Torah Time

So this week flew by rather quickly. The fact that the Holiday of Shavuot extended Shabbat and dipped into Sunday and Monday might have something to do with that (you think?) Perhaps the pace of the hours and days of the week themselves were still quivering with the residual excitement of the reenactment of the Jewish people receiving the Torah at Sinai? (Sound of screeching to a halt!) Hold it right there. This is crazy; hours and days are static and fixed; as such they are endowed only with whatever tepid or robust enthusiasms we muster.

So yes, that's true in some realms for sure. But even the most perfunctory search will yield a treasure trove of Jewish texts featuring the days of the week engaged in animated conversation with one another, even holding forth with G-d and the occasional human as well. A deep dive into Midrashic sources, however, especially Genesis Rabbah, leaves one with the impression that time exists in its own independent metaphysical community, replete with a dynamic parallel infrastructural culture.

So wouldn't that be weird if today was more excited about receiving Torah than yesterday and tomorrow is sponsoring its own epic Torah-Fest throwdown? Lest we be outdone by our local time zone, we can jump right in. "Did anyone say Torah party?" And seriously, I get that time marches to its own rhythm, but let's not forget who Torah was intended for! "This is my day and this is our time." Yeah!

But how does one celebrate Torah? Well, that's an easy one. Shabbat is on the way and it's the "perfect time" to "set aside an hour or two" for some serious Torah study!

What to study? That will require some thought. "Take some time" and think about a Jewish subject that piques your curiosity and plan to settle into Shabbat and learn something new and fascinating about our heritage and our faith.

And lest you forget, the main take-home point of Sinai is that the whole thing, the whole Jewish shebang itself is designed for takeout. The fact that Torah was given to us means that it's OURS! Right? And in case that's not clear enough, try this on for size. Torah is REALLY everyone's. This is not a joke. I'm totally serious. It doesn't belong to the Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform, nor does it belong more to the affiliated than the unaffiliated. Nor does it belong to the Rabbis, the scholars, or the pious more than the "un-payis." It doesn't even belong to the Hasids more than the Hipsters, nor to the men or women or children.

It's all of ours. And that's that.

Wishing you happy and meaningful Learnings! And yes, when deeply immersed in Torah study, "time flies!"

Let's connect maybe next week about some upcoming summer Torah learning opportunities? OK, great.