CANTOR’S CORNER

Cantor Eyal Bitton shares a few thoughts on prayer and the parasha of the week.

2023-07-22 Parashat Devarim

“What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation of this—go and study it!”

This was Rabbi Hillel’s answer when asked by someone considering converting to Judaism to relate the entirety of the Torah while on one foot (Shabbat 31a). While it is common to focus on the first part of Hillel’s answer, the second part is equally important. The first part conveys an ethical imperative that is both beautiful and passive. The second part conveys the idea that one must take action; we must actively pursue the study of Torah and the study of the teachings of our tradition.

The pursuit of Jewishness is not just about the acquisition of knowledge and information, but it is a journey of self-discovery and connection to our roots. During the Torah service, we sing, “Ki miTziyon tetze Torah“, “Torah shall go forth from Zion, and the word of God from Jerusalem.” This prayer draws inspiration from the words of the prophet Isaiah who, in Isaiah 2:3, encourages us to seek instruction in the ways of God by going up to the Mount of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob. A few words before “Ki miTziyon tetze Torah,” the emphasis on individual pursuit of Torah is underscored: “Come, let us go up to the Mount of the Lord… that He may instruct us in His ways.” To be instructed in Torah, we must “go up”; we must take action to pursue it.

The pursuit of Jewishness is not just about following religious rituals but is about building meaningful relationships and creating a sense of belonging to a community. It is about creating a shared vision and purpose, based on Jewish values such as compassion, justice, and mutual respect.

To pursue Jewishness, we must actively seek out Torah and immerse ourselves in Jewish culture and tradition. It is not just about acquiring knowledge but actively participating in the culture, language, and customs of the Jewish people. To be fully immersed in our Jewishness, we must also connect to the land of Israel, the national home of the Jewish people, and develop a sense of pride in our Jewish identity. The connection to Israel as the Jewish homeland and as the geographic center of Jewish identity can be physical but it can also be symbolic, spiritual, or ideological.

The famous line in the Torah service, “Ki miTziyon tetze Torah,” reminds us that the pursuit of Jewishness is an active journey that requires engagement and commitment. We cannot passively receive Torah; we must seek it out actively.

In the parasha we read on Shabbat, Deuteronomy 4:9, Moses reminds the Israelites of the importance of actively remembering their experiences and their history as a people. It is not enough to simply passively absorb knowledge; we must actively engage with it and pass it on to future generations. He says to the Israelites, “But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously, so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes and so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. And make them known to your children and to your children’s children.”

Similarly, in pursuing Jewishness, we must actively engage with our history, our culture, and our traditions. We must not forget where we come from and the experiences that have shaped us as a people. And just as Moses urges the Israelites to pass on their knowledge to future generations, we must also actively transmit our Jewish identity, culture, and traditions to our children and future generations.

In this way, the pursuit of Jewishness is not just a personal journey, but it is also a collective responsibility to preserve and transmit our cultural heritage to future generations. As we actively engage with our history, culture, and traditions, as we actively pursue our religious texts and our historic connection to the land of Israel, we strengthen our sense of belonging and connection to the Jewish people and to our very identity.