CCAR News - May 2008 - (Page 5) Voices of Torah Korach (Alan Cook) Eric Moussambani is not exactly a household name. He is from Equatorial Guinea, and in the 2000 Olympic games he competed in the 100 meter freestyle race. Eric had learned to swim just nine months prior to the race. He had never before seen a swimming pool, having trained in rivers near his home. Because he was admitted in a “wild card” slot, he never had to swim a qualifying round. Several times during the event, he struggled, believing that he was drowning. Eric did not win. In fact, he had the slowest recorded time in an Olympic heat, one minute and fifty-two seconds. But the fact that he completed the race is itself a victory. It shows us that miracles still do occur, though it may be difficult for us to recognize them. Korach is full of miraculous occurrences: the ground opens and swallows the rebels alive; their followers are consumed in a sudden firestorm; and Aaron’s staff produces flowers, while the others remain unchanged. These miracles are bold. They disrupt the natural order, grabbing the attention of those who witness them. Yet, in the post-Biblical world, we do not see evidence of such earth-shattering events. We might even ask whether miracles of this scope do- or ever did- occur. Just as we struggle with this question, so did our sages. The Talmud notes that “Miracles do not take place on the hour.” Years later, philosopher Franz Rosenzweig took a different approach: “Every miracle can be explained — after the event. Every miracle is possible, even the most absurd…In fact nothing is miraculous about a miracle except that it comes when it does.” God, we pray that You will open our eyes so that we may recognize the miracles that You perform on our behalf every day. Shavuot (Amy Scheinerman) Torah records that when he descended Har Sinai Moshe went and repeated to the people all the commands of the Lord and all the rules; and all the people answered with one voice, saying, “All the things that the Lord has commanded we will do!” (Ex. 24:3) The brit was complete when the people accepted God’s Torah and committed themselves to its instructions. Moshe then sets up an altar at the foot of the mountain, erects twelve pillars, and performs sacrifices of well-being. Moshe reads the Torah aloud to the assembled throng, and then Torah tells us in verse 7: [the people] said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will faithfully do!” Are the Israelites accepting another Torah? For the Rabbis, of course, this marked the acceptance of both Torah she’bikhtav and Torah she-b’al peh. Is there another way to understand this? Perhaps the meaning is that Torah lives in our hearts and souls in two ways: we accept Torah as the tradition handed down by our parents and ancestors. It is an inheritance from the generations that came before. We study their commentaries, explore the meaning they ascribe to Torah, and participate in the life of the people that calls Torah its core: All the things that the Lord has commanded we will do! But there is another way that Torah must live in our hearts and souls in order to be truly alive: we must discover our own interpretations and meaning. Revelation is on-going. Those assembled at Har Sinai were the first generation, but in order to link ourselves to the chain we must allow Torah to percolate through our lives and bring meaning to our experiences in, and of, the world. That is why the Torah had to pass through oznei ha-am and they responded na’aseh v’nishmah: they internalized Torah and made it their own—not only as a people, a generation, but each individually, as well, and not only to do but also to hear meaning, to take it into their hearts and allow it to beget meaning in their unique lives. 5
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