Learning Leads to Doing Which Leads to Learning...

Learning Leads to Action; Action Leads to Learning

I Kings 17:7-16
וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ יָמִים, וַיִּיבַשׁ הַנָּחַל כִּי לֹא-הָיָה גֶשֶׁם, בָּאָרֶץ. וַיְהִי דְבַר-ה', אֵלָיו לֵאמֹר. קוּם לֵךְ צָרְפַתָה אֲשֶׁר לְצִידוֹן, וְיָשַׁבְתָּ שָׁם; הִנֵּה צִוִּיתִי שָׁם אִשָּׁה אַלְמָנָה, לְכַלְכְּלֶךָ. וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלֶךְ צָרְפַתָה, וַיָּבֹא אֶל-פֶּתַח הָעִיר, וְהִנֵּה-שָׁם אִשָּׁה אַלְמָנָה, מְקֹשֶׁשֶׁת עֵצִים; וַיִּקְרָא אֵלֶיהָ וַיֹּאמַר, קְחִי-נָא לִי מְעַט-מַיִם בַּכְּלִי וְאֶשְׁתֶּה. וַתֵּלֶךְ, לָקַחַת; וַיִּקְרָא אֵלֶיהָ וַיֹּאמַר, לִקְחִי-נָא לִי פַּת-לֶחֶם בְּיָדֵךְ. וַתֹּאמֶר, חַי-ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ אִם-יֶשׁ-לִי מָעוֹג, כִּי אִם-מְלֹא כַף-קֶמַח בַּכַּד, וּמְעַט-שֶׁמֶן בַּצַּפָּחַת; וְהִנְנִי מְקֹשֶׁשֶׁת שְׁנַיִם עֵצִים, וּבָאתִי וַעֲשִׂיתִיהוּ לִי וְלִבְנִי, וַאֲכַלְנֻהוּ, וָמָתְנוּ. וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלֶיהָ אֵלִיָּהוּ אַל-תִּירְאִי, בֹּאִי עֲשִׂי כִדְבָרֵךְ; אַךְ עֲשִׂי-לִי מִשָּׁם עֻגָה קְטַנָּה בָרִאשֹׁנָה, וְהוֹצֵאת לִי, וְלָךְ וְלִבְנֵךְ, תַּעֲשִׂי בָּאַחֲרֹנָה. כִּי כֹה אָמַר ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, כַּד הַקֶּמַח לֹא תִכְלָה, וְצַפַּחַת הַשֶּׁמֶן, לֹא תֶחְסָר: עַד יוֹם תתן- (תֵּת-) ה', גֶּשֶׁם--עַל-פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה. וַתֵּלֶךְ וַתַּעֲשֶׂה, כִּדְבַר אֵלִיָּהוּ; וַתֹּאכַל הוא-והיא (הִיא-וָהוּא) וּבֵיתָהּ, יָמִים. כַּד הַקֶּמַח לֹא כָלָתָה, וְצַפַּחַת הַשֶּׁמֶן לֹא חָסֵר--כִּדְבַר ה', אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר בְּיַד אֵלִיָּהוּ.
After some time the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land. And the word of Adonai came to him [Elijah]: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there; I have designated a widow there to feed you." So he went at once to Zarephath. When he came to the entrance of the town, a widow was there gathering wood. He called out to her, "Please bring me a little water in your pitcher, and let me drink." As she went to fetch it, he called out to her, "Please bring along a piece of bread for me." "As Adonai your God lives," she replied, "I have nothing baked, nothing but a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am just gathering a couple of sticks, so that I can go home and prepare it for me and my son; we shall eat it and then we shall die." "Don't be afraid," said Elijah to her. "Go and do as you have said; but first make me a small cake from what you have there, and bring it out to me; then make some for yourself and your son. For thus said Adonai, the God of Israel: The jar of flour shall not give out and the jug of oil shall not fail until the day that Adonai sends rain upon the ground." She went and did as Elijah had spoken, and she and he and her household had food for a long time. The jar of flour did not give out, nor did the jug of oil fail, just as Adonai had spoken through Elijah. [JPS translation]
Suggested Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think God chose this widow to feed Elijah?
2. Who are the players in this text--seen and unseen?
3. What are the power dynamics between them?
4. This text describes a miracle that saved a household from hunger. What, if anything, can we learn from this text in a world in which miracles don't save people from hunger?

Eco-Kosher, Rabbi Zalman Shachter-Shalomi
Original
I invented the word eco-kosher, to say that something is ecologically kosher. I'll give you an example of eco-kosher. The regular kosher way is about the dishes that mustn't be contaminated, etc. If I pick up a cup to have coffee, styrofoam would be the best thing to have. It hasn't been used before and after I drink from it, I'll throw it away and nobody else will use it. From the usual kosher place that's the direction to go...but in comparison to waht will happen to the planet by my drinking in a styrofoam, I'd much rather make the other choice...eco-kosher.
Suggested Discussion Questions

1. What is your understanding of Reb Zalman's approach to kashrut?
2. What is the difference between Jewish food ethics (eco-kosher) rather than just food ethics (ecological eating)?
3. Why eat in a "Jewishly" ethical way?

Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 40b
וכבר היה רבי טרפון וזקנים מסובין בעלית בית נתזה בלוד, נשאלה שאילה זו בפניהם: תלמוד גדול או מעשה גדול? נענה רבי טרפון ואמר: מעשה גדול, נענה ר"ע ואמר: תלמוד גדול, נענו כולם ואמרו: תלמוד גדול, שהתלמוד מביא לידי מעשה.
Rabbi Tarfon and some elders were reclining in an upper chamber in the house of Nitza in Lod when this question came up: Which is greater, study or action? Rabbi Tarfon spoke up and said: Action is greater. Rabbi Akiva spoke up and said: Study is greater. The others then spoke up and said: Study is greater because it leads to action. [Soncino translation]
Suggested Discussion Questions


1. What "action" is being discussed here?


2. How does this text relate to Jewish social justice?

Mishna, Pirkei Avot 3:20
רבי אלעזר בן עזריה אומר, אם אין תורה, אין דרך ארץ; אם אין דרך ארץ, אין תורה. אם אין חכמה, אין יראה; אם אין יראה, אין חכמה. אם אין דעת, אין בינה; אם אין בינה, אין דעת. אם אין קמח, אין תורה; אם אין תורה, אין קמח.
Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria: Without Torah there is no social order; without social order there is no Torah. Without wisdom, there is no conscience; without conscience, there is no wisdom. Without knowledge, there is no understanding; without understanding there is no knowledge. Without sustenance, there is no Torah; without Torah there is no sustenance.
Suggested Discussion Questions

1. How do you react to these conditionals? Does this list make sense?

2. The Hebrew word that is interpreted as "sustenance" actually is the word for flour. Why do you think the word sustenance is used in the translation? How do we define "sustenance?" What types of sustenance don't exist without Torah?

Rabbi Sid Schwarz, Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World (Jewish Lights, 2006), pp. 100-101.
Original
Understanding Jewish Political Behavior (100-101) Over the past fifty years, American Jews have consistently exhibited liberal ideas and liberal voting patterns. In so doing, Jews defy the tendency for groups to vote their economic interests. In general, the higher the socioeconomic class, the more likely a group will exhibit conservative attitudes and voting patterns. The more economically disadvantaged a group, the more likely that group will manifest liberal attitudes and voting patterns. Nevertheless, Jews have remained overwhelmingly committed to the Democratic Party ever since the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt. In the last four presidential elections (1992: Clinton-Bush; 1996: Clinton-Dole; 2000: Bush-Gore; 2004: Bush-Kerry), Jews cast 80 percent, 78 percent, 79 percent, and 75 percent of their votes for the Democratic ticket, respectively. In Congressional and state-wide elections, Jews tend to vote two to three times more often for Democratic candidates than for Republicans. This voting pattern led the noted American Jewish political commentator Milton Himmelfarb to observe that “the Jews earn like Episcopalians and vote like Puerto Ricans.” The Jewish Public Opinion Survey, conducted in 2000, found that 49 percent of Jews identified themselves as Democrats, compared to only 10 percent who identified as Republicans. Thirty-five percent of Jews called themselves “liberal,” compared with only 8 percent who called themselves “conservative.” This breakdown has been consistent over the past several decades. When comparing the attitudes of Jews to those of comparable white, college-educated, urban samples, Jews remain an anomaly. The non-Jewish groups are considerably more conservative than comparable groups of Jews. Among the issues that most distinguish Jews from their non-Jewish counterparts are their support for abortion rights, gay rights, and separation of church and state and their sympathy for the economically disadvantaged. Jews also stand apart from their non-Jewish counterparts on issues of foreign affairs. When asked whether the United States should send troops to a foreign country to intervene on behalf of a persecuted minority, Jews were 2–1 in favor of intervention compared to non-Jewish Americans, who were 2–1 against it. It is far easier to quantify attitudes than it is to explain them. Neither high income nor advanced education is sufficient to explain Jewish distinctiveness in their political tendencies because Jews at every level stand apart from non-Jewish Americans who mirror their income and educational level. A much more compelling explanation goes back to Sinai and historical consciousness. Even as American Jews become less religiously observant, less knowledgeable about Jewish teachings, and increasingly secular in their outlook, their engagement in American public affairs has been shaped by the Jewish historical experience. It is the Jewish communal ethos, honed as much by historical experience as through knowledge of sacred texts, extended to the realm of public affairs.
Suggested Discussion Questions

1. How do you feel about the interpretation that Rabbi Sid Schwartz gives of the data he shares above? Do you see a connection to Sinai?

2. Some commentators have observed more recently that Jews are moving to the political right. What might be motivating such a tendency?

3. Do you believe that one political persuasion or another (e.g. liberal, conservative, progressive, etc.) is more closely aligned with Jewish teaching than another?

4. Why would Jews be more inclined to send American troops to protect a persecuted minority in a foreign country? Doesn't this conflict with the surveys that show that Jews are far less supportive of military options than the rest of the population?