Part of the Scientists and the Synagogue grant:
Va’etchanan: Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11
Parsha Summary:
This is BiG, this is really, really BIG. This Torah portion has the repetition of the 10 Commandments. Well almost, There are a couple of key differences. And then the Sh’ma and V’ahavta. The watchword of our faith. The proclamation that G-d is One. Something we are witness everything we say it.
This week in our synagogue service, our Bar Mitzvah proclaimed, called out, read the Sh’ma from the scroll itself. What a thrilling moment.
Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One.
Listen up folks. G-d is the only G-d; there is no other. The Israelites have been told that over and over again. All the way back to when G-d was more powerful than Pharaoh. They have seen G-d’s might displayed. The 10 plagues. The Exodus. The parting of the sea. The quaking of Sinai. But this is the new generation.
Earlier the Israelites had promised that they would do and they would hear. How could they promise to do something before they knew what they were promising?
The rabbis in the Talmud teach a couple of interesting things about this verse. We are commanded to recited the Sh’ma twice a day. These very words. When we lie down up and when we rise up. The rabbis wonder whether it counts if we read the words out of the scroll. The answer is no. You have to intend to say them, not just read them. They also teach that your ears have to hear what your mouth is saying.
The Sh’ma is so important that in order to have the right intention, the right kavanah, you need to really hear it. This notion fits within the context of the therapeutic relationship. Psychologists know that by saying something out loud, then it becomes more concrete, more real.
That raises questions about what happens if someone cannot hear. We are told we should not put a stumbling block before the blind or curse the deaf. (Lev. 19) But living with someone who lost his hearing, or most of it, while undergoing chemotherapy, it can be very frustrating.
Ultimately the question here becomes how do we hear? How do we listen? How do we obey? Scientifically, here is a great TED Talk to explain it: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-science-of-hearing-douglas-l-oliver
The good news is that we understand so much more about hearing than ever before AND the technology for helping hearing impaired people has improved so much. This is clearly a time to be grateful for the scientists and all their work on this topic.
Table Topics:
- What does it mean to hear?
- Why does the Exodus version of the 10 Commandments say “Remember the Sabbath” and this version say “Keep” (Or guard or watch)? What is the difference? Is there a difference?
- How do you show that you love G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might/being, all your everything?
- How can G-d command an emotion?
Labs at Home:
- Materials:
- Plastic wrap
- Container with wide opening
- Uncooked rice (any other small grain will work)
- Tin cookie sheet (or other noise maker)
It’s easy to make a model of the eardrum (also called the “tympanic membrane”) and see how sound travels through the air. Just stretch a piece of plastic wrap over a large bowl or pot (any container with a wide opening will work). Make sure the plastic wrap is stretched tightly over the container. The plastic represents the eardrum. Place about 20-30 grains of uncooked rice on the top of the plastic wrap. Now you need a noise maker. A tin cookie sheet or baking tray works well. Hold the cookie sheet close to the plastic wrap. Hit the cookie sheet to create a “big bang” noise and watch the rice grains jump.
The “big bang” produces sound waves (changes in air pressure) that cause the plastic sheet to vibrate which causes the rice grains to move. Sound waves vibrate the eardrum in much the same way.
2. Play the game telephone. Sit in a circle. Someone starts by whispering a sentence to the person next to them. That person whispers what they heard or think they heard to the person next to them and so on until it gets back to the person who started. See how the sentence changed.
Act of Kindness:
Help someone go to an audiologist to get a hearing test. See how the Lions Club makes a difference in vision and hearing in your community.
Song:
Check out this version of the Sh’ma done in sign language.