By Donald H. Harrison
LAFAYETTE, California – Over the weekend at Temple Isaiah, where approximately 51 years ago the current frontrunning candidate for the U.S. Senate, Adam Schiff, became a bar mitzvah, a girl who was pictured in the Reform temple’s bulletin cuddling her dog became a bat mitzvah. The photograph was a harbinger of the talk she would give about her Torah portion.
Parsha Tzav provides explicit and gory descriptions of animal sacrifices at the ancient Temple that King Solomon would build in Jerusalem – the very concept of such sacrifices an abhorrence to the girl who now, for Jewish ritual purposes, had just become a woman.
As they are today, such animals as cows and sheep were highly prized possessions in the days of the ancient Temple. Giving them up in an act of religious devotion was a “sacrifice.” But that was then. Today, argued the bat mitzvah who is either too shy or modest to want her name published, such actions would be cruel and highly inappropriate.
She suggested that instead of sacrificing animals, or material things, that if one wants to make the world a better place – the practice of tikkun olam – one should volunteer one’s time in good causes. She spoke of Jelly’s Place, an animal rescue center in San Pablo where she and her family have volunteered. Additionally, she spoke of how rewarding it can be to help distribute food to the hungry and try to reduce food insecurity generally.
Volunteering has personal benefits, she counseled. When you do good, your brain releases chemicals that enhance your feelings of well-being, providing a natural high.
A non-Jewish friend who attended the service expressed admiration for how the new daughter of the commandments had, in fact, taken exception to a part of the Bible. The friend thought that was very brave.
It was brave, I agreed, but completely within the Jewish tradition, in which everything is open to discussion and questioning, even God himself. Did not the Patriarch Abraham argue with God about His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, lest the innocent be wiped out with the guilty?
I believe learning Torah and later Talmud invites critical thinking. The pages of the Talmud are covered with the thoughts of latter-day commentators who disagree with each other across the centuries. Following these discussions—even participating in mock debates about them—can help prepare students for distinguished careers in jurisprudence, academia, and such other fields that demand independent and innovative thinking.
If I am not mistaken the young lady in question will not follow Adam Schiff into politics. She eschews the limelight. But, if she wanted such a career, her experience speaking up for animals could have kick started it.
Perhaps those who attended last Saturday morning’s services will take away from the young lady’s short speech an important lesson: volunteering is a ready path to community- and self-improvement.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com