Rabbi Philip Weintraub
Congregation Agudas Israel
Parshat Toldot
November 2, 2013
This week we are reading Parshat Toldot. We tell the story of Isaac and Rebecca, of Rebecca’s prophecy, the birth of Jacob and Esau, the convoluted blessings of Jacob and Esau and Rebecca’s driving role throughout the parsha. What we have in this parsha, is the motivations, the drive, the influences of our biblical characters, what makes them tick. In life, we can consider these same factors in how we treat each other, how we listen to each other, how we hear each others stories. For many Jews, the Torah is a book of laws, of instruction. While I certainly believe that is true, I think that the narratives, the stories are really what inspire us.
In Rashi’s commentary on the beginning of the Torah, the first verses of Genesis, he writes:
[Rashi] "In the beginning..." Rabbi Yitzhak said: The Torah should not have begun until "This month shall be for you [the first of the months]" (Exodus 12:1) which is the first mitzvah (commandment) which the Jewish people were commanded.
Here Rashi quotes one understanding of Torah, that it is a book of laws. Yet he then continues:
[RASHI] Then for what reason does it begin with "In the beginning..."? Because of "He told His people the power of His works, to give them the inheritance of nations" (Psalm 111:6) That is, if the nations of the world say to the Jewish people, "You are robbers, because you conquered the lands of the seven [Canaanite] nations", they can answer them: "The whole world belongs to God, who created it and gave it to whomever it appeared right to Him. It was His will to give it to them and it was His will to take it from them and give it to us."
By sharing the story, the narrative, we claim ownership not only of Israel, defending our claim against the other nations, but we also claim ownership of our story. We show our connection not only to the land, but to ourselves, to our heritage, to our peoplehood.
In the 11th century, Rabbi Yitzhak (Isaac) Alfasi, commonly known as the RIF, changed our understanding of the Talmud. By cutting out much of the debate and leaving only the conclusions, he presented a preliminary code of Jewish law, a severely edited version of the Talmud. For centuries it has been used to help determine Jewish law. Yet a few centuries later, Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib did the exact opposite, he created a version of the Talmud with only the midrashim, the stories, the narratives. Exiled from Spain, he published his great work in Thessalonika. Recognizing that the exiled Jews needed not only the laws, but the stories that inspire us, the narratives that help us see the holiness of our lives and our Torah. (One of my teachers, Marjorie Lehman has published a phenomenal book about his motivations and writings, while an academic book, I think we could have a great discussion about it one day!)
This past Monday and Tuesday I spent at JTS, studying with the Rabbinical Assembly and JOIN-the Jewish Organizing Institute and Network. The conference was called “Clergy 2.0: Leading Through Relationship.” It accords with a book I just picked up and much of the recent research on strong and effective Jewish communities. What the research tells us is that for us to be successful, we cannot just ask people the same questions and do all the same things. We have to be part of our greater Jewish community, our national USCJ community, but we also have to be uniquely Newburghian. We have to use our local talents and stories. We have to really know each other as human beings and be a relational community. Now, many of us have had many, many conversations with each other over the years. Yet, with all of that, we can find that we have “known” each other for years, and do not truly know each other. We know the surface, the names, the places, but not what motivates and drives us.
In the coming months, I would like to reflect on the lessons I learned at this conference. I would like us to have the opportunities to share our stories in different ways. I want to know what drives you? What do you enjoy? What inspires you? What aspects of our congregation push you to be better? How does prayer or spirituality drive your life? Where do you find GD? By asking and answering questions like this, we can greatly improve our interactions with each other, within our congregation and help us truly be a relational community.
As an example, I will share one story from my week. My wife and I have similar computers and our chargers work interchangeably. My computer’s charger died. I ordered a new one. Wanting to play around and see if I could fix it, I did not immediately throw out the broken one. My wife seeing two cords downstairs tosses one. Unfortunately she threw away the working one. At first I was really annoyed. I just spent good money on a new charger and she threw the old (but working one away), leaving upstairs the dead one! The next morning though, I laughed. My grandparents would have found it pretty hilarious. Why? My grandmother, is a pack rat. If she could keep anything, she will. My grandfather was a tinkerer, he would fix things and resell them, but he also hated clutter and junk. He would regularly toss things from the house, causing my grandmother stress--but keeping their apartment in good order. When he passed away, that check was gone and her apartment became very, very cluttered. For me, seeing their relationship parallel to my own made me consider my own tendencies to keep more than I need! It makes me even more grateful to have my wife in my life, who can help keep me from saving every interesting article I ever find or every thing I have ever written!
In just a brief story like that, you can see that family is important to me, that I am proud to stand in the footsteps of those that came before me, but that I am also aware of the less positive traits I have and that I have inherited. By being self-aware, I can hopefully work on my behavior so that I do not NEED Rebecca to toss my junk for me!
In a shul setting, we could talk about what brought you or me to your Jewish heritage. Are you here because of your parents’ or grandparents’ inspiration? Did you have a moment in life where you felt the presence of GD and wanted to keep that feeling? Do you love the melodies of the service? Are they a comfort for you? Does the beauty of our sanctuary help you find peace in the crazy world in which we live? Do I inspire you through my words?
For me, I think back to a moment in Valdosta, GA. While I can talk more about it another time, on one foot, as a 17-year-old, I subbed for the rabbi, who had known me for all of two weeks, but saw that I had the ritual skills to cover. Standing on that bimah, I found my home, and have worked to find myself there since then. He took a chance on me, recognizing that this young whippersnapper might be able to share a few words of Torah and lead the services. That is one reason I am proud to stand before you today.
What are your stories? What drives you? To answer those questions, I would like to continue the listening campaign I began when I arrived. Yet, I want to change how I listen, the questions I ask and better discover you and your interests. I want to partner with you in getting to know our community on a deeper level. I want us to consider our future and make CAI the best community it can be. I want to thank you for all that you do and hope that our years together will lead to better relationships for all here at CAI.
Shabbat Shalom!
