OUR STUDY GROUP

 

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

There is a rabbinic teaching that states that the study of Torah is equal to all other commandments (See, M, Peah, 1:1). This is a typical saying of the ancient Rabbis that Torah study, namely the study of Scriptures and rabbinic wisdom, should be given a high priority. [For other examples, see: The observance of the Sabbath is equal to all other commandments (T Jer. Ber. 9a) or, the act of circumcision is equal to all other commandments (T Jer. Ned. 12b)]

I am privileged to belong to a rabbinic group that meets every Monday morning. We  have ten regulars (Don Splansky, Hank Zoob, Howard Kosovske, Neil Kominsky, Bob Orkand, Frank Waldorf, Cliff Librach, Ira Korinow, Harold Robinson and me), and often Steve Arnold joins us. Though we only have men in the group now, in the past, we had Michele Lenke, before she moved to LA. We are also all retired Reform Rabbis who live in the greater Boston area. The group has met for almost 40 years. In the past, many of us used to gather in the home of our colleague Bernard Mehlman, then we moved the sessions to Temple Beth Shalom, where I am the Emeritus, in Needham. MA, and now, because of the Corona virus, we meet regularly by zoom. We take no breaks. As Neil reminds us, “where are you going anyway?”

Our sessions begin at 10 am sharp. Frank is the convener. He lets us in. For the first 15-20 minutes, we discuss current events, often vociferously but with a good sense of humor, and then, I usually play the taskmaster and call my colleagues to initiate the study session. We begin with the traditional Hebrew prayer that praises God for the opportunity we have to study Torah (“…laasok bedivre Torah”) and then we jump right into the text. In the past, we have dealt with many different rabbinic material, such as B’reshit Rabba, Mesillat Yesharim and Avot de Rabbi Nathan. Now we are going through Shir Hashirim Rabba, a rabbinic haggadic Midrash on the Song of Songs, compiled in the 9th cent. CE, Israel/Babylon, by unknown redactors, which understands the biblical love song between human lovers as a paradigm of the love between God and the people of Israel. The text is not easy, and is sprinkled with all kinds of Aramaisms, at times even containing grammatical or textual mistakes. But the content is fascinating in that it provides a new context for the biblical text of the Song of Songs as reflected in the ongoing rabbinic oral tradition.   

Each participant has his role in the group: Ira usually provides an initial translation of the biblical text, Bob has access to some commentaries in English, Don likes to refer to rabbinic commentaries in the margins of the  text, Howard always wants to know exactly what the Rabbis mean,  and I tend to be the trouble maker with my rationalistic theological approach. Our discussions are serious but we also have fun in engaging each other in important theological discourse.

I look forward to my Monday sessions with great anticipation and thoroughly enjoy the collegiality of my study partners. They are my virtual family. I recommend this format to other rabbis in the country. You will like it and you will create a havruta (“study group”) that will enrich you weekly.