Boredom and Challenge

Shabbat Shalom from Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow

June 9-10, 2017 / 16 Sivan 5777

Shabbat Beha’alotecha

Torah: Numbers 8:1 - 12:16 / Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14 - 4:7

“Boredom and Challenge”

Dear Friends,

What would it take to make life an exciting adventure each and every day?  What do we need to wake each morning with excitement and renewal?  This is the question asked in this week’s Torah portion.

The Children of Israel have just left Mount Sinai where they witnessed the giving of the Torah.  What an amazing and uplifting moment that must have been!  Yet within a few days, the Israelites start complaining about the food.  They are tired of the manna food God provides and, instead, want meat, fish and fresh vegetables. The commentator Rashi suggests that the people were exhausted from the journey and from being pushed so hard to move along. Yet, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch argues that the people were not deprived at all.  Rather, they were bored from having all of their needs met!  What they wanted and needed was some excitement and variation.  They needed new challenges and opportunities.

So it is with us and so it is with Judaism.  We need new ideas and new encounters to keep our minds fresh and our curiosity alert.  How fortunate we are that Judaism provides all the communal, cultural, spiritual, and intellectual stimulation that we could possibly want and need.  This summer, I encourage you to explore something new in your Jewish identity.  Read about a new Jewish topic, try a new Jewish recipe, watch a Jewish themed movie about something new to you.  Instead of complaining like our bored ancestors, take on a new and renewing challenge and discover a new door to a contemporary meaningful Judaism. L’chaim – To life.

Zay a mentsch – be a good person.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow