תשפ׳׳ב,ראש השנה Rosh HaShanah, 5782
תורת רושל זל Reflections on Education by RZJHS Graduating Seniors
The Torah of Rochelle Zell
Contents
• Entertained............................................................6 Maya Resnick, RZJHS 2021
• Introduction Rabbi Zachary Silver........................................2
• Learning: Eternal and Universal.....................7 Victoria Warady, RZJHS 2021
• Necessary Change.............................................3 Naomi Scholder, RZJHS 2021
• With Wind’s Guidance ......................................8 Jake Geiringer, RZJHS 2021
• Strength and Learning through Adversity ............................................4 Noa Vaisler, RZJHS 2021 • Profound Blessings...........................................5 Lily Katz, RZJHS 2021 The global pandemic offered each of us the opportunity to evaluate and reevalutate how we approach core matters that are important to us. How do we relate to the world as Jews? As humans? What matters existentially? This is true, of education, as well. While each year our seniors read Rabbi Abraham Joshua’ Heschel’s essay, “Children and Youth,” this year’s reading and conversation of Heschel’s influential essay on education felt particularly important in the context of our global condition. What are the ideas and dispositions that we hope to cultivate in our students? Heschel offered this speech to the White House Conference on Children and Youth in 1960 and the words feel even more urgent today than they did over fifty years ago. In the work, Heschel speaks to the commodification of education, of teaching toward employment, rather than toward an understanding of self, “reverance for the sublime in human existence,” “loyalty to a heritage,” or “an awareness of the transcendance of living.” He stresses how the speed of the age and the obsession with power are overwhelming our most basic sense of self. He notes that basic conversation is disappearing.
• How Long is the Road....................................10 Amitai Vales, RZJHS 2021 • To My Loving Grandmother ()בעברית.........11 Shiraz Ostroff, RZJHS 2021 Cover Art by Aya Moller, RZJHS 2022 The prose, poetry, and art in this High Holiday Supplement offers a taste of the education at RZJHS, a glimpse at how our classrooms reach toward Heschel’s vision of transcendent education and meaning, of conversation and deep connection between people, individuals and the text, and introspection about a life of faith. The pieces in this collection come from the final reflection in Dr. Rebecca Schorsch’s 2021 Modern Jewish Thought class. For the assignment, Dr. Schorsch offered several opportunities to explore the class’s curriculum, across multiple media. These included the opportunity to write a letter to a loved one, a graduation speech, or to explore students’ perspectives on education writ large, particularly stemming from their own experiences. There are so many striking aspects of these pieces — and these are but a sampling of the work that should be featured. These texts shine because of their close reading of the texts and synthesis of multiple texts to create new meaning. But they also model what is at the heart of Heschel’s timeless piece — deep empathy and compassion for those around them, honesty with self, and vulnerablility even in a very public forum.
During the final service of Yom Kippur, the Neilah liturgy As you will see from these reflections, Heschel’s poetic offers the following questions; “What are we? What is the prose deeply resonates with our students. How is the spir- meaning of our existence? Our power? Our goodness?” it of our age, which has accelarated exponentially since These readings serve as a model for how to explore these Heschel wrote this piece, affecting our teenagers? And in core questions of our lives, leading with empathy, vulturn, how do we foster a classroom which in many ways nerability, and deep care. As always, our students are our is countercultural? greatest teachers. 2
תורת רושל זל
Necessary Change Naomi Scholder, RZJHS 2021 “Important is the premise that a life unexamined is not worth living.” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Children and Youth” Scheduled. I sit at my desk each night repeating the same cycle I have done for the last four years of high school, three years of middle school, and six years of elementary school. I come home, whether it be from a typical day of school, sports practice or game, or hanging out with friends, catch up with my parents, have a snack or meal, and return to my desk to slave over work. Habitual. With my house sitting in a cul-desac and the windows in my room facing the middle of it, I have grown accustomed to staring at the house across the street and the oasis of three large pine trees that all the houses encompass. I watch birds and squirrels come and go from tree to tree, snow melt, and leaves blow away. Everything runs smoothly following the same cycle it does every year. Nothing changes, but everyone and everything around me grows. Clockwork. Or so I thought. In my sixteen years of living in my current home, my desk and the windows above it have served as a source of comfort and stability. The three large pine trees as a constant, chalked full of memories from my childhood– hours spent playing within them, feeding baby bunnies each spring. The seasons change, I grow older each year, neighbors come and go. The view from my desk changes with the season, changes with me, and witnesses neighbors new and old. Distress. Seven in the morning. Electric saws and chipper shredders blaring. Blinds up, I sit at my desk, “not merely silenced but overwhelmed” (The Book of Job, translated by Raymond Scheindlin). The three large pine trees I have watched every day for sixteen years, stripped of life and shredded. My “philosophy of life affects the whole tenor and quality of his [my] conduct” (Louis Jacobs, “Faith”).
