Dear Friends:
In our Torah portion this week, Shemini, we read what is considered by the Talmud to be the epicenter of the Torah. According to the Talmud, if you count up all of the letters in the Torah, we find ourselves in this week’s Torah reading, on the hebrew letter Vav, in the word gachon, which means belly. When this letter Vav appears in the written Torah, it is written much larger and more distinctive than the other letters, signalling that this somewhat unusual word and relatively ordinary letter is there to teach us something much more significant.
One of the many reasons the Rabbis suggest that this letter and this word is central to our Torah, and by extension Judaism and Jewish practice, has to do with the centrality of food and what we put in our bellys, in Jewish tradition.
On its own, the Hebrew letter Vav is a “connector” letter (meaning “and”), making connections, and additions, joining things together. And I think the same can be said about food. Whether it's through Jewish dietary laws, cultural cuisine, or holiday traditions like matzah balls, latkes, and hamantaschen, food, and what we put in our stomachs, is one of the most significant ways that people relate to and connect with Judaism. We often celebrate Jewish milestones in our lives, and holidays, using food to bring us together. Jewish tradition also instructs us to withhold food from ourselves in order to direct and affect our mood and intention as well.
Despite what the Talmud suggests, I am not convinced that there is one epicenter of the Torah and Judaism. Some ideas, traditions, and ideologies may be more prevalent and widely accepted and embraced than others, but we live in a world where people connect to Judaism in different ways. Which is why it is my hope and prayer that we can all find meaningful ways to connect with our Judaism, whether it be through theology, ritual, tradition, or even our stomachs.
Shabbat Shalom
,
Rabbi Dorsch
