I confess: The Rabbis terrify me.
Because when I read between the lines of their rulings,
I am reminded of my own mastery.
That I am here.
Alive. Breathing life into my own verses.
And all the while, reading the ancient language to make sense of theirs.
I was never supposed to stumble across their words… or even my own.
But through the accident of birth and the collision between my living and being,
I find myself the recipient of something I was never supposed to reach.
But through my own willing, cleaving, and searching,
I have wrapped my struggle around myself like the embrace of the tallitA four-cornered garment to which ritual fringes (tzitzit/tzitzi'ot) are affixed. The knots in the fringes represent the name of God and remind us of God's commandments. The tallit is worn during prayer and can also be drawn about oneself or around the bride and groom to symbolize divine protection..
As if to say,
“Yes. I am deserving.“
Of the learning.
The blessing of the teaching.
And the honor it is to teach.