Haley Rudnick, RZJHS ’22, “Nature’s Adventure” My philosophy of life centered around a regimented routine. One day there, the next not. Stagnant. Years of routine. In four months I leave for college. “There are times when defeat is all we face, when horror is all that faith must bear” (Heschel, “The Hiding God”). I had accounted for growth, not for change. And yet, faced with no other option, I am forced to adapt, change when change was least expected. Sitting at my desk, I look out my window, only to have my gaze met with a bare, stark oasis once so full of life. Mourning. It took the cutting down of trees to make me understand that comfort and habituation can lead to stagnation. That now being eighteen I was no longer a child. That not only my roles and responsibilities as defined by the government have changed, but also to myself. I was “not merely silenced but overwhelmed. He [I] recants his [my] protests and at last accepts the consolation for the dust and ashes he has [I have] lost” (The Book of Job). See Scholder, page 16 3
The Torah of Rochelle Zell
Strength and Learning Through Adversity Noa Vaisler, RZJHS 2021
No to his own self. We teach him how to adjust to the public, we do not teach him how to cultivate privacy” (“Children and Youth”). Without learning about our own selves, Heschel notes that “modern man believes that the world is indebted to him, that society is charged with duties toward him” (“Children and Youth”). But the second that man is faced with a challenge (because alas it is the inevitability of life), he/she is paralyzed in a way that prevents them from overcoming and continuing on with life. This paralysis happens when one never receives the opportunity to learn how to look at the world through their own unique lenses, and how to not let adversities cripple them. David Foster Wallace in his famous 2005 Kenyon graduation address says that “The only thing that’s capital-T true is that you get to decide how you’re gonna try to see [things]. This, I submit, is the freedom of real education, of learning how to be well-adjusted.”. Hence, that is the problem, we are all taught to conform rather than learn about our own selves.
As I have endured the difficulties and the pleasantries of being a high school student, the person that I started as four years ago cannot compare to the person that is writing this letter to you today. Through this journey of learning to deal with the struggles of adolescence and being forced to confront my true self, what I have gained from those experiences is what made me who I am today. Through classes like MJT and through the difficulties I have endured, I was able to learn about myself. I was able to learn how to think, and how to express myself in a world full of conformity and sameness. Wise people such as Abraham Joshua Heschel, David Foster Wallace, and commentaries on the book of Job, have forced me to deal with questions and ideas that are not so nice to confront. However, through their writing and through my own experience of becoming my own self, I While there may be a universal rulebook on how to have come to understand the significance of self-aware- function in society when life goes as planned, there is no universal rulebook on how to overcome adversity ness as a key to facing adversity. when life challenges us. With Job, for example, a moral What does self-awareness mean, you might ask? Well, and normal man endures the challenges and the unfairaccording to the Oxford Dictionary, it means the “con- ness that life poses. While his friends are the ones that scious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, mo- tell him how he had had to sin in order for his suffering, tives, and desires”. But what if it is more to that? What Job cannot bear to see that as the truth. See Vaisler, page 12 if it is the solution to difficulty, conformity, and overall becoming a better self?
In today’s world, man’s obsession with power and disinterest in living as one’s own unique being stems from the inability to teach children basic human qualities and about themselves. I have also noticed that the world and our education emphasize efficiency and knowledge when no one is even concerned about each person’s individuality. As Heschel says in his essay “Children and Youth,” “We prepare the pupil for employment, for holding a job. We do not teach him how to be a person, how to resist conformity, how to grow inwardly, how to say 4
Naomi Sendlin, RZJHS ’23, “Treye”
תורת רושל זל
Profound Blessings Lily Katz, RZJHS 2021
Art by Ellie Ousley, RZJHS 2022 “YOLO” is the term my peers and I use to express the statement, “You only live once.” This is indeed true; however, it's odd. We make such an effort to create the most fulfilling life for ourselves as possible, but in the grand scheme, we live an average of 79 years, as less than a speck, on an earth which is surrounded by planets, galaxies, and black holes. I feel the pressures of my smallness constantly. I am just one in a number of millions. In the small time I have, why does it matter that I put a comma in the correct place? Why should I turn my homework in? When taking an approach to life, we could take the road of, “Eh, it will be over soon, why work so hard on it?” If I went down this crazy hole and continued my rant, I would be in bed all day, unproductively watching TV, because sometimes man-made society caves in on me. Or we could do our best to spend every day furthering our lives in a way that will benefit us most. We are basically zilch, yet we are so much. We are “born from dust, but we are living in the image of G-d. We have the ability to expand our little value to reach toward G-d’s transcendence.” (Jeremy Kalmanofsky, “Cosmic Theology and Earthly Religion”). Although we benefited from the extremely helpful efforts of Rochelle Zell and our families, this year could have easily pushed us to stop working as hard as we have been to succeed. We have had the option to become indifferent this year. Indifferent to the families and minorities struggling during these Covid times, and the BLM movement. So, why keep going? Why keep pushing ourselves to be our best? We keep
going because we have a responsibility to recognize the abundant world we live in and also acknowledge the weakened parts of our society because of racism and our lack of focus on the special parts of humanity. Buildings, smoke pollution, pipes, and chimneys are my view when I wake up in the morning. Society has mechanized an earth that was once filled only with streams, trees, and animals. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heshel writes, “What is the spirit of the age? It is, I believe, the instrumentalization of the world, the instrumentalization of man, the instrumentalization of all values” (“Children and Youth”). Life, no matter how small, has so much goodness to offer and we have put aside the richness of life to make sure we complete today by checking off every little thing on our lists. In the book of Job, G-d expresses the intention He put into every detail when creating the earth. After a treacherous journey, Job is able to accept his own smallness by understanding the world’s enormity. “Job is given no reason for his suffering, no explanation of his children’s deaths or his own affliction. Rather he is shown the magnificence of God’s universe, the great and wondrous creatures that extend far beyond human reach or human understanding. He is shown that the human world is but an infinitesimal part of his universe, one far too vast and too magnificent to be embraced by the mind of mortals. It is in seeing this, and realizing both his own smallness and his own place within a vast and glorious cosmos, that God’s challenger finds consolation” (Arthur Green, Seek My Face). See Katz, page 14 5
