Diving into the Unknown, Elitsa Sklar

iving into the Unknown D זל רושל תורת Letters to a Future Child

Elitsa Sklar

To my dearest daughter, I wrote this quite some time ago, but I am confident that at this moment you are ready to dive into Judaism, you are ready for the commitment, and on this day of your Bat Mitzvah, that is a pivotal moment in which you are thrust into adulthood, I have full faith that you will succeed. You will fly to the greatest heights because you are supported by love, love found within your family, your friends, your community, this amazing religion, and most importantly on this very day, love from Hashem. Judaism will make such a mark on your life, changing you for the better. T

You were born into a community, into a faith that demands so much from you, but gives even more. Your father and I are have been blessed to be part of this faith, and along with this covenant comes obligation and responsibility. We, as Jews, chose to be part of this covenant at Har Sinai, and now, you will join us in exploring the covenant, interpreting and reinterpreting the Torah, and discovering yourself through the help of this timeless and ever-so-holy text. You are given the greatest blessing, the greatest gift. You will come to learn that Judaism, that this special, covenantal community is profoundly impactful on your life and is a part of who you are. I am now going to speak about four elements that define Judaism, that will shape your Judaism, and these are: community, tradition, obligation, and the power of faith.

Judaism provides a community like no other. A fundamental part of living the covenant is the community. Community is not just about being able to ask your Jewish neighbors for olive oil so that you can complete your batch of brownies and get them in the oven before the 18 minutes end in order for you to have dessert for Shabbat. No, community is more; community is there when someone is sitting shiva, community is there when someone has a baby, community is there to learn torah with, community will challenge you, and community will help you grow.

Community is there to help the poor, releasing land during the seventh year so that “achlu evyonei amecha, the poor may eat with you” (Shemot 23:11). Community is there to redeem captives, as lack of action to redeem is comparable to murder: “Kol rega she’efshar lifdot shevuyin, heicha d’efshar, kielu shofech damim. Every moment where it is possible to redeem captives, and one delays, it is as if one sheds blood” (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, 252:3).

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The community will support the vulnerable, as the great law code, the Shulchan Aruch, legislates that the most vulnerable should be redeemed first: “Im ish v’ishto shevuyin, ishto kodemet lo. If a man and his wife are in prison, his wife should be redeemed first” (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, 252:10). You will lean on your community, and the community will lean on you.

Judaism fosters a community that emphasises the individual, while also bringing people together, unifying all into one large, beautiful community. Unlike in the Biblical Bavel, where everyone spoke with the same langauge (Bereishit 11:1), Judaism provides a community of individuality, a community that promotes your personal journey to discovery of G-d. This covenantal community is what has helped me grow through struggle, through grappling with the text, and through deep engagement which leads to a greater understanding of the world. This community is what helped me dance, rising and falling in my attempt to comprehend Judaism and G-d.

Judaism makes you part of a community that is aware of the physical and the metaphysical, aware of the occurrences on earth and that beyond earth (G-d). Learning Torah, discovering Judaism and G-d, is the most profound activity humanity can partake in which connects people to the realm of the divine. This is Judaism; lifting up humanity so that we are more than ordinary, so that we are extraordinary, and this is manifested through the community. We pray as a community, we dance as a community at simchas, we join together as a community, and through community we discover G-d. G-d “himtir al Sedom va’Amora gofrit va’esh, rained sulfurous fire on Sodom and Gemorrah” (Bereishit 19:24) because there was not a community of righteous individuals, there were not ten righteous, upright people.

They were not caring or respectful, and in contrast, the Jewish community has created itself founded in the laws of Judaism, in righteousness, truthfulness, and respect. Because everyone was created in the image of G-d, it is necessary to treat everyone as equals (Beresihit 1:26). Judaism realizes that, unlike Stom, it is necessary to be there for one another, and now you are a member of this community.

nother key aspect of Judaism and this covenantal community is tradition. From a young age, you have grown up surrounded by tradition, as Judaism connects you to the present, past, and allows you to preserve the future. Why do we eat Grandma and Papa’s kneidlach on Rosh Hashanah? What’s so special about cholent? Why do we serve both sliced eggs and whole eggs on Pesach? To preserve the traditions of your great grandparents, to preserve the commitment that your family made in Europe when their lives were on the line, and to preserve our understanding of Judaism. A

These traditions are more than just food; through food we discover G-d. We understand that we are lucky and honored to be able to feed ourselves, thank you G-d for this opportunity. We realize our past poverty, eating cholent, a peasant’s dish in Europe, understanding the ability to make beauty out of a difficult situation. In pre-school, you were taught to take your food and say a bracha, a blessing, thank G-d for the opportunity to eat. Realize that the food that you place in your mouth is not only due to your parent’s working to earn money; the food is also here because of G-d and the opportunities that he provides us.

Rabbi Donniel Hartman explains in his book Putting God Second that land is leased during the shemita year in order for everyone to realize their equal worth and G-d’s greater power. Everything is ultimately up to G-d, our privilege to have food on our plates is because of G-d. What about all of the people starving around the world? Judaism teaches us not only to believe in the pessimistic, Darwinistic outlook on life of survival of the fittest or no that there is no G-d.

Through tradition we discover obligation. It is not survival of the fittest; quite the contrary; realize your role in society as a privileged individual, and use your power to assist others.

See Sklar, page 24