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Talmud Torah K'neged KulamNovember 2003From the Desk of Rabbi FreelundThe study of story is one of those things that can be so hard to start. We often make excuses or reasons as to why we are not engaged in some form of Jewish learning. Some of us may even find, due to a past experience, that we have little interest in continuing our Jewish learning. It can be a challenge to give a new spark to our interest and reinvigorate our efforts to learn. It is not without cause that we say of the words of Torah in our daily services that, "They are our life and the length of our days, ki heim chayeinu v'oreich yameinu." The key for us as adults is in understanding why these words are so important, particularly when we think we can live our lives from day to day without a particular place for Torah. We can live our daily lives without thinking much as to their meaning. It's easy to become lost in the minutiae of our existence, such as the carpools, errands, appointments, and shopping that seem to take up so much of our time. Between work, school, family and friends, we have little opportunity to make sense of what it is that really matters to us. We are so busy that there is no time to think. This can be a dangerous condition. Our society has made it very easy for each of us to live what are in essence, solitary lives. Our culture can just as easily separate us as join us, as it has grown too large to every truly know what is going on much outside of our immediate circle. Like those people who built the Tower of Babel, they soon found themselves immersed in a stream of information and noise that made no sense at all. Everybody was talking, and nobody heard. A Jewish education is what prevents us from lapsing into this kind of atomistic life, running one past the other without a common basis. Torah provides us with the underling values that inform our lives, that give them meaning and purpose. When we say that Torah is the length of our days, I think this has a literal truth. A day in which we never stop to consider what it is that we do, who we are, and why we behave in the way that we do can truly fly by. The days in which we never stop to breathe are very short. Conversely, the days in which we pause to examine our larger place in the world are those that can become memorable and even lengthened. To study and to learn are primary Jewish ventures because they bind us together as a people. At precisely the moment in history when our larger culture threatens to isolate us, our tradition would unite us. I encourage all of us to avail ourselves of the many opportunities to do some Jewish learning. For some of us this means Religious School, for others Torah Study on Saturday mornings, and for many our Adult Education Academy. There are so many ways Temple provides to get off the hamster wheel of our busy lives, slow down, and engage in what truly matters. Let this be the year that all of us build a link to other Jews and to a well grounded life and a lengthening of our days. |
