Last Shabbat, CSS member Robert Altman celebrated the 64th anniversary of his Bar Mitzvah by reading from the same portion he did as a 13-year-old. After he finished, I asked him how it felt all these years later? Was it harder or easier? Robert said it was definitely easier, lived experience counting for something. The better answer perhaps was just that it was different. As we journey through our life, the Torah remains the same, only we change.
This week’s Torah portion, Tazria-Metzora, is one I have a tough time introducing to middle schoolers. It involves skin discharges and pus, mold and pestilence, not the kind of things 13-year-olds tend to gravitate towards. But as we age we gain more and more appreciation for the necessity of inspecting these Biblical maladies. Chances are we have seen the worst life has to offer and maybe have had to clean it up. We know full well we cannot avoid the ugliest parts of life.
We also know how precious our celebrations truly are. Watching the joy in Robert’s face as he completed his Torah reading, I could see it was different than that of a Bar Mitzvah boy. This was a joy earned from life experience, one that understood just how sacred it truly was. A big Thanksgiving to Robert for showing how celebrating a long ago simchacan be just as wonderful as the first time we do it, if not more so.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex