How We Shape Our Jewish Selves
Anyone who has trained to be a Torah scribe or a potter, a pianist or a knife-maker, a chef or a dancer or a social change artist knows about the principle of chazara. In the studio we call it refining, on the stage we call it rehearsal, at the piano bench we call it review, on the streets we may call it engagement. One cannot refine one’s craft without continually returning to the basics, without focused practice, discipline, and curiosity, and without the willingness to be in unknown, unformed spaces.
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Spiritual Snapshots
There are two types of “return” in prayer: The ratzoh v’shov (withdrawal and return) of daily prayer, which is like the tide coming in and going out, and the special Shabbat or holiday prayers that have a more drawn-out cyclical nature of return. On a daily basis, knowing I’ll step in and out of prayer is comforting and stabilizing. I have become so accustomed to the words of the liturgy that I rarely give them much detailed thought. But when I return to holiday prayers, I note that time has passed and I marvel at returning to those prayers: the same self but wholly different from the last go around. At this time last year, I was praying for a healthy birth; at this time last year, I hadn’t yet moved to Berkeley.
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Beruriah’s Beit Midrash
What do Jews do when things are hard? Kvetch? Tell a story? When I found myself anguished as my feminist consciousness developed and Judaism’s deep patriarchy came into view, I began to write midrashim. Midrash literally means to search out, and is the ancient and effective tradition of returning to a scriptural text to search out new meanings with new eyes.
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Reclaiming Activism
For the first time in all my years as an activist, I was arrested last April along with 35 clergy colleagues who defiantly blocked access to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in downtown Los Angeles. I participated in the demonstration because of my conviction that the restrictive immigration policies of our government violate the principles of the America that welcomed my immigrant parents and wife, and also contradict core teachings of our tradition.
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NiSh’ma: Chazara
A simulated Talmud page with three commentators exploring an unusual prayer, the Hadran, which is recited upon completion of a tractate of Talmud.
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Consider and Converse: A Guide to Chazara
Sh’ma Now curates conversations on a single theme rooted in Jewish tradition and the contemporary moment. At the heart of this issue of Sh’ma Now is the theme of Chazara, Return. Jews return to their texts, liturgy, ritual, and experiences year after year as they cycle through the weekly Torah portions and annual holiday rituals. I wondered about the obstacles and pitfalls of returning again and again to the same liturgy: Does this process create an inherently conservative framework in Judaism? Or, does it allow us to return to a touchstone and that grounds us and provides a deep confidence that fosters innovation? And I wondered how we’re different as individuals and communities as we revisit the stories we’ve heard before.
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