Our Precious Inheritance

Our friend and teacher, Rabbi Judith Edelstein, will be joining us on zoom for our third Friday Kabbalat Shabbat service on April 21st at 7pm. We fondly remember her visit to Beth Samuel in person a few years ago, when she taught us about Mussar, a way of self-examination and of relating to others with inspiration, dignity, and compassion.
 
This time Rabbi Judith will be talking about the Torah, and if you think you already know a lot about what the Torah is and what it means, you will learn even more. 
 
As an introduction to her talk, allow me to quote from Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of the Fathers, which is a compilation of ethical sayings by which we should live our lives. One of the Rabbis, who actually has a kind of funny name, Rabbi Yochanan ben Bag Bag, taught, “Study the Torah;  turn it and turn it over and over again, for everything is in it.” What he meant is that the Torah is a complete guide to life, and that you should study it, even into old age.
 
When we read the Torah each week and learn something new from it, or when we connect its relevance to us today, we are turning and turning the Torah over and over, further opening our eyes to its lessons. When we return the Torah to the ark we say, “Eitz chayim he, the Torah is a precious inheritance, a tree of life...and all its paths are peace.”
 
Be sure to join us on Friday, April 21 at 7pm for our short Kabbalat Shabbat service and to welcome back Rabbi Judith (virtually) to our community. She will teach us more about this precious inheritance in her “Dive Into Torah” and I know we will each learn something new. 
 
B’shalom,
Cantor Rena