{"id":37917,"date":"2018-08-15T14:06:48","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T11:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=37917"},"modified":"2022-03-09T22:38:23","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T20:38:23","slug":"inquiring-of-the-lord-from-rebekahs-time-to-ours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/inquiring-of-the-lord-from-rebekahs-time-to-ours\/","title":{"rendered":"Inquiring of the Lord: From Rebekah\u2019s Time to Ours"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[370,363],"acf":{"old_id":"37917","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":37918,"related_cahpter":"25","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"The textual cord uniting heaven and earth is precious, but we run the risk of being text-worshipers rather than God-worshipers","content":"

As Rebekah struggles with the twins who are \u201ccrushing one another in her womb,\u201d she goes off to \u201cinquire of the Lord\u201d (<\/span>lidrosh et Hashem<\/span><\/em>)<\/span><\/i> (Gen 25:22). This is one of our early models of a Biblical figure going to commune with God, and many scholars are struck that Rebekah seems to go at it alone, without any oracle or diviner. <\/span><\/p>\n

By the time of the prophet Ezra, the meaning of <\/span>lidrosh<\/span><\/em> shifted significantly: Unlike Rebekah, who seeks God directly, Ezra dedicated himself \u201cto study (<\/span>lidrosh<\/span><\/em>) the Teaching of the Lord\u201d (Ezra 7:10).<\/span><\/p>\n

The root <\/span>d-r-sh<\/span><\/em> began as an act of seeking out God\u2019s will through speaking to God, but over time, it shifts to communicating with God through God\u2019s Torah. This transformation is seen in other places: in Psalm 119, the Psalmist begs God \u201cDo not hide Your commandments from me,\u201d (119:19) a play on the classic \u201cDo not hide Your face from me\u201d (Deut. 31:17, 32:20, etc.). This wordplay\u2014from God to Torah\u2014continues through the psalm. <\/span><\/p>\n

In many ways, the Torah serves as an awesome, tangible manifestation of God, and that textual cord uniting heaven and earth can be the most precious thing in the world. The beauty of Judaism\u2019s text-centeredness renders our connection to God portable; we can have access to God in every conceivable circumstance. But sometimes, we can become so focused on Torah that we lose any sense of the reality of God, and we run the risk of being text-worshipers rather than God-worshipers. <\/span><\/p>\n

If we interpret Torah without a sense that we are serving a God of love and kindness, our Torah may become stale at best and cruel at worst. Torah is (supposed to be) a bridge connecting us to a compassionate God, but we can become so focused on the bridge itself that we simply forget about what (or Who) stands on the other side. <\/span><\/p>\n

The transformation of the word <\/span>lidrosh<\/span><\/em>, from Rebekah\u2019s time to Ezra\u2019s to ours, speaks to the transformation of communication with God. Rebekah went herself to inquire of God; for our inquiry we go to God’s book. What our forefathers heard from God, we hear from the Torah. In both cases, we must remember, it is God\u2019s closeness and guidance for which we yearn. <\/span><\/p>\n

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