Can You Spare Some Change

Tis the season for graduations and tis the week for graduating into our new selves. We have “arrived” at the week prior to the holiday of Shavuot (the week of Malchut) which commences on Saturday night—our commencement address at Mount Sinai was the Ten Commandments.
Many a commencement speaker this week will focus their comments on graduation as a beginning and not an ending. So it is for our “change”—it is a beginning, not an ending. Change is only as lasting as the commitment to see it through and stick with it. And change begets more change.
For the Jewish people this change has now lasted for three thousand three hundred and twenty four years. As with the Jewish people and its Torah, nothing remains static. We as a people have changed and the Torah has changed.
I finished teaching a mini-series class at Temple Emanuel about the concept of a New Torah that will be taught by the Messiah. I alluded to the participants in the class that it would be reasonable to understand that the Torah has undergone change—even if we assert that every letter and word in the Torah is from Sinai. A purist might say that if the words are the same then nothing has changed. Our relationship though to the Torah text has most certainly changed, whatever Jewish denomination we fancy ourselves to be a part of. Two examples will suffice: no bigamy, no slaves. The Torah law does not prohibit either but this was changed to reflect new sensitivities. Interestingly, changes that Reform Judaism made in the 19th and 20th centuries are now being reconsidered for inclusion within Reform’s ‘new’ understanding of Jewish commitment (and even using the word Jewish obligation).
So how is my change going? I will give a full report next week—but also consider this: What will my and your change look like in 324 days (not three millennium and so many years) from now. This is the beauty of the tradition that we count 49 days of the Omer and the 50th day counts itself. If we commit to and follow through on change—change will start counting itself.

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts

Sunlight Sea

All Endings are Also Beginnings

by Melanie Gruenwald A Primer on Holding Opposites   Today we concluded our Kabbalah of Mitch Albom class with a teaching he shares in both The Five People You’ll Meet in Heaven and The Next

Photo of man standing by broken glass and yahrzeit candles Kristallnacht (Created by starrai)

Clear as Kristallnacht

by Dr. David Sanders The world I knew, the one I counted on, turned upside down in the aftermath of the genocidal attack on Jews who were residents or just visiting near the Israel-Gaza border

sunset with adam and eve in israel order of the world starr.ai

This is the Order of the World

The Sages taught: On the day that Adam the first man was created, when the sun set upon him he said: Woe is me, as because I sinned, the world is becoming dark around me,

Israeli soldier on a kibbutz, created by starryai.com

October Lamentation

by Dr. David Sanders For these things do I weep, My eyes, my eyes, flow with tears Far from me is any comforter Who might revive my spirit My children are forlorn, For the foe

are you paying attn

Pay Attention!

by Melanie Gruenwald This semester, I am teaching the Base Awareness and Kabbalah of Mitch Albom classes for Kabbalah Experience. I always love to see how classes overlap. (Paying attention to what’s showing up definitely