Jewish Values from Alef to Tav Joel Lurie Grishaver
Torah Aura Productions Los Angeles, California
ISBN# 1–891662–62–7 Copyright © 2005 Torah Aura Productions Photographs by Mark Robert Halper Artwork by Allan Eitzen, Benrei Huang, Beth Spiegel, Cary Pillo, Dan Krovatin, Don Dyen, Frank Dixon, Jane Conteh-Morgan, Jennifer Heyd Wharton, Jennifer Singh, JoAnn Kitchel, Lane Yerkes, Laura Cornell, Laura Jacobson, Paige Billin-Frye, Patrick Girouard, Robert Parker, Susan Avishai and Suzette Barbier. Published by Torah Aura Productions All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Torah Aura Productions Visit the Torah Aura Website at WW.ToRAHAURA.CoM
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Table of Contents
t Emunah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 c Brit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 d G’milut Hasadim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 s Derekh Eretz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 v Havdallah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 u Viku’ah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 z Z’mirot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 j Heshbon ha-Nefesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 y Teva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 h Yisrael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 f Kavod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 k Lashon ha-Ra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 5
n Mitzvot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 b Neshamah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 x Siddur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 g Aseret ha-Dibrot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 p Pikuah Nefesh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 m Tzedakah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 e Kedushah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 r Rodef Shalom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 ď Š Shabbat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 ď ‡ Simhah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 , Talmud Torah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 , Tikkun Olam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
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Emunah means faith. Emunah is believing in God. Emunah is also knowing that God believes in you. The word amen comes from the word emunah. Amen means “I can believe that.” It is a way of saying “Me, too.” First one person says a whole prayer. Then a second person hears that prayer and says “amen.” When God hears the “amen” both people get credit for the prayer. Sometimes we just say “amen.” We see a sunset and say “amen.” We see a painting and say “amen.” Sometimes we listen to a friend or a teacher and say “amen.” These are times of emunah. 77
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When Abraham was a boy he was called “Abram.” This is a story about Abram. This is not a Torah story. It is a midrash. It is a story that grows out of a Torah story.
Abram Meets God
Long ago Nimrod was a wicked king. Nimrod wanted everyone to bow to him. Nimrod wanted everyone to treat him like a god. Nimrod wanted everyone to believe that he was a god. One night a huge star came into the sky and ate four other stars. It ate the North Star. It ate the South Star. It ate the East Star. It ate the West Star. Nimrod asked his wizards, “What does this mean?” The wizards all said, “A boy has been born who will let people know that you are only a person.” Nimrod said two things. Nimrod first said, “I am a god.” Then Nimrod said, “Kill the boy.” For three years they searched for the child. Terah and Amtela were scared. They hid their son Abram in a cave. They wanted him to be safe. Abram stayed in the cave day and night and looked out at the world. He was lonely. He was scared. He wondered, “Who created the world?” He wondered, “Why am I here?”
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Abram saw the sun. The sun was hot. The sun gave light. The sun gave life. Abram thought, “The sun must be god.” Then a wind blew a cloud in front of the sun. It got darker. Abram said, “The wind can stop the sun. The wind must be god.” Night came. When the sun went down, the wind stopped. Then the moon rose. Abram said, “The moon must be god.” He thought about the moon all night long. In the morning, the sun rose again. Abram knew that the sun could not be god. Then Abram suddenly knew the truth. He said, “There must be one God who created everything. One God made the sun. The same God made the wind. The same God made the moon. The same God made Nimrod. And the same God made me. I believe in one God.” Then Abram heard a voice that said, “I am here, My son. I believe in you.” Abram said, “I am not alone anymore. I am not afraid anymore.” Then Abram said “Amen.”
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To think about
1. What did Abram learn in the cave? 2. What is one time when you said “Amen.� 3. What do you think is going to happen when Abram and Nimrod meet?
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A Brit is a deal between two people. It is a contract. In the Torah a very serious deal is called a “covenant.” We have a brit with God. We are God’s partners. God does some things for us. And we do some things for God. There is a brit between all people and God. There is a special brit between God and the Families-of-Israel. The Torah is the story of that brit. 13