38 | SEPTEMBER 15 • 2022
I
n this season, as we
each engage in Heshbon
HaNefesh, taking a
personal accounting
of our lives, let us also
reflect on the gifts that
we have been given.
Chief among them are
the Torah, the Hebrew
language and our ability
to synthesize meaning
through interpretations
and opinions.
The late Rabbi
Jonathan Sacks wrote,
“... in truth, this always was
our greatest gift: the Torah
… the voice of Heaven as it is
heard on Earth, the word that
lights the world.
” The powerful
messages of the Torah are
timeless, and one of our
great strengths is that we
have continued to live by
the words of the Torah in
ways that are traditional
and meaningful.
One aspect of national
unity among the Jewish
people is that when we read
the Torah in public we do
so in Hebrew. Whether
someone provides a word-
for-word translation of
the Hebrew as it is read, as
in the days of Ezra the scribe,
or in the modern era when we
are blessed with high rates of
literacy and printed translations,
we continue to read in Hebrew.
Mastery of the language unlocks
doors to the text we might not
have realized without being
comfortable with Hebrew.
One example is in Ki Tavo.
This week we read the line that
is in every Passover Haggadah:
arami ovayd avi , which can be
colloquially translated as “my
father was a lost/wandering/
fugitive Aramean.
” This is often
translated interpretatively,
following Rashi, as “an Aramean
attempted to destroy my father.
”
Yet Rashi’s interpretation is
only one. Rashbam, Rashi’s
grandson, suggests that arami
refers to Avraham; Ibn Ezra
(12th century) suggests that it is
Yaakov; and the Or HaChaim
(18th century) suggests that it
refers to the evil inclination that
all of us bear within ourselves.
Each explanation is
meaningful, sincere and well-
reasoned. All work within the
context of the text itself maintain
the focus on being grateful for all
that we have been given. Their
diversity allows us to recognize
ways in which all of us can derive
a meaningful, personal and
thoughtful message from a text
once we understand it. Among
our tasks is to understand the
tenets of our faith, both as they
were given and as they apply to
our lives today. Our story is and
always has been a generational
one, synthesizing personal
meaning and passing that along
to our children.
As the cycle of the year turns
and renews, let us reflect on
how we have derived authentic
and personal meaning from
our sacred texts in the past and
intentionally seek to internalize
their meaning for our future as
we show gratitude for the many
gifts and blessings in our lives.
L
’Shana Tova.
Rabbi Jeremy Yoskowitz is a Jewish
Studies instructor at Frankel Jewish
Academy as well as a chaplain and
ethics consultant for Beaumont Health.
SPIRIT
TORAH PORTION
The Teachings
of Torah
Rabbi
Jeremy
Yoskowitz
Parshat
Ki Tavo:
Deuteronomy
26:1-29:8;
Isaiah
60:1-22.
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