Today’s Torah portion is called Todot. Generations. We just sang L’Dor v’dor, from gneration to generation. This portion is about succession, one generation to the next
At the very beginning of the portion, Rebecca went to an oracle to figure out what was going on her womb, she was going to l’drosh, to seek out the meaning of the pain she was experiencing. L’drosh is the root for midrash, to seek out the meaning of the text and Beit Midrash, a House of Study. (Ironically, the Arabic midrasha are the Muslim house of studies) Arabic and Hebrew are very related languages. That’s a very important point as the war continues in Gaza and now Syria and other flashpoints.
Rebecca is told that there are two children in her womb. Twins. Jacob and Esau. Esau and Jacob. The next generation.
In the old world, the first born (male) inherited everything. Jacob tricked Esau out of his birthright. (Oh, for a pot of lentil stew on this cold morning. Some year we will do that again. Don’t worry, I have the perfect recipe!) Then he tricked Isaac into giving him the blessing meant for Esau
The portion ends with a blessing or two. Not the ones you expect. Then a search for wives for both Jacob and Esau.
It makes us ask questions about our own lives today. What is it we want to pass down to our children and grandchildren. What are the blessings do we want them to receive? For me, even in these crazy times being Jewish, being part of this covenant that Rebecca preserved by passing it down to Jacob is a blessing. It is what gives my life meaning. What are the values that are so important that we want our children and children to be Jewish? Is it just who they pick to marry? How do we ensure that the covenant continues?
I’m currently reading Rabbi Michael Strassfeld’s book Disrupted Judaism. You may recognize his name from his history with the Jewish Catalogs. That was another period where it seemed Judaism was on the cusp of changing from one generation to the next. Then the leaders of what became known as the chavurah movement wanted what they called “do-it-yourself Judaism.” It was less top down, more sit around and discuss, make a challah, learn to meditate, to lead services. It was started at Havurat Shalom, a stone’s throw from Tufts and I enjoyed many pleasant Shabbat mornings there.
Strassfeld believes our emphasis on mitzvot, those obligations commanded by G-d are not quite the pillars to keep Judaism and our people together. Yet they still have power for us as individuals and as a community. This may become our next big book together. After an important introduction about what is the contemporary challenge we face, he outlines 11 core principles:
- Created in the Image of G-d
- Living in a moral universe
- Living with awareness
- Engaging in Social Justice
- Finding holiness everywhere
- Caring for the planet
- Wrestling with G-d
- Working on our inner qualities
- Turning and returning teshuvah
- Being a life long learner
- Living in an open society
All of these he backs with significant Jewish texts. Torah, Talmud, Midrash. Codes. It feels very familiar and very real.
Art Green, a contemporary and friend of Strassfeld, wrote a similar book. Judaism’s 10 Best Ideas, a brief guide for seekers:
Chap. 1: Simchah – Joy: Happiness as a Religious Precept.
Chap. 2: Tzelem Elohim – Created in God’s Image.
Chap. 3: Halakhah – Walking the Path: A Community of Doers
Chap. 4: Tikkun Olam – Repairing the World: Being God’s Partner to improve the world. To heal the world.
Chap. 5: Shabbat – Getting Off the Treadmill: Take a breath! Take a break. Much as Israel has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept Israel. Ahad Ha’am.
Chap. 6: Teshuvah – Returning: Faith in Human Change
Chap. 7: Torah – The People and the Book: Text and Interpretation
Chap. 8: Talmud Torah – “Teach Them to Your Children”
Chap. 9: L’Hayyim – To Life!: Accepting Death, Affirming Life
Chap. 10: Ehad – Hear O Israel: There Is Only One.
This is not a new game. In fact, it is a very old game. 613 commandments are a lot. How do we boil them down to something more manageable. The Talmud in Makot 23b-24a does just that.
David came and reduced them to eleven – as it is written (in Psalm 15): Micah (6:8) came and reduced them to three, as it is written: ‘[The Eternal] has told you, what is good, and what the Eternal requires of you: only to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’…Then came Isaiah (56:1) and reduced them to two, as it is said: ‘Thus says the Eternal: ‘Observe justice and do righteousness.’ Amos (5:4) came and reduced them to one, as it is said: ‘For thus says the Eternal to the house of Israel, Seek Me and live.’ … Habakkuk (2:4) then came and based them all on one [principle], as it is said: ‘the righteous shall live by their faith.’
It ends with just one commandment from the prophet Habbakuk, “Live by Faith.”
Surprised? You know that we Jews debate everything even across the generations. You might be remembering the famous story of Hillel and Shammai, when someone knocks on Shammai’s, Beit Midrash and says he will convert to Judaism if Shammai will teach him everything about Judaism while standing on one foot. Shammai sends him away. Not very welcoming! The convert then goes to Hillel’s House of Study. He poses the same question. Hillel responds: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary—go and study!”
Rabbi Akiva said “This is a great principle of the Torah: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). (Bereshit Rabbah 24:7)
Maimonides has his 13 principles of faith. Edmund Flegg wrote his “I am a Jew”
When I study with our students and their parents, or people who are looking at Judaism seriously with an eye toward conversion, I think my list would include a blend of these. There is a lot of overlap between these core principles.
Our vision statement:
- Lifelong learning, it is definitely on Strassfeld’s list and Green’s. Asking good questions. Reading, studying, learning. Education is clearly a Jewish value. Teach your children diligently. But not just our children. All of us are obligated to keep learning.
- Meaningful observance links with Strassfeld’s living with awareness and finding holiness everywhere and Green’s concept of halakah, walking the path.
- Building community for me this is what it is all about. From here we can wrestle with it all, we can l’derosh, seek out meaning.
- Embracing diversity may relate to live in an open society
But my list would also include:
- Tikkun olam, Repair the world. Tzedek tzedek tirdorf, Justice, justice shall you pursue
- Seek peace and pursue it
- Be kind, embrace chesed, lovingkindness
- Love the widow, the orphan and the stranger, the most marginalized amongst us
- Just show up
- Do the right thing
This is my list. The way I hope I live my life, day in and day out. Informed by Jewish tradition. It gives my life meaning. What is on your list?
Why is this important today? With today’s portion?
Our parsha ends with both Jacob and Esau no longer in their father’s house, each going to seek out a wife. Neither reconciled with each other. The sibling rivalry in this portion is legendary and an example of how to not to parent. How not to pit one child against the other. Harold Kushner’s book, How Good Do We Have to Be makes the point that there is enough love to go around. What a different world it would be if Rebecca had treated Esau differently.
Rebecca wasn’t sure she trusted G-d enough (I wrote a master’s thesis on this!) She made sure to manipulate the process so that the covenant got passed down to the right one, to her beloved Jacob. He became the inheritor of the covenant which he then passed down to the 12 tribes and the rest, as they say is history.
Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. (Pirke Avot 1:1). We are the inheritors of this precious legacy.
The question, then, is how do we make this relevant and meaningful to our children that they want to be part of the community and not run away like Jacob and Esau. If it is about creating meaning in life, how do we help our children create that meaning for themselves and for their children? How do we create meaning for ourselves and our descendants?
Be kind. Be thoughtful. Be caring. Be grateful. Make the world a better place. One corner of the world at a time.