Judaism embraces the constructive tension between tradition and innovation. The instruction to remember is about preserving a heritage. The instruction to hear is about introducing new perspectives. To settle within the promise we need to do both. View the study sheet here. Watch the recording here.
Judaism embraces the constructive tension between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation. The great rabbinic enterprise the Talmud is powered by the construction of a radically new form of religious life while meticulously honoring and preserving one that had existed for over one thousand years.
That tension is evident in this week’s Torah portion. We see it in two words prominent in the text: remember and hear. One urges us to preserve and transmit values and rituals that sustain a sense of social solidarity, identity and purpose. The other encourages the introduction of new ideas, perspectives and innovative approaches. The image is less that of a battlefield than a pivot, a constant recalibration where past, present and future are mutually infused. Join us here at 7:00 p.m. (PDT) Thursday July 29 as we explore memory and hearing, continuity and disruption.
