CHAZAK, CHAZAK VENITCHAZEK!

                                                    Twelve Months of Studying Prophets

 I write this last blog entry roughly 2,744 years  after the writings of our Prophetic ancestors Isaiah and Jeremiah. If they and their collective Jewish communities could travel to our century they would no doubt marvel and assuredly quake at the spectacle of the changes that have taken place. However, I think in time, after they acclimated to the new era in which they found themselves, they would recognize us as we recognize them.  When we sit together in fellowship to study the collected books, it is evident that these writings are our stories too. I envision Bible study much like a trip in a time machine where we are enabled to travel back to our ancestral beginnings. I remain motivated to sustain weekly Tanakh study because for good or ill, it is our own imperfect image which we see reflecting off each page. After all, who would want to study one thousand six hundred and twenty four pages worth of self-actualized people making sensible choices?

Obviously dates, names and political boundaries have changed but human frailties endure. We remain botched and broken. Despite my intellectual pessimism regarding human nature, I choose to function as an optimist by embracing Tikkun Olam. In my estimation this is the only sustainable and productive orientation to adopt during our brief stay on planet earth. From the outset of this blog and in a spirit of full disclosure, I do confess that I began with no burning desire to prove or disprove the existence of God. In fact the more I read the less vested I feel about the existence of God, the historical veracity of the narratives or the intersection and parameters of logic and science. Here, I’m more than happy to leave these inquiries to others and enjoy the fruits of their labor. If the Tanakh is not dictated by a God then conversely it is constructed by men and we are left to ponder the relevance of their narratives. I do wholeheartedly believe that our story is real because it is truthful in the truest sense; it is true in the way dreams and great art are true as they are the most revelatory and human of activities.

It is very easy to prematurely discount these ancient writings, as they are exceedingly rife with murder and mayhem of all kinds. It is precisely these aspects of the text which are clearly reflections of a unique moment in time but in truth our baser human nature has changed little since then and flourishes into modernity with an especially brutish technological vengeance; all the more reason to seek the wisdom of our culture. I believe disappointment awaits those who expect to prove the existence of a supreme deity. It is my opinion that this is a personal affair and is impossible to prove therefore, it should not be the measurement of our book’s true worth. After all, Science has not enabled us to transcend the gross lapses of our own contemporary morality, nor has it successfully proved or disproved the existence of a God. The creation of robot drones over spears does not an argument for progress make.

At any age, one can read the Tanakh for instruction and be fed. As we read we can vicariously project ourselves into the stories and explore our responses to ethical dilemmas and moral snares. In so doing we learn and practice our personal and cultural responsibility to issues of conscience. During times of historical crisis, our default has been set to the highest good framed for our community to understand. I think the most salient message of the Prophets is that ethical behavior is learned and must be cultivated with conscious effort. We continue to strive to reach this goal.  Judaism presents no moral relativism; it is clear how we are all expected to act.  Simply put, we are expected to do nothing less than repair the world. Tikkun Olam is the physical manifestation of hope in action.

It is truly miraculous that we have survived as a people while so many others have been lost to history. There is something very laudable about our collective efforts and our desire to cleave together as a people. Torah Study is a powerful outlet for fulfilling this need. There are few places a person can go to be nurtured by committed community members who are willing to explore their culture and themselves. Tanakh study offers something for every manner of reader whether they be right or left- brain dominant: beautifully sophisticated prose, hallucinatory prophecy, magic, historical documentation, parable, mythos, political intrigue, numerology, (Gematria), codification of law, ethical behavior and more. All these aspects existing separately but conforming in relationship, like elements in a kaleidoscopic vision. The effect is an ever- changing experience that simultaneously presents our past, present and enduring future. For those of you who have visited this blog I hope it proved thought-provoking and has aided you in some way. Tanakh study is similar to an addiction but luckily for us it is a compulsion worth pursuing. Hebrews keep on reading . Read often, delve deeply, connect more. Chazak, Chazak, Venitchazek!

I offer my deepest gratitude to my husband Joel Silverstein for his tireless editing, his boundless enthusiasm and his true love for Jewish learning.

A Special thanks to our Rabbi Joel Mosbacher and my fellow Torah study partners, without whom Saturdays just wouldn’t be the same.