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February 12, 2007
Torah and Company reviewed
Rabbi Jack Riemer reviews Torah and Company for The Connecticut Jewish Ledger. Bottom line:
I recommend Judith Abrams’s “Torah and Company” as a way to spice up the talk at the Sabbath table. It provides a good way to continue the ancient Jewish tradition of making the meal into a time for nourishing the soul and mind as well as feeding the body.
The full review follows below:
There is an old Jewish teaching that whenever three people eat together and exchange words of Torah at the meal, the Holy Presence is there amongst them. This book is a useful resource for those who want to make their meals occasions for the kind of study and discussion that will make the meal a religious and an intellectual event.Judith Abrams’s book is geared to a general audience. She uses a very simple recipe: one part Torah, two parts classic Jewish texts that expound upon the Torah, and three parts thought provoking questions that make you think about what are the implications of this Torah passage for our lives today. Stir them up together and you have the makings of a lively discussion.
Let me give you just one sample to whet your appetite.
In the sedra of Ekev, the Torah commands that we give thanks to God after each meal.
That seems clear enough, but now she shares two passages from Rabbinic Literature with us that are based on this passage. The first is the passage from the Mishna that says that women, children and slaves are not counted towards the three that are needed to recite the invitation to the grace after meals.
What? I can already hear some of the people at the table getting indigestion and demanding to know why women are excluded. The Sages seem to consider these three groups as on the borderline, not quite in, not quite out, of the religious order.She says: before you decide whether to swallow that idea or not, ask yourself this question: who is in your group and who is out, and what are the determining factors that you use in making this decision?
By the time you finish discussing that question, you will surely have finished the appetizer and the soup. And now Judith Abrahams shares a little known midrash that is bound to surprise the people at the table.
She cites a passage in the Talmud that says that when the Messiah comes, there will be a great feast. And at the end of the meal, God will look around for someone to lead the Grace After Meals. Abraham will decline the honor, because he gave birth to one good child and one wicked child, and so he does not feel worthy. Isaac will decline for the same reason. Jacob will decline the honor because he married two sisters, something that the Torah later forbid. Moses and Joshua will decline the honor too, each because of a shortcoming in their lives. And then David will come forward and volunteer.
Judith Abrams says that when she first read this midrash, her jaw dropped in surprise. How can David---who committed adultery and murder---outrank Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Moses and Joshua? And the answer she gives is that they suffered from low self esteem and therefore felt themselves unworthy of the honor, whereas David had no such problem.
I am sure that the discussion of what low self esteem can do to us, and of how it can keep us from enjoying life and from accepting honors will go on at least through dessert and maybe even longer. And if you have kids in your house who are struggling with a low self image, this discussion will not only enlighten the family about an ancient midrash but will help the family understand and deal with a real issue in the lives of teenagers today.
I recommend Judith Abrams’s “Torah and Company” as a way to spice up the talk at the Sabbath table. It provides a good way to continue the ancient Jewish tradition of making the meal into a time for nourishing the soul and mind as well as feeding the body.
Rabbi Jack Riemer resides in Boca Raton, Fla.
Posted by yudel at 12:35 PM
February 8, 2007
New Jersey Jewish News reviews Torah Journeys
The New Jersey Jewish News features a brief review of Torah Journeys in its Books in short column this week:
Heart and soul
The Jewish Renewal movement is all mysticism, spirituality, and a decidedly experiential approach to prayer and study. With Torah Journeys: the Inner Path to the Promised Land (Ben Yehuda Press, $19.95), Rabbi Shefa Gold has written what might be called the first Jewish Renewal Torah commentary.
Gold, trained as both a Renewal and Reconstructionist rabbi, mines the week's Torah readings for spiritual and mystical insights, and then offers readers a "practice" meant to internalize the teachings. These include breathing exercises and meditations that reflect her study of the world's religions.
Sounds New Agey--y, and it is, but if you're the kind of person seeking a Judaism that speaks to the heart as well as the brain, it might be just the right book for you.
Posted by yudel at 4:10 PM