Revelations Right There

Newsletter June 10, 2024 Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

When I work with bnai mitzvah students, I remind them that as old as our tradition is, no one like them ever read Torah before and therefore they have something unique to share. They have their own lens they apply to the sacred text. They have their own thoughts and opinions. This is part of what makes each person so precious. 

Tradition tells us that the Torah was revealed to each person according to their own understanding. And really, revelation occurs continually. Every time sacred books are cracked open, the light shines and we can bask in it. 

In fact, in the 19th century, the Ba’al Shem Tov related that revelation occurs repeatedly each time people study. It wasn't just something that happened a long time ago. And, revelation comes complete with the sounds of the shofar, lightening and thunder, like at Mt. Sinai. We just need to merit being sensitive to it to perceive it. If treat study as a sacred act of Divine insight and connection, it will be.

Yesterday, I officiated the naming for a precious new child in the world. She represents the renewal of the revelation as she will have her own understanding of the tradition and, one day, choose whether and if so, how, to carry it forward.  

Today is the 4th anniversary of the death of my beloved grandmother, Fruma Kit Endler, z”l, for whom Keeping It Sacred (KITS) is named. Her read of the tradition is what inspired this community. The lens through which she viewed tradition was one full of joy and appreciation, gratitude and love. For her, every time she read texts, decorated the home, or made foods, she was amazed. And she celebrated Hanukkah 100 times, but she was never bored with it. She sat at Passover seders for 100 years, and each time, she delighted in the stories. She embodied zerizut (the mussar principle of enthusiasm). Perhaps this is why she lived so long. For her, God and our family ancestors, were present and good. They were rooting for us. Every morning she received this revelation and she lived it each day. 

Today, we learned of a new death anniversary to add to this date, June 10. The great Rev. James Lawson, may his memory be a blessing, passed early this morning (photo of me with him at this year's MLK Remembrance Day observance). He was a deeply spiritual person, reading the (Christian) bible as a document mandating justice and honor to all. He, together with The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (another inspired person), were giants of justice based on their understanding of what the Bible required of each of us. Specifically, with regards to their understanding of how we are each are responsible to and for each other, and how a commitment to nonviolence was the moral way forward. And so, we learn that revelation is not limited to members of the Jewish community. Anyone can be an inspired person, filled with the Universal Spirit of Love and Connection. 

Tuesday is the holiday of Shavuot— my grandmother’s Hebrew calendar birthday. And another opportunity for us each to receive revelation no less significant than that which Moses experienced on Sinai. Join us if you’d like to study in community! We will participate with other member communities of the Union for Reform Judaism to bring you continuous Torah study throughout Shavuot. Register HERE. Revelation is right there. As you study, listen for the sound of the shofar. 

This is how we are keeping it sacred... 

Together, we’re #keepingitsacred...

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

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The above is an excerpt from a Keeping It Sacred newsletter. If you want to read the entire newsletter or any from our archives, please head over to: keepingitsacred.com/news 

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Thanks for your interest, and thanks for #keepingitsacred...