BlogElul 2: Act

The Torah teaches us how to act responsibly and to treat others with kindness. It is our script for living a Jewish life filled with mitzvot and compassion. It is up to all of us to observe these commandments on a daily basis and to make the words of the Torah come alive. Without action, the Torah is just words. 

This summer, I had the opportunity to work with a group of campers at the Union for Reform Judaism’s camp Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute (OSRUI) who brought Torah to life in the most meaningful way. During Shabbat, they witnessed an incredible example of an active Storahtelling-style D’var Torah led by Rabbi Andrea Steinberger. Many of these campers had never before seen Torah presented in such a way. Inspired, they sought to create something similar.

As clergy on faculty, one of our responsibilities is to work with groups of campers preparing to lead Tefillah. Instead of focusing on prayer, this enthusiastic group of sixth and seventh graders decided to act out their own interpretation of the week’s Torah portion.

In D’varim, Moses prepares to pass the torch of leadership to Joshua as he offers the beginning of his final instructions to the Israelites.

To turn this into theatrical Midrash, each camper wrote a paragraph about leadership, which were subsequently incorporated into auditions for a mock-reality show called “Israelites Got Leadership.” Two campers playing Moses and Joshua were the judges, while the others offered personal thoughts on leadership.  Some of the campers even tried to capture what they thought would have been the leadership platforms of biblical characters, like Joshua and Caleb.

Here are some examples of what the campers came up with:

“I’m Joshua, and I look forward to overseeing this new cabinet of leaders. Some of the characteristics that I bring to the leadership of the Israelites are that I am helpful and friendly, These qualities would help us build or rebuild a city or get other ethnicities to side with us.”

“I’m Caleb. So – because we are STILL wandering through the desert, I think we should actually go in the right direction. No offense to Moses, but I’m getting a little nauseous from going around in circles. When I was a spy (don’t tell anyone) we were less than 40 years away from the land of Israel. If only the other spies had told the truth. My buddies also say that I have an EXCELLENT sense of direction.”

“My leadership style is a little different. I believe that sometimes, there is power in silence.”

“I should be a leader because I am an organized person who will try not to let anyone down. I have a good sense of humor to make people laugh about the fact that we were wandering in circles for 40 years. I also have goats to spare.“

What were the results? Everyone had such great ideas, so Moses and Joshua could not decide on just one leader. Instead, the Israelites would be served by a team of leaders who would combine their individual gifts under the auspices of Joshua. This mirrors how these campers worked together to create this example of Midrash, which served as a valuable lesson for their fellow campers.

By acting out Torah, they were really living Torah.