A Personal Voyage Of Jewish Discovery
Continued from Page L-1
services imagining the many
my family. I go to synagogue on
generations who had read those
Shabbat almost every week and
same prayers before me. I knew littl e
make a strong effort to avoid
but felt much.
shopping, phone calls, laundry, and
I was also motivated to study Tora h other weekday concerns on Shabbat.
because I had had a hunch, for all
When we moved to Michigan in 1988,
those years, that there was a major f it I announced to my family that I was
between the values espoused by ou r
going to keep a kosher kitchen, and I
tradition and my own heartfelt
am doing my best to uphold that
concerns. With the help of a brilliant,
goal. I am hoping this New Year to
challenging teacher, I found myself i n expand my commitment by no longer
awe of the collective wisdom and
"eating out"; i.e. avoiding non-kosher
insights of 2,000 years of Jews
food outside the home. It was only
wrestling with the same issues and
through study that I came to
dilemmas of our own time: the
understand kashrut as a system of
struggle to maintain hope and build
limits, discipline, and powerful daily
caring human relationships, to stand
reminders and reinforcers of Jewish
up against injustice and abuse of
identity.
power, to defend the weak and
Today, many Jewish adults are
defenseless ones in this world.
giving serious consideration to the
When I study Torah, I am comforted
possibility of engaging in Torah study.
by the presence of sages and
But I caution people to avoid the trap
teachers who function for me as a
of doing this only "for the sake of the
kind of personal support group
children." Over and over I've heard
transcending time and space.
stories of young Jewish adults who
One of the first lessons I learned
are cynical and dismissive about
through Torah study was never to
Jewish observance because the
feel embarrassed by what I didn't
minute they went away to college
know and never to hesitate to ask a
their parents stopped putting up a
question. When our daughter was
sukkah, celebrating Shabbat, lighting
four, our rabbi asked us to join with
Chanukah candles, etc. These
other families to launch a Boston
Jewish rituals are not enjoined on us
area Reform Jewish Day School.
simply to impress young children.
When I was told the steering
They are lifelong commitments; that
committee had chosen "The Rashi
is the essence of the enterprise.
School" as the name for our new
Should one engage in Jewish study
venture, I asked, "Who is Rashi?"
for the sake of his or her children?
And I learned.
Yes, especially if that happens to be
Jewish study also has had a major
the "hook" for you. But in the end, we
positive impact on my daily life and in
must also study Torah for our own
sake and our own spiritual fulfillment,
and for the ultimate purpose of
learning, and then doing, what God
wants of us. Ideally, we should be
communicating to the next generation
— whether our children or
grandchildren, nieces, nephews,
students, friends, or neighbors — that
the values which Judaism was
created to uphold in this world cannot
be sustained without a cadre of
committed, knowledgeable Jews to
carry out this sacred task.
The Jewish tradition contains many
specific prescriptions for the effective
transmission of Jewish knowledge
and commitment. "Do as I say, not as
I do" is not among them!
We must face this fact: most
American Jews are Jewishly illiterate.
We don't even know what we don't
know — a truly dangerous situation!
Fortunately, the redemptive and
regenerative power of God and Torah
is everpresent, if we have the will and
the courage to draw on it. To
paraphrase one of Rabbi Tarfon's
great comments from Pirkei Avot, the
Master is impatient, the workers are
slacking off on the job, and time flies,
but the reward is great . . . so let's
get on with it!
Nancy Kaplan is the Director of the
Midrasha Center for Adult Jewish
Learning (a division of the Agency
for Jewish Education).
To Make Sure That Jewish Schooling Works
Continue Your Own Jewish Education
The single most powerful way of insuring that your children take their
Jewish education seriously is to continue your own Jewish learning.
A story:
A man once came to the Kotsker Rebbe and complained
that his son did not want to learn Torah. (Even though it wasn't
Hebrew School he was talking about — we know those Sunday
morning fights.) He asked the Rebbe: "What should I do?"
The Kotsker Rebbe told him: "If you force your child to study
Torah, he will study Torah as long as you make him to do so.
And, in fact, he will grow up and make his child study Torah in
his time.
However, if you devote yourself to Torah study, soon you
will find your child by your side, asking to study with you."
Get it? Do as I do!
From: "40 Things You Can Do To Save The Jewish People," by Joel
Lurie Grishaver.
A Bridge For Daughters Of Jacob
Continued from Page L-1
have enrolled in an additional
Hebrew course. The conversation
during classroom breaks reveals
that many are increasing their
synagogue involvement, their
volunteer efforts in the Jewish
community.
The very physical building of Adat
Shalom has become user-friendly
for them. I see them in the library; I
come upon them in the office
checking up on times for a
u) Sisterhood program, a lunch-and-
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September 3, 1993
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learn session, a Family Shabbat
Dinner. They stop me at the Gift
Shop. "Rabbi, which of these seder
plates should I buy for my home?"
They are present at Shabbat
Services sitting together proudly as
a beautiful sorority exploring their
new familiarity with the Siddur.
Thery begin to re-evaluate their
lives. For those who had not
considered it before, kashrut in their
homes becomes a project,
thoroughly researched, questioned
and applied. And, wonder of
wonders, Jewish education for their
children is raised to its deserved
primary place of importance. The
holidays are observed, the teen-
agers begin to appear in our United
Synagogue Youth groups, more
youngsters are continuing to study
after their Bar/Bat Mitzvah
observance. Their husbands, too,
are in greater evidence in the
synagogue.
For their husbands and children
have witnessed their wives' and
mothers' commitment. They hear
them practicing their Torah portion,
their haftorah chant. It is not just
"Do what I tell you to do." It is "Do
what I do."
In our time, Shavout has grown in
depth of meaning and beauty. In
1967, the Jewish People prayed
together at the Kotel in Jerusalem,
the first holiday when this was again
possible. In our synagogue, that day
of Torah is an occasion for true
Halle!, true praise to the Holy One
Blessed be He. With knowledge,
fervency, and humility our women
read from the Torah, from the
Prophets, from The Book of Ruth —
those declaring before the
congregation that they understand
and knowingly assume the mitzvot
about which they have studied, and
those from past classes who join
with their sisters to reaffirm their
role in judaism's progress.
In approaching the New Year, in
evaluating educational programs, in
planninn curricula and calendar
events, I am grateful for these
students — these supports and
inspiration that engender hope!
When I travel in the Galil in
Northern Israel, I usually pose a
question to the group I am leading
as we cross the Jordan River on our
way to the Golan Heights. "The
bridge over there," I say, "is called
the Bridge of the Daughters of
Jacob. Aside from Dinah, do we
know of any other daughters?" The
answer, of course, is that the
reference is not biblical. A French
nuns' order established a chapter in
the region in the late Middle Ages
and the bridge in named for them.
But I see a new meaning for the
words in our time — B'not Yaakov
— The Daughters of Israel have
built a bridge in our time in their
devoted participation from our rich
heritage to the promise of the future!
Rabbi Spectre is spiritual leader of
Adat Shalom Synagogue,
Farmington Hills.