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I love the Torah. I love studying it. I love discussing it. I love teaching it. And I love sharing it. This is why one of the first things I did when the JCC became my rabbinic home, was to start a Torah study class on Saturday mornings. Inasmuch as the day holiday Shavuot begins this Thursday evening, May 21st, it was fortuitous that, as I was preparing for the holiday, I came across this wonderful piece on Shavuot that was written by Rabbi Jack Friedman, my immediate predecessor here at the JCC. I love it, and hope you will as well:
Shavuot celebrates the revelation of the Torah on Mount Sinai. One of the questions asked is: “Who wrote the Torah?” One of the editors of the Etz Hayim Bible answered the question saying, “People.” If so, then what was the role of God?” To which the editor replied, “God enables genius. The Torah is a work of spiritual genius.”
When I was a young student in the Yeshiva, I was taught that God wrote the Torah letter by letter and gave it to Moses. As I began to delve deeper into its teachings I felt a conflict with that teaching. I began to see that the Torah unfolded over time, reflecting historical settings, until it was finalized into a magnificent spiritual blueprint for a meaningful life.
Each day when I study the Torah, over and over again, from the beginning to its end, I see in it the vessel of values. I see the details of its teachings expressing values that bring us closer to God and to our fellow human beings. When I read the words, “And God said,” it indicates our understanding of God’s will and values.
Human understanding is continually unfolding by the changing conditions in life and adding new insights. The study of Torah is a continuous discovery and when we read through it each year, from beginning to end, we find new meanings. The Torah is God’s love letter to us. I believe that people wrote it, but the wisdom of Torah emerged intuitively from reaching beyond ourselves and hearing the still small voice of God lovingly guiding us to meaningful living. The genius of the Torah is that it is relevant in every generation – the past, the present and the future.
I see myself as an “evolutionary Jew.”
I live with the tradition of the past and the change for the present.
I believe that people are the vessels of God, able to hear the will of God, and be God’s partner here on earth.
I believe that God in some wonderful way revealed the Torah, but it is not God’s final word.
I believe that the Torah challenges us to honor the past, to live in the present and to discover even greater wisdom in the future.
I believe that the Torah requires us to interpret its teachings and form
a system of values that strengthens the bonds to the world around us.
I believe that the study of Torah brings forth the best that we can be.
I believe that the Torah wants us to do the best we are capable of doing.
I believe that the Torah’s teachings are continually evolving, calling to us, “you shall be holy, for I the Eternal am holy.”
I believe that Shavuot is the time when we need to pledge anew the words of our ancestors at Mount Sinai, “We will do and we will
learn.”
Rabbi Jacob Friedman
SHAVUOT 2012
It is a gift that Rabbi Jack shared his view of the Torah with the congregation just before his health forced him to retire. It becomes a legacy to what he hoped to impart upon his congregants. I give it to you as a gift for Shavuot.
Each of us has a lesson to be learned, and that we can teach, from reading the Torah.
For my part, I would love to impart the joy of Torah study on even more people than I do today. Indeed, I want to spread this holy form of love on as many people as possible. For this reason, I am looking for a home or location to teach an additional weekly Torah study class, during a weekday, on the northern side of the island. If you would like to host, or know someone who would like to host, please reach out to me and let me know.
A few words about upcoming events. On Thursday evening at 7:30 we will be having our Tikkun Leil Shavuot, our study sessions for the holiday. Stu Lehrer will be teaching the simple joy of Psalm 78:38. I, your humble Rabbi, will be teaching about traditional Jewish views on sex. For anyone who wants to hang a little longer, we will look at the book of Ruth. If none of this is your cup of tea, then come for the Cheesecake! Tikkun is in person or on Zoom at the regular JCC Services link.
Don’t forget that there are Shavuot Services on Friday and Saturday mornings at 9:00. Saturday’s service will include Yizkor which should begin at about 10:45. Services are in person and on Zoom at the regular JCC Services link.
Also, on Wednesday, June 10th at 7:30, join the faith communities of Long Beach Island as we join together for an Interfaith Concert featuring the Island Singers. For more information, and to register, look elsewhere in this phenomenal Shabbat Remdinder, or call the JCC office.
Finally, look for another message from me about an amazing new group we are forming for young Jewish adults 21+ who spend time on the Island. The JCC is taking the initiative to set up a WhatsApp account so this group can connect while on the Island and plan ways to spend time together.
As we ready ourselves to receive the Torah at Sinai, may we receive a Torah of truth, honesty, wonder, and strength. May its teachings enable us to make ourselves, our families, our communities, better, and may we each work toward making the world a better place.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Shavuot Sameach – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
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