Is faith something you can have in someone? We say: “I have faith in [...]]]> what does it mean to have faith?

When someone produces the same lapel button for competing candidates, all that individual is interested in is the dollar. So encouraging us to [have?] faith in either candidate from the 2008 presidential election is very odd.

Is faith something you can have in someone? We say: “I have faith in you.”

Is faith something that…? As in: “I have faith that….”

how do you understand faith?

faith 2008 john mccain

Date:	1970s
Size:	7.62
Pin Form:	clasp
Print Method:	celluloid
Text	JOHN faith 2008 McCAIN

faith 2008 barak obama

Date:	2008
Size:	7.62
Pin Form:	clasp
Print Method:	celluloid
Text	BARAK faith 2008 OBAMA

what is “#blogelul”?

My friend and colleague Phyllis Sommers has thought of yet a new creative way to prepare for Rosh haShannah. You can learn more here.

blogging elul

your lapel buttons

Many people have lapel buttons. They may be attached to a favorite hat or jacket you no longer wear, or poked into a cork-board on your wall. If you have any laying around that you do not feel emotionally attached to, please let me know. I preserve these for the Jewish people. At some point they will all go to an appropriate museum. You can see all the buttons shared to date.

Each of the following buttons were sold as novelty items. The first suggesting we trust Bernard Madoff is very sad. The second is intended for fun.

I’ve never worn the first.

The other I wear at rabbinic conventions.

a shonda!

Date: 2009 Size: 5.7 Pin Form: clasp Print Method: celluloid Text A SHONDA! TRUST

trust me, i’m a rabbi

don’t?

It is often hard to know whom to trust.

Each of the following buttons were sold as novelty items. The first suggesting we trust Bernard Madoff is very sad. The second is intended for fun.

I’ve never worn the first.

The other I wear at rabbinic conventions.

a shonda!

Date:	2009
Size:	5.7
Pin Form:	clasp
Print Method:	celluloid
Text	A SHONDA! TRUST

trust me, i’m a rabbi

Date:	2010
Size:	3.81
Pin Form:	clasp
Print Method:	celluloid
Text	TRUST ME, I’M A RABBI

how to?

As we approach Rosh haShannah and Yom Kippur, may we train our trust-sensors to know who, what, why, when and how to trust.

what is “#blogelul”?

My friend and colleague Phyllis Sommers has thought of yet a new creative way to prepare for Rosh haShannah. You can learn more here.

blogging elul

your lapel buttons

Many people have lapel buttons. They may be attached to a favorite hat or jacket you no longer wear, or poked into a cork-board on your wall. If you have any laying around that you do not feel emotionally attached to, please let me know. I preserve these for the Jewish people. At some point they will all go to an appropriate museum. You can see all the buttons shared to date.

Hosea 14:2: שׁוּבָה, יִשְׂרָאֵל, עַד, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ: כִּי כָשַׁלְתָּ, בַּעֲו‍ֹנֶךָ.

I return to this writing, that I have not visited since early March, shortly before Pesach.

I have been many places, but now is the time for return.

As she did in anticipation of Pesach, my colleague of unimaginable strength, [...]]]> the month of elul begins once again

return

Hosea 14:2:
שׁוּבָה, יִשְׂרָאֵל, עַד, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ: כִּי כָשַׁלְתָּ, בַּעֲו‍ֹנֶךָ.

I return to this writing, that I have not visited since early March, shortly before Pesach.

I have been many places, but now is the time for return.

As she did in anticipation of Pesach, my colleague of unimaginable strength, Phyllis Sommer encourages us now to spend the next month with: #BlogElul and #ElulGram 2012.

#blogelul

where have I been?

In order to return, I need to be aware of where I have been. I need to know that I have not been in the same place all this time. Of course, these “places” are of many kinds, among them geographical and emotional. While I don’t think I ever lost it, I know that my mind has wandered, even if I have been in the same corner where I do most of my work.

And for many months this year, my work actually consisted of going and returning… to and from Brooklyn. Those goings and comings were thoroughly reported using Foursquare when I became the “mayor” of most of the playgrounds within a half-mile radius of Amiel’s home.

together in the park

more than goings and comings

To and from “work” at “Camp Saba” (or as one friend put it: “Camp Sababa” (סבבה or صَبَابَة)) was only one of my “returns”. While tomorrow’s subject is “inventory”, as I return I am aware of what I have passed along the way. I sometimes think I should keep a record of all that I’ve listened to, watched and read, as does “The Goy” in the novel of that name by Mark Harris; where has my thinking traveled via the pages of a newspaper, a magazine, deep inside the computer or “smartphone” screen, or even a book, but I don’t do that. I know that the cookie crumbs of my browser have been spread far and wide. My “read it later” list grows faster than it diminishes. If there is something of greater worth, I will share it with Debbie, Libbe and/or Jay, Avigail, Noam and Rachel, and sometimes my colleagues at the CCAR (either here, via Twitter, or on Facebook). Traces of all that can be found, as I return, by checking my email and other developing tools.

return to what?

for many years, at the beginning of Rosh haShannah I would share these words of R. Morris Lichtenstein with my congregation [emphasis mine]:

The old year is soon to pass. One more link shall have been added to the chain of our experience, another milestone in the road to our goal shall have been passed. We shall have risen one level higher, perhaps, in our aspiration to realize the values of life. Astronomers count the completion of a year as a great event in nature; the earth has made a complete circuit around the sun. But when the year ends the earth returns to its original place. It would be no less than a calamity, if we should find ourselves at the end of the year on the very same spot where we began. We must advance with the flow of time, we must grow; we must not falter, but leave a trail of progress upon the fleeting days. To the shrub a year means but an additional leaf, to the vine it means only a new cluster, to the tree a new ring of bark, to the stream it means a deeper flow. But to us a year may mean new knowledge mastered, new thoughts brought into action, new feelings set in motion, a clearer understanding of God, a closer communion with God. If this is what this New Year shall mean to us all, then shall we all have indeed a year of blessedness and fulfillment.

like spring in autumn

In 1997 I shared a story with my congregation Etz Chaim of Ramona (CA) and suggested that our lives are like a spring.

…put yourself at the beginning of the wire coil. That’s The Beginning, you know, like ‘In the beginning…’? Hold that spring so that you look into it as if it were a cylinder. Notice how the spring keeps winding around and returns to the same position it was. Yet, if you look at it from the side you see a progression. While you were busy staring at the patterns the other day, I went to Home Depot and looked for springs. Some are really complex Sorry, I couldn’t find the one I wanted. That one would have had a cone shape with the narrow end as the beginning and as time progressed the circle would get wider as the position swung around to the ‘starting’ point.

our lives are like a conical spring

I remember something about one of the Explorer modules (I think it was), that made a bunch of circles around the earth and made ever larger spirals until it sort of got hurled out of the solar system where it’s still traveling. That’s us, we’re still on one of those spirals, still reaching out, further. We’re connected to the Very Beginning. And our acting in a Jewish context gives us guide posts, and markers and makes us part of an experience (maybe even an experiment) that has been going on for thousands of years. I don’t know about you, but that sure gives consequence to my living.

(re-)turn and arise!

The next to last verse of the Book of Lamentations (5:21) reads:

השׁיבנו יהוה אליך ונשוב (וְנשׁובה), חדשׁ ימינו כקדם.

It is commonly translated:
Turn Thou us unto Thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.

I have long had difficulty with this verse. I wonder why we would want to return to what had been and not move forward to something yet to be. As you can see in the left sidebar, i.e. some sayings of ר‘משבצונה“ל
השיבהו ח‘ אליך ונשובה חדש ימינו כעוד לא היו.
I have changed the text to align more closely to my understanding that we should not, cannot, return completely to the point from where we began. Each return should raise us up to a new level. When I think of (a)rising, I think of this and…

At the 2008 Israel Day Parade in New York someone had a different thought in mind as they combined the ideas of arise and return. I find it intriguing that the button says simply “Americans” not “American Jews”. In either case, I do not wear the button.

arise! americans return to zion

Date:	2008
Size:	5.71
Pin Form:	clasp
Print Method:	celluloid
Text	ARISE! Americans Return To Zion www.KUMAH.org

your lapel buttons

Many people have lapel buttons. They may be attached to a favorite hat or jacket you no longer wear, or poked into a cork-board on your wall. If you have any laying around that you do not feel emotionally attached to, please let me know. I preserve these for the Jewish people. At some point they will all go to an appropriate museum. You can see all the buttons shared to date.

הִנְנִי מוּכָן וּמְזוֻמָּן לְקַיֵּם מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁל סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר.

Hin’ni muchan um’zuman l’kayem mitzvat aseh shal s’firat ha’Omer.

I am ready to move from freedom to responsibility, as I count the Omer days.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵנוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו [...]]]> aiming toward the future

How do I long for Your presence? Let me count the days:

הִנְנִי מוּכָן וּמְזוֻמָּן לְקַיֵּם מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁל סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר.

Hin’ni muchan um’zuman l’kayem mitzvat aseh shal s’firat ha’Omer.

I am ready to move from freedom to responsibility, as I count the Omer days.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵנוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר.

Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kiddishanu b’mitzvotav, v’tzivanu al S’firat Ha-omer.

Blessed are You Adonai our God, Sovereign of all space and time, who has made us distinct through Your directives and has directed us to count the Omer.

הַיּוֹם יוֹם שֶׁהֵם שָׁבוּעוֹת וְ יָמִים לָעֹמֶר.

Hayom yom sheheim shavuot v’ yamim la’Omer.

Today is the day which is weeks and days of the Omer.

פסח points to שבעות

Consider Pesach and the Seder as pointers to Shavuot, the time when we receive the 10 Commandments at the foot of Mount Sinai. We begin counting the Omer at Pesach.

Many Omer calendars exist. Imagine a different one here. It follows the color wheel. Begin counting in the upper right corner on the first day of Sefirah with the “bright red of rebellion” and end forty-nine days later at the “brilliant violet of royalty” ready to receive Torah. Each day of Sefirah focus on that color (and its qualities) as it appears in our world.

“roygbiv” omer calendar

and if it is a pointer…

tweet #torah to the top

Once again I prepare to count the Omer online. Once again, I expect that some of my friends will also be counting the Omer on Twitter and Facebook. I enjoy seeing this counting and all the different ways we do it. Last year I felt momentum build as we neared the moment of Revelation.

what

In 2009 Reconstructionist Rabbi Shai Gluskin organized an attempt to bring Torah to as many people as possible on the evening of Shavuot, using Twitter. As he expressed it then (on Twitter):

Are you in? A 49th day of omer prep for Shavuot #Torah fest. Goal: get many tweeting Torah and see #Torah trend in top 10 during the day.

Some people wonder why we might do this. Did not Hillel say that among our primary tasks is (Avot 1:12) loving mankind (all of humanity), and bringing them (all) close to Torah. אוהב את הברייות ומקרבן לתורה?

That year (5769) we were able to Tweet #Torah to the mid-30s among trending topics. I do not know how “high” we reached in 5770 or 5771. I propose we give it our best again this year.

when

The “day” of May 25 2012 is “erev” Erev Shavuot. I suggest that we prepare as many 133 character Torah lessons as we can to “release” on that day. If you have been sharing #Torah Tweets through the year… Torah does not go bad or stale. You should feel free to “recycle” those thoughts. I would like to begin tweeting at sundown Jerusalem time on the 25th. Does anyone know how to calculate that?

why

I think this is a great way to encourage awareness of Torah. I’m sure we each have many simple “Torah thoughts” that can be expressed in 133 characters. (Don’t forget to leave room for the final space and #Torah, that’s 7 more characters.) If you think that 133 characters is not enough for a profound thought from Torah, consider that the following sentence is only 102 characters (also from “Hillel the Tweeter”):

If I am not for myself, who will be for me. if I am for myself alone, what am I. And if not now, when?

how

Or consider these:

• #Torah is not in heaven, that you should say: Who shall go up for us to heaven, & bring it to us, & make us to hear it, that we may do it?
• Neither is #Torah beyond the sea, that you might say: Who shall go over the sea, & bring it to us, & make us hear it, that we may do it?
• But #Torah is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it.

I’m sure that some of us still have Joseph L. Baron’s A Treasury of Jewish Quotations which can serve as a little goldmine of tweetable thoughts.

who

I suggest we each prepare a number of “tweets” in advance. Set up a text file and then simply copy, and paste them into our preferred Twitter tool about once or so an hour (depending on your “capabilities” (schedule, etc.)). For those who use Twitter with your congregations, your congregants, too, can join in… either with their own thoughts, or questions about #Torah, or re-tweeting yours. Let’s get everyone involved in thinking Torah as a lead-in to Shavuot.

If you expect to be busy on May 25, you can use any of a variety of *free* tools that have been developed that enable you to prepare your tweets in advance:

• HootSuite
• Twuffer
• FutureTweets

You can learn about more similar tools here (they may, or may not, still be functioning):

If any of you are active on other listservs you think might be interested in participating, please spread the word.

Some additional thoughts about this project. In 2011 JPS offered a tool to “shred” the book of Ruth. We may be able to do something similar this year. This enabled people to easily share tiny bits of the actual text of TaNaKh with little effort.

But, Twitter has limitations on how frequently any one individual (account) can tweet. Therefore, and for general “encouraging broad participation” reasons, it would be good to have as many people tweeting as possible.

• I don’t know at what age people get their accounts, but, Bar and Bat Mitzvah students could be encouraged to tweet a thought or two about their Torah Portion.
• Confirmation students could be encouraged to tweet a thought or two about the Ten Commandments (as well as, the Torah portion from their Bar or Bat Mitzvah). They might also consider what it means to be “commanded” or to “receive Torah”.
• Any adult education class could tweet their favorite Psalm, Prophetic thought, Rabbinic maxim.
• Anyone can tweet a thought about: what it means to be commanded; what “revelation” means in a world of information overload.
• In 2010 David Levy of Succasunna prepared a tweet for each of the Parshiot. I know that some of us write haiku, others write limericks. These short forms often fit quite well as tweets.
• If you have sermons that are online, shorten the URL using a service such as <is.gd> and add that short URL to a phrase that describes the sermon’s theme.

you get the idea….

After Shavuot 5771, one of the participants wrote (on that year’s Facebook event page):

What an amazing experience for me! Although we never quite reached the “top”- I was moved by the learning, the community and the incredible opportunity to learn from my friends and colleagues! Thank you for creating this chance to stand at the foot of a virtual Sinai and count me in for next year’s program!

Others wanted to know how “high” we climbed…

The big question some asked:

How far did we get to the top of the trending list?

is a bit harder to answer, than:

• Did you learn something?
• Did you meet someone new?
• Did someone else’s #Torah tweet cause you to think in a way you had not thought before?
• Did your understanding of #Torah grow?
• Did you feel a bit more a part of the revelation we celebrate at Shavuot?

Please help us broaden the participation as much as possible. I think you and your congregants will gain from the experience. If you feel so moved, let us know on the Facebook event page for this year that you plan on attending. Check the sidebar on the right “Preparing for שבעות” for more thoughts on this project.

how will you move from celebrating our freedom to accepting our responsibilities?

what is “#blogexodus”?

This is the last post in the series “#blogexodus”. My friend and colleague Phyllis Sommers has thought of yet a new creative way to prepare for Pesach. You can learn more here.

blogging the exodus

The youngest able recites:

מַה נִּשְׁתַּנָּה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל–הַלֵּילוֹת שֶׁבְּכָל–הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה; הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלּוֹ מַצָּה שֶׁבְּכָל–הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְׁאָר יְרָקוֹת; הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלּוֹ מָרוֹר שֶׁבְּכָל–הַלֵּילוֹת [...]]]> the four questions

Our people has lived all over this earth. Wherever we go, we ask questions. These are some of our most famous questions, expressed in a growing variety of languages.

The youngest able recites:

Hebrew

מַה נִּשְׁתַּנָּה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל–הַלֵּילוֹת
שֶׁבְּכָל–הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה; הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלּוֹ מַצָּה
שֶׁבְּכָל–הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְׁאָר יְרָקוֹת; הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלּוֹ מָרוֹר
שֶׁבְּכָל–הַלֵּילוֹת אֵין אָנוּ מָטְבִּילִין אֲפִלּוּ פַּעַם אֶחָת; הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה שְׁתֵּי פְעָמִים
שֶׁבְּכָל–הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין בֵּין יוֹשְׁבִין וּבֵין מְסֻבִּין; הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלָּנוּ מְסֻבִּין

Hebrew Transliterated

Mah nishtanah ha’laylah ha’zeh mikol ha’leilot?
Shebekhol haleilot anu okhlin khametz umatzah; halailah hazeh: kulo matzah.
Shebekhol haleilot anu okhlin she’ar yerakot; halailah hazeh: kulo maror.
Shebekhol haleilot ain anu matbilin afilu pa’am ekhat; halailah hazeh: shtei feamim.
Shebekhol haleilot anu okhlin bein yoshvin uvein mesubin; haleilah hazeh: kulanu mesubin.

Yiddish

פֿאַרוואָ אין די נאַכט פֿוּן פסח אנדערש פֿוּן אַלע נאַכט פֿוּן אַ גאַנץ יאָר
אַלע נאַכט פֿוּן אַ גאַנץ יאָר עסן חמץ אָדער מצה; אַבער די נאַכט פֿוּן פסח, עסן מיר נאָר מצה
אַלע נאַכט פֿוּן אַ גאַנץ יאָר עסן אַלערליי גרינסן; אַבער די נאַכט פֿוּן פסח, עסן מיר ביטערע גרינסן
אַלע נאַכט פֿוּן אַ גאַנץ יאָר טרינקן מיר ניט אַיין אַפֿילוּ אַיין מאָל; אַבער די נאַכט פֿוּן פסח, טרינקן מיר צוײ מאָל
אַלע נאַכט פֿוּן אַ גאַנץ יאָר טרינקן מיר מיר סיי זיצנדיק אוּן סיי אָנעשאָרט; אַבער די נאַכט פֿוּן פסח, עסן מיר נאָר אָנעשאָרט

Ladino

קוּאַנְטוֹ פ’וּאִי דֵימוּדָאדָה לָה נוֹגֶ’י לָה אֶיסְטָה מָאס קֵי טוֹדָאס לָאס נוֹגֶ’יס
קֵי אֶין טוֹדָאס לָאס נוֹגֶ’יס נוּן נוֹס אֶינְטִינְיֵנְטֶיס אַפִ’ילוּ בֵ’יס אוּנָה; אִי לָה נוֹגֶ’י לָה אֶיסְטָה: דּוֹס בֵ’יזֵיס
קֵי אֶין טוֹדָאס לָאס נוֹגֶ’יס נוֹס קוּמְיֵינְטֶיס חָמֵץ אוֹ מַצָה; אִי לָה נוֹגֶ’י לָה אֶיסְטָה: טוֹדוֹ אֶיל מַצָה
קֵי אֶין טוֹדָאס לָאס נוֹגֶ’יס נוֹס קוֹמְיֵנְטֶיס רֵיסְטוֹ דֵּי וִידְרוּרָאס; אִי לָה נוֹגֶ’י לָה אָיסֶטָה: לִיג’וּגָה
קֵי אֶין טוֹדָאס לָאס נוֹגֶ’יס נוֹס קוֹמְיֵנְטֶיס אִי בִּיבְ’יֵנטֶיס קְיִן אַסֶינְטָאדוֹסּ אִי קְיֵין אַרֵיסְקוֹבְ’דָּאדוֹס; אִי לָה נוֹגֵ’י לָה: אֶיסְטָה טוֹדוס נוֹס אַרֵיסְקוֹבְ’דָאדוֹס

Russian

Уем отличается эта ночь от других ночей?
Во все другие ночи мы едим либо хомец, либо мацу в эту ночьтоль ко мацу;
Во все другие ночи мы едим разную зелень, а в эту ночь-лтшь горькую;
Во все другие ночи мы ни разу не обмакиваем /пищу/, а в эту ночь-дважды;
Во все другие ночи мы едим сидяили возлегая, а в эту ночь-возлегая.

Japanese

今夜はなぜ他の全ての夜とは違う夜なのでしょうか？
ー　他の全ての夜、私たちは種の入ったパンと種の入っていないパンの両方を食べます。　　　けれども、今夜は種の入っていないパンだけを食べます。
ー　他の全ての夜、私たちはありとあらゆる野菜を食べます。　けれども、今夜は特別　　に苦い野菜だけを食べます。
ー　他の全ての夜、私たちは一度たりとも野菜を何かに浸けて食べることはありません。　　けれども、今夜は２回野菜をくりかえし浸けて食べます。
ー　他の全ての夜、私たちは座ったり体を倒して食事をします。　けれども、今夜は　　　体を倒して食事をします。

Japanese　へブライ語読み方　 Hebrew Transliterated

マァ　ニシュタナ　ハレイラァ　ハゼァ　ミコル　ハレイロッ？
シェヴェゴーゥ　ハレイロッ　アヌ　オクリン　カメヅ　ウマヅァー；　ハライラァハヅァ：　クロ　マヅァ
シェヴェゴーゥ　ハレイロッ　アヌ　オクリン　シアァ　ヤェラコッ；　ハライラァ　ハヅァ：　マロァ
シェヴェゴーゥ　ハレイロッ　アイン　アヌ　マッビリン　アフィル　パァム　エガッ；　ハライラァ　ハゼァ：　シュツァイ　フェアミン　
シェヴェゴーゥ　ハレイロッ　アヌ　オクリン　ベイン　ヨシュヴィン　ウヴェイン　メスビン；　ハレイラア　ハゼァ：　クラヌ　メスビン

English

How is this night different from all other nights?
On all other nights we eat both leavened and unleavened bread; on this night: only unleavened.
On all other nights we eat the whole gamut of vegetables; on this night: we specifically eat bitter vegetables.
On all other nights we don’t make a practice of dipping our vegetables even once; on this night: we do it twice.
On all other nights we eat either in a sitting or a reclining position; tonight: we recline.

---

I was pleased to learn this morning, as I read her blog post “Whadaya know?”, my little creation that follows has entered American Jewish practice (at least in one family). The text as it appears here (slightly modified) appears in Haggadot I prepared that I have on my hard drive dated 1990. In @2005 I sent my entire Haggadah collection to the Frances-Henry Library at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles. Likely a few of my earlier “drafts” shows other variants.

Thank you Phyllis!

---

on the importance of questions

The eldest reads:

Nobel Prize winning physicist Isaac Isadore Rabi’s mother did not ask him: “What did you learn in school today?” each day. She asked him: “Did you ask a good question today?”

more questions

The oldest teenager, or the person older than 19, yet closest to the teen years reads:

Why do the same questions get asked each year?

