Spirituality
TORAH
R
The Choice Is Ours:
Blessing Or Curse?
Shabbat Mevarechim; Parshat Re'eh:
Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17;
Isaiah 54:11-55:5.
T
year.
his week's parshah,
The first sentence of the parshah
from the Book of
states: "Re'eh anokhi notein lif-
Deuteronomy, is
neikhem ha yourberakhah u'k'lalah
always read immediately prior
— See, this day I set before you
to the month of Elul, the month
blessing
and curse:' [Deuteronomy
prior to the High Holy Days.
11:26]
(This year, Elul begins on
The English translation doesn't
Tuesday evening, Aug. 10.)
adequately
portray the nuances of
Our rabbis and teachers note
the
Hebrew.
As many commenta-
that Elul is the time reserved
Rabbi
Amy
B.
tors
have
pointed
out, the first
for us each year to review our
Bigman
("see")
is in the third-
re'eh
word,
actions from the previous
Special
to
the
person
singular
form
("you"). The
year and to make amends to
Jewish
News
remainder
of
the
verse
is in the
those whom we have wronged,
second
person
plural
form
("you
whether intentionally or unin-
all"
or,
as
we
say
in
Michigan,"you
guys").
tentionally. I also like to think of Elul as an
The rabbis noted that this change in per-
opportunity for us to see where we did well
son
is very significant. They taught that the
the previous year and remind ourselves that
commandments
are set before the whole
we should choose that path in the coming
that life has handed to us. While we may not
people and thus are stated in the second-
have control over the situations themselves,
person plural form; however, each indi-
we do have control over how we respond;
vidual must "see" and decide for him/herself
and God wants us to choose the blessing, the
whether to obey or disobey; and thus the
positive, and the good.
word "see" is phrased in the singular form.
Both of these interpretations of choice
Each person, each individual, determines
which path to choose: the path of blessing or are especially relevant as we approach the
High Holy Days. During this coming month
the path of curse.
This parshah is just one of many instances of Elul, let us examine our actions, make
amends if warranted and choose a course of
in the Torah that God tells us of our choice
action for the upcoming year. May God give
between blessing and curse, good and evil.
us the strength to make the right choices, to
God gives us the choice to choose between
the two, giving us the ability to select for our- choose to do good in the world, to choose
the blessing. Kein y'hi ratzon — May this be
selves, even though God urges us to choose
God's will. 7
the good and helps us to follow that path.
God does not require perfection from us,
but rather that we try our best, that we strive Rabbi Amy B. Bigman is the rabbi of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in East Lansing.
to do good and to keep away from evil. If we
try to achieve goodness, then God will not
leave us alone; God will be there for us dur-
ing our life's journey.
Another interpretation of this verse notes
that there are some situations over which
Conversations
we have no control. We do, however, have the
What is the relationship between the
choice as to how we see these situations and
individual and the society regarding
how we respond to them.
the choice to do good? What are the
In interpersonal relationships, we can
advantages in viewing "the glass
choose to take the high road — or not. If we
half-full instead of half-empty"?
are experiencing a loss or other difficult situ-
ation, we can choose, to paraphrase an old
saying, to make lemonade out of the lemons
ASK THE EXPER -
The Role Of
Godparents
CI : Do Jews have godparents? What does it mean to be a Jewish godparent?
- Harold, Oregon
A
: You may remember that in the
movie The Godfather, there is a
brief discussion of what it means
to be a godfather to a child. The verdict: "To
the Italian people, that is a very religious,
sacred, close relationship." So what about to
the Jewish people?
In the Christian world, it's generally
held that the godparents of a child are the
people responsible for ensuring the child
receives a Christian education if some-
thing should happen to the child's parents.
Godparents often have a key role at a bap-
tism ceremony. The godparent's function
is intrinsically Christian, so for many Jews,
the idea of designating godparents seems
very un-Jewish.
According to Jewish law, it is the job
of the parents to give their child a Jewish
education. If something happens to the
parents, then the community is responsible
for ensuring children are given a Jewish
education. If the community fails to take
on this obligation, the child ultimately
is responsible for getting a grounding in
Jewish life and traditions.
But if you've ever attended a brit or a
simchat bat (ceremony welcoming a baby
girl), you may have heard the reference
to godparents. In particular at a brit, the
person on whose lap the baby sits while he
is being circumcised is referred to as the
sandak, which sometimes is translated as
godfather.
This person often is one of the boy's
grandfathers, but it is also an honor one
can give to a family friend. Traditionally,
the sandak is a man.
At an Ashkenazi brit, the person or peo-
ple who bring the baby from the mother
to the sandak are referred to as kvater or
kvaterin — also sometimes translated as
godparents.
The best person to ask about a brit is a
mohel, the person who performs a circum-
cision. So I called Cantor Philip Sherman,
who has been called "the busiest mohel in
New York',' and asked him about godfathers
in Judaism.
"Officially in Judaism, we do not have
godparents — it is not a Jewish tradi-
tion',' Sherman saidiewish families may
appoint them if they wish, but there are no
attending religious obligations or respon-
sibilities. It is simply an honorary title.
Families can appoint as many as they want
or none at all."
He added that "the appointing of god-
parents in Judaism has nothing to do with
legal guardianship."
Sherman emphasized that to translate
sandak as "godfather" is inaccurate.
The sandak, he explained, is simply the
term for the person who holds the baby
during the brit. So appointing a Jewish god-
parent — someone other than a kvater or a
sandek — is an optional activity to honor
someone you love but not at all necessary.
There are many traditional and creative
ways for those who want to honor someone
(your best friend, for example) during the
brit or simchat bat of their child. And if you
want to create some kind of formal rela-
tionship, such as making that person the
legal guardian of your child if something
happens to you, or asking them to fill a
certain role in your child's life, you certainly
are welcome to do so — and to use the
terms godfather and godmother, if that's
what you'd like.
Jewish tradition carries no expectation
for the role; you can interpret it however
you want. If you are asking someone to be
a godparent and want that to mean legal
guardian, make that clear and get all of the
appropriate documents squared away. If
you just want to honor your friends, I guess
you're making them an offer they can't
refuse. Cl
For more information about Judaism and
Jewish life, visit MyJewishLearning.com .
August 5 . 2010
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