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The premise of this book is simple. We all say that the Torah is more than a history book describing events that took place there and then. We claim that it is a guide for how to live here and now. We say that the Bible is a mirror in which we can see ourselves and that it is a compass showing us the way. If that is so, then the Torah ought to be clearly pertinent to the world in which we live. This is the premise of this book of short essays by Steven Ettinger, who is an ordained rabbi and a lawyer with special expertise in tax law. What he does is nothing more and nothing less than tell us what occurred to him each week of the year and how the Torah portion of that week illuminated his situation. The idea is simple and yet bold, and he pulls it off almost every time. For example, in one chapter he tells of how he loves hockey and is a big fan of the Detroit team, and so he went out and bought a team pennant and put it on his car. His kids were delighted and strangers who passed him on the road smiled and gave him the thumbs up sign, as a way of saying that they felt connected to him because they cheered for the same team. And then he opens the Torah portion for that week, the portion of Bamidbar, and he notices that each of the tribes had a flag. Was it for the same reason that he bought one? Was it for the same reason that soldiers in battle care about a flag? Soldiers know that as long as their flag still waves, they have not lost. As the national anthem puts it: "the bombs bursting in air, through the rockets red glare, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there".Or was the purpose of the flag to do for the Israelites what the flag on his car did for him: to pull people together and give them a shared identity? Could it be that, just as the pennant of the Redwings gives people a sense of kinship, that the flags of the tribes in the Torah was intended to give people a sense of pride in who they were? Here is another example. He has a chapter in which he talks about his work as a tax counsel. He recounts that he has been witness to and party to many delicate negotiations when an estate had to be divided. All kinds of emotional feelings come to the surface at such a time. This piece of property not only has cash value; it symbolizes my place in the family. This artifact is not just a thing that has sentimental value; it is my claim to reparations for what I did not receive from this person during her lifetime. He says that he has seen relationships break up over who gets what in an estate. And with these thoughts in mind, he turns to the sedra and rereads the story of the daughters of Tselofchod, who come to Moses and ask for a share in their father's estate. Their father left no sons, and so there are no male heirs, and therefore they want to inherit his portion in the Land. The tax counselor reads this passage and all kinds of questions come up in his mind. First of all, why should these women care so much about what happens to their father's share in the Land? They are still in the desert; the Land has not been conquered yet. This is not the family farm or the place that they were raised that they are talking about. This is not Tara in Gone With the Wind, or My Old Kentucky Home; it is a place that they have never even seen! And these women would presumably get married someday. So they would be receiving some portions of Land through their husbands. Why are they so insistent on inheriting from their father? The tax counselor who has just gone through some very strained negotiations between heirs understands. He sees how important these matters can be to people, even if they are not completely rational. For some, the motivation may be simply financial self-interest. For others it may be a need to preserve the family heritage. For others the death of a matriarch or patriarch may stir up all kinds of anger and repressed resentment. And therefore, these women say very specifically that they want their judgment to be brought "before the Lord". And Moses does so; he brings their case "before the Lord". What does that phrase mean? Perhaps it means to strive to transcend your own personal agenda, whatever it may be: greed or anger or whatever, and to try to see your claim in a larger and a holier perspective. Perhaps it means to ask yourself: what does God want you to do in this case? What is befitting for children made in the Image of God to do in this case? He goes back to his business, striving to adjudicate and negotiate the conflicting claims of the heirs that he must deal with in his work, hoping that he will be able to convey to his clients and to their rivals what the daughters of Tselofchod have taught him, If he can, then perhaps he can salvage the relationships between the heirs, which may ultimately be more important than who gets precisely what. The story of the daughters of Tselofchod turns out to be a valuable resource for those who are responsible for settling contested estates. The author has deliberately kept his chapters simple. He relies, almost always, on the biblical story itself, and not on the commentators of later generations so as to make this book accessible to all. He is clearly Orthodox, but that should not bar the book from being of interest to us all. If you were not aware that the Torah has something to teach about beanie bears or fare wars or lawn mowing or secret decode rings, this may be a valuable book for you. (Rabbi Jack Riemer is the co-editor of So That Your Values Live On, published by Jewish Lights and the editor of the three volumes of The World of the High Holy Days, published by the National Rabbinic Network.) Rabbi Jack Riemer |
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This book is destined to become 330 pages of a new Jewish classic. Torah 24/7: A Timely Guide for the Modern Spirit is the book about Orthodox Judaism and weekly Torah readings for anyone who’s ever been bored out of his or her mind by religious mumbo-jumbo. Steven Ettinger’s sharp, witty humor and lively presentation is a tool for the ages: clergy and laymen will be able to use it with ease. Beleaguered but clever Hebrew school teachers will be able to safely forbid their charges to read the book, then leave copies in accessible locations for oppositional students to acquire stealthy, self-imposed educations for years to come. The purpose of Torah 24/7: A Timely Guide for the Modern Spirit is to help the reader to understand the relevance between Toraitic insights and the human condition. A cheerful mention of Billy Joel (page two) launches into a rather comprehensive 4,000-year historical review in the space of one paragraph. The same paragraph praises today’s Jewish boogey band Shlock Rock, ending on a pensive thought before the reader catches on to the fact that Ettinger is no moss-covered gasbag of a clergyman. The author indicates “This work is intended as a tool for me and my personal spiritual growth… my hope is that it can also be a guide… for others, to focus their own thoughts and experiences week by week through the source of all life and all thought, our Torah.” Thanks to the rest of his capable literary exercise, almost anyone who reads it can become at least a bit more spiritually advanced. The author's expertise in relating the relevance of Torah knowledge to daily life comes from his education at Jerusalem’s Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva and the famed Yeshiva University in New York. His original approach to Jewish observances is refreshing candor and an honest recognition of the pressures bearing down on present-day people with feet, and moral compasses, made of clay. Few if any leaders in the Jewish world are teaching about Yakov’s foray into uber-evil La ban’s lair as the totally believable life-lessons of a Jewish business school student. Ettinger has even more fun in store when he compares the ethical emphasis of the Star Trek series with that of Toraitic analysis. This Trekian explication has been shared in many a conversation among television-savvy Orthodox Jews, but it’s among the first hardcover redactions of Torah and Star Trek on record. A scholarly approach to the Torah demands a daunting amount of knowledge about the Mishna and Talmud, and Ettinger engages the reader to appreciate these topics with his trademark candor in subsequent chapters. His inviting approach to such serious material makes Torah 24/7 useful to readers at all academic levels in the Jewish world. Scholars will benefit from the fresh re-examination of old material and newcomers to Jewish thought will gain insights they can share with more experienced counterparts. Ettinger’s writing style allows readers to peruse the book at random, to read it chapter by chapter, and to enjoy its user-friendly presentation no matter how it is read. A 2003 hardcover publication by Simcha Publishing Company (Jerusalem, Israel), Torah 24/7: A Timely Guide for the Modern Spirit belongs in the libraries of all Jewish schools and synagogues, the offices of Jewish outreach professionals, as well as the homes of Jews interested in intellectual honesty and pure fun. Yocheved Golani |
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