TINW Torah Study

Today, Jews are in control of the State of Israel. But for much of the history of the Jewish people, we have not been the ones in control of our own land. We have been subject to outside forces that have shaped our story. As Hanukkah comes to an end, today in Torah Study Rabbi Jaech led us in an exploration of the political forces that shaped our Hanukkah celebration.  (Session inspired by analysis from Professor Lawrence M. Wills of Boston University.)

This week Rabbi Janet Roberts led us in a discussion about the intermingling of holidays and religions by looking at a feast held in the book of Genesis where Hebrews and Egyptians dined together while still remaining separate. At this holiday season, each of us will make choices about intermingling of holidays and religions - and that is ok!

Jacob, the 2nd born son of Isaac and Rebekah, made some questionable choices as a young man, going so far as to deceive his father as he was lying on his deathbed. But the deceiver would soon become the deceived! Rabbi Jaech reminds us that deception is a human foible and, particularly at this time when deception seems to be the norm, we all need to be careful about the information we take in.

There are only two hunters mentioned in the Torah: Nimrod who, with the grace of the Lord, became a mighty hunter, and Esau, the older son of Issac, whose success at hunting was attributed to the grace of God.  But there are many rules in the Torah about how an animal must be killed and what must be done with the animal's blood—rules which would make hunting an impossibility. Rabbi Jaech explored these diametrically opposed concepts with us.

God cannot be both all-just and all-powerful.  This week Rabbi Jaech continued our exploration of the Book of Job, and why bad things happen to good people.

The patriarch Abraham was a righteous man whom God put to a heartbreaking test which might have required Abraham to kill his own son. Likewise, Job was a righteous man whose life is meddled with by Satan,—causing him to lose his wealth, his flocks, and his children.  This week we began an exploration of God's tests of good people.

In the Torah, sometimes God is shown to be a strict disciplinarian, and other times he is a compassionate God who expresses very human feelings. Scholars today understand that the traditions preserved in the Torah come from different sources, which explains their different perspectives. The ancient Rabbis also saw the differences in the text, but they were creative in their interpretations and said that God is neither all mercy nor all justice. God, like us, has different sides. 

The concept of gods coming down from the heavens to mate with humans is evident throughout the ancient world—and is even present in our Bible! The offspring of those biblical matings are called Nephilim, which were half-god/half-man beings. According the the Bible, these halflings became responsible for the fall of all mankind.

In biblical times, the holiday of Sukkot—which began for us this week—was THE major holiday. There was a large gathering of crowds and, in a time before mass communication, it would have been an ideal time to try to get information to the most people.  Over time, people used this time as a time to declare themselves the ones to usher in a messianic age. Using the research of Dr. Malka Simkovich, Rabbi Jaech led us on an exploration of three such declarations.

Our High Holiday celebrations this year felt a little more "normal," but there were some clear changes. Today, Rabbi Janet Roberts led us on a discussion of a time when Jews returned to worship after a long absence, and the changes that awaited them.