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August 19, 2022 (22 Av 5782) A New Torah Dear Holy Friends, I hope this correspondence finds you doing well and in good health. We look forward to you joining us this Shabbat morning at 10:30 am for our services which will take place in the sanctuary and be available on our regular zoom prayer link. This past week, I had the opportunity to co-officiate at the weddings of two former students of mine, as they stood happily under the Chuppah! One event was local and the other was in Chicago, where I served my first pulpit. I could not have been more thrilled, and derived more Naches, as I witnessed B’nei Mitzvah students of mine, navigate their next life-cycle event. While officiating, I was also cognizant of the Jewish adage, that one should gravitate from initiation in covenant, to the study of Torah, to eventually, the Chuppah. Those of you who attend daily services will note that the blessings surrounding the recitation of the Shema during the morning service, revolve around three specific, central, and important Jewish historical themes: creation (Yotzer ha’m’orot); revelation (the Shema itself); and redemption, or the eschatological paradigm, for the people of Israel. Ironically, during the recitation of the Seven Blessings (Sheva Berachot) at a wedding, we reference the ideas of creation and redemption numerous times, as is envisioned through the joy of Jerusalem. The creation construct is indicated through these specific blessings: Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Ruler of the universe, who has created everything for your glory. Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of Human Beings. Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Ruler of the universe, who has fashioned human beings in your image, according to your likeness and has fashioned from it a lasting mold. Blessed are You Adonai, Creator of Human Beings. Gladden the beloved companions as You gladdened Your creatures in the garden of Eden. Blessed are You, Adonai, who gladdens this couple. Secondly, the futuristic redemption construct is indicated through the following blessings: Bring intense joy and exultation through the ingathering of Her children (Jerusalem). Blessed are You, Adonai, the One who gladdens Zion (Israel) through Her children’s return. Blessed are You, Adonai, our God, Ruler of the universe, who created joy and gladness, loving couples, mirth, glad song, pleasure, delight, love, loving communities, peace, and companionship. Adonai, our God, let there soon be heard in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the voice of the loving couple, the sound of their jubilance from their canopies and of the youths from their song-filled feasts. Blessed are You Who causes the couple to rejoice, one with the other. While this is all great, one could certainly ask the question as to why the middle idea of revelation is absent? Connected to this inquiry, a Midrash asks the question as to what HaShem has been doing since the creation of the world and the giving of Torah at Sinai. While I am sure that God is busy, the Midrash offers that since those events, the Master of the Universe has occupied himself simply with helping partners find their beloved companion! As such, I would suggest that the absence of the reference of theophany, or the appearance of God, in the wedding blessings, teaches that the actual connection of two human beings in a loving nature is in fact a new Revelation unto itself. This new connection represents the opportunity of a completely new Torah, which has not been seen ever before nor will be seen again. This new manifestation is the manifestation of God himself. This new connection offers a reinvigoration for the people of Israel and the Jewish community. This new connection represents new building blocks for all of us. I love the idea that, whether joining in marriage or not, we all can become a new Torah. We are the people, Israel. We are chosen. We are blessed. So, as I wish Mazal Tov to Yonatan and Ateret as well as to Elinava and Gil, I also pray that we can embody new holiness, new studies and new insights, so as to make our community stronger, holier and more complete. Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Eric Wasser, EdD, Hon.DM
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