D'var Torah

Sivan 5764

What Happened After Sinai?

Sivan is the month in which we celebrate the giving and the receiving of Torah at Sinai. The Torah speaks of God descended onto a Sinai immersed in flame---a larger and more public encounter with a bush that burns with fire but is not consumed. Then what? Nearly three months until the next communal celebration --- 120 days after Shavuot we observe Yom Kippur. The Torah punctuates the account of the revelation of God on Sinai with the sin of the Golden Calf, the breaking of the first set of tablets carved out and etched by God, and with the carving out and writing by Moses of the second set. Both sets are then placed into the Ark of the Covenant carried through the wilderness. As impressive as it must have been, it does not do well to keep the Torah locked in an Ark. In time, the fear of playing with a text that burned with fire ebbed and ours became a People of the Book, devoted to the study and amplification of sacred text, warming ourselves in its traditions, embroiling ourselves in discussions about the meaning and significance of text, striving to understand the teachings of the tradition, to enhance them, and to transmit them enriched to the next generation.

Committed to the pursuit of knowledge, ours has been a people that valued education, teaching our children diligently and seeking to provide teachers who could reinforce our values, hopes, expectations and aspiration, transmitting to our children the elements of Judaism to make of them positive citizens of the Jewish people. For us to teach our children, it is critical that we continue to educate ourselves. Through Bible and Bagels, through Bible II, our on-going Sunday morning Mishnah study group), parenting workshops and Shabbat morning introduction to prayer discussion (which will resume July 3 at 9:00 a.m., with services following at 9:30 a.m.), we at the synagogue reach out to congregants to assist them in the acquisition and retrieval of information. In the fall, we will return to offering a lunch and learn. Watch for flyers in the fall.

There is still more to be found. For many decades, the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism has sponsored at the Jewish Theological Seminary at 122nd and Broadway, an Institute on Monday mornings during the academic year for those interested in learning without tests, papers, or projects. For a modest registration fee, students study with Seminary professors in their respective fields of expertise. There is time for coffee before and lunch after classes. The learning is challenging, provocative and an invigorating source of Torah. This fall, classes will be taught by Dr. Diane Sharon, who has served as a scholar in resident at the GHC and who is professor of Bible at JTS, and by Dr. David Fishman, professor of Jewish history at JTS. Dr. Sharon’s course will offer at look at the prophets; Dr. Fishman’s will look at the Culture and History of Vilna. The logo of the Seminary is the bush that burns with fire and is not consumed. Warm yourself by its fire; be illumined by its light. Carpools already exist within the GHC community. Watch for flyers in the fall and call the office if you are interested.

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