The Torah of Rochelle Zell
Art and Reflection by Maya Resnick, RZJHS 2021
The man in my drawing represents the product of a factory-like, systematic education that prepared him “Sensitivity is a luxury, but entertainment is for the financial and career successes that have become central in our society. This man is not fully human, becoming a compulsion.” rather he has become a cog in the grand societal wheel, devoid of all individuality. “We prepare the pupil for Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, employment, for holding a job. We do not teach him “Children and Youth” how to be a person, how to resist conformity, how to grow inwardly, how to say No to his own self.” His suit In my art piece, entitled “Entertained,” I attempted to represents his white collar status and his ability to conportray the power of entertainment to mute our inter- form to the demands of a 9 to 5 job. It’s monocolored nal monologue and capacity for self exploration, replac- nature represents the dullness and lack of originality in ing our thoughts with borrowed words. In Dr. Heschel’s his life. This man has become a commodity. article “Children and Youth,” he focuses on the ways modern society and education “smother man’s sense Where his head should be is a television, the screen, statof wonder and mystery.” We are instead programmed ic, as one might look when there is no connection. Along from a young age to view knowledge and learning as the top of the screen is the word “Entertained.” This man stepping stones in the pursuit of power, as means to an lacks any connection to his spiritual self, and any sense end. Instead of developing our own ideas and simply of originality and wonder is muffled by the ever-present existing with our thoughts, however uncomfortable droning of the television. His inner man is in a state of they might be, we keep our minds occupied with the oblivion, his soul, dormant. Heschel notes that neglect of numbing power of entertainment. In the words of Hes- “our inner man” is a likely outcome from constant enterchel: “Conversation is disappearing; watching television tainment and mindless stimulation. substitutes for expression of ideas.” See Resnick, page 13 6
תורת רושל זל
Learning: Eternal and Universal Art and Reflection
by Victoria Warady, RZJHS 2021 I really love Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s opinions regarding learning, as well as the prosaic language he utilizes to communicate his thoughts. His words themselves are art. As a result, I incorporated the quotation from Heschel’s “Children and Youth” into my work:
“True learning is a way of relating oneself to something which is both eternal and universal.” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Children and Youth” I largely based my work upon his idea that learning is transcendence, that a lifelong quest for knowledge as the end and not the means would surpass any preconceived boundaries. I represented the idea of the eternal and universal nature of such knowledge with the spiraling line from the book that leads up to the colorful sky, representing the possibilities learning can provide. Heschel discusses the importance of properly educating the younger generations, and I demonstrated that through the child within the piece. The child’s quest for knowledge allows him to reach up for the stars. I wanted the child to remain a silhouette so that he could remain anonymous and representative of anyone; so any individual could put themselves in his place. He is a small yet noticeable figure within the entirety of the work, representing the vastness of our universe, and how small we are while still emphasizing our importance and potential to change the world.
connect with the larger universe around me in ways I never thought possible. Now, saying things that can be considered “meaningful,” or “profound” has always been easy (and I hesitate to say “easy” because I feel like that sounds pretentious and egotistical, but it is the best word I can think of at the moment) for me. but I have always found deeply personal reflection to daunting, scary, and difficult. But after Monday’s class, after hearing and seeing everyone’s amazing and touching work, I wanted to give it a try and take that leap of faith.
As I venture out into the world and begin my college journey, I wish to forever carry with me an uncondi- Modern Jewish Thought, and, more specifically, our study tional thirst for knowledge — not because of its possible of Job, honestly could not have come at a better time. In usefulness in any future endeavors, but simply because April of last year, I lost my uncle to COVID. See Warady, page 13 of a yearning to know more. In doing so, I can better 7
The Torah of Rochelle Zell
With Wind’s Guidance Jake Geiringer, RZJHS 2021
A minute seed Lays upon the gravel-ridden concrete, A seemingly worthless existence. For a tree cannot grow in a terrain unnurtured. Countless shoes trample over it, As eyes rarely meet its hopeful gaze. The occasional passing glance, Quickly dismissed with more pressing matters. On occasion, The wind gently uplifts the seed, Carrying it from one place to another, Yet it struggles to find sturdy ground on which to settle. The seed’s life is futile, Purposeless, Worthless. A storm erupts, Yet the sun’s brightness persists, As if a guardian angel is watching over. Immense rain, Thunder, Lightning, And, Of course, The unapologetic wind. This time,
However, The wind works in its favor. Through the violence of the storm, The seed has landed in a completely new setting. Above-head, The brightest rainbow the seed has ever witnessed. A slight divot in the soil upon which the seed has landed, Created by the shoes that have trampled through the terrain. A nice place for the seed to rest. At last, The seed is cemented. After some time, The nurturing environment has enabled the seed to establish roots: A foundation for which further growth is finally possible. For a tree without roots will surely fall, But roots without a tree leave infinite potential wasted. With more rain, Sunlight, And time, A tree begins to emerge out of the soil. Shoes slow down slightly as they see the supple plant, So little, Yet visible nonetheless. The wind sways the plant, Yet the roots ensure that the tiny sprout does not fall. See Geiringer, next page
“Man of the Woods” by Yabi Silvers, RZJHS 2022 8
תורת רושל זל Geiringer, from previous page Years go by, The tree continues to grow taller and taller. That helpless seed, Now turned to a gorgeous tree, Ornamented with fruit, Each continuing a multitude of seeds themselves. Endless potential created, As each seed’s capability is infinite. Despite the tree’s seemingly sky-scraping size, The wind continues to sway it. The branches move gently from side to side, The leaves rustle, Yet the tree remains sturdy. Passing shoes, Once blind to the little seed, Now stop in their tracks and admire this pulchritudinous feat of nature. Yet when the shoes glance at the fallen fruit, And the seeds, which have bursted to the ground, They ignore the possibilities of their future, Instead focusing on the impressive tree that exists before them.
