Author and Jewish educator Arthur Kurzweil, right, continues the discussion on Talmud and Kabala following his March 29 program with members of Temple B’nai Shalom in East Brunswick.
Photo by Debra Rubin
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April 14, 2009
Talmud and Kabala, or Jewish mysticism, are traditions that are inextricably tied together and that remain eternally relevant to those who can decipher their meaning.
However, unlocking this “official theology of the Jewish people” requires much study and a little bit of imagination, according to noted author, scholar, and Jewish educator Arthur Kurzweil.
Kurzweil made a case for the continued relevance of Jewish learning at a March 29 program at Temple B’nai Shalom in East Brunswick. He served that weekend as the Reform synagogue’s scholar-in-residence
“Too many people say, ‘What does a 2,000-year-old document have to do with me?,’” said Kurzweil, whose books range from a classic of Jewish genealogy to Kabbalah for Dummies.
In addition to the Sunday morning program, he delivered a d’var Torah at erev Shabbat services on the kabalistic meaning of the Torah portion. On Shabbat morning, Kurzweil spoke about the secrets of Kabala; that afternoon, he demonstrated how kabalistic ideas can transform a person’s life. In the evening, he used magic to highlight Jewish ideas.
“He really stimulated adult learning in the temple,” said synagogue educational director Miriam Eichler. “He brought together adults from the congregation and the larger community to engage in debate about Jewish thought and theology.”
Synagogue president and program chair Harriet Golub said the program built upon teachings the congregation had been exploring over the years with its longtime rabbi, Eric Milgrim.
The response to such educational programs has been “incredible,” said Golub during the lunch that followed the March 29 program.
Kurzweil, dressed in blue jeans but sporting the long beard typical of the hasidim he often prays with, built on themes he touched on in the weekend’s previous programs.
Among the religious teachings that have remained relevant throughout the centuries, he said, was the debate surrounding the torture death of the revered Torah sage Rabbi Akiva at the hands of the Romans, raising the theological question: “Why do very bad things happen to good people?”
Exploration of the deeper meaning of the tragedy requires study and skill, said Kurzweil. “One of the problems with the Talmud is that it is like James Joyce. It’s all over the place,” he said.
The Talmud’s method of “free association” allows questions asked in one century to be “answered” by someone else who lived, paradoxically enough, centuries before.
This free association also imagines Akiva surrounded by his disciples as he died.
“I don’t imagine that Rabbi Akiva and his disciples were having a theological conversation while he was being tortured to death,” said Kurzweil.
Nevertheless, the Talmud has Akiva reminding his students that his suffering provided him with an opportunity to declare God king of the universe and to accept upon himself the kingdom of heaven by reciting the Sh’ma.
“Even while being tortured to death, he expressed his faith in God,” said Kurzweil. Akiva explained to his followers that for his entire life he had been troubled by the phrase “to love God with all your soul” and that he wondered whether he would ever be given the chance to truly experience such extreme devotion.
“I interpret this as Akiva saying, ‘Now that God is separating my body from my soul, I’m not going to blow it,’” said Kurzweil. “He exploited a spiritual opportunity.”
The lesson for modern Jews is to integrate God into their lives by accepting that “God knows what He is doing.”
In another instance, Kurzweil demonstrated how a seemingly outdated talmudic concept remains relevant today.
“Imagine I am a landowner and I lease my land to Harriet,” said Kurzweil. “Let’s say Selina owns a cow and she is crossing over the land leased to Harriet and her cow drops dung. Whose dung is it? At the time this was a very important question because dung was used for fertilizer and for fuel. Is it Harriet’s because she is leasing the land or Selina’s because it is her cow or is it mine because I own the land?”
By studying the inner meaning of the entire talmudic commentary devoted to this subject, said Kurzweil, a modern Jew will discover that it “pertains to an environmental issue still relevant today.”
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