The Relevance of Torah

This is a theme I am going to start writing about a lot.  To me its the practical side of what Judaism is about.  How do I and my family really use the Torah to guide us in our lives?  To me its mostly about decisions.  How do you make the right decisions in life? There are stories and themes in the Torah that build the foundation for our personal ethic.

One of the things I try to do is make sure I read each Torah Portion we create at MitzvahArt. Its amazing, no matter how many times I read the same passages I generally get something different out of it depending on what is happening on that day.

I was struck by the faith needed to survive as an Israelite fleeing Egypt and wanted to blog about it.

This past week the portion was Beshalah. Its packed with symbolism including the parting of the Red Sea, Manna from Heaven, getting water from rock and opening your arms to G-d to win war.  And while these are great stories the thing that struck me this time reading the portion was the effort that the children of Israel had to make to see the miracles around them.

I mean really, how could you not go through the Red Sea that was split in front of you and ever doubt that you were being taken care of by a higher being?  But Israel whined about food and water and enemies. And each time G-d answered their whines as a parent cares for a newborn. (Don’t get me started on that because being  parent of older children and dog owner I am against responding to whining)

Now of course the story depicts a people emerging from slavery much like a newborn people, and we are more mature from that perspective.  But we too are emerging from a sort of slavery.  Certainly the last decade or more was filled with material metrics, excesses and with that a loss of what is meaningful. By the way, I am as guilty as the next person, more that some I am sure.

So what miracles are around us?  Well for starters, how about electing an afro-american President of the United States?  As ardent a follower of Obama I was, I did not really grasp this miracle until watching the coverage election night.  Truly this is an emergence from slavery at last.

How many of you are cooking dinner at home more?  Having more dinner table conversations and as a result getting better connected with your families?  Having the opportunity to discuss really important things. To me that is a real miracle.

Please tell me about the miracles in your life.