A Little Teaching Can Quickly Get out of Hand - March 2013

March 2013

Nishalah sh’eilu zo bifneihem: Talmud gadol or ma’aseh gadol? Na’aneh Rabbi Tarfon, v’amar, “Ma’seh gadol”.  Na’aneh Rabbi Akiva v’amar, “Talmud gadol”.  Na’anu kulam, v’amru, “Talmud gadol, shehatalmud meivi l’yidei ma’asei.”

They were discussing between them the question, “Is study greater, or are actions greater?”  Rabbi Tarfon answered and said, “Actions are greater”. Rabbi Akiva answered and said, “Study is greater”.  The rest answered and said, “Study is greater, because study brings the hands to action.”  Talmud Bavli - Kiddushin 40b

Michelle, in her camp consulting role, was having a conversation with another professional in the field, and the discussion got to teaching knowledge about Judaism for its own sake versus engaging in Jewish practice.  For her, it helped clarify a few things that she was trying to conceptualize as she brought home the conversation.  For me, what became clear was what we, as a congregation, are trying to do, and what we are not.

We are not teaching about Judaism.  There are plenty of wonderful resources to learn about Judaism.  There are books from Judaism for Dummies to Telushkin’s Jewish Literacy that explain Jewish practice in detail.  There are books of Jewish history, of comparative religious practice.  One can take on-line courses, see TED presentations, or watch YouTube videos to learn about what Judaism is.  After all, a 3,500 year old tradition is a fascinating thing to study and to learn about.  But, that’s not what we do at Temple Sholom.

One might equate that approach with Jewish Studies - a wonderful academic endeavor that now exists at countless universities and colleges.  Students - Jewish or not - can learn Hebrew, the history of the Hebrew Bible and its interpretation, the texts of Rabbinic Judaism, the progress of Sephardic Jewry, and the Emancipation of European Jewry.  One can study hard, read a lot, write brilliant papers, and get an “A” in these courses, and still not do any better at being a Jew, then when they started.

At Temple Sholom, we don’t teach Jewish studies, we practice Judaism.  This often causes problems.  If we said in Religious School, Jews celebrate Shabbat, and these are the ways that Jews celebrate this holiday every week, our students would go home with a fine base of knowledge. Instead, we say that WE, as Jews, have marked the seventh day of the week as a day of rest throughout our history, and we make challah covers, kiddush cups and candlesticks.  We practice the blessings and the songs - and we send these children home not to tell their parents what they learned, not even to show them, but to do these things - together with their families.  And, let’s be honest, when we say Jews mark the seventh day of every week, we know that not every family in our congregation marks that day.  They may not come to services, have a special meal, or light candles and say kiddush.  Our students are then at a bit of a loss.  If they had been learning ABOUT Judaism, there would be no conflict.  Since we are trying to teach them to DO Judaism, they end up pestering their parents.

WARNING - joining a synagogue should cause you to question your religious beliefs - and re-examine your religious practice.  Hey, if you did not want to change, why did you join?  If you were happy with the way you had always practiced, you did not need to come into an unruly community of diverse practice and have to rub elbows with those who may do more (or less) or know less (or more) than you do.  The Rabbis knew about this - and that is the subject of their debate above.  Learning for the sake of learning is nice, but Jewish learning is all about doing what we have learned.  There is no point in arguing back and forth for pages about the finer points of Jewish law, if one is not going to go out and do whatever the decision is in the end.  Jewish learning has always been in the service of Jewish doing - and we are part of that tradition.

We are not an academic institution - and we are not trying to be one.  We are trying to create a community of common practice, of study that leads to debate, self-reflection, experimentation, and meaningful engagement in the world, our culture, and our history.  So, try this bizarre method of Jewish study - learn a little, do a little more, and then learn something else.  Come to services, attend a class, put your children in charge of Shabbat - then the learning can do what it is supposed to and our hands will be doing.