“Ant’s View” by Basya Silverman, RZJHS 2022
Though the wind Will guide some seeds to such success, Many seeds are doomed to gravel-ridden concrete. Without the wind’s helping hands, These seeds prove futile. No matter the stage of a seed’s life, It is never too late to grow, If the wind guides it as so. As such, Each seed must be valued as if it can become a gorgeous tree. For if the wind learns to lead seeds into the ever-nuruting terrain, The Garden from which creation began can finally be restored. For once the shoes stroll through the infinite garden, Then they will understand the value of a mere seed. The seed is the ultimate vessel for growth, Why, then, is it so often trampled?
“Smoon” by Abby Singer, RZJHS 2024 9
The Torah of Rochelle Zell
How Long is the Road? Amitai Vales, RZJHS 2021
How long is the road Of one and one being alike? Where do the pebbles lay flat, And travel long down the hills of earth And sea And everything that is known? Where does the construction interfere? With bulldozers plowing, And construction workers With maps and plans Of the newfound landscape Soon to come They build their skyscrapers Because it’s all anyone can see. It’s what they are taught to love From the high windows They look down at the fading pavement “We’re building cities here now” They explain, And their minds are set. All while the road below Loses its strength And is pushed off the cliff. No net to catch its fall. Since when were roads Marked as “forbidden” or “wrong way”? I’m certain I know where I’m going, Thank you But no thank you. Since when have cities taken their place? Do you know? Do you? How about you, With that smirk of negligence? No takers? Your minds have drawn blank, For there is no scripture before you. It is all but a mess of this and that And stories and tales And wars and fights And politics and diplomacy And chaos and chaos 10
And chaos. Nothing is before us That has written itself in stone, So why do you try To read what is not there? Reasons upon reasons To cover up Your own fears of change That is not change at all But something that hasn’t crossed your mind To process in your needle thin Livelihood so far It’s not yours to define. It’s not yours to shape. Because its already in front of us. All your minds are allowed to do Is nod And understand That majority does not equal Superiority. Why build on top of the road, When you can build next to it? In fact, Why build at all When you can walk along it? Heartbeat to heartbeat To heartbeat.
“Time has come to revise the notion of adjustment to society as the preoccupation of the educational process. Many of the values and mores of our present-day society are imposed upon it by narrow-minded vested interests, and must not be regarded as sancta. The ideal of adjustment has resulted in unconditional conformity.”
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Children and Youth”
לסבתא היקרה To my loving grandmother
Art and Reflection by Shiraz Ostroff, RZJHS 2021 יכולת להבעת דעה .כיום ,אני מבינה ,שהדת נכפתה עלי ,ומכיוון ולא סבתא יקרה, היה לי מקום לחקור ולהביע את עצמי ,לא נוצר בי חיבור עם המקרא. בשיעור “החיפוש אחר חשיבה יהודית מודרנית” בבית ספרי ,נתבקשנו לאחר קריאת ספרו של בובר ,למדתי ,שמבלי לחפש משמעויות ,לשאול שאלות ,ולנסות להסיק מסקנות בחברותות או לבד ,קיים קושי להתחבר לכתוב עבודת גמר. לדברים שנכתבו לפני שנים רבות ,וכן קיים קושי להתחבר לטקסטים, המסכמת את הידע שצברנו במהלך השנה בשיעור זה .בחרתי לכתוב שנכתבו על ידי כותבים מנוסים המשקיעים את חייהם בכתיבה. לך מכתב ,המתמקד במספר רעיונות בהם דנו במהלך השנה .אני חשיבותה של דתיות פעילה (ולא הדת) ,מודגשת יודעת ,שלא אצליח לסכם הכל מאחר וקצרה היריעה מלהכיל את כל הידע והחשיבה שרכשנו במהלך השנה .חלק מהשיעור עוסק בתנ״ך .בשיעורי היהודית המודרנית .בשיעורים אלה לא הרגשתי שנקודת מבט גם בישראל למדתי תנ״ך ,אך חוויותי בשיעורי התנ״ך בתיכון רושל זל מסוימת נכפית עלי .אני מאמינה ,שחקר היהדות והכתיבה ,גרם לרגש להיווצר בתוכי .במקום להתרכז בדת מוכתבת ,דתיות פעילה נכנסה בשיקאגו שונות מאוד מחויותיי בשיעורי התנ”ך בארץ. לחיי ובכך חווית הלימודים שלי נעשתה אישית יותר ורגשית .קיבלתי את במשך השנה קראנו מבחר ספרים ומאמרים שנכתבו על ידי החוקר הכלי המאפשר לי לחקור ולנתח ,ואני מקווה ליישם אותו בהמשך דרכי. אני מאחלת לעצמי ,שהדתיות הפעילה שרכשתי ,תישאר חלק מחיי כדי והפילוסוף ,מעבד המעשיות שלא ארגיש את כפיית הדת עלי. והמחנך הישראלי יהודי-אוסטרי ,מרטין בובר (דרך אגב ,ישנו רחוב ,ליד ביתך בפתח תקוה ,הנקרא על שם “מרטין בובר”) .אחד זה כמה שנים שאני תוהה כיצד אפשר להאמין בנוכחותו של האלוהים מהקטעים אליו התחברתי במיוחד ,נלקח מתוך ספרו של בובר “על בחיינו כיום ,לאחר שהעם היהודי עבר את הזוועות השואה .השנה, יהדות” בפרק “דתיות יהודית ”.בפרק זה ,מתאר בובר שני מושגים; בשיעורי יהדות מודרנית ,קראנו פרשנויות שונות המציעות הסברים האחד הינו דתיות ,והשני הוא דת וכך כותב בובר :״דתיות משמעותה לנוכחותו או היעדרותו של אלוהים בזמן השואה .בתור נכדה גאה לסבתא פעילות .הכניסה הבסיסית למערכת יחסים עם המוחלט; דת משמעותה וסבא שורדי שואה ,התעניינתי מאוד בנושא זה .