Rabbi's Messages

For Ourselves And For Future Generations

on Sunday, 26 April 2015.

One of my favourite stories tells that when the people of Israel were standing at Sinai, ready to receive the Torah, God first asked for some collateral – some proof that the Torah would be kept. Our people offered God their ancestors, the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of our people. And God replied that though our ancestors were good people, they were not good enough proof that we would keep the Torah.

And so we offered God our prophets, the teachers whose words and deeds helped us to build the ethical tradition we call Judaism. And God replied that those teachers had surely changed the world, but they were not good enough proof that we would keep the Torah.

Finally, we offered to God this idea: If we receive Torah, we will teach it to our children. And they will teach it to theirs, and they to theirs. And in that way, we can ensure that Torah will always be studied, loved, and kept.

And God said, "Your children are good guarantors. For THEIR sake, I give you My Torah."

Everything we do as Jews, we do both for our own sake, and for the sake of future generations. The community we build, the Torah we learn and teach. As we celebrate Shavuot this month, marking the anniversary of our experience at Sinai, we are aware of and grateful for the children who represent our Jewish future.

Please join us for Shavuot evening services on Saturday, May 23 at 7:30pm, as our Confirmation Class leads us in a creative and meaningful worship experience.

Afterwards, we will stay up late for a night of study. Meet us at Temple Har Zion at 10:30 pm for a TikkunLeil Shavuot. Bring a favourite dessert to share!

May the words of Torah always be as sweet as honey.

L'shalom,
Rabbi Micah Streiffer