{"id":52733,"date":"2019-03-31T22:54:24","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T19:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=52733"},"modified":"2019-03-31T22:54:24","modified_gmt":"2019-03-31T19:54:24","slug":"a-torah-of-lovingkindness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-torah-of-lovingkindness\/","title":{"rendered":"A Torah Of Lovingkindness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Talmudic Sages say that the Torah begins and ends in precisely the same way; this crucial fact, I would suggest, teaches us what Torah is really <\/span>about <\/span><\/i>and what it is ultimately <\/span>for<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the Torah comes to an end, Israel\u2019s great leader dies; we learn that \u201cGod buried [Moses] in the valley\u201d in a burial place fated to remain forever unknown (Deuteronomy 34:6). As the Torah begins, Adam and Eve eat from the tree and become aware of their nakedness; we are told that \u201cthe Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them\u201d (Genesis 3:21). The Sage R. Simlai notes: \u201cThe Torah begins with an act of lovingkindness (<\/span>gemilut chasadim<\/span><\/i>) and ends with an act of lovingkindness.\u201d As support he brings these two divine actions–burying Moses and clothing Adam and Eve (BT, Sotah 14a). The very essence of Torah, the Sages thus insist, is a God of love and kindness who calls Israel to love and kindness. <\/span><\/p>\n

The book of Proverbs portrays a woman of valor as having \u201ca Torah of lovingkindness upon her tongue\u201d (Proverbs 31:26). The Talmudic Sage R. Elazar is disturbed by the implication: \u201cIs there then a Torah of lovingkindness and a Torah which is not of lovingkindness?\u201d (BT, Sukkah 49b).<\/span><\/p>\n

Painful as it is to say, we know all too well that there is a Torah which is not of lovingkindness. Torah can elicit staggering degrees of goodness and generosity of spirit; it can motivate us to love when hate seems much easier, to care for the pain of others when indifference seems the surer path. <\/span><\/p>\n

But Torah can also be made to serve the opposite ends: It can serve to deepen selfishness and self-involvement; it can be cited to bolster chauvinism and cultivate hate. <\/span><\/p>\n

In inheriting Torah, in studying and teaching it, we could do no better than to keep the simple challenge posed by these midrashim firmly in mind and at heart: The Torah we learn and teach should help us become kinder, more generous, more empathic and willing to give. <\/span><\/p>\n

If it merely buttresses our biases and hardens our hearts, then it is simply not Torah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Torah is about a God of love who calls us to a life of love. May we merit that a Torah of lovingkindness always be upon our lips.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"929 End of the Torah","main_caption":"A Torah Of Lovingkindness","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"In its Ending and in its Beginnings","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\/52733"}],"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=52733"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52734,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52733\/revisions\/52734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}