אני מרגישה שהיותי סבילות (פסיביות) ,קבלתה של פקודה״ (בובר ,דתיות יהודית) .במהלך נכדה לשורדי שואה ,הקשתה עלי מאוד לקבל פרשנויות שונות ,בדגש השיעורים בבית הספר ,חקרנו את ההבדל בין השניים והגענו למסקנה על פרשנויות אשר מנסות להצדיק את מניעי התנהגות האלוהים בזמן שמאחר והדת פסיבית ,אנו פשוט מקבלים את הנתון ,ומרגישים כפיה הטרגדיה הנוראית של העם היהודי .אני מאמינה שמכיוון שמשפחתינו של המערכת על האדם .לעומת זאת ,הדתיות נובעת מתוך רצון ליצור עברה את זוועות השואה ,אני ביקורתית מאוד כלפי אלוהים .אני נאבקת עם קבלתה של המחשבה ,שאלוהים איפשר לעמי ,ובפרט למשפחתי, מערכת יחסים עם אלוהים. לעבור סבל כה רב .אשתף אותך בכמה קטעים מהפרשנויות אליהן עוד בטרם התחלתי ללמוד תנ״ך בכיתה י״א ויהדות מודרנית בכיתה התחברתי יותר ואליהן התחברתי פחות. י״ב ,נתקשתי להתחבר ללימודי היהדות .קושי זה בא לידי ביטוי במיוחד כאשר קראתי טקסטים עתיקים שהרגישו לא רלוונטים בחיי היום שלי .בפילוסופיה שלו ,טוען אליעזר ברקוביץ“ :בעיית האמונה שמציגה עוד בלימודי בחטיבת הביניים ,במהלך לימודי התנ”ך ,לא הרגשתי השואה אינה ייחודית בהקשר למכלול החוויה היהודית” (ברקוביץ). ראה אוסטרוף ,עמ׳ 15 חיבור למקרא מאחר והשיעור כלל רצף של הרצאות ועובדות ללא 11
תורת רושל זל Vaisler, from page 4
own strengths and weaknesses, the more efficient and wise I become at helping myself deal with what I conEven though everyone around Job tells him how he has sider to be miseries. The way to get to know more about to accept the tragedies that God has commanded upon yourself has to stem from education. Not education of him, he does not conform to their narrow thinking. learning how to make more money, or gain more power. Rather, Job challenges God and requests God to meet On the contrary, as David Foster Wallace says, “...being him in court. When educated, and unGod takes Job up on derstanding how to his offer and shows think” (2005 Kenyon In an event where the one suffering, Job, could Job his insignificance Commencement Adeither conform to the societal beliefs or give up and significance in dress). “It is about this world, Job is able on God completely, he does neither. He stays the real value of real to overcome his inner education, which has turmoil and finally see true to himself by living and enduring the almost nothing to do clearly, where he be- discomfort of being distressed and unsure in with knowledge, and lieves in God through to do with his own life. This ability to know yourself and everything his own lenses. In an simple awareness” event where the one be aware of your surroundings well enough to (Wallace). Sadly to suffering, Job, could climb out of the many ditches of life, is what say, the world nowaeither conform to the days exacerbates that I believe to be the key to living a fulfilling life. societal beliefs or give value of power, monup on God completeey, and selfishness and ly, he does neither. He follows exactly what stays true to himself Heschel warned us by living and endurfrom. ing the discomfort of being distressed and So how did I do it? unsure in his own life. did I gain the Every overcoming of adversity and deep How This ability to know ability to appreciate yourself and be aware enrichment gets us close to becoming our true my individuality and of your surroundings selves and closer to divinity. work through adverwell enough to climb sities within the conout of the many ditchfines of my subpar es of life, is what I begiven abilities? Well, lieve to be the key to what I can say for living a fulfilling life. sure is that having the opportunity to study these commentaries about existential concerns and issues, as well Robert Gordis’s commentary on the book of Job touch- as enduring many challenges, has taught me so much es on this point, that the “‘tough-minded’ in every age about myself. Whether I like my qualities and characare willing to follow Ben Sira’s advice ‘to have no con- teristics or not, I do accept my abilities and inabilities; cern with mysteries[or the pain and challenges that life and with that, I am confident that I am able to help mypresents]. The ‘tender-minded,’ as William James called self, and not be ashamed to ask others for help when life them, continue to confront the perennial issues that ex- isn’t so nice. istence in which the mystery [and suffering] of evil is central” (Gordis, “A Cruel God or None: Is There No In conclusion, every overcoming of adversity and deep Other Choice?”). enrichment gets us close to becoming our true selves and closer to divinity. I also have to thank my mom and dad As a person who has fallen into many ditches through- for the opportunities that they have given me to expand out my short life, I have learned that the more that I my understanding of the world and myself and I hope to grow and am in touch with my own emotions and my continue to do so as I transition into adulthood. 12
The Torah of Rochelle Zell Resnick, from page 6
