Dear Hevreh,

As we come out of a holiday full of meaningful Torah learning, I am reminded that no matter how enjoyable, how meaningful, or how special Torah learning can be it is not always easy to find the time to continue our learning. The blessing we are supposed to recite before learning Torah — Barukh Attah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh Ha-Olam Asher Kid’shanu B’mitzvotav V’tzivanu La-asok B’divrei Torah (Blessed Are You God King of the Universe Who Has Sanctified Us with Your Commandments and Commanded Us To Busy Ourselves With the Words of Torah) — teaches us that like any business or occupation, Torah learning needs our time and effort.

Yet, how often do we actually busy ourselves with Torah? If we’re lucky, then holidays like Shavuot or weekly opportunities like Shabbat bring Torah back into our lives. But for many of us, the last time we really “busied” ourselves with Torah (like we busy ourselves with work) was when we were learning for our b’nei mitzvah, when we would show our family, our friends, and our community that we’ve attained a certain level of proficiency in our Jewish studies. But a bar or bat mitzvah is not meant to be the last time we busy ourselves with Torah learning rather it is meant to be the moment we accept the command to make Torah part of our busy lives. Perhaps in expanding the meaning of Torah beyond just the written Torah or the teachings of our rabbis to include the stories of our lives we can find more opportunities to busy ourselves with Torah than we thought possible before. So as we celebrate this Shabbat and share in the bat mitzvah of Jordan Levy (10 am in the sanctuary) through our partnership with Cantor Avima Rudavsky’s Hebrew Corner, let us recall that moment when we first received an aliyah to the Torah, proclaiming the Torah as our birthright, and accepting the command to always busy ourselves with its words.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Ari Saks

P.S. Please stay tuned for updates on tonight’s Family Shabbat. We may not be having a Family Shabbat program, but services will REMAIN at 6:30 pm regardless!

Category : Bar and Bat Mitzvah Bar Mitzvah Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat Shavuot
Tag : avima darnov bar and bat mitzvah hebrew corner partnership rabbi rabbi's journal rabbis shabbat shavuot torah