Ahead of Shavuot, I asked my CJN colleagues about their favourite Jewish texts. Some are classics you’ll immediately recognize, while others are decidedly less traditional. Either way, if you’re planning to stay up all night studying on the first night of the holiday, you might want to consider these texts.
Sheri Shefa, reporter: “Who is wise? One who learns from every man… Who is strong? One who overpowers his inclinations… Who is rich? One who is satisfied with his lot… Who is honourable? One who honours his fellows” (Ethics of the Fathers, 4:1). This Mishnah touches on universal human desires – to be open-minded, to achieve lasting happiness and inner peace, to be respected and valued by ones peers and loved ones, and to be humble enough to respect and value everyone around you.
Lila Sarick, reporter/proofreader: “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26). It’s the brachah I give my kids on Friday night. I bless my daughter in the name of the matriarchs and my boys in the names of Ephraim and Menashe.
Carolyn Blackman, supplements editor: Hirsh Glick’s Zog Nisht Keynmol. Ever since I was a child at Workmen’s Circle Camp Yungvelt, this song has been a symbol of strength and optimism to me.
Ella Burakowski (aka Ask Ella): “A righteous man falls down seven times and gets up” (Proverbs, 24:16). It’s all about picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and rising to the challenge. It’s not as much about the result as it is about the journey.
Elias Levy, reporter: Tractate Shabbat, 88A. A powerful reflection on the issue of liberty. We find in the choices given by God to the Jewish People as they stood at Sinai a dilemma that humanity still faces today: the challenge of making important choices in life that change the future.
Jodie Shupac, reporter: Transparent.This television drama tells the story of three adult children of a Jewish family struggling to come to terms with their father’s new identity as a woman. Transparent gives a more nuanced picture of secular Jews navigating the complex interplay between traditional family values and personal freedoms and pleasures.
And three of my personal favourites:
Shmirat Halashon, Rabbi Israel Meir Kagan: A compendium of the laws of lashon hara (evil speech), this is a text I keep coming back to, because it’s so fundamental to human relationships. An essential reminder of the great power of language.
“For there is no righteous man on earth who does good and sins not.” (Ecclesiastes, 7:20): This text suggests that not only is imperfection inevitable, it might even be a good thing. The way I read it, in order to become righteous, one must sin along the way.
As A Driven Leaf, Milton Steinberg: A historical novel about the life of Elisha ben Abuyah, the rabbinic sage who committed heresy and was expunged from the Talmud. The story implicitly asks how we reconcile Judaism and the modern world. We’re still searching for the answer.
Chag Samayach. — YONI
