Torah Thoughts – Devarim – Deuteronomy.1.1-3.22 – “Speaking in Many Places at Once”

Last Sunday, I led a service at the Holloway Memorial Chapel in Canada, a few miles down the road from Crystal Beach.  This is something I have done once a summer for the past decade, replacing Rabbi Marty Goldberg, who had led services decades before me.  The chapel is small and sweet, with enough room for a hundred or so parishioners. The tenor of the service is Christian, which I translate into Judaism, allowing the organist to lead any prayer I am uncomfortable leading.

After the service, the officiant stands on a red carpet outside to greet all of the service goers.  People are kind and polite, sharing what they enjoyed in the service and often engaging me in conversation.  This past week, one man reminded me of an article I had recently written for the Buffalo News.  He told me he had been struggling with his next-door neighbor, but after reading the article decided kindness was in order.  The challenge he had been having had been in getting the neighbor to bring their garbage totes in a timely fashion.  From that point on, he simply did it for them as a favor.

What impressed me most, is how words offered in one time in place can have extended lives in vastly different ways than they were first intended.  This week’s Torah portion, Devarim, the first in the book of Deuteronomy, begins by describing the place Moses is speaking from, “on that side of the Jordan in the desert, in the plain opposite the Red Sea, between Paran and Tofel and Lavan and Hazeroth and Di Zahav” (Deut 1:1).  This happens to be not just one place, but a compilation of many places.  Perhaps, the Torah is telling us that Moses’ words were not stagnant, but traveled with the people through the wilderness.  A good reminder of the power of our words to not only reach those far beyond us, but lifetimes beyond us as well.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Alex