Thursday, August 26, 2010
This week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, begins with a text that is familiar to anyone who has attended a traditional Passover Seder. After instructing us to we put the first fruits of the harvest in a basket and bring it to the priest, the Torah commands that we say: "My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation."
This summary of our history is a wonderful example of "remembering." Jewish tradition understands that the process of telling and retelling the stories of our past shapes our identities at least as powerfully as the events themselves did (sometimes, more!). This portion teaches us it matters that we remember to tell our story and it matters how we choose to tell our story. For, as the Baal Shem Tov taught: "In remembrance is the secret of redemption."
Think of a significant event in your life. As you told the story of that experience to various friends and family members, your interpretation of that event began to take shape. Repeating the same details and even using some of the same words/phrases, you eventually found a way of telling the story that helped you make sense of your past.
Let’s think a few days ahead. Rosh Hashanah is called Yom Ha'zikaron (Day of Remembering). In one sense, Rosh Hashanah is all about remembering. We gather in community to tell ourselves, once again, our story. In so doing (even when that story is painful), we regain our sense of where we are and where we're going, based on our understanding of where we've been. That may be among the most profound meanings of "teshuvah" — repentance/turning back. So, it matters greatly that we remember to tell our stories and it matters even more how we choose to tell them. Without them, we are often lost. On Rosh Hashanah and as we prepare for the holidays, we remember to remember.
on another note.....Here is a bit about the movie we are screening on Selichot.
http://www.godinthebox.com/
This summary of our history is a wonderful example of "remembering." Jewish tradition understands that the process of telling and retelling the stories of our past shapes our identities at least as powerfully as the events themselves did (sometimes, more!). This portion teaches us it matters that we remember to tell our story and it matters how we choose to tell our story. For, as the Baal Shem Tov taught: "In remembrance is the secret of redemption."
Think of a significant event in your life. As you told the story of that experience to various friends and family members, your interpretation of that event began to take shape. Repeating the same details and even using some of the same words/phrases, you eventually found a way of telling the story that helped you make sense of your past.
Let’s think a few days ahead. Rosh Hashanah is called Yom Ha'zikaron (Day of Remembering). In one sense, Rosh Hashanah is all about remembering. We gather in community to tell ourselves, once again, our story. In so doing (even when that story is painful), we regain our sense of where we are and where we're going, based on our understanding of where we've been. That may be among the most profound meanings of "teshuvah" — repentance/turning back. So, it matters greatly that we remember to tell our stories and it matters even more how we choose to tell them. Without them, we are often lost. On Rosh Hashanah and as we prepare for the holidays, we remember to remember.
on another note.....Here is a bit about the movie we are screening on Selichot.
http://www.godinthebox.com/
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