I probably have more questions than the youngest, why does a child ask the questions?

How many questions do I have:

How come we ask these questions, but you rarely give a straight answer?

Do you have other questions to add?

some answers

Questioning is a sign of freedom, and so we begin with questions.

To ritualize only one answer would be to deny that there can be many, often conflicting answers.

To think that life is only black and white, or wine and Maror, bitter or sweet, or even that the cup is half empty or half full is to enslave ourselves to simplicity.

Each of us feels the challenge to search for our own answers. The ability to question is only the first stage of freedom. The search for answers is the next.

Can we fulfill the promise of the Exodus in our own lives if we do not search for our own answers?

Does every question have an answer? Is the ability to function without having all the answers one more stage of liberation? Can we be enslaved to an obsessive search for the answer?

Do you have the answer?

what is “#blogexodus”?

My friend and colleague Phyllis Sommers has thought of yet a new creative way to prepare for Peasach. You can learn more here.

blogging the exodus

The children played by the shore, allowing the ball to bounce lightly on their finger tips before they popped it over to the other side of the line. Now and then one of them dove into the sand trying to keep the ball from bouncing on the ground. Judy [...]]]> the numbers’ game

The children played by the shore, allowing the ball to bounce lightly on their finger tips before they popped it over to the other side of the line. Now and then one of them dove into the sand trying to keep the ball from bouncing on the ground. Judy took a break from the game and ran over to her father Simeon who sat with his colleagues, half watching as they talked and munched olives with their bread and wine.

“Abba, they say that they have 40 and we have love! I know that 40 is good number, after all we lived 40 years in the desert, Moses went up to Sinai to receive Torah for us and stayed there 40 days, and it rained for 40 days and 40 nights in the time of Noah. I also know that I cannot live without your love and none of us can live without the love of and loving God, and so it must be good too, but what kind of number is it?”

“Ah, my wise little beauty, you always ask such wonderfully rich questions. Indeed, love is wonderful and valuable, but I am afraid, that in your game, as in one of the many puzzles of life, it is better to have 40 than love.”

Judy unhappily kicked her feet in the sand and shuffled back to her game.

a different “who knows one?”

Simeon returned his attention to his colleagues. “Our Torah teaches us many numbers, but we do not have the same intimacy with them as do our friends the Greeks.”

number of divine qualities is same as age of maturity

Antignos, his disciple, spoke up: “Yes, I have long wondered why it is that the age of maturity equals the number of divine qualities we recite on Yom Kippur! “Adonai is ever-present, all-merciful, compassionate, patient, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, treasuring up love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity transgression and wrongdoing and pardoning the penitent.”

“Antignos! Think of it this way…,” Joshua chimed in: “when a youngster reaches the age of puberty he or she is now like God in so many ways, especially in the ability to create new life. Such a young person must now be even more careful to be Kadosh, (holy) as Adonai, our God is holy!”

“Very good Joshua, can we continue the countdown from 13 to Love? Asked Simeon.”

twelve

Johanan replied: “Twelve is easy, there’s even an English word for the concept!”

“Don’t get carried away,” responded Simeon, “That English word will be based on a contraction of the Latin for two and ten, so that doesn’t help us much. But you forget our own history and the world around us. Jacob had 12 sons who ultimately established the 12 tribes from which we (though only two remain) are descended. My Greek colleagues tell me that at the same time in our history that we had a federation of 12 tribes, they also had a federation that was based on a group of 12 groups.”

“And now, gather close… I can only whisper this” (the group scooted up in the sand, closing the circle as the sea wind blew the words quickly away): “I understand, that some generations to come one of our young men will gather around him 12 disciples and, astounding as it may seem, farther in the future, people around the world will celebrate his birth for 12 days!”

Suddenly, Johanan who had been chewing on an olive choked at the thought and his friends had to pound him on the back to dislodge the pit.

When they all regained their composure, Nittai, of Arbel asked why the Greeks had a federation of 12 and were there, perhaps, other groups like that.

“Well,” Simeon said knowingly and dropped his voice even further, “Bakers will invent their own concept of dozen and far on the other side of this sea by whose shores our children play, a nation will arise that will be formed as if it were a baker’s federation.”

“Simeon, Stop that!” Said Antignos. “Look to the sky and you will know why we use this number! From Rosh haShannah to Rosh haShannah, the moon renews itself twelve times. We see this cycle in the world about us continuously and we have even found patterns in the sky that match each of the moon’s comings and goings. The sky shows us a cosmic federation that we here on earth mimic.”

