D’var Torah – Oct 4

I hope this finds you all well.

Every day when I was a little boy my dad would put a word or phrase of Latin into my brown-bagged lunch. Likewise, he placed dozens and dozens of Hebrew flashcards around the house. So, for example, there was a card with khalon (window) taped to the window, m’karer(refrigerator) on the fridge, and madaf s’farim (bookshelf) in our library. What was the point of all this? I’d like to think it was two-fold. First, it was a true demonstration of his love for me and my brother. Second, he sought to show us that the potential for education, learning, and gaining knowledge was not bound to the finite parameters of a book, television, or computer screen; rather it could be found anywhere.

In this week’s parsha (portion) of Ha’azinu*, Moses beseeches God that all Israel hear his prophetic words:

“Give ear, O heavens, let me speak;

Let the earth hear the words I utter!

May my discourse come down as the rain,

My speech distill as the dew,

Like showers on young growth,

Like droplets on the grass.”[1]

Rain finds its way into every crack, nook, and cranny. This is one reason why fauna can grow from such unsuspecting places.

In Judaism, there is the famous expression lilmod ulilamed – to learn and to teach. In other words, everything we know, we should pass on. In the Army, there is the famous “hip-pocket” model. What this means is that if there is a group of junior enlisted soldiers who just are simply standing around, a non-commissioned officer (NCO) should know to take charge of the group and teach them something, anything really, that will make them better at their job.

Just as rainwater covers every inch of exposed earth and finds its way into every burrow, so too in this new year of 5785, we must take every moment and opportunity to learn and to teach others, especially the next generation. We have a mandate, a responsibility to fill their days with study and learning. It is perhaps the greatest gift we can give them. Bizrat HaShem, may the world bloom as a result of all the skills, expertise, lessons, knowledge, and values we pass on to our children and grandchildren.

Shanah Tovah u’metukah! G’mar khatimah tovah!  May you be blessed with a good and sweet new year and may you be inscribed for good in the Book of Life!

From the desk of: Rabbi Aaron Stucker-Rozovsky

Beth El Congregation | 520 Fairmont Ave, Winchester, VA 22601

(540) 667-1889 (office)