Sh'ma Now

I Can’t Learn Without You

Zac KamenetzDecember 31, 2018

We had already missed several of our weekly calls to pore over texts together — each inspiring the learning process. “Why are words of Torah compared to fire? … Just as fire does not kindle by itself, so, too, words of Torah do not survive alone.” (Taanit 7a) I felt a deep sense of loss when my chavruta, or learning partner, told me he was overextended and could no longer study together. His interests and knowledge were so far-reaching that when we learned together it felt like Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, the master known as the Piazcezner Rebbe, was convincingly referencing Shakespeare, Kantian ethics, and Evyatar Banai’s new album. It was as though the Piazcezner Rebbe’s small volume on spiritual practice, Bnei Machshava Tova__(Conscious Community: A Guide to Inner Work), was our third partner in study. I also treasured our pre-learning check-ins, when we would chat about our work, marriages, and fathering. Most of all, I would miss how intensely vulnerable I felt while learning with him — almost every major idea presented in the text was an opportunity to be very real with each other about the state of our spiritual lives. It was the first time I felt like I had encountered what Martin Buber called genuine dialogue, where “the turning to the partner takes place in all truth … by accepting him as my partner in genuine dialogue I have affirmed him as a person.” (Martin Buber, Genuine Dialogue, 1954) Turning toward another person over a piece of text has meant more than affirming my learning partner as a person. I’m presented with innovative ways of expression and opportunities to take on new personas.

Jewish Learning with Attitude

Orit Kent and Allison CookDecember 31, 2018

Yona and Leor were studying Sefer Shemot (the book of Exodus) together inchavruta__, arguing about an interpretation of a verse. When their learning came to a standstill, Yona said: “We are totally stuck. Should we just move on?” Leor responded, “We’re not stuck. We just don’t agree. Let’s try to restate each other’s ideas to make sure we understand each other.” With some effort, they each restated the other’s interpretation, including their supporting textual evidence. Through this process, Leor noticed something new in the text, and Yona pointed out new evidence in the text that supported Leor’s interpretation.

Planned Serendipity

Joshua AvedonDecember 31, 2018

Renowned 20th-century community organizer Saul Alinsky told a parable about a group of villagers who, upon witnessing a succession of babies floating by in a fast-moving river, mobilize massive resources at great cost to save them. Although they quickly collectivize the rescue effort and create elaborate response mechanisms, they fail to keep up with the steady increase of waterborne infants. After castigating some rescuers for apparently abandoning the collaborative effort, they learn that the others aren’t ignoring the problem but instead are going upstream to stop the babies from being thrown into the river in the first place. Alinsky used the story to make the case for prioritizing resources toward underlying causes rather than just reacting to crises.

Expanding the Table: Chavruta as a Partnership Model

Aliza Kline and Sarit WishnevskiDecember 31, 2018

From preparing food that others have grown, harvested, and packaged, to sharing the meal with a table full of friends, Shabbat dinner echoes the teaching of Rabbi Nehorai in Pirkei Avot 4: “Do not rely on your own understanding.” In other words, we can’t do it alone.