>> Torah portion
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3 0in v s for a healthy start to the school year
Parshat Reeh, Shabbat Rosh Chodesh:
Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17; Isaiah 66:1-
66:24.
T
he choices we make in life can
be a blessing and have positive
influence on our own lives,
our family, community and the world.
Or our choices can have negative conse-
quences. Moses presents that choice to the
Israelites:
"See, this day I set before
you blessing and curse:
blessing, if you obey the
commandments of the Lord
your God that I enjoin upon
you this day; and curse, if
you do not obey the com-
mandments of the Lord
your God, but turn away
from the path that I enjoin
upon you this day and
follow other gods, whom
you have not experienced7
(Deuteronomy 11:26-28, JPS translation).
I find the last clause "whom you have
not experienced" to seem redundant.
Moses has said if you don't follow God's
commandments, you will be cursed. Why
further emphasize to not follow other
gods "whom you have not experienced"?
Every word in the Torah has intention.
It is inevitable that when the Israelites
enter Canaan without Moses they will
have new experiences. The Torah con-
tinues with a repetitive emphasis to only
pray to one God. God seems apprehensive
about the Israelites leaving Moses, leaving
what they have known for a new land.
The apprehension begins to subside,
perhaps God or Moses recognizes that
there are only so many times that you can
repeat yourself. Moses moves from tell-
ing Israel what not to do, to laying out a
framework for the Israelites to experience
Judaism without him.
He explains how to live life with inten-
tion — including how we eat (kashrut),
celebrate (Passover, remember your past
as slaves and as strangers) and care for the
Earth (farming). These intentions are con-
nected to communal past experiences, but
the people will implement these practices
in their own unique ways. Jewish practice
will be rooted in tradition but evolve and
grow with future generations.
It is the middle of August and I, as
a Hillel professional on campus at the
University of Michigan, and my Hillel col-
leagues across North America, are prepar-
ing to welcome 100,000 Jewish freshmen.
A staggering 85 percent of American Jews
attend college.
It's a time when parents have a lot to say
to their new Wolverine, Spartan, Warrior
or (insert mascot here). In these last few
weeks of summer, parents often urgently
impart their notions of the world to their
children; these same Jewish
students, like all American col-
lege students, have their own set
of dreams, desires and interests
when preparing to leave for
school.
Parshat Reeh is emphasiz-
ing the opportunity before the
Israelites for their lives to be a
blessing based on their choices.
The parshah transitioned from
Moses telling the Israelites what
not to do, to offering a frame-
work for experiences that would connect
the Israelites to their past and inform who
they will become. Each August, parents
and students are presented with this same
transition.
I urge parents to share with your chil-
dren why being Jewish is important to
you. What are the practices or values of
Jewish life that have meaning for you?
How did they become important to you?
Share with them the stories of how you
figured out what is important to you (or
how you're still in the process of figuring
it out).
Send your child off to college knowing
why being Jewish is important to you.
I think this will encourage your college
student to make choices that will be a
blessing.
Sunday, August 30 • 1-3 p.m.
Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital Campus
/►
FUN FREE
EVENT
FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY
Free Parking • Free Refreshments
Free Entertainment • Free Adult Health Screenings
Enter to win prizes*
Activities for the whole family
• Live Stage Show
• Arts and Crafts
• Stuffed Animal Clinic
• Therapy Dogs
• Emergency Vehicles
• Field Games
❑
• Panda One Ambulance
• Airbrush Tattoos
• Bounce House
• Photo Sessions
• Back to School
• Giveaways
Davey Rosen is associate director of
University of Michigan Hillel and a
1994 graduate of Hillel Day School of
E Commerce Rd
DMC
HURON
Metropolitan Detroit.
comm erce
HOSPITAL/
Richardson
Glengarry Rd
Conversations
• Everyone makes mistakes; how
can learning from our mistakes turn
a curse into a blessing?
• Thinking about when your child
returns home from school and
hopes to share with you new experi-
ences, consider a time in your life
that you wish someone had listened
to you with more openness.
Pontiac Trail
DMC
Huron Valley-Sinai
Hospital
Map e
12Mile Rd.
1 William Carls Drive
Commerce, MI 48382
For more information, visit www.hvsh.org
*You must be present in order to win. Employees of the Detroit Medical Center and their
family members, doctors in any way affiliated with the Detroit Medical Center or their family
members, and doctors affiliated with other medical entities or hospitals and their family
members, are ineligible.
2017300
August 13 • 2015
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