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Rabbi Reuben's Weekly Torah Commentary

Tzav
(Leviticus 6:1-8:36)

The 11th century Jewish philosopher Ibn Gabirol once wrote, “In seeking wisdom, the first step is silence, the second is listening, the third remembering, the fourth practicing, the fifth teaching others.”   When I was President of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California I had the extraordinary opportunity to moderate a panel discussion with four other rabbis discussing the question, “Who wrote the Torah?”

Following the advice of Ibn Gabirol from hundreds of years ago, we listened to each other, remembered that above all we what drew us together was a love of the Jewish people and the wisdom we discovered in our Torah, and we practiced the ideal of love and respect reflected in the Torah itself, when it teaches us in Leviticus to love our neighbors as ourselves.  And ultimately, we became each other’s teachers.

In the end, it reminded me of why I am a Reconstructionist Jew.  One of the more traditional members of the audience remarked that what was important was how as the chosen people we interpreted what God wanted us to do, and implied that because God wrote the Torah it was the only truly sacred book. I was glad to be part of a movement that teaches instead that all people choose their own unique paths to answering the same ultimate questions of life, that we were not exclusively chosen by God, and that all people, religions and cultures have created their own equally sacred literature.

And I was most proud to share an insight that I gained from teaching KI’s 10th grade Confirmation class.  When I told the kids I would be moderating a discussion with a group of rabbis on the topic, “Who wrote the Torah,” one bright young woman responded, “I think that’s the wrong question.  I think the most important question isn’t ‘Who wrote the Torah?’ it’s ‘Why was the Torah written?”  Good point.  The answer that she gave was that the Torah was written to answer the fundamental questions of life.

In this week’s portion we read that the priests were commanded to keep a fire burning on the altar at all times.  The rabbis teach that it was a symbol of that same search for meaning, purpose and God’s presence that we engage in today.  For just as God first appeared to Moses from the midst of a fire in a burning bush that burned yet was not consumed, each of us is to nurture that same burning passion within that listens for the voice of God.  We are to keep our inner spark burning so that the holiness of God’s presence in our souls never goes out either.  That is why the rabbis taught that the best road to nurturing the divine flame within is to occupy ourselves with the study of Torah. Indeed, perhaps that is why the Torah was written in the first place.

Fri, March 29 2024 19 Adar II 5784