THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
This week’s Torah portion brings us the indelible scene at Mount Sinai. I say indelible because, in many ways, the thundering voice of God still reverberates in the Jewish consciousness. Every aspect of Judaism and Jewishness is a response to that moment when our people encountered the Infinite One and absorbed some of its holiness.
Jewish identities vary widely—in intensity, practice, knowledge, style, and affiliation, but there is this common spiritual call that began our endeavor and has inspired generation after generation through the ages.
In my own thinking, practice, and teaching about Judaism, I have long been guided some insights developed in a Jewish education curriculum in the 1980s. In addition to the various subjects necessary in a Jewish education, it spoke about five learning modalities—angles from which to approach Judaism and understand it more fully. They were developed in re educating children, but I soon realized that these modalities or learning strategies are for much wider application: they represent a complete approach to Judaism that all of us should incorporate into our Jewish lives. In other words, when we respond to the call of Mount Sinai, each of these approaches to Judaism and Jewishness is vital.
The first is Jewish Functional Skills. These are the facts and skills that we all need to know in order to be literate and able in Jewish contexts.
The second is the Ethical Dimension of every Jewish story, ritual, and teaching. How does our religion affect our relationship with ourselves and with others? How do our attitudes and actions reflect the godliness intended in every aspect of our faith? Remember, ours is a religion which the great Hillel summarized with a simple ethical teaching: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow.” (Talmud Shabbat 31a)
The third is the Historical Experience of our people. Ours is a communal history—a story of how we have encountered life and history and done so in Jewish ways. We see ourselves as part of a long term process or project, with each generation continuing the Tradition it inherited. Years ago, when being introduced to a college class, the professor who invited me “warned” his students about how rabbis never give definitive answers. They always quote a variety of voices—from different times and places—answering a question with a discussion. He was right, of course, because the process which began with Abraham and Sarah continues today with you and me, and every step in that story is relevant to the continuing Jewish process.
The fourth is the Textual Experience. As much as we consult our holy and historical texts for information, there is something essentially Jewish about sitting over a text and encountering its wisdom. When Chananya ben Teradion (Mishna Avot 3.3) says “When two people sit together, and words of Torah pass between them, the Divine Presence rests upon them,” he is reminding us that studying Torah brings us into the realm of the holy and fills us with a sensibility of godly possibility. Whether in the Torah Service or study luncheons or film series or programs with our youth, text study—and the many places it leads us—is an essential aspect of Judaism.
The fifth is Creative Adaptation—how we understand the information, insights, and practices of traditional Judaism and make them our own. We all do this, choosing what is meaningful to us or our families and crafting a Jewish life and sensibility that connects us individually to God and Tradition.
There is much to be said about each of these learning and experiential aspects of Judaism, but, for this week, I want to focus on the primary text of this week’s Torah portion, the Ten Commandments.
Years ago, I visited a congregation that started every service with the congregation rising and reciting together the Ten Commandments. It was quite moving and meant that, among other things, everyone knew the Ten Commandments. I believe this knowledge is an indispensable Jewish skill, and my request this week is that every member of our congregation takes the time to memorize these ten essential teachings of our Tradition. This goes for adults as well as children, and I am particularly asking parents to spend some time working with your children on this Jewish text.
The full versions are in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, but here is a memorize-able version.
*I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out from the Land of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage.
You shall have no other gods besides Me.
*You shall not make any idols or graven images and worship them.
*You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain.
*Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.
*Honor your father and your mother.
*Do not murder.
*Do not commit adultery.
*Do not steal.
*Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.
*Do not covet.
This is a text to consider, study, and discuss. First of all, however, it is a text to know by heart.