{"id":52725,"date":"2019-03-31T22:25:54","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T19:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=52725"},"modified":"2019-03-31T22:25:54","modified_gmt":"2019-03-31T19:25:54","slug":"create-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/create-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Create Meaning"},"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":[],"acf":{"old_id":"52725","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":36663,"related_cahpter":"2005","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Deuteronomy 32:47 - \u201cIt is not an empty thing for you\u201d","content":"

This sums up my attitude toward Torah study, because the commentaries on this verse say \u00a0that it is only an empty thing for you if you don\u2019t try to fill it with meaning.<\/span><\/p>\n

The words of Torah are the outline, they give us the framework and the scaffolding for how we as Jews are able to construct meaning for our lives. The words themselves will be empty if we don\u2019t read, parse, study, contemplate, and see them as having an inherent and unique holiness that no other text has for us as Jews. Our singular task in the world, as Jews, is to take the language the Torah has given us and use it to create a framework for a meaningful spiritual and intellectual life.<\/span><\/p>\n

A few verses before this (Deut 32:44) we are told the Torah is a song that is put into the ears of the people by Moses. It is also called a song in Deuteronomy 31:19, the verse used as a prooftext for the last of the 613 mitzvot the medieval Sefer HaChinuch counts. In the same way we need to find meaning in the text, physically we are told that we must each write a new scroll, a new text, something that did not exist before we involved ourselves with it, find a meaning that \u00a0only one particular individual and no one else could. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Torah only has value when each of us works to create our own scrolls and to fill the words with meaning. The need to see the Torah text as something that demands our human input and creativity is crucial to making it a living and meaningful part of our lives. <\/span><\/p>\n

That Torah is seen as \u201c<\/span>shira<\/span><\/i>\u201d meaning both song and poem suggests that it is an art form and I believe we need to treat it that way, adding to it with our own art and interpretation, taking it seriously not by backing off and fearing that we might interfere with its sacredness by adding our own ideas to it, but by acknowledging that only by thinking about how the ideas of the Torah will go into the world, will we augment and increase its power both in terms of what its words mean and in our own lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

I want to add, as well, my \u00a0top verses from each book of the Torah, in reverse order:<\/span><\/p>\n

Number 27:7 \u201cyes the daughters of Tzelophehad are speaking correctly, you should surely give them possession of an inheritance among their father\u2019s brethren and you shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Leviticus 26:6 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cAnd I will give you peace in the land, and you shall lie down and none shall make you afraid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Exodus 15:21 \u201cand Miriam answered them, \u2018Sing out to the Lord, for God has surely triumphed\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Genesis 25: 22 \u201cand she said \u2018why is it thus: and went to inquire of God\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Jews\/Verses\/Tanakh","main_caption":"Create Meaning","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Deuteronomy 32:47 - \u201cIt is not an empty thing for you\u201d","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":false,"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52725"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52726,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52725\/revisions\/52726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}