Letters from the Rabbis:

From Rabbi Marder

"And Isaac dug anew the wells which had been dug in the days of his father..."
-Genesis 26:18

The Midrash compares Torah to "a well of living waters" -- not only because water invigorates the body as Torah refreshes the soul, but because Torah study is dynamic; students of Torah continually bring forth new insights, even as fresh water gushes from a fountain.

Come to a class at Beth Am, and you'll soon experience for yourself the effervescence of creative study. Our members are thoughtful, reflective and articulate; they come from all sorts of backgrounds and every level of knowledge and observance; they bring the perspective of their professions and life experience to the table.

Conversation with such a lively and diverse group is never stagnant. Questions bubble up, along with laughter and sometimes even tears; the discussion eddies and swirls; and by the end of the session both teacher and students feel replenished.

Much of the joy of study in a congregation like ours comes from the thrill of rediscovering what Dr. Peter Pitzele calls "the wells of our fathers." For those of us who were raised with a rigid, unreflective Judaism learned by rote, or whose Jewish education was shallow and without substance, it is incredibly exhilarating to tap into the ancient wellsprings of Jewish learning.

"Ho, all who are thirsty, come for water," wrote the prophet Isaiah (55:1). A good motto as we begin a new year of learning: may each of us drink deep and taste the sweetness of Torah!

Rabbi Janet Marder

From Rabbi Zweiback

The Talmud, the central text of rabbinic Judaism that came into its final form in the 6th century C.E., relates the story of a certain man named Honi the Circle Drawer. (As his name suggests, Honi was wont to draw a circle in the dirt, stand inside that circle and pray, successfully, for rain.) One day Honi lies down to take a nap and wakes up some seventy years later. He wanders into the Beit Midrash, the House of Study, and realizes that all of his teachers and colleagues have died and in their places sit the new masters and students of a new generation-there is no one left to study with him. In his confusion and distress he utters a cry that has echoed through the generations: "Give me study-fellowship or give me death." The idea of being without his learning community was so painful that Honi prayed that he might die. (Talmud, Ta'anit 23a)

This rabbinic legend tells us a great deal about the type of Jewish community the Talmudic sages wanted to create. What a profound expression of Jewish values! "Give me liberty or give me death" certainly has a nice ring but for Honi, Torah study is supreme. The text also teaches us how we learn. Jews do not study in solitude. Though we have been called the "People of the Book," we do not traditionally study with the book alone. Jewish learning happens in community. It is in the conversation about the text that the truths of the text are revealed. It is in the give and take, the discussions, the arguments, that revelation continues.

In order for our community truly to become a congregation of learners, we must come together to learn more regularly. We hope you will join us often in this New Year. If you have been learning regularly, come and meet with members of the Professional Team and the Adult Learning Council to discuss how you might deepen your experience. If you've never studied "Jewish" as an adult, come and talk about where you'd like to go, what you'd like to explore, how you'd like to start. We hope in the pages that follow you will find something that grabs you, that pulls you in, that opens a door to deeper inquiry.

Study-fellowship. A learning community--we can only create it together.

Rabbi Josh Zweiback
Senior Educator

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