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Our Parashah for this Shabbat, Ki Tavo, explores the ancient Israelites’ game plan to settle in the Land of Milk and Honey. They were asked to cultivate the first fruits of the ground, which involved a great deal of work.
The Autumn harvest beckoned. The fruits of their labor would be rewarded, but the Israelites had to sweat it out a bit in order to fully savor the sweetness of life.
For us too, the climate is changing. No more lazy Sunday mornings. We have to shake the branches! Vacation is over. The days now feel shorter and the workload heavier. Last weekend our religious school kicked off. Perhaps a bitter pill to swallow for some. But if we wish to start off on the right foot, we have to tell our little sprouts that school is naturally sweeter than they realize, for each week they are in store for an extra serving in Torah literacy.
There is a midrash, a teaching from our tradition, that compares a small child to a new fruit tree in need of harvesting. Now is the season for learning. But there is no need for a ladder. The best way to encourage young people to reach new heights is by helping them to learn their letters. This back to basics approach has always been a part of Judaism.
Take for example the life of a Jewish boy living in Medieval times. For his first Hebrew lesson at religious school, he was handed a tablet (not an iPad!) on which the Hebrew alphabet was written. The teacher would read the letters, encouraging the child to repeat each letter aloud. Then the teacher (now hold your tongues people) smeared honey over the tablet and told the child to lick it off, and cakes on which biblical verses had been written were brought in. These cakes, symbolizing the merits of Torah, were made with flour, milk, honey and oil. To cap off this feast the child would sample fruits, nuts and other delicacies. The child would then be escorted to a stream where the teacher would explain that the study of Torah is like the rushing water in a river for learning in life never ends. This old world custom, still practiced in some Jewish circles, hails from the South…the South of France that is.
This delectable practice’s origins are not to be found in the Winnie the Pooh books but in Orhot Hayyim (Paths of Life), a compilation of Jewish customs made by Rabbi Aaron ben Jacob ha-Kohen of Lunel in Southern France in the 14th century and repackaged later for Machzor Vitry, a collection of writings from the 12th century attributed to Rabbi Simha of Vitry, a younger contemporary of Rashi of Troyes.
Every school has its motto and I guess back then, teachers must have scared the living daylights out of their students. In those days the Hebrew slogan was: first we entice him and then the strap is applied to his back…which probably didn't help the growth of the Hebrew language. Such approaches were more painful than persuasive...A sweeter touch was needed.
But rather than rely on me for a summary, imagine yourself as a fly on the wall, as we travel back in time, to eavesdrop what the writers from these primary French-Jewish sources were thinking back then:
When a man brings his son to study the Torah for the first time…they bring over the tablet (lu'ach) on which is written some of the Hebrew alphabet. Inscribed also is a verse from the Book of Deuteronomy (33:4) which states 'When Moses charged us with the Torah as the Heritage of the Congregation of Jacob.' A phrase from the Babylonian Talmud (Berakhot 16b): 'May the Torah be my occupation', is also inscribed.
The teacher then recites aloud each letter of the alef-bet and the child recites them after him. Then the teacher puts a little honey on the tablet, and he is told 'Lick'. And with his tongue, the child licks the honey that is on the letters. Why are letters written out for him on a tablet, and not on something else? Because there is a tablet in one's mind, as it is written in the Book of Proverbs: 'Write them on the tablet of your mind' [Prov. 3:3, 7:3]
Why after the letters are read out loud to him do we cover the tablet and tell him 'lick'?? This is what is described in Ezekiel, "I ate it and it tasted as sweet as honey to me. [Ezekiel 3:3] This means that just as it is pleasant for him to lick the letters, it will be pleasant for him to learn the Torah regularly and teach it to his children. To ingest Torah is like a honeycomb.
Now I have a good reason for sharing with you tonight this behind the scenes look at the history of a Jewish custom. And it's not because I think this is a great plan for getting better Hebrew results from our kids at our Hebrew school. It is more to show that the Jewish attitude toward learning is that knowledge is edifying, if not edible, and knowing your Judaism can sweeten your lives. And what better way is there to welcome the approaching New Year than to treat your self to some spiritual sustenance. Such Medieval customs are probably indigestible for most of us moderns, but the story of this folk tradition underscores at least one timeless message from our tradition: what can be sweeter than a child learning their first words?
Shabbat Shalom
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