It Gets Late Early These Days

A major, if not the number one issue, for many Jews is Rabbinic Authority. My students raise the question directly and implicitly on a daily basis. One bright, sensitive student told me that she wanted to talk about this subject. I prepared by thinking and learning about the subject and having two books on hand, and a third on order, on the topic before we met yesterday.

We talked out the ideas for about forty minutes. At some point, organically and spontaneously I tied in something that I've been thinking about a lot lately. I raised the issue of organization. "I'm terrible at that", the student shared. I went on to explain that being orderly in the day to day details is a challenge for many (hello) and it often seems like there are bigger fish to fry. Yet, the technical minutia of life can be at the core of the bigger issues. If we work on schedules, boundaries, daily to dos, we may very likely find that these details are the glue that hold our life together. We can, perhaps, see headway regarding the big issues when we make headway in the department of the seemingly small area of logistics, the hinges that hold our lives together.

Similarly, the glue of the spiritual lives are the details of the Torah. Much of the Torah (what beautiful fruit to take on Sukkot, how to properly observe Shabbat, the details of preparing a kosher animal) is cryptic and explained by the oral tradition. I believe that we have it backwards. The rabbinic laws and interpretations are not superimposed on the Torah. They are the essence of the Torah. The details of, for example, Shabbos don't hinder the essence of the day but hold it together.

As I write Shabbos approaches so my focus must go there. Soon we will sing, "Shamor vezachor bedibur echad." It is not only Shabbos, but all mitzvot have this dual aspect. There's the metaphorical and the amorphous, the zachor. There's also the tangible nitty gritty of shamor.

Very soon it is Shabbos and I really need to close this post. I pray for myself and all of us for balance. May we be so blessed.

I write this while standing on one leg, wondering

Is impromptu poetry any way to greet a queen?

I must hurry up and slow down

There are flames to extinguish and flames to ignite

As wise Yogi said, "It gets late early these days."