Dear all,
This week we celebrate Simchat Torah, when we complete Deuteronomy and go right back to the beginning with B’reisheet.
Why do we read the same text over and over?
I am reminded of a Chassidic story of a person who wanted to review the prayers in the Holy Day prayer-book before services. His rebbe said, “The prayers haven’t changed. It’s better to review what’s going on within your own soul.”
This year, we start Torah over through many new lenses.
As a people, we read it with the context of October 7, 2023. How does the story of creating order out of chaos sound different?
As citizens who may be voting in an upcoming election in the United States, how we contextualize the leadership values Torah explores?
As a person raising children, how do I understand anew the stories of sibling rivalry?
These texts haven’t changed. But the way we read them has changed. It just takes a moment in time to reflect on where we are in the world. And that’s why I go back each year and find new meaning in old writings.
How will the text speak to you this year?
With love and shalom,
Rabbi Zach Shapiro
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