ וַיַּעַל עֲשָׁנוֹ כְּעֶשֶׁן הַכִּבְשָׁן וַיֶּחֱרַד כָּל־הָהָר מְאֹד
Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke, for Adonai had come down upon it in fire; the smoke rose like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
וַיְהִי קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר הוֹלֵךְ וְחָזֵק מְאֹד מֹשֶׁה יְדַבֵּר וְהָאֱלֹהִים יַעֲנֶנּוּ בְקוֹל
The blare of the horn grew louder and louder. As Moses spoke, God answered him in thunder.
In this reading we approach, we come near, we hear a loud shofar, and we are brought close to God to receive Torah. Revelation, the receiving of Torah, is an intimate moment between each human being and God.
Our tradition teaches that when the Torah was given, all Jews were standing at Sinai. Not only were all of those who had just exited Egypt present, but all Jews who would come into this world in the future. Revelation was so important that even Jews who did not yet exist had to witness it directly.
The Hasidic master Sefat Emet (R’ Yehudah Aryej Leib Alter) has a teaching in the context of the holiday of Shavuot, when we celebrate the receiving of Torah.
Sefat Emet teaches:
כתיב “פנים בפנים דיבר ה’ עמכם” (דברים ה:ד)
כתיב “וכל העם רואים את הקולות ואת הלפידים ואת קול השופר ואת ההר עשן וירא העם ויענו ויעמדו מרחוק” (שמות כ:ט”ו)
וקשה: “וירא” השני מיותר
אכן יש לומר שראו במאורות הללו שנתגלו להם את עצמותם
כמו שדרשו חז”ל “פנים בפנים- כאספקלריא שכל אחד רואה שם צורה שלו” (על פי מדרש הגדול עמוד צ”ח)
והוא פירוש “כמים הפנים לפנים” (משלי כ”ז: י”ט)
כמו שמתגלה פנימיות חלקו בתורה, דיש לכל נפש ישראל חלק בתורה. לכן נדמה התורה למים
It is written: “Face to face Adonai spoke to you” (Deuteronomy 5:4).
Scripture says: “All the people saw the thunder and lightning, the shofar and the smoking mountain; the people saw, trembled and stood far off” (Ex. 20:18).
Why does the word “Saw” have to be repeated?
Because through these light visions their own selves were revealed to them.
The sages read “face to face” as a mirror; each one saw his own form.
This is the meaning of “face to face is as in water” (Proverbs 27:19).
As the inner person is revealed to Torah, so each Jews’s inward portion in Torah is revealed to us. Every Jew has a particular portion within Torah; that is why Torah appears to us as water [reflecting our own souls].
(Translation by Rabbi Art Green, The Language of Truth, page 401-402.)
The Sefat Emet tells us that in the moment that the people of Israel experienced thunder and lighting and shofar, in the moment that Torah was revealed to each of us, we found in Torah our own selves. For each of us there is a part of Torah that is ours. Torah has the capacity to be a mirror to our own lives. The gift of Torah is not a gift of an external book that comes to teach us something from the outside, but rather it is in Torah that we see our own self reflected.
Pirkei Avot 5:22 teaches us:
בֶּן בַּג בַּג אוֹמֵר, הֲפֹךְ בָּהּ וַהֲפֹךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹלָּא בָהּ.
Ben Bag Bag said: Turn it over, and [again] turn it over, for all is therein.
My invitation to each of us this Shabbat of Revelation is to continue engaging with our tradition and Torah. See yourself in it. Be inspired by its teaching to live your life with intention. I invite you to receive Torah and to continue to turn it over and find your own self in its teachings.
May this Shabbat bring renewal and blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity.
May all those who are ill find healing. And may we have a joyful, sweet, and peaceful Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Claudia