tions much more readily available. Even in person, I catch myself fidgeting, doodling on pages, and zoning As this year comes to a close, I’ve spent many hours re- out. I’ve grown accustomed to the constant stimulaflecting on my educational experiences. To no fault of tion I receive from my phone, from my TV screen, and my teachers, the system of education fosters rote memo- from the world of instant technology as a whole. MJT rization over critical thinkhas pushed me to break the ing and commodification Modern Jewish Thought has pushed me to break pattern of needing constant of students through grades. the pattern of needing constant stimulation and stimulation and the instant However, in Modern Jewish gratification of the digital the instant gratification of the digital world, Thought, I experienced a difworld, instead showing me instead showing me the beauty of silence, of ferent kind of classroom — the beauty of silence, of one that asked little of me in thought, of listening and sharing ideas. thought, of listening and regards to memorization and sharing ideas. much of me in regards to introspection and observation of the world. MJT demanded of me not that I study and take I may be a child of the Internet generation, a victim notes, but that I look beyond in all directions: both inwards of a pandemic that shortened my attention span and and outward into the greater universe. While I recognize a drained my motivation, but MJT has offered a form of class model like this is not possible in other courses, MJT education that has helped me unlearn what I knew. I am has been an opportunity for growth, a time to tune out the beginning to unlearn that knowledge is only power, that constant hum of televisions and phones and instead focus my grades represent my intellect and self worth, that edmy attention onto studies that activate my soul. ucation is something that can ever be finished. Especially in this year, the year of COVID and the year of screens, MJT has been the setting for some of the deepest, realest conversations I have had. As a student with ADHD, I have often found it difficult to stay focused and on track in school. This year has only furthered my struggle, as online classes have made distrac-
As I stand on the brink of greater education and on the final ledge of childhood, these are lessons that will guide me, philosophies that will motivate me to learn not only for my diploma’s sake. Slowly, I am freeing myself of the numbing power of entertainment and reclaiming my inner man.
Warady, from page 7
When God does confront Job, He reaffirms His omnipotence and limitless power but does not answer the man’s questions. Job is nonetheless satisfied with God’s answer. As someone who yearns for a complete understanding of the concepts and things around me, I found Job’s contentment perplexing. How could he be satisfied by God’s vague non-answer? I learned that I needed to accept my lack of knowledge of the purpose or reasoning behind certain events, of my inability to know the full scope of God’s plan. Though I still find this idea hard to contend with, it’s helped me heal and regain some of the faith I had lost.
The sheer lack of closure combined with the circumstances seriously challenged my faith. As I sat through Zoom shivas (which are absolutely agonizing, by the way, and I hope you never have to endure them) and immersed myself in work, I questioned why God would allow such a tragedy to occur — had I, along with the others affected by my uncle’s death, really been such terrible people? Had we really sinned so severely? My faith hit a breaking point. I stopped saying the prayers that had long been a part of my nightly routine and harbored what bordered on a complete lack of belief in God. Then senior year began, and with that came MJT. Though I found our various areas of study to be interesting — I particularly enjoyed Kalmanofsky’s “cosmic faith” approach — but it was our study of Job that resounded with me the most. Job endures unthinkable tragedy in his life. However, Job’s faith never wavers — rather, he simply wants to know “why;” he simply wants answers.
My love of learning, which has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, is a fundamental part of how I am redefining my faith. It has provided me with a stable basis upon which to rebuild my own idea of faith. I’m still not entirely sure where I stand in regards to my belief, but this class has been incredibly beneficial in helping me find my place within the Judaic community and defining faith for myself. 13
The Torah of Rochelle Zell Katz, from page 5
restoration of the home, the resurrection of the parent as a person worthy of being revered, as an example of devotion and responsibility... There is no sense of responsibility without reverence for the sublime in human existence, without a sense of dignity, without loyalty to heritage, without an awareness of the transcendence of living” (“Children and Youth”).
