The other day, I had “homework” duty. I sat at the kitchen table with a cup of
coffee, and I became the fountain of knowledge as my children did their
homework. As I sat there, I quickly ascertained what they were doing in
school and evaluated how best to explain
that which needed explaining. Frequently I determined when a child wanted me to do
the work for them as opposed to asking legitimate questions in order to discover the answer for themselves. As the homework session unfolded, I was amazed how
three children born to the same parents could be so intellectually different.
They all work hard in order to do well and thankfully, they do well in school. However, let’s just say the enthusiasm with
which they engage the material is different, the confidence to venture into the
intellectual unknown is different, and the fear of making a mistake varies
tremendously. Finally, there is no question that where one is a perfectionist
another is far from caring to be perfect. So my answers to the perfectionist
are to encourage her to venture into the intellectual unknown, to make educated
decisions and not worry about being wrong. My answer to the child who tends to
be more careless but incredibly inquisitive, is to focus upon details,
spelling, punctuation and completing a thought or line of reasoning before
moving onto the next thing. Then of course there is the child who has already
figured it out. No, not figure IT out, after all not to many children figure IT (the meaning of life) out. However, she figured out exactly how much
effort is required to do well, how much attention needed to be paid to detail.
In other words, one child figured out how to learn. As a result, very little,
on an intellectual basis gets by her. When she doesn’t know, she asks for a point of clarification and then
figures it out. There is no wasted time in lamenting the degree of difficulty,
or fear of being wrong. When the three of them are watching a movie, and there
is a question, the other two ask her since she not only understands, but can
logically infer what will happen next.
This week’s Parsha is Breishit. It is the first
parsha of the first Book of the Torah. For all intents and purposes, it is the
beginning of the Torah. In Breishit, we read the story of Creation, (The
Beginning); Adam and Chava’s banishment from Paradise (Gan Eden), and the
fratricide of Cain and Abel. We begin however with God. God is the Creator, the
ultimate power. If knowledge is power, then God is the ultimate source of
knowledge. We accept this as part of our Jewish theology. God is all-knowing
and all powerful. We read the words: V’yivrah
Elohim et Ha’Adam b’Tzalmo, B’Tzelem Elohim Barah Oto Zachar u’Nekeivah Barah Otam.
“And God created man in His own image. In
the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them. (1:27).
The question therefore is: What is the image of God? Obviously part of that
image is the power to create, the power to create life. We surmise this because
in the next verse, God commands Adam and Chava to be fruitful and multiply, to
create life just like God had created. Another image of God is Power. God’s
purpose in creating humanity was that they “should
have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over
the cattle, and over all the earth…” (1:26) In today’s vernacular
“dominion” is Power. However the ability to create, and the ability to exercise
power sagaciously, and judiciously, necessitates the attainment of knowledge.
Perhaps that is our greatest gift. We have the ability to learn, to reason, to
discern between right and wrong. To do so expresses our faith in God,
re-affirms that, indeed, we are created in God’s image, and we possess an
aspect of Holiness.
In the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Chagigah (14b), there is an Aggadah, a Rabbinic legend, which illustrates the
notion that attaining knowledge and understanding how to attain knowledge is a
holy endeavor. Four of the leading sages of their generation entered PaRDes (literally
the “orchard” or Paradise). They were Ben Assai, Ben Zoma, Elisha ben Abuyah,
and Rabbi Akiva. They entered PaRDeS and came into contact with the pure power,
pure knowledge and complete perfection. They came into contact with God. As a
result one sage died immediately. One sage went insane, one became a heretic,
and was referred to as Acher (the other), by the rest of
the Talmudic Sages. Only Rabbi Akiva emerged unscathed. The commentators of
this Aggadah explain that PaRDeS is an acronym for four methods of Torah
inquiry: P’shat (the simple literal meaning), Remez (understanding the meaning
based upon hint and intimation), Drash (derive meaning based upon
interpretation), and Sod( deriving meaning based upon uncovering secret
meanings). Imagine that? Our tradition explains that Paradise, is achieved
through Torah study and deriving meaning in four different ways. Relying on any
one way will limit intellectual and spiritual growth. However incorporating
each aspect, and understanding when to utilize one more than the other or how
much of each aspect to use in order to determine meaning is what allowed Rabbi
Akiva to leave PaRDeS unscathed. In a sense our sages are absolutely correct,
PaRDeS is studying Torah for the sake of intellectual and spiritual growth and
enlightenment.
The attainment of knowledge and Truth is a Godly
endeavor. The use of such knowledge judiciously and wisely for creative
purposes represents the notion that we are indeed created in God’s image. Not
only is knowledge power, but understanding how to attain and use that knowledge
is also the key to a spiritually enlightened life. As I continue answering
homework questions, I sit spellbound watching each child make their way on
their journey to attaining knowledge.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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