“Yes, Antignos, you are right, but don’t deny the pleasures of the poetry, if you do, you have much to lose.”

eleven

“How can I lose the poetry, it is written right into our own Torah! We see it with the next number, eleven, where Joseph in his dream saw the eleven stars bow to his own.”

ten

“OK Antignos you found that number,” piped in Joshua again, “but probably about the easiest is ten: think of it: toes, fingers, the generations from Adam to Noah and from Noah to Abraham, Abraham was tested ten times before he and Isaac finally left the mountain together, there were the plagues upon Egypt and the commandments Moses received on Mount Sinai. Even now, as the summer ends, we know there are ten days from Rosh haShannah to Yom Kippur, ten days to get ourselves ready for a new year. But the odd one, Simeon, is this last: from Rosh haShannah (the new year) to Yom Kippur (the day of atonement) all the other days on our calendar are based on groups of seven. Why suddenly the ten?”

“You raise a very good point Joshua. Who has a suggestion?”

Elazar tentatively cleared his throat.

“Yes,” Elazar, Simeon gently coaxed (for he knew that the timid do not learn and the impatient do not teach) “what is it?”

“Well, I have wondered about this difference for many months. I think it may have something for us to tell the whole world. You know that all the other holy days of our calendar relate to the events of our people’s history and that each one we celebrate for 7 days. But the ideas in Rosh haShannah and Yom Kippur are cosmic. They have no origin in our people’s history. They tell of the Holy One’s care for the universe, its creation and renewal. May I suggest (even though we have not yet come to that number) that seven is the Jewish number while ten (which we see so commonly around us) is the base number for the world?”

“Well expressed Elazar, thank you for your thought. Do you mean by that — that we should invite our Greek neighbors to join us in our observance of the new year and our atonement where they might feel out of place at a celebration of our liberation from slavery which they never experienced?”

Not everyone in the group was as comfortable with the Greeks as Simeon, Antignos and Elazar. Many of those seated in the sand stirred uncomfortably and Joshua almost rose to leave.

“OK, I see that this is a subject for a discourse of its own at some other time. We need refills on our refreshments. Shall we go over to the women and restock our plates?”

The men rose, stretched and slowly ambled over to the gathering of women not far away. As they collected fresh platters of olives, bread, dips and wine from the stocks maintained by the women, Simeon continued his discussion:

“We have been talking about how various numbers appear in our lives and we just passed from 13 through 10 on our way down.”

nine

“Well…,” Shoshanna called out in her full voice from the back of the group, “you certainly came to the right people to discuss the number nine. We know it in our bodies,” she said as she moved up to the front to face Simeon. “Without nine months inside your mother you wouldn’t exist!” And all the other women chuckled knowingly as the men looked sheepishly at their feet.

“How right you are, and thank you Shoshannah. So much I owe you, my bride, and we all owe to you collectively. Our world is not only enriched, but enabled by your presence.”

eight

“I wish to continue the numbering,” Added Miriam who stood beside Shoshanah. “We labor for nine long months carrying the future in our midst only to have you take our boys after eight short days to enter them into your covenant! Why do you separate yourselves so from we who give you life?”

At this, both the women and the men gasped and groped in the silence for a reasoned and cogent response. All eyes turned to Simeon.

Simeon bowed his head and thought, he sat down in the sand, at the dust of the feet of his wife Shoshannah and gazed into the distance inside the tent. As before, with the men when he told them of the bakers’ dozen, Simeon spoke in a hoarse whisper. “Long before our time, before Abraham, before, perhaps even Noah, I believe you women established our covenant to help guide us menfolk to know how life depends on our working with you. I also see, in an age yet to come that a time will arise when we men will yet recognize the equal parts we each play in sustaining our world. Until that time, we must remember that, even though we have different and restricted tasks and responsibilities, we are created in the image of the holy one, an image that we may not, nay, cannot diminish.”

Shoshannah reached down to help Simeon back to this feet: “Go, go back out to the sand which is like the numbers of our Jewish people, listen to the infinite waves and continue your counting. We have more food to prepare before Shabbat.”

Almost blinded by the sunlight of the shore Simeon picked up a handful of sand, let it pour slowly through his fingers and searched for his thought. “I seem able to keep only a certain number of ideas, feelings and sensations in mind at any one time. The brightness of the sun and the heat of the sand seem to have pushed out other thoughts. It is almost as though I had been juggling balls and one of you threw me two more, I would have to drop two to keep the new ones in the air with at least some of the others.”

“I too, have noticed such a phenomenon,” offered Elazar, more secure in himself after his success with the number ten. “I have tried an experiment with Antignos’ help. It is as you say. We watched a Greek juggler in the street not long ago and saw him drop some flaming torches as he added knives to the circulating objects. It was a frightening sight, but we tried to see if there were limits on how many things we could hold onto at once. I recall a saying of my father who never tired of telling me: ‘If you try to hold onto too much you won’t hold onto anything.’ But how much is too much?”

