It's been a long, long time since I last posted. I figured I should post a little about AVODAH so people know what I'm doing, what I'm learning, etc. I got my first clients at the Medicare Rights Center last week, which is both exciting and scary. Exciting because I finally have something to do, and scary because I still know very little about Medicare. Also, last night, we had our first exciting and enlightening educational session and text study. We met with AVODAH founder and director, Rabbi David Rosenn. He shared his life story with us, and many of us were totally mesmerized by his obvious passion and vision. I personally was inspired and invigorated by Rabbi Rosenn’s enthusiasm. His talk helped me remember and confirm why I chose to do AVODAH in the first place. I thought to myself, "Oh right! I am passionate about social justice and social change and how they all relate to Judaism."
In addition to sharing his life path, he engaged us in a text study about the connection between repentance and activism. We talked about how during the Aseret Yemei Teshuva (and really from the start of Elul) we are all urged to wake up and do some serious self-reflection. We are forced to think critically about our interpersonal relationships, as well as our relationships with those in the broader global community and our relationship with God.
Rabbi Rosenn used “L’David,” to demonstrate these various aspects of repentance and reflection. We focused on the pasuk with "l'vaker b'heichalu." Rabbi Rosenn explained that the modern Hebrew translation of “l’vaker,” to visit, does not apply to the Torah. We must look for a different explanation for this word. He offered three possibilities:
1) “boker” = morning. The request is to visit the heichal
2) “bakar” = cattle. The request is to be able to tend to the
3) “bikoret” = criticism. The request is to be critical and think critically about one’s relationship with God.
Teshuva is composed of these three aspects: it must be done regularly, it must be tended to and it must be done critically. These are also important ways to think about our relationships with one another, as well as being conscious about what’s going on in the world around us. Thinking about the world in these terms will also help inform and enhance our activism and our work for social change.
Rabbi Rosenn's chiddush was probably the first chiddush that I've heard at one of these text studies ever. I was really impressed by his intelligence and passion. Here's to hoping that I see a lot more of David Rosenn!
