Finally, we’ve crossed through the sea on dry land, the water rising up like walls on our right and on our left. We are no longer slaves; we are a liberated people, able to serve God in our unique way. And this week, in Parshat Yitro, we arrive at Mount Sinai, as one people eager to hear the word of God. It’s a moment. It’s the moment. Torah comes down to us as a people, and finally we are able to engage with God in a structured, new way.
When the Torah says that the Israelites were camped at the bottom of the mountain (Shemot 19:2), it writes in the singular, vayichan sham, they (singular) encamped there. Rashi beautifully comments on this verse that the singular verb means that the Israelites were like one person, standing together with one beating heart, unified. I love this imagery. There’s particular beauty in feeling like in that moment of receiving Torah, our holiest teachings, we were united and deeply connected to each other.
What binds us together, what brings us together IS Torah. As a way of hammering that message home, the midrashic tradition offers us a way of relating to Torah through the metaphor of water: Just as water goes from one end of the earth to the other, so does Torah go from one end to the other. Just as water is forever living, Torah is forever living. Just as water comes from the heavens, so too does Torah come from the heavens. Just was water restores the soul, so too does Torah restore the soul... (Shir haShirim Rabbah 1:19)
As only a nerdy rabbi can say to their nerdy rabbi spouse, last night, as our broken hot water heater spewed water from a hole, I said to Abe, “Torah cannot be contained!” Despite trying to quickly assess what was happening, he humored me. Thankfully, all will be fixed today and there isn’t any significant damage. But we were truly only able to figure anything out with the help of several loving neighbors, congregants, and friends. At the end of the night, later than it should have been, the predominant feeling that Abe and I had was tremendous gratitude for the village.
Because for all of the reality of and necessity for our distanced life right now, we are still one people, we are still connected. For us, last night, for all the jokes about water as Torah, our experience was the embodiment of the living Torah. Our experience was the connectedness of people who care about each other and love each other. It was the Torah of a unified heartbeat of people connected and interwoven out of a shared love, shared community, shared values system.
Of course, I could do without my hot water heater breaking on a Thursday night as we’re cooking for Shabbat. And while the metaphor of Torah as water is meaningful to me, perhaps uncontained water doesn’t have to be everywhere. But I can always use the reminder of our oneness as a people, standing together as one person, with one beating heart.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Sarit
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