Talmud Class: Transformation

From the Bimah: Jewish Lessons for Life

The holy grail in Jewish education is “transformational.” An Israel trip like Birthright or any of our Passport experiences are supposed to be “transformational.” Going to any of our wonderful day schools is supposed to be “transformational.” Jewish summer camp--24-7 immersion, lifelong friends--is supposed to be “transformational.” The idea of a “transformational” experience is that the person is different on the other end. But the two big salvation stories in Exodus suggest that “transformational” experiences may not transform. That the very notion of a transformational experience may be an illusion. You might think that the splitting of the Sea of Reeds would be transformational. “When Israel saw the wondrous power which the Lord had wielded against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord; they had faith in the Lord and His servant Moses.” (Ex. 14:31) And yet three days later the afterglow of the miracle has already dissipated as “the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’” (Ex. 15-24) In our reading this Shabbat, the Israelites stand at Sinai. God comes down and reveals the Torah. The first commandments are I am the Lord your God who took you out of Egypt. Don’t make idols. You might think that standing at Sinai, the thunder and lightning, divine revelation, is transformational. But famously while Moses is getting the ten commandments, the Israelites are already busy violating them, building the golden calf and saying that the golden calf brought them out of Egypt. These stories suggest that transformational experiences may not transform. And yet, October 7 did transform. As Rachel Korazim taught us in her recentsessions on Israeli poetry since October 7, Israel is not the same. Israelis are not the same. Putting this all together is confounding. Splitting the Sea of Reeds does not transform. Standing at Sinai does not transform. But October 7 transforms. What does it say about us, what does it say about the human condition, that positive experiences like standing at Sinai or the splitting of the Sea of Reeds do not transform, but that the horror and loss of October 7 do transform?