Job is capable and encouraged to live a deeper life, to pay attention to what G-d worked so hard to establish. Before his realization, Job “was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1) He completed his days by checking off boxes towards how he could squeeze by G-d and prevent harm to his fortune. He wasn’t enjoyWe must access the profound ing the true abundance abundance of life. It should be filled of life. Like Job, we cannot understand the rawith traveling, exploration, and tionale for our smallness, exposure. Our homes should be filled but instead gain apprewith gratefulness, care, and reverence. ciation for what we have been given to reach new understanding.
Heschel urges, "What I plead for is that education is an end rather than a means; a life-long process rather than a passing stage." The purpose of life is to learn and to better extend ourselves towards the promises of our 79year-life.
Right now, we are livA factor of developing ing a life like Job prior a respect towards the to his confrontation with world is our understandG-d. We are unable to MJT has enriched my understanding of self, ing of our inner self. Hesrecognize the sublime Jewish religion, and social responsibility. All chel clarifies that society of humanity. According is “fostering a type of of the Jewish thought leaders have given me to Heschel, “The central man who lives by boran increased recognition of who I am as a rowed words rather than problem is that we do not know how to think, how young Jewish woman in a massive planet. his own innate sense of to pray, how to cry, how Despite my smallness, I have a voice, and I the unutterable, by the to resist the deceptions stirring of his own heart intend on using that voice to teach reverence of too many persuaders. which no language can and appreciation for the world we live in. There is no community declare” (“Children and of those who worry about Youth”). integrity” (Heschel). We worry about our grades The class Modern Jewand our preparation for the academics and social scene ish Thought does the most respectable job of venturof college; however, there is deeper meaning and poten- ing beyond the classroom. We read into the depths of tial in this world and in school that we have the ability human society and how we can act meaningfully. This to achieve. Heschel promotes true respect and worship helps students deepen their connection to the world, towards learning and our inner significance and discov- G-d, ourselves, and others. Our class has studied two of ery. “It is wrong to define education as preparation for Heschel’s writings, one called “Children and Youth” and life. Learning is life, a supreme experience of living, a one, “Religion and Race.” In studying these, we have climax of existence” (“Children and Youth”). deepened our sense of responsibility in our privileged environment. He writes, “Small is the world most of us We must access the profound abundance of life. It pay attention to, and limited is our concern” (“Children should be filled with traveling, exploration, and ex- and Youth”). We are deficient in our attention towards posure. Our homes should be filled with gratefulness, G-d’s goals. Heschel writes, “In several ways man is set care, and reverence. Mental health is more important apart from all beings created in six days. than grades. He adds, “What we need are not only more school buildings and more playgrounds, but also the See Katz, next page 14
Katz, from previous page
gion, and social responsibility. All of the Jewish thought leaders have given me an increased recognition of who The Bible does not say, God created the plant or the I am as a young Jewish woman in a massive planet. Deanimal; it says, God created different kinds of plants, spite my smallness, I have a voice, and I intend on using different kinds of animals (Genesis 1:11-12, 21-25). In that voice to teach reverence and appreciation for the striking contrast, it does not say, God created different world we live in. kinds of man, men of different colors and races; it proclaims, God created one single man. From one single We all have a responsibility to point out and speak up man, all men are descended. To think of man in terms about racism, antisemitism, food insecurity, and beof white, black, or yellow is more than an error” (“Reli- yond. We cannot stand to be indifferent to the hurting. gion and Race”). We have developed an attitude towards The Jewish leaders we have read have pushed me to gain other races to distinguish them and disrespect their col- appreciation for what I have, yet understand my responor. Indifference is worse than the perpetrator. Heschel sibility to others less fortunate. To integrate essential life asserts, ”The basic issue is how young people can be elements of experiential learning, developing oneself, brought up with a proper sense of responsibility in an and preventing indifference, I am taking a gap year in affluent society. Yet, how can we expect the young to Israel this upcoming year. I hope to travel around Isbe noble if we ourself continue to tolerate the ignoble?” rael, meet people of varying races, religions, and social (“Children and Youth”). classes. My learning will launch my ongoing growth as a person, a Jew, and an activist. MJT has enriched my understanding of self, Jewish reliאוסטרוף ,מעמ׳11
לדעתך שאול מקים אורח חיים דתי לאחר שעבר עם משפחתו את זוועות השואה.
