Shabbat Shalom everyone, it is a pleasure a privilege to speak to you today, and I want to thank Rabbi Block for giving me the opportunity to do so. The only time I am called upon to speak at Rodfei, is when we have to ask for money, so if I forget where I am at the end, and ask you to turn in your pledge cards to the ushers, you can disregard that request.

There is so much packed into this weeks parashah, I had a terrible time choosing what to speak about. The 10 commandments are repeated, but with slightly different wording. There is the poignant prayer from Moses to see the land, and G-d's response. And, this is Shabbat Nachamu, the beginning of the Haftorah's of consolation. Ultimately though, I decided to speak about the Shema.

The first paragraph of the Shema starts with “Ve ahavta et, Hashem Elokecha.” You shall love Hashem, you G-d, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your resources. These words are some of our most familiar words of sacred text, yet when you think about it, it is quite an unusual commandment. How can we be commanded to “love G-d.”

Maimonodes provides us with an answer. In his Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei Torah, he writes in the second chapter “What is the path to attain love and fear of G-d? When a person contemplates G-d's wondrous and great deeds and creations and appreciates His infinite wisdom that surpasses all comparison.” In the Laws of Repentance, he explains this idea further “the extent of one's knowledge determines the degree of love.”

Lastly, in Sefer HaMitzvot, his book on the Mitzvot, he further clarifies that he sees this Mitzvah not as an emotional one, but a Mitzvah of da'at, knowledge. Knowledge of the world, and its order and intricacy, and knowledge of Torah, and the depth and breadth of wisdom contained there in, both are essential.

How then, do we accomplish that? I think it is always instructive to look at what our Rabbi's tell us. One thing has remained consistent for thousands of years, from Shammai, who says in Pirkei Avot, Chapter 1, mishnah 15, “Ah-se, toratechah kevah.” Make Torah study a fixed practice, to Rabbi Yoffie, who said two years ago, about URJ's “10 minutes of Torah,” “If we make time to answer our cell phones a dozen times a day and to check our email five times an hour, surely we can find time to study our tradition.”

We must first set aside time, regularly, for Torah. But, there is more to it, than just time. I saw today a beautiful explanation from a brochure on “How to Study a text, Jewishly, that is,” written by Rabbi Josh Zweiback and Richard Abrams. They write “For modern seekers, however, one challenge to effective Torah study is the culture in which we live. From the time young students first visit a library they are told to be quiet, to choose a book, and to read it in silence, often sitting in booths that block them from human contact. This is a sensory deprivation mode of learning, … which is not conducive to studying Torah.”

They then take a close look at the blessing we recite for Torah “…..La'asok b'divreh torah.” They translate the last three words “to engage in Torah.” They further explain as follows “The blessing for Torah study commands us to engage with the text. The Hebrew for “to engage,” the verb la'asok, can also mean “to engage in” or “to trade” (in the sense of business). These are activities that are better done with two.” We must study with others.

Finally, I would like to take one last idea from this weeks' parashah, in which we are commanded to remember the place that Torah was given. Why should we care if Torah was given at Sinai, Everest, or the Alamo? Isn't the Torah the message anyway? You see, Sinai was an unimpressive mountain. No Everest, Sinai was one of the lowest of mountains. From this we learn that we must humble ourselves to learn Torah. If you are ready with all the answers, you cannot learn. You must want to know more, be willing to hear what both the Torah says to you, and how your study partners and teachers understand the text.

First, we learned from Maimonades how essential knowledge and learning are. Second, I have outlined three principles for attaining that knowledge:

Set aside time to learn
Learn with others
Be open and receptive to others and to the text

Why did I emphasize these lessons? Because that is what the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School does so well. It forces us to set aside time, every Wednesday night, to learn. We learn with others from all different backgrounds and life experiences, each one bringing their own lenses to the text, and in order for it to all work, we have to be open and receptive to the text, and especially one another.

Melton is a truly unique opportunity. It brings us together, to learn text, and asks lots of questions of us. Together we look for answers. Occasionally, we even find them. I hope you will join us, and if you do, I know that you will not regret it. There should be plenty of brochures in the lobby. If you send in the attached registration form, please put a note on it that you were hear tonight, and that way we will only charge the “early bird,” fees. Unfortunately, I need to get back home for Shabbat dinner with my family, so I won't be able to stick around and answer questions after services, but please feel free to call me at with any questions you may have. My phone number and e-mail are on the brochure

Thank you very much for coming, and allowing me to speak, Shabbat Shalom.

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