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 Wolf

In the Talmud, one of the sages asks, “Why are words of Torah likened to fire, as in the verse, ‘Is not My word like fire? –says the Eternal’ (Jeremiah 23:29)?  To teach you that just as fire does not ignite of itself, so words of Torah do not endure in the one who studies by himself” (Ta’anit 7a).  Jewish learning and community must be inextricably linked, for how much more can each of us learn when we have a collective well of understanding and knowledge from which to draw!  Deepening our learning, however, is not the only reason we are taught not to study alone; the relationships we create while studying with each other are just as vital as the insights we uncover.  As Rabbi Marder says, studying our sacred texts connects us to the past, to the “ancient wellsprings of Jewish learning,” but studying as a community also connects us to each other today, and, ultimately, to our future.  “Words of Torah do not endure in the one who studies by himself,” but words of Torah do endure when they are shared by the community and cherished enough to be passed on to the next generation.  We invite you to join with us in learning words of Torah, that they might ignite and sustain our love for each other and our passion for the tradition that binds us together.

Rabbi Sarah Wolf

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