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Monday 29 June 2015
Monday 22 June 2015
Aleph, bet, vet ...
At first when I looked in our new siddur and saw there was a
transliteration of the Hebrew, my heart filled with joy. Now I would be able to
join in prayers and sing along with the choir. Because my Hebrew had never been
very good. As a child, my Orthodox cheder did not prioritise the teaching of
girls, and I fell by the wayside. When I joined Jackson’s Row I was helped to read
Hebrew, but I never practised and although I could recognise letters, spelling
out words was a painfully slow process. Hence my happiness at the
transliteration.
But I always felt just a little guilty that I wasn’t doing
it properly. Then, just under a year ago, inspired by the ice bucket challenge,
a group of people in the MRJ initiated the Elul challenge here in the UK – in the
run up to Yom Kippur, we challenged ourselves to do something in preparation. I
decided to read 15 minutes of Hebrew a day.
Now here’s a thing. I found I enjoyed it. And my Hebrew even
got a little bit better. After Yom Kippur, I didn’t want to stop. So I asked
Rabbi Silverman if he’d lend a hand, and he agreed to go through some prayers
in the siddur with me. I felt like someone had turned on a light. I began to
learn what each prayer was about as well as being able to read it. Prayerbook
Hebrew is an incredible language – each root word has little bits tagged on the
beginning and end – you have to know what these mean, and add them to the root
word – it’s a bit like one of Harry Potter’s spells!
I still practised my Hebrew at home, and then began to need
something more structured. So the Rabbi directed me to The First Hebrew Primer,
and I’ve begun to work through that.
I’m doing all the basics I should have done years ago –
learning how to write Hebrew letters, and really paying attention to those
pesky little vowels. My fluency is slowly improving, and sometimes in shul
Rabbi reads something – even from the Torah – and I actually understand it! I have
to refrain myself from punching the air!
I love this passage from Sayings of the Fathers on p718 of
our siddur:
“Elisha ben Abuyah says, If people learn as children – what do
they resemble? They resemble ink written on clean paper. If people learn when
old – what do they resemble? They resemble ink written on worn-out paper.”
Well, Elisha ben Abuyah – this piece of paper is not quite
worn-out yet, and though I might have to work a bit harder than young people, I
think I appreciate all the more deeply how wonderful Hebrew is – a mine of
treasure which is truly limitless.
If this inspires any of you, Rabbi is only too happy to
arrange tuition as he has done for me.
SA
Thursday 11 June 2015
Golems and Zionism!
Two things to stimulate you today - the first is a book review...
THE GOLEM AND THE DJINNI
Helene Wecker
It’s New York, 1899, and among the throngs of immigrants are
two very unusual beings – one is a female golem, whose master died en route to
America. The other is a djinni who travelled – as djinnis do – in a copper
flask. Both golem and djinni must establish themselves and work through their
destinies. And of course, before too long, they meet each other and a very
unusual friendship is forged.
This magic realist novel is unlike anything I’ve read before.
In fact it’s more real than magic – the golem, Chava, and the djinni, Ahmad,
are as believable as you or I. Chava responds to the hopes and fears of all
those she meets; Ahmad is a creature of fire and intolerant of the humans
around him. Chava wishes to be bound;
Ahmad, to be free.
New York is beautifully realised, and the portrait of the
Jewish community of the Lower East Side is brilliantly done. A host of rich,
minor characters flesh out this novel and make it an utterly absorbing read.
You can find it on Amazon here ...
And the second is a link to a Times of Israel blog on shy Zionists penned by Anthony Ashworth-Steen, Informal Education Director of UJIA and husband of a student rabbi ...
The novel and the blog are not connected, but both will make you think!
Friday 5 June 2015
An understanding of many worlds
From Rabbi Silverman
Last Shabbat I ended the service with a new blessing from the MRJ Siddur (p.324). New to us but originating from the Dead Sea Scrolls and based on the priestly blessing in the Torah.
People found it uplifting.
Here it is :
"May God bless you with all that is good, and guard you from all that is harmful. May God enlighten you with the wisdom of life and give you understanding of many worlds. May God in faithful love offer you enduring peace."
The phrase 'understanding of many worlds' aroused the most interest. What does it mean? - I was asked.
Cosmic understanding? A sense of oneness with all nature the more we learn about it? Connection with our fellow human beings, each one of whom is a whole world ? All of the above?
Doing my homework I quickly found that from the original Dead Sea Scroll text the meaning clearly gets lost in our translation.
'Olamim' is ambiguous. It can mean 'worlds' or 'eternity'.
Over and over again in the section of the Dead Sea Scrolls where it comes it is very frequently, consistently and, as far as I could tell, exclusively used adjectivally to mean eternal, long-lasting, or as it is correctly translated from the last words, li-Shelom Olamim - 'enduring' (peace).
Later in the week Prof Steven Hawking made a statement on assisted dying. He said that he would 'consider' assisted dying only if he were in great pain or had nothing left to contribute to the world.
I would want to apply the blessing to him. You and I can have nothing approaching the knowledge of the 'many worlds ' of the universe that such minds as his have contributed to science and life generally.
But, like him, we can bring ourselves honestly to grapple with the dilemmas and distresses of those who lose their faculties, and hope that we will be blessed with enduring knowledge and ability to continue giving of ourselves until we reach eternal peace.
Last Shabbat I ended the service with a new blessing from the MRJ Siddur (p.324). New to us but originating from the Dead Sea Scrolls and based on the priestly blessing in the Torah.
People found it uplifting.
Here it is :
"May God bless you with all that is good, and guard you from all that is harmful. May God enlighten you with the wisdom of life and give you understanding of many worlds. May God in faithful love offer you enduring peace."
The phrase 'understanding of many worlds' aroused the most interest. What does it mean? - I was asked.
Cosmic understanding? A sense of oneness with all nature the more we learn about it? Connection with our fellow human beings, each one of whom is a whole world ? All of the above?
Doing my homework I quickly found that from the original Dead Sea Scroll text the meaning clearly gets lost in our translation.
'Olamim' is ambiguous. It can mean 'worlds' or 'eternity'.
Over and over again in the section of the Dead Sea Scrolls where it comes it is very frequently, consistently and, as far as I could tell, exclusively used adjectivally to mean eternal, long-lasting, or as it is correctly translated from the last words, li-Shelom Olamim - 'enduring' (peace).
Later in the week Prof Steven Hawking made a statement on assisted dying. He said that he would 'consider' assisted dying only if he were in great pain or had nothing left to contribute to the world.
I would want to apply the blessing to him. You and I can have nothing approaching the knowledge of the 'many worlds ' of the universe that such minds as his have contributed to science and life generally.
But, like him, we can bring ourselves honestly to grapple with the dilemmas and distresses of those who lose their faculties, and hope that we will be blessed with enduring knowledge and ability to continue giving of ourselves until we reach eternal peace.
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