Friday Letter

FRIDAY LETTER

Shmini Atzeret-Simchat Torah 5770

by Rabbi Moshe Schwartz, Director of Jewish Life

 Let me share a brief story that occurred last week in our Sukkah. Perhaps you have had a similar experience. After reciting Kiddush to begin our meal, we passed around a washing cup and bowl for netilat yadayim, the hand-washing ritual. Our son, Elie, who is 3 1/2, washed first. I helped him a little, making sure the water he poured eventually ended up in the bowl and not on the table. Then, I washed and together we recited the blessing, Al Netilat Yadayeem. It was a great moment, and I was very proud of him for knowing and reciting the proper blessing out-loud for everyone to hear. But as we waited for everyone else to wash, Elie began talking. For some reason, the part about being quiet between washing the hands and reciting the motzi just was not part of the ritual. Even my wife, Aviva, joined in and tried to remind him to remain quiet for another few seconds. Why was he talking? Was he deliberately flouting the rule? Maybe he forgot. Maybe he didn't understand our hand gestures trying to quiet him. Maybe he just got tired of waiting. Maybe we hadn't fully explained that aspect of the ritual to him. Perhaps Elie was just being 3 ½.

Should I be embarrassed? Did it make me (us) look like poor educators? As I reflected on this moment, it got me thinking about what we, as adults do when we participate in a ritual that we have either not learned completely or learned to do incorrectly. As a parent and an educator, I wanted reassurance that I had been doing the right thing. How was I to know that I wasn't failing as a parent and as an educator?

This reflection drew me to the verse from V'zot HaBracha that will be read in the synagogue this weekend.  [Deuteronomy 33:4]

Torah Tzivah Lanu Moshe, Morashah Kehillat Yaakov.

When Moses charged us with the Teaching, as the heritage of the congregation of Jacob.

 Our Sages add the following teaching [from Midrash Rabbah]:

Al Kikree Morashah, Elah Yerushah. He L'Yisrael L'Olam. Do not read the word in the verse as morashah, heritage, rather [read it], yerushah, inheritance, for this [Torah] is for Israel for all time.

What can we learn from this teaching? Morasha, heritage, is in the hif'il, causative form in Hebrew grammar. In other words, it shows us that the original meaning may have been that Moses wanted to remind the Israelites that they needed to "cause" Torah to be transmitted from one generation to another. The Israelites were responsible not only for trying to absorb Torah themselves, but also for transmitting it to the next generation. After all, it was not the generation that received the Torah that ultimately entered Canaan, but the subsequent generation who had learned the Torah from those who witnessed the Revelation at Sinai. Perhaps, Torah [in the broadest sense] is the ideal, the perfect teaching of God that must be passed down from parents to children.

However, the play on words from the midrash, adds something special. Yerushah, inheritance, is something that individuals receive in the here and now. Yet, an inheritance does not have its full significance and meaning until the next generation takes hold of it and turns it into something meaningful for them [think of money simply sitting in the bank] while echoing the values of the original. This is the potential power and beauty of Torah. It is an inheritance to us and to all of Israel, forever, for those who take hold of it [la'machazekeem bah].

We can learn from this as we educate our children. On occasion, they only learn part of a particular lesson or ritual. Sometimes, they learn aspects of Torah incorrectly. There is endless Torah to encounter and a lifetime to obtain its blessings. Therefore, when, such a moment occurs, [as happened in a very simple way this week], we should heed lesson emphasized through the final words of our teacher Moses. We should react in the proper manner, which may include correcting a mistake, reviewing previously taught information and informing people of the proper course of action. It is part of our task in passing on the proper ways of Torah. When teaching, we must do it with the same love that Moses had for Torah and Am Yisrael in the moments before his death. We will then fully recognize the richness of the tradition that we are passing down from the multitude of generations before us. I certainly have a new appreciation and understanding of the hand washing ritual. Doing so will ensure that the Torah (the same one we hold and dance with this weekend) will remain an everlasting morashah and yerushah for generations to come.

Chag sameach,

Rabbi Moshe

Shabbat shalom ve-hag sameah.

Allan Dalfen

Upper School Principal