Marketing Judaism
砖诪讜转 驻专拽 诇讗 驻住讜拽 讬讞
讜址讬执旨转值旨谉 讗侄诇 诪止砖侄讈讛 讻职旨讻址诇止旨转讜止 诇职讚址讘值旨专 讗执转旨讜止 讘职旨讛址专 住执讬谞址讬 砖职讈谞值讬 诇只讞止转 讛指注值讚只转 诇只讞止转 讗侄讘侄谉 讻职旨转只讘执讬诐 讘职旨讗侄爪职讘址旨注 讗直诇止讛执讬诐:
砖诪讜转 专讘讛 (讜讬诇谞讗) 驻专砖讛 诪讗
诪讛讜 讻讻诇讜转讜 讗专”砖 讘谉 诇拽讬砖 讻诇 诪讬 砖讛讜讗 诪讜爪讬讗 讚讘专讬 转讜专讛 讜讗讬谞谉 注专讘讬谉 注诇 砖讜诪注讬讛谉 讻讻诇讛 砖讛讬讗 注专讬讘讛 诇讘注诇讛 谞讜讞 诇讜 砖诇讗 讗诪专谉, 诇诪讛 砖讘砖注讛 砖谞转谉 讛拽讘”讛 讛转讜专讛 诇讬砖专讗诇 讛讬转讛 讞讘讬讘讛 注诇讬讛诐 讻讻诇讛 砖讛讬讗 讞讘讬讘讛 注诇 讘谉 讝讜讙讛 诪谞讬谉 砖谞讗’ 讜讬转谉 讗诇 诪砖讛 讻讻诇讜转讜.
Exodus 31:18
When God finished speaking with him [Moses] on Mount Sinai, God gave Moses the two tablets of the Pact, stone tablets inscribed with the finger of God.
Exodus Rabbah 41:5
What is the meaning of “When God had finished?” Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish said: If one gives a discourse on the Torah, which is not as pleasant to those that hear it as the bride is pleasing to her spouse, then it were best that he should not have said it at all. Why is that? Because when the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the Torah to Israel, it was then as dear to them as a bride is to her spouse, as it says, “And God gave unto Moses as his bride the two tablets of the Pact . . .”
If the Torah you teach isn’t sexy, don’t teach it. An unassailable marketing message rooted in a play on words: “had finished” is kekaloto, which鈹�especially written as it is, missing the letter vav toward the end鈹�could be rendered instead “as his bride.” Since the midrash was initially taught orally, listeners might be tantalized, too, by the Hebrew “pleasant,” which sounds identical to (but is spelled differently from) the word “naked” so that Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish, in giving this analogy the first time, would have been giving a rather suggestive drash.
In our day, when Jews live in a world competing for our spiritual allegiance and where we freely choose the communities in which we take part, the message is paramount. The teachers of Torah鈹�broadly defined not only as rabbis but as cantors, 绿帽社 educators, leaders of 绿帽社 organizations, and lay leaders 鈹� are, in fact, marketers of 绿帽社 living. Beyond those professionally affiliated, we as parents “market” Judaism in our homes to our children, to our non-绿帽社 neighbors, to the Jews we know who are not interested in their heritage. That Judaism has to be appealing. It has to be something that one would desire the way newlyweds desire one another. We have to be intoxicated with the idea that lifelong commitment to it would be the best possible choice we can make for ourselves. Otherwise, it will fizzle out. 绿帽社 living that lacks passion is not worth passing on; but a passionate choice to live with Judaism for the rest of your life, day in and day out, is the root of Torah worth teaching.
