Dear TBZ community:
My daughter reads the Harry Potter books over and over. At first she listened to them in audiobook, then she watched the movies, (but she says that doesn't count as reading them because they do not reflect the books), then when she was able she read the books. And then she read them again. And again. She is now in round three of re-reading all seven books. She reads them every time with passion and excitement, as if she doesn’t know what will happen next. She has memorized some parts and knows each detail. Every time, she finds something new, something that excites her about the story. I love watching her read!
As we are about to begin the book of Bereshit all over again this shabbat, I think about my daughter’s excitement to encounter and re-encounter Harry Potter, as the way that our tradition teaches us and encourages us to read and re-read Torah.
We know the story, the characters, the plots -- we read it last year. But every reading invites us to find new meanings, new passions, and new understandings. There are parts we know by heart, and reading and saying them again gives us pleasure and joy. There are parts that scare us, but we know we will move from them, find meaning in the fear, and be challenged. We will engage in a journey together as we begin again, and even though we know “the end”, the journey will take us to new understandings and new inspirations to guide our lives.
It has been a year since I started writing this weekly Shabbat N’kabla message with a teaching or inspiration about the weekly parsha. The practice of writing weekly has been very powerful and meaningful for me, giving me an opportunity to reflect, to write, and to communicate with you through words of Torah. I have been uplifted and moved by your responses and by the dialogues some of my messages had spurred. So here I am again, starting the book anew, hoping we can start anew reflecting and learning Torah to guide us and help us welcome shabbat every week.
Parshat Bereshit includes not only the creation of the world, but the stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel, with two key questions asked in these stories.
After Adam and Eve eat from the tree of knowledge, God asks “Adam where are you?” (Genesis 3:9)
וַיִּקְרָ֛א יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־הָֽאָדָ֑ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ אַיֶּֽכָּה
The LORD God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
And after Cain kills Abel, God asks Cain “Where is your brother?” (Genesis 4:9)
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־קַ֔יִן אֵ֖י הֶ֣בֶל אָחִ֑יךָ
The LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
The medieval commentator RaDak (Rabbi David Kimchi), points out that God knows the answers to these questions, giving examples of other times that God’s opening line is a question that its purpose is other than to obtain information.
In the case of Adam, his answer is I won't take responsibility. He blames Eve, who then blames the serpent. From the beginning of the story of humankind we find how when faced with the question, “Can you take responsibility?” it is far easier to say - “I did wrong because someone else told me to” - it is far easier to blame others.
Cain’s response to the question, “Where is your brother?” is:
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א יָדַ֔עְתִּי הֲשֹׁמֵ֥ר אָחִ֖י אָנֹֽכִי
And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
In the past, I have not paid attention as much to the part of the answer that says: “I don’t know.” We often focus on the question, what does it mean to be our brother’s keeper. As we turn to this reading anew, I am struck by Cain’s “I don’t know” response -- his indifference and a deep denial of responsibility.
In the words of RaDaK:
“Cain denied all knowledge, saying: לא ידעתי, השומר אחי אנכי, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’ claiming that Abel had gone about his work just as he, Cain, had gone about his work. He added, gratuitously, that he could not be expected to know the whereabouts of his brother all the time, seeing he had not been hired to be his keeper. Cain acted far worse than his father at the time, as Adam had never denied that he had done wrong. He had only made excuses for himself” (RaDak to Genesis 4:10)
Torah could have started with stories about humans living happily ever after and stories about kind and righteous people doing the right thing, but instead Torah tells us, from the beginning, about our weakness as human beings. Torah shows us our human tendency to run away, to blame others, and to turn away from responsibility. But Torah also has a clear voice: the voice of God, the voice of Torah, the voice of the moral values that guide us and remind us that we should take responsibility, that we are our brothers and sisters’s keepers. Torah shows us that we can’t only care for our own selves but that we live in community, in society with others, and we must take responsibility. Torah doesn't give us a pass, Torah challenges us from the beginning. We don’t run away, we stay put, and stand for what is right and by taking responsibility.
In times where this moral teaching is lacking in the highest offices of this country, in times where so many don’t take responsibility, we do, and we must. We cannot say, “I don’t know” nor can we blame others for where we are and what we are doing. We must say, I am my brother’s keeper and I will take responsibility.
May this Shabbat bring renewal and blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we learn to find in darkness the possibility of blessing and new beginnings.
May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity.
May we start the journey of learning Torah together again, in depth and with joy.
May all those who are ill find healing.
May we have a joyful and restful Shabbat!
Shabbat Shalom,
