Jews ask questions. I might even say it's bound up in our very DNA, that our name as a people - Yisrael, meaning "one who wrestles with God" - is a call to push back,
to grapple with, to challenge, and yes, to question God repeatedly. The Torah begins with Adam and Eve instantly challenging God's only rule in the Garden of Eden, against eating the fruit of a particular tree, and the Five Books of Moses end with a question as well. Moses' final utterance (before the text tells us he died and God buried him) includes the question "Mi Kamocha," "Who is like you?" (Deut. 33:29), spoken about Israel, the people, and its unique relationship with the Divine. So yeah, Jews ask questions. From philosophers, theologians, politicians, and prophets... to doctors, lawyers, community organizers, rabbis, and even comedians, it is perhaps one of THE central traits that has defined us. And in just a few weeks, we'll be asking four special questions at our Passover Seder tables.
There is an odd irony regarding those Four Questions, however, because they are not supposed to be the *only* questions at the Seder. I believe they should be the FIRST questions asked, but they are just meant to get us started. They are the warm-up to get our curiosities going.... The Seder
contains endless peculiarities, hidden clues, provocative statements, and other pedagogical tools; all designed to get the people around the table to ASK. MORE. QUESTIONS. Because, if you think about it, a question draws you into relationship. An answer, by contrast, closes the discussion and you move on to something else, while more questions pull you further and further into dialogue, back and forth, deepening and enhancing the exchange. I love to say to my congregation: Why would you ruin a perfectly wonderful question... by trying to answer it??? So let me invite you to think about two more essential questions, in this season leading up to the Passover Seder:
First, what does it mean to have a food ethic? Pesach is defined by its excess of dietary restrictions, which seems like another peculiar irony, since we call this The Season of Our Freedom. Freedom?? Yeah, right; season to eat cardboard and horseradish, you mean... :-) This week's Torah portion, Shemini, challenges us
to think about our eating habits, much like Pesach does. We read many of the fundamental rules of keeping Kosher, including which animals we are permitted to eat and which ones are
treif. There are four categories of creature (there's that number four again...) discussed in the text. Land animals, flying animals, sea creatures, and yes, swarming insects (mmmm, locusts...). But really, the text gives us more *questions* than answers. The distinguishing features seem arbitrary and have nothing to do with cleanliness or morality. Furthermore, some animals defy categorization or exhibit traits that confuse us, and many of the laws are simply not detailed enough. To make them into usable, ritualized, comprehensible
mitzvot, more questions need to be asked (meaning more relationship-building...), and a lot of the specifics will need to be "fleshed" out (haha!).
Question-asking is good. Not only does it help you understand more, but it opens you up to forming bonds, caring more about something, and bringing more of yourself to the table. Soooo, here's my final question for you: What don't you (yet) know about Judaism? What are the burning
questions you've never gotten to ask? In preparation for a Sisterhood event I'm leading on April 28th, I'm looking for help to explore the topic of "Jewish Fact; Jewish Fiction." There is a lot of misinformation out there, so I'm wondering what you've always *known* to be true about Jews... that might actually be patently false!! Or at least just "sorta-kinda" correct... Put your question in the "Comments" section, send it to me by e-mail, post it on Facebook, or stop me in the hallway. The most important thing to remember is: Questions are GOOD! Regardless of how, and if, they can be answered. So get ready for the Passover Four Questions - because the Seder will be here before you know it... - but please don't forget they're supposed to be a spring board. The very, very START of a longer conversation. What else do you wanna know? How can you learn more? I'm curious to find out... aren't you?
CC images in this blog post courtesy of:
1.
Max Pixel
2.
cmswire.com
3.
nightowl on
Pixabay
4.
Fortepan on
Wikimedia Commons
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