ברקוביץ מאמין שלשואה אין מעמד מיוחד מבחינה מוסרית ,אלא רק מההיבט האנושי-רגשי בו ישנו הבדל בין רצח המוני ,לרצח אדם יחיד .קטע זה היה לי קשה לקריאה ,ואני עדיין נאבקת לעכלו .כמובן, שמההיבט האנושי-הרגשי ,ישנו הבדל בין רצח המוני לרצח אדם יחיד, אך לפי דעתי ,גם מנקודת מבט מוסרית ,ישנו הבדל משמעותי בין שני הרצחים .אני מניחה שנקודת מבטו של ברקוביץ על ההיבט המוסרי נשענת על הנאמר במסכת סנהדרין ,פרק ד’ ,משנה ה’“ :לפיכך נברא אדם יחידי בעולם ,ללמד שכל המאבד נפש אחת ,מעלים עליו הכתוב כאילו איבד עולם מלא; וכל המקיים נפש אחת ,מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו בתור מורה לחינוך מיוחד ,דגלת תמיד בחשיבותה של הדרך בה תלמידייך למדו; העברת להם את החומר בצורה בה הם יבינו ויוכלו להפיק את קיים עולם מלא”. המירב .חשיבות זו מודגשת גם בשיעורי היהדות המודרנית. בפרשנות הנכתבה על ידי אמיל פקנהיים ,פקנהיים מתמקד בהמשכיותו של העם היהודי אחרי השואה ,ולא בנוכחותו של אלוהים בזמן השואה .האם אני אזכור את כל פרקי ספר בראשית בעור עשרים שנה? אני מניחה שלא ,אך אני בטוחה שהדרכים בהן למדתי ,הכישורים שרכשתי לטענתו של פקנהיים ,אושוויץ הביא ליצירתו של ציווי הכוללים חקר ,ניתוח והבעת דעה ישארו איתי לעד .כיום ,את סבתא ,עדיין מספר שש מאוד וארבע עשרה .ציווי זה ,אותו רואה פקנהיים כגילוי ,ממשיכה לדבוק בחשיבות הלמידה; את ממשיכה תמיד לחקור ולאסוף הינו להמשיך לחיות כיהודים ולא לשכוח את השואה .דתיים וחילונים ידע בכל נושא ,והסקרנות אצלך לעולם לא נגמרת .ממך ,מהרב השל כאחד מצווים להמשיך לחיות כיהודים כדי לא להעניק לצורר הנאצי והמורה שלי ליהדות מודרנית בבית ספרי ,אני מקבלת השראה לדאוג ניצחון .הדגש של פקנהיים על החשיבות של זיכרון השואה ואי הענקת שהסקרנות תישאר עימי תמיד .אני מקווה ומאחלת לעצמי ,שלעולם לא הניצחון להיטלר הינו חיוני על מנת להנציח את הנספים ולהמשיך את אחדל מלשאול שאלות ולעולם לא אחדל להמשיך ולהתעמק .אני מצפה מורשת העם היהודי .מעולם לא חשבתי על השואה כמקור למצווה ,אך בקוצר רוח לשמוע את מחשבותיך. נקודת מבטו של פקנהיים ,משכנעת אותי. בהערכה ובאהבה אין קץ, במשך תקופה ארוכה אני תוהה כיצד שורדי שואה יכולים לקיים אורח חיים דתי לאחר שחוו כל-כך הרבה זוועות .אח שלך שאול ,המקיים שירז אורח חיים דתי ,הוא דוגמה מצוינת לכך עבורי .אני צמאה לדעת מדוע את נרגשת סבתא( ,ואני חושבת שאת נרגשת יותר ממני (לקראת סיומן של שתים עשרה שנות הלימוד שלי בבית הספר .התרגשותך תמיד במלווה בשאלה אותה את מפנה אלי “שירזי ,מה הן התוכניות הבאות שלך? ”,כי את סבתא ,בדומה לרב אברהם יהושע השל ,מאמינה ש״חינוך ולמידה ,אינם מסתיימים בתום שנות הלימוד בבית הספר״ (השל“ ,ילדים ונוער”).
15
תורת רושל זל Scholder, from page 3
Examine my life, take what’s important, leave room for growth.
Awakening. “Important is the premise that a life unexamined is not worth living” (Heschel, “Children and Rebirth. Why did I take the cutting down of trees to Youth”). So accustomed make me realize that I to the life I had built, I had become so accusWhy was I suddenly awakened to the tomed to my life that I failed to account for all realization that in four months my life was simply going through that was changing around me. would drastically change and all that was the motions? That my life is not the same as it was five years ago, seven months ago, last week. I failed to acknowledge the “marvel and mystery of being alive,” kept my head down and obliged (Heschel). I failed to examine my existence. I realized that I had become “a type of man who lives by borrowed words rather than by his own innate sense of the unutterable, by the stirring in his own heart which no language can declare” (Heschel).
familiar would soon no longer be at arms reach? I’m not sure. The death of my childhood, so to speak, came with the death of those three trees. No more protection from my parents, no more bubble of the Northshore, no more returning to the halls of RZJHS and hearing the phrase “let’s go learn a lot today” at the end of every Tefillah. And yet with that metaphoric death, that loss of innocence, comes rebirth. New trees will be planted in the summer in the oasis which I look out at each and every day. We’ll both grow together, miles apart, starting our own journeys and planting roots in our new homes.
Revelation. “The creation of the world is an unfinished process. The goals are not attained” (Heschel). Not only that, but “the meaning and management of life are beyond his [my] understanding” (The Book of Job). Old habits die hard and whether I want to or not, my next stage of life is around the corner and I have no other choice but to adapt and change with it. I won’t have my desk to return to each night, my window to look out. The comfort of home will be thousands of miles away.
And yet with that metaphoric death, that loss of innocence, comes rebirth. New trees will be planted in the summer in the oasis which I look out at each and every day. We’ll both grow together, miles apart, starting our own journeys and planting roots in our new homes. Me at a new desk, looking out a new window, at new trees; them waiting for the day they grow tall enough to peer into my window and possibly, one day, meet my gaze.
!שנה טובה ומתוקה Wishing You a Joyous, Healthy, and Sweet New Year! 16
Why was I suddenly awakened to the realization that in four months my life would drastically change and all that was familiar would soon no longer be at arms reach? I’m not sure. The death of my childhood, so to speak, came with the death of those three trees. No more protection from my parents, no more bubble of the Northshore, no more returning to the halls of RZJHS and hearing the phrase “let’s go learn a lot today” at the end of every Tefillah.