“Good, Elazar and what did you and Antignos learn from your experiment?”

seven

“Amazingly enough,” Antignos joined in: “Seven (and sometimes one more or less, but) always basically seven!”

“Our number as I said earlier,” added Elazar almost squirming with excitement. “But why seven, I have not yet reasoned. It is a prime number, but not the smallest nor the largest. Can it have to do with the number of days in the four phases of the moon, or the fact that it is the largest prime number before our more common ten? I don’t know and I still need to learn.”

six

“Very good, it pleases me that you have found for yourself a project to pursue. And this leads me to another thought and your answer gives me a clue as to how to proceed. I have felt that our learning will soon need a more structured form so that those who come after us will know how to apply the lessons of Torah to their own lives. Perhaps each of you can find ways to gather the lessons we have begun into different rubrics. If we limit those rubrics to six then others will always be able to keep the whole structure in mind.”

five

“Master,” said Johanan, “perhaps that is why God gave Moses the Torah in only five books to make certain that even the simplest of us could always keep all of Torah in mind and still be able to do what he or she needs to accomplish!”

“A wonderful thought Johanan, said Antignos. I like that.”

“This has been a wonderful exercise my friends, the remainder must be simple, what do you think.”

four

Simeon continued: “We have four matriarchs: Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel. But this number offers us more: Our liberation is filled with fours we drink four cups of wine, our Torah insists four times that we tell our children about the Exodus and makes four promises of the Exodus itself. Even though our tables and chairs have four legs, this is not as stable as life could be, after all, we have four questions… a sign of instability. Is our liberation perhaps an instable state?”

three

“Perhaps so,” offered Antignos, “after all, the matriarchs Leah and Rachel did not get along, causing instability in Jacob’s family. But the patriarchs themselves are only three: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And I have learned from Pythagoras…”

“Oh, there you go again,” interrupted Johanan, “you’ve been spending too much time with those Greeks. I agree they have wonderful tools, but I fear they have some ideas we do not want.”

“Easy my boys, let us at least hear what Antignos has to say.”

“Well, Pythagoras tells me that of all the physical structures we can make, the triangle is the hardest to break. Something that stands on three points is less likely to wobble than something on two or four.”

“The two of you can rest a bit more easily. Different cultures around us seem attracted to different numbers. It is true that the Greeks seem to like the number 3.”

Again, Simeon dropped his voice: “They may in the future attempt to divide our perceived unity into a threesome… something about a father and son and something.… But perhaps your Pythagoras friend has learned something from us, I have often said that the world rests on three things: Torah, our service, and deeds of loving kindness and in years to come one of our sages will tell his disciples that the world is sustained by a different three: truth, judgement, and peace. Does Pythagoras, perhaps, spend too much time with us, Johanan or does Antignos spend too much time with him? In fact I have heard many of you, at other times, express your thoughts in triplets as though you find it easier to base your thoughts on a solid grounding in this manner. Who is to say whether the wisdom of the poetry or the physical world establishes a fact as so.”

“But look, the sun drops faster now into the sea. Soon darkness will envelope us. Are there four, three or two: air, earth, water and fire; or the sky, the waters and the earth; or is it only the sky above and the earth below?”

two

“We speak of evening and morning, heavens and earth… are these simply rhetorical conventions of our ancient poets or do they reflect a reality in the cosmos? Is it because our bodies are divided into two halves and that we have men and women and we live and die that Moses came down from Sinai with the two tablets of the law? Our Persian liberators saw this as two deities struggling perpetually one against the other while their Indian neighbors at least saw these two forces emerging as a yin and yang each out of the other to form a whole. What do you say, my students? How do we respond?”

one

The time had come for the evening Sh’ma, the disciples helped one another to their feet. The growing darkness made the game difficult to pursue and the youngsters gathered around. At the sound of the children, the women came out of the tent to join them as well. All faced east, away from the brilliance of the glowing sky, toward the darkness of the new dawn yet to come. Together they proclaimed the unity of the cosmos. And before the Love of the nothingness before them they placed their trust as they recited: “Understand this Israel: the living breathing essence of the cosmos is what we recognize as the source of all and this living breathing essence is a unified whole.”

©Mark Hurvitz

1994

While they say that all you need is love, we are each unique ones. How do you relate one to one in the unified whole ONE?

what is “#blogexodus”?

My friend and colleague Phyllis Sommers has thought of yet a new creative way to prepare for Pesach. You can learn more here